John 3:30 - Jesus Must Increase and I Must Decrease.
John 3:30 - Jesus Must Increase and I Must Decrease.
John 3:30 (NKJV) He must increase, but I must decrease.
John 3:30 (TNIV) He must become greater; I must become less.
John 3:30 (NLT) He must become greater and greater, and I must
become less and less.
COMMENTARY
These are the last words by John the Baptist recorded in this
Gospel. [New Bible Companion]
These words form a truly fitting motto for every aspiring
servant of Christ. [Jamieson, Fausset, And Brown Commentary]
Get to the end of yourself where you can do nothing, but where
He does everything. [In His Time; My Utmost For His Highest]
Oh! For a self-emptied spirit - a heart at leisure from itself -
a mind delivered from all anxiety about one's own things! May we
be more thoroughly delivered from self, in all its detestable
windings and workings! Then could the Master use us, own us, and bless
us. C. H. Mackintosh
The shining forth of the glory of Christ eclipses the lustre of
all other glory. The glory that stands in competition with Christ,
that of the world and the flesh, decreases and loses ground in the
soul as the knowledge and love of Christ increase and get ground;
(Matthew Henry's Commentary)
How great a protection John's attitude is from the
Christian's greatest temptation: pride. Even the little man is tempted to be
proud that he's so humble. And the Christian who knows success is in
danger indeed!
John wasn't concerned about the smaller crowds that came to
hear him when Jesus was preaching in the same district. His great joy
was that Jesus become greater, and he himself less.
The person who is ready to accept a John-like role in life
will, like John, find himself often "full of joy" (v. 29). [The
365-Day Devotional Commentary]
EXAMPLES & ILLUSTRATIONS
John the Baptist was the messenger preparing people's hearts
for the coming of Jesus. That's pretty heady stuff for a young guy.
But instead of busting his buttons in pride, John showed remarkable
humility.
John knew his purpose in life was to point others to Christ,
so he didn't get wrapped up in his own popularity. Even when John's
own disciples began to follow Jesus, John took it all in stride. "He
[Jesus] must become greater and greater, and I must become less and
less."
John had everything in perspective, and so he was able to
humbly submit his abilities to God. He was content to do what he had
been called to do. How about you? Are you thankful for who God has
made you to be? Take your eyes off yourself and focus your energies
on making Jesus known. He must become greater and greater. [The One
Year Bible for New Believers]
God did not call me to be a rock star. He called me to
express my salvation through music. And there is a vast difference. He
made it very clear to me from the start that if I intended to follow
him, I should never expect more than having to drive eight hours to
play for ten people who don't know who I am and don't care. They
might not buy the CD, and I might have to sleep in my car that night
before getting up and doing it all over again the next day. Early on, I
knew that this was not going to be about me. So I'm trying hard to
remember that. I fail miserably at it most of the time.
Sometimes, when I start to think I'm really cool, God allows
me to trip and fall flat on my face so that I'm at eye level with
those whose feet need washing. It's humbling. And it's healthy. I
honestly look back at those times and say, "Thank you, God, for reminding
me that it's not about me.... I keep forgetting?'
I like to think of John 3:30 as my very own "gospel of
smallness." by Tara Leigh Cobble--singer, songwriter, author, and speaker--is
a fan of football, cliff jumping, and Jesus. Her CDs include
Beneath This Skin, Home Sweet Road, Things You Can't Stop with Your
Hands, and Here's to Hindsight. [The One Year Bible Live Verse
Devotional]
At the age of ten I opened my heart's door to receive Christ
as my Lord and Savior. My small-town, small-church upbringing gave
me a solid foundation about God and life, mostly focusing on what
not to do.
When I entered college, I still loved God passionately and
was dismayed by the bombardment of invitations to wild drinking
parties. Consistently declining the offers, I found it increasingly
difficult to fit in. Finally, a senior by the name of Mark Ballard knocked
on my dorm-room door. Mark introduced himself kindly, just like
everyone else, and--noticing my fishing rod--invited me to join him at a
nearby lake. I agreed, thinking, Finally someone sane who doesn't want
to party. Then Mark said, "After fishing we can stop by this party
I know is going on." Oh well.
As we drove to the lake in Mark's Ford Ranger, I suddenly
realized that Mark was witnessing to me! It took me a minute to grasp
what was happening as he shared his salvation experience. When he
asked me if I knew Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I exuberantly told him
my story, including how I knew the basics of faith but not much
more. The party turned out to be a campus outreach, where I met
believers who are good friends to this day. But the best part is this:
Mark didn't just stop there. For the next two semesters he came to my
dorm room once a week to disciple me one-on-one in a Bible study. It
was there that Mark showed me John 3:30 and how Christ must increase
and we must decrease. Even more than pointing out the words, Mark
lived them out, taking his senior year to spend time with a lowly,
lonely freshman. Thanks, Mark! by Jerod Hobbs, now twenty-eight, is a
former youth pastor and has been married for three years. [The One Year
Bible Live Verse Devotional]
When you look at a church steeple let it remind you of the
thought in this passage that He, Jesus, must increase in my life as I,
self, must decrease - just as a church steeple becomes smaller and
smaller the closer is gets to heaven. [Clayton Harmon]
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Many allow their minds to dwell upon their unworthiness as
though this was a virtue. It is a hindrance to their coming to Jesus in
full assurance of faith. They should feel their unworthiness, and
because of this--because of their sinfulness-- should feel the necessity
of coming to the Saviour, who is their worthiness and who will be
their righteousness if they repent and humble themselves. Their
unworthiness is a self-evident fact. Jesus Christ's worthiness is a sure
thing. Then let every doubting soul take hope and courage, because he
has One who is worthy to be his Saviour. His only hope of salvation
is to lay hold by faith of a worthiness which he has not but which
will be supplied by Jesus Christ our righteousness.--Manuscript 21,
Sept. 9, 1889, diary. {TDG 261.5}
If you become a necessity to a soul, you are out of God's
order. As a worker, your great responsibility is to be a friend of the
Bridegroom. When once you see a soul in sight of the claims of Jesus Christ,
you know that your influence has been in the right direction, and
instead of putting out a hand to prevent the throes, pray that they grow
ten times stronger until there is no power on earth or in hell that
can hold that soul away from Jesus Christ. Over and over again, we
become amateur providences; we come in and prevent God, and say--'This
and that must not be.' Instead of proving friends of the Bridegroom,
we put our sympathy in the way, and the soul will one day say--'That
one was a thief, he stole my affections from Jesus, and I lost my
vision of Him.'
Beware of rejoicing with a soul in the wrong thing, but see
that you do rejoice in the right thing. "The friend of the Bridegroom
. . . rejoiceth greatly because of the Bridegroom's voice: this my
joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease."
This is spoken with joy and not with sadness--at last they are to see
the Bridegroom! And John says this is his joy. It is the absolute
effacement of the worker, he is never thought of again.
Watch for all you are worth until you hear the Bridegroom's
voice in the life of another. Never mind what havoc it brings, what
upsets, what crumblings of health, rejoice with divine hilarity when
once His voice is heard. You may often see Jesus Christ wreck a life
before He saves it. (Cf. Matt. 10:34.) [My Utmost for His Highest by
Oswald Chambers]
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice
Seeking God Video Clip: http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prophecies Decoded Sermon Series:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
