I
Must Decrease
John 3:26 "And they came unto John, and
said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond
Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the
same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
27 John answered and said, A man
can receive nothing, except it be given him from
heaven.
28 Ye yourselves bear me
witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that
I am sent before him.
29 He that
hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of
the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him,
rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice:
this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
30
He must increase, but I must decrease.
31 He that cometh from above is above all:
he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of
the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
32 And what he hath seen and heard,
that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his
testimony.
33 He that hath
received his testimony hath set to his seal that God
is true.
34 For he whom God hath
sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not
the Spirit by measure unto him.
35
The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things
into his hand.
36 He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he
that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but
the wrath of God abideth on him.”
John the Baptist was ready with an answer!
We will see how discretion allowed John to glorify Jesus Christ.
John the Baptist is the friend of the bridegroom!
John was ready to decrease.
There are two categories of people in this world.
There are those who want to increase, and there are those who want to decrease. There are those who want to promote themselves, and there are those who want to promote Jesus Christ. John had it right.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
The men of this world have it all wrong! John had it nailed down right as they would say.
In John chapter twelve the formula is given for all in this age [the Church Age] to understand and apply. [The church is the bride to Jesus Christ.]
Now go to verse twenty-three: “And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” [John 12:23-25]
To an unsaved man, woman, or child this whole thing does not make any sense. The old man in us says this. For the corn of wheat to live … it must promote itself, feed itself, and exalt itself. After all, the corn of wheat must take care of itself … UNO NUMBER ONE in order to LIVE.
In the understanding of someone who has not been born again, for a corn of wheat to be put into the ground … … is not for the corn of wheat’s good. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
Likewise, for us to consider dying in order to bear fruit is ABSURB! To DIE in order to LIVE is crazy LOGIC. The old man just REBELS and says NO to all this foolishness and silly talk! [here in the Bible]
The Natural man … the sons of Adam … can not comprehend the LOGIC of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, in this passage. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
But this is exactly what GOD is saying.
You must decrease and Jesus Christ must be increased.
The Apostle said in Galatians chapter two, verse twenty: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Verse twenty explains John chapter twelve, verse twenty-four. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” You cannot receive what I am saying unless you get it from heaven. “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.”
Now, keep verse twenty–seven in mind: When a person comes to Jesus Christ and receives HIM, he receives POWER to become a son of God. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” [John 1:12]
By trusting in Jesus Christ … RECEIVING him … you die to self and receive thus gain LIFE.
Men want to follow their own natural logic but what men need to do is CHUCK that old natural logic and trust in the LOGIC of this OLD BLACK BOOK.
If you and I do this thing then we will be enabled by the HOLY GHOST to say as Paul said in Philippians chapter one verse twenty-one: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
We will be at the same point as John the Baptist was when he said in verse thirty of our chapter in John. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” I must decrease, and Jesus Christ must increase … in my life.This is life! “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” [John 17:3]
You must decrease and Jesus Christ must increase … in your life.
This is life. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” [John 17:3]
Earlier I said, that there are two categories of people in this world. There are those who want to increase and there are those who want to decrease.
Where are you, my friend?
In the last verse of our text [in verse thirty-six] these two categories of people can be seen. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
Those that believe on the SON and those that believe not on the SON.
“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” [John 12:25
There are those who choose to live [refusing to die to self] and there are those who choose to die in order to receive life eternal.
Turn to Luke chapter nine, verse twenty-three, and see: “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?” [Luke 9:23-25]
“He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease."
Trust Jesus Christ now for salvation!
Receive Him as your LORD and SAVIOR. Amen!