The One whom God has Sent

John 3:34

³⁴ For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.

v34 contains the Father (God), the Son (the Words of God), and the Holy Spirit (the Spirit) [2].

I. The One whom God has Sent

See v34a.

For the one whom God has sent

Baptist John

Baptist John was a man sent from God (John 1:6).

Jesus

The Gospel of John mentions 39 times that Jesus was sent from God (John 3:17, John 3:34, John 4:34, John 5:23–24, John 5:30, John 5:36–38, John 6:29, John 6:38–39, John 6:44, John 6:57, John 7:16, John 7:29, John 8:16, John 8:18, John 8:26, John 8:29, John 8:42, John 9:4, John 10:36, John 11:42, John 12:44–45, John 12:49, John 13:16, John 13:20, John 14:24, John 15:21, John 16:5, John 17:3, John 17:18, John 17:21, John 17:23, John 17:25, John 20:21)  [3].

“This affirms Jesus’ deity and heavenly origin, as well as God’s sovereignty and love in initiating the Son’s Incarnation (cf. Galatians 4:4, 1 John 4:9–10, 14).” [3]

II. He Speaks the Words of God

He did not speak on his own but the words of God.

Jesus said in John 12:49,

⁴⁹ For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.

Similarly, Jesus did only what he sees his Father doing (John 5:19).

¹⁹ Jesus gave them this answer: ‘Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

III. God Gives the Spirit Without Limit

See v34c.

For God gives the Spirit without limit.

“The Jewish teachers taught that the different prophets had received various measures of the Spirit according to the demands of their assigned tasks. For example, Rabbi Aha said that the Spirit worked in each prophet according to the measure of each prophet’s task assigned by God. This was true also of the Baptist, but not of Jesus, to whom God gave the Spirit in fullness or without limitations (cf. Colossians 1:19, Colossians 2:9).” [4].

Colossians 1:19

¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,

Colossians 2:9

⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.

The words of Jesus contain full of the Spirit and life

See John 6:63.

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.

References

[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Anglicised Edition, 2011), Revised and updated edition. (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2011).

[2] Kenneth O. Gangel, John, vol. 4, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 60.

[3] Edwin A. Blum, “John,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 283.

[4] Beauford H. Bryant and Mark S. Krause, John, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co., 1998), Jn 3:34.