John 3:31 Commentary and Bible Study

‘He that is of the earth’ – John the Baptist is referring to himself, he is contrasting himself with Christ. ‘He that of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.’ In the Greek, ‘of the earth’ occurs three times. It says, ‘He who is of the earth, he is of the earth, and of the earth he speaks.’ It is powerful, full of emphasis. John is from the earth, Christ is from heaven. John is made of earthly stuff; he is limited as a person; he is finite. And naturally he speaks like an earthling, one bound by flesh and time. He needs an inspiration of the Spirit to know that Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God. God has inspired him as a prophet to speak of Christ and to introduce him, but in all other respects he is but a man. Christ however is God from above. He is above the fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; he is above Moses, so esteemed by the Jews and rightly so. He is above the prophets, not just John the Baptist, the last of the prophets, but all the others and the great writing prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah. Christ is God who knows all things. He is above the church, the typical church and the true church. He is above time. He will close the age just as he began it. He is above creation. He is above Satan. One day he will judge Satan to everlasting destruction. He is above sin. He has conquered it, and suffered and died for the sins of all his people, and he will judge the lost. Christ is from heaven and is above all.