[Sunday, November 7, 2025] The One Sent By God | John 3:22-36

[Sunday, November 7, 2025] The One Sent By God | John 3:22-36

Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn (Hope of Heaven Baptist Chuch) 

 

2025. 11. 7. 주일예배 설교- 요한복음 강해 11
본문: 요한복음 3:22-36
제목: 하나님이 보내신 이

설교자: 손진국 목사 (하늘소망교회)

 

 

Everyone wants to be recognized. But not everyone is recognized. Some people receive recognition, and some do not. Because of that, without even realizing it, we begin to compare ourselves with the people around us. And not only with people around us, but when we see people who have achieved great success in society or are very popular, we compare ourselves with them, and often end up feeling small and insignificant. And when it feels like our place is getting smaller, we become anxious.

Among pastors, it may seem like this kind of thing would not happen, but that is not always the case. What about believers? Believers are the same.

Today’s passage also shows this kind of situation. Up until now, John the Baptist had received people’s attention and had been famous. But now, people are talking more about Jesus, and more people are following Jesus rather than John. At that time, people came to John the Baptist and said this:
[Verse 26] They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

Put simply, it means this: “Teacher, this is a big problem. The situation is serious. You are losing all the people.” Why is this such a big problem? What was the nickname and title given to John? He was called John the Baptist. That was the name given because people all came to him to be baptized. But now, people are no longer going to John the Baptist for baptism—they are instead rushing to Jesus. It is like when a car breaks down and needs repair, but instead of going to a professional mechanic, people go to a school teacher who is not a specialist in that field. From a worldly point of view, that is how it looks.

How must John the Baptist have felt? Did he become discouraged and lose heart? No. What is amazing is John the Baptist’s response to this situation. What did he answer?
[Verse 27] John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.”

Today, this confession of John the Baptist is a confession that makes us deeply reflect on and look back at our own lives once again. Through today’s passage, I want us to share together what needs to be rightly established in our lives.

 

1. He Must Become Greater

When you watch dramas or movies, many people appear. But usually, one or two are the main characters, and everyone else is a supporting character. Everyone wants to be the main character. But not everyone can be the main character. And even if someone becomes the main character, if they cannot properly carry out the role of the main character, the entire production falls apart.

We are the same. One of the biggest illusions of human beings is thinking, “I know my life best.” And so we shout, “My life belongs to me.”

But there are also words that we often shout out while living. What are they? “Why?” “Why is this happening to me?” “I really don’t understand this at all.” “This is driving me crazy.” “This is so hard.” And then, what kind of words even come out? “I want to give up everything.” Some even say, “I want to die.”

Is it only adults who are like this? No. At a church I used to serve, there was a five-year-old child who had just entered elementary school. The child was holding onto their mother and looked very discouraged, so I went up and asked, “Juyeong, what’s wrong?” And the child said, “Pastor, life is hard.”

Why is life hard for both adults and children? Because things do not turn out the way they want them to. Why does that happen? Fundamentally, it is because we do not truly know our own lives. We do not know our own roles, and we do not know what we should do, how we should do it, or why we should do it—yet we try to play the role of the main character. So it does not work. We keep making mistakes. And because things do not go the way we planned, life becomes hard. But there is something even harder than that. There is a real reason why life is hard. It is because we think that the responsibility for everything that does not work lies with us. The pressure of thinking that we must take responsibility for everything keeps pressing down on us, so we struggle, and after enduring for a long time, we eventually collapse.

What is the way to live while laying down that burden of life? It is to acknowledge that everything we are doing now, and everything we possess, has been allowed by God. We think that all of it is the result of our own effort, dedication, and wisdom. So when things go well, we become proud; and when things do not go well, we blame ourselves and fall into discouragement. From what John said in verse 27 that we read earlier, we learn the most basic and important principle of life.
[Verse 27] John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.”
He was acknowledging that even his ministry of baptizing, and the fact that people gathered to him and that he became known, did not come from himself, but were given from heaven.

When a person truly acknowledges this, they also confess that the main role in their life is not theirs.
[Verse 28] You yourselves can testify that I said, “I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.”
When John the Baptist was baptizing, people thought of him almost as if he were the Christ. But even then, what did he say to his disciples? “I am not the Christ. I am the one sent ahead of him.” Simply put, “I may look like the main character, but the real main character is the one who comes after me, and I am only the supporting character who appears first to introduce the main character.”

In verse 29, he confesses his identity as the friend of the bridegroom who participates in a wedding feast.
[Verse 29] The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.

John the Baptist knew clearly who he was and what his identity was. A person who knows their true identity is free. Instead of becoming jealous or feeling wronged when the bridegroom, the main figure of the wedding, takes the bride, he gives thanks, rejoices, and is happy as the friend of the bridegroom who rejoices together with him. The amazing declaration of freedom that comes from knowing his identity is found in verse 30.
[Verse 30] He must become greater; I must become less.

No matter how well the supporting characters perform, if the main character does not do well, the entire production fails. Why is that? Because the supporting characters appear less, but the main character appears continuously. So if the main character does well, even if the supporting characters do not perform perfectly, it is still okay. That is why John the Baptist did not collapse when people left him, and did not become discouraged when his position seemed to shrink.

Beloved saints, I pray that this same freedom and joy will overflow in your lives and in mine. As we acknowledge that everything in our lives has been allowed by God, and as we regard it as our true joy that Jesus Christ, the One sent by God, is the Lord of our lives and that He is exalted and becomes greater, I bless you to become saints who proclaim freedom every day in Christ.

[Application] Am I living believing that “my life belongs to me”? Why is it so hard for me to lay that down? When was a time in my life when I truly rejoiced as the Lord became greater?

 

2. He Speaks The Word of God

Today, we live hearing countless words every single day. Directly, we hear the words of people around us, and indirectly, we hear all kinds of worldly words through TV, computers, and smartphones. But when we listen to all those words all day long, how does our heart feel? Do we feel free, joyful, and happy? Of course, sometimes our hearts feel warm through touching stories. But how about our spirit? Do you understand the question, “How is my spirit?” As we talk about our life now, we said that the owner of our life is not ourselves, but this Jesus whom God sent—so why must it be that way? Who is the owner of the dogs or cats that we raise? Who is the owner of Deacon Park’s puppy, Coco? It is Deacon Park. The owner of animals is human. Why is that? Although God created animals, plants, and everything on this earth, He gave the authority to rule over them to us humans.
[Genesis 1:28] God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Who are “they” here? They are people whom God created in His own image, in the image of God. Humans were created by God just like these other living creatures, but there is a difference. What is that difference? It is that we have a spirit. Next year, I plan to do a Bible study on the spiritual world and the principles of spiritual discernment. I have explained this before, but what is the spirit? Simply put, the spirit is the channel through which we connect with God. The spiritual world cannot be understood by the flesh. It can only be understood by the spirit. Only a person whose spirit is alive and who can connect with God can meet God and come to know Him. A person of the flesh whose spirit is dead cannot understand the invisible spiritual world. So what did Jesus say in verse 6?
[Verse 6] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. He meant that a person who is born only of the flesh cannot enter the kingdom of God. Only a person who is born again—born again by the Spirit after being born of the flesh—can enter the kingdom of God.

Are you a person who has been born again of the Spirit? Have you been born again? Sometimes people talk about being born again as if it means a change in behavior or lifestyle. They say, “I will work hard and be born again.” That shows they do not understand what being born again means. Being born again does not mean that your words or actions change. You may change your words and actions to look like a person who is born again, but that is not being born again. Being born again means being born from above. It means being born by God and through God. It is not something that happens because I try harder or work diligently. Being born has nothing to do with one’s effort, diligence, or will. Think about the time when you were born. Were you born because of your will and effort? No. Were you born because you tried hard? No. After being born and growing up, you simply discover whose son or daughter you are. It is the same with being born again. Our being born again is entirely by God’s choosing, and it is all God’s grace. It is not by our will, effort, or diligence. The confession, “I have been born again,” is the confession, “God chose me and made me His child. I have received God’s amazing grace. It is all God’s love.”

How do we know that we have been born again? We know by seeing that the Holy Spirit has come upon us. Then how can we know that the Holy Spirit has come? The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. So when the Holy Spirit works, we begin to want to know God more, to meet Him, and to long for Christ the Word of God. We become curious about God’s Word and want to know its meaning and purpose. Furthermore, we desire to know God’s plan for us, since He is our Lord. Even these thoughts and desires are the work of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. And when we hear the Word, the fact that it is received into our hearts is also the work of the Holy Spirit. As we carry out ministry, the gifts of the Holy Spirit appear, and in our character the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—are borne.

In today’s passage, a representative characteristic of those who are born again also appears. It is that they listen to the words of the One whom God has sent. On the other hand, Jesus says that those who belong to the earth, who are not born again, cannot listen to the Word.
[Verses 31–33] The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.

We are not people who live listening to the words of those who belong to the earth. Remember that we are people who belong to heaven, who listen to the words of the One who comes from above—the Christ whom God has sent—receive that Word, and live according to that Word.

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

Those who are born again, those who belong to heaven, respond in their spirit not to human words but to the Word of God. The words of this world make our spirit weary. Since the spirit is the channel through which we meet God, spiritual joy springs up when we hear the Word of God. When we respond to the Word, that Word comes alive and works in our life, and we experience amazing spiritual transformation where even our thoughts, words, actions, and character are changed.
[Hebrews 4:12] For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

May all of you today experience the living and working God who is with us through His Word, and may you all become saints who are transformed.

[Application] What words am I holding on to and living by these days? Have I experienced my life being changed through the Word of God?

 

3. Whoever Believes in the Son has Eternal Life

[Verse 36] Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Who is the Son here? It is Jesus, the One whom God has sent. It says that whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life. “Jesus” is the name given when the Word, who is God, came to this earth in a human body. So the same expression as in verse 36 appears in John 1:12.
[John 1:12] Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
To believe in the Son means to receive the Son, and to believe and accept Jesus as one’s own God, Savior, and the Lord of one’s life. To such a person, God gives eternal life and accepts them as His child.

In the phrase “whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” in verse 36, the word “has” comes from the Greek word “echei (ἔχει),” which is a present tense verb—has in English. It means that one possesses eternal life. To possess eternal life means that God is with that person. When? Only in the future after dying and going to heaven? Not only then, but even right now, at this very moment of life on this earth, God is with them.

Therefore, a person who has been born again by the grace of God has eternal life and God is with them, so even the life they live now has meaning. Even if they weep now, they have hope, and even if they fail now, they can begin again.

A life without faith says, “Let’s just somehow endure,” but a life with faith says, “God is with me.” Today as well, may all of you, believing that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to this earth to give us life, who died on the cross to atone for our sins, and who conquered sin and death through His resurrection, is the One whom God has sent—may you look to Him who is with us and enjoy eternal life with joy and hope, in the name of the Lord.

[Application] Am I living with the mindset of “Let’s just somehow endure,” or am I living with the faith that “God is with me”?

 

 

하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.

Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.