THE KING’S BUSINESS
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tue of His miraculous conception (Luke 1 :35) ; by reason of His pre existence and sanctification and send ing into the world to be Prophet, Priest and King (John 10:34-36) ; be cause He was appointed heir of all things and was the effulgence of the Father’s glory and the very image of His substance and the object of wor ship of the entire angelic world (Heb. 1 :2-13) ; by the impartation to Him from the Father of the Divine essence and nature (John 1 :14); and because in Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9). He was clearly shown to be “the Son of God” •by the resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1 :4). The title “Son of God” which John the Baptist here uses had been conferred upon Jesus by the Fa ther at His baptism by John the Bap tist, at the very time when John saw the Spirit descending upon Him and biding upon Him (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1 :9;.Luke 3 :22). The variations be tween John’s description here and the accounts of the other three evangel ists are very suggestive and prove both the independence and truthful ness of all the accounts. The minute particularity and exactness of John’s narrative here given, noting time and place and look, show that we have here a record of an eye witness and is one of the many evidences that John is indeed the author of the Fourth Gospel. That John the Baptist’s faith, so clear and full here, became clouded at a later day, when he was shut up in prison (Matt. 11:2, 3), is not to be wondered at. Superficial critics see a contradiction here, but there is none. The two pictures are true to life and to human nature and clearly show the work of true, faithful and accurate historians. The stories can not be fictitious, for they would never have been made up in this way.
setting forth the thorough - going character of His cleansing work; water purifies outwardly; fire purifies inwardly and thoroughly. V. 34. "And I saw (rather, have seen), and bare record (rather, have borne witness) that this is the Son of God.” Here is the climax of John the Baptist’s testimony; step by step he has led us on until he brings us face to face with the fact of the Deity of Jesus Christ. He sets forth the truth that our Lord Jesus was not merely a Son of God, but "the Son of God.” This was the One of whom Jehovah had said, “Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee” (Psa. 2 :7). Why John the Evangelist introduces this testimony at this time is evident if we consider John’s own definition of his purpose in writing the Gospel, as given in John 20:31. “These are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in His name.” John the Evangelist seeks to bring others to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, by de scribing the development of his own faith which was founded upon un questionable facts. Here again the critics and skeptics would have us be lieve that John the Baptist could not have uttered these words, but that they were put into his mouth years afterward by John the Evangelist. But as John the Baptist himself tells us that he had had a direct revelation from God, who knows all things, re garding Jesus, there will be no diffi culty here to any one who has any measure of spiritual discernment. John the Baptist had been told direct ly by God who sent him how to tell the Messiah, the Lamb of God, the Son of God, when He came. Jesus Christ was the Son of God; by vir
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