Along with this he also somewhat reassures them by the fact that the one overcoming them is not a man, but God. "And we too," he says, "what we had, we had not from ourselves, but from heaven. If the works of Christ are more glorious, then one should not be surprised, for such is the will of God."
Jn. 3:28. You are my witnesses that I said: I am not the Christ, but I am sent before Him.
"You yourselves," he says, "know that I testified about Him that He is greater than me." So then, if you fully accept my testimony, then know that He is more honorable than me, and my joy consists in everyone coming to Him.
Jn. 3:29. He who has the bride is the bridegroom,
If the Bride, that is, the people, were not coming to this Bridegroom, then I, the friend of the bridegroom, would grieve; but now that this has happened, I rejoice greatly, for I see that the Bridegroom — Christ — calls out to the bride — the people — and teaches them.
The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices with joy upon hearing the voice of the bridegroom.
Not without purpose did he say "standing," but by this he shows that his work is finished and he stands already without activity, and that he finally needs to stand and only listen to the teaching of Christ and His conversation with the bride.
This joy of mine has been fulfilled.
"My joy," he says, "has been fulfilled in the Bridegroom." The task entrusted to me as the friend of the bridegroom, I see, has succeeded.
So, the Lord is the bridegroom of every soul; the bridal chamber in which the union takes place is the place of baptism, that is, the church; He gives the bride a pledge — the forgiveness of sins, the communion of the Holy Spirit, and the rest in the age to come, when He will lead those who are worthy into better and higher mysteries. Note, then, that the bridegroom is none other than Christ alone, while all teachers are friends of the bridegroom, as was the Forerunner. For the giver of blessings is none other than the Lord alone; all the rest are mediators and ministers of the blessings bestowed by the Lord.
Jn. 3:30. He must increase, but I must decrease.
"My work," he says, "is finished, and I have handed the people over to Him. Therefore my glory must decrease, while His must increase." How then does the Forerunner's glory decrease? Just as the morning star is obscured by the sun and it seems to many that its light has been extinguished, though in reality it has not been extinguished but is obscured by a greater light; so, without a doubt, the morning star of the Forerunner is covered by the noetic Sun, and therefore he is said to decrease. But Christ increases, because in a short time He makes Himself known through miracles. He does not increase by way of progress in virtue. Away with such a thought! It is the idle talk of Nestorius. Rather, He increases in terms of the manifestation and revelation of His Divinity; for little by little, and not all at once, does He declare that He is God.
Jn. 3:31. He that cometh from above is above all; and he that is of the earth is earthly and speaks as one who is of the earth; He that cometh from heaven is above all,
The Forerunner compares himself with Christ and says that He comes "from above," from the Father, and is "above all," surpassing all and preserving the supremacy of the Father, while I, being of the earth, speak earthly things, imperfect and lowly in comparison with the teaching of Christ. Although the teaching of the Forerunner himself was also divine, in comparison with the teaching of Christ it contains much that is earthly.
Jn. 3:32. And what He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony.
He says that He saw and heard, that is, He speaks and testifies about what He heard from the Father and what He saw, that is, what He knows with precision. But no one among those who do not heed the truth accepts His testimony.
When you hear that Christ speaks what He heard from the Father, do not think that He has need to learn knowledge from the Father, but since everything the Son knows by nature He has from the Father, as being consubstantial with Him, it is said that He heard from the Father what He knows. This is similar to how you, having seen a son who resembles his father in everything, say that he has everything from his father, that is, he turned out to resemble no one else but his father.
Jn. 3:33. He who has received His testimony has certified by this that God is true,
And whoever received His witness, that is, His teaching, that one has set his seal, that is, has shown, has confirmed, that God is true. For whoever believes in the one sent from God believes God, and by this he sets his seal and proves that he believed Him, because He is true. And conversely, whoever does not believe in the one sent from God shows that He is a liar, and for this reason did not believe Him, because He is a liar (Rom. 1:25; 1 John 5:10). Therefore, whoever believes in Christ, by the very fact that he believed in the one sent from God, shows that God is true. For it is evident that he believed Him because He is true.
Jn. 3:34. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
And rightly so. "For all others," he says, "received the power of the Spirit by measure, but to Christ Himself He gave not by measure some one or two powers, but He essentially possesses the entire Spirit." Thus, to the prophets God both gives the Spirit, that is, the power of the Spirit, and gives it by measure; but to Christ He does not give either by measure or without measure, for Christ possesses Him essentially.
Hearing that He was "sent," understand it thus: that He was sent from the Father, as a ray from the sun. Do we not say: "the sun sent forth rays" and "the sun let forth light," that is, sent it upon the earth? Yet we do not say that the ray is of a different essence or later than the sun. So also the Son was sent into the world from the noetic Sun and Father, as a radiance, as a ray, as light — and call Him whatever you wish, insofar as it is fitting.
It is not untimely to speak here, since the discussion has turned to how the Son has the Spirit and in what sense the Spirit is called the Son's. The Apostle says: "God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out: 'Abba, Father!'" (Gal. 4:6), and in another place: "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Rom. 8:9). The Latins, poorly receiving and understanding these words, say that the Spirit proceeds from the Son. We shall say to them, first, that it is one thing to be from someone and another thing to be someone's. That the Spirit is the Spirit of the Son is not subject to doubt and is confirmed by all of Scripture; but that He is from the Son, no Scripture testifies, lest we introduce two causes of the Spirit, namely the Father and the Son.
Thus, they say: "But He breathed on the disciples and said: 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" (John 20:22). What a false understanding! If He gave the Spirit to the disciples when He breathed on them, then how did He tell them that in a few days after this you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you (Acts 1:5, 8)? Or why do we believe that the descent of the Spirit took place at Pentecost, if He gave Him on the evening of the day of His resurrection? For it was then that He breathed. But this is very laughable. Evidently, He did not give them the Holy Spirit then, but one of the gifts of the Spirit, namely the forgiveness of sins. For He immediately adds: "Whose sins you forgive" (John 20:23). And the Son possesses the Spirit essentially, as consubstantial with Him, and not as one moved to action by Him. For the prophets are moved to action. And He is called the Spirit of the Son because the Son is truth and power and wisdom, and the Holy Spirit is described by Isaiah as the Spirit of truth and power and wisdom (Isaiah 11:2). He is called the Spirit of the Son in another sense as well, namely that He is bestowed upon people through the Son. You believe that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and is bestowed upon creation through the Son, and this will be for you a rule of Orthodoxy.
Jn. 3:35. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.