Oh, the Lord helping me this
evening. The scripture that I'll bring to your attention is found
in the chapter that we read, John chapter 3 and verse 27. John 3 verse 27. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from heaven. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from heaven. These are the words of John the
Baptist. John answered and said, a man
can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. Now
John the Baptist was the greatest among them that are born of women
and more than a prophet, Jesus said. Hear the testimony of the
Lord Jesus Christ as recorded by Matthew. In Matthew chapter
11, Verse 8. But what went ye out
for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing
are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see?
A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more
than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,
Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare
thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, among
them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than
John the Baptist. Notwithstanding, he that is least
in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of
John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence,
and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the
law prophesied until John and if ye will receive it, this is
Elias which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear." The appearing of John the Baptist brought an end to
the legal dispensation and it brought the beginning of the
gospel dispensation for all the prophets and the law prophesied
until John And so we read at the commencement of Mark's Gospel,
the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
as it is written in the Prophets, John did baptize in the wilderness
and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And they went out unto him all
the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized
of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. And John
was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about
his loins, and he did eat locusts and wild honey, and preached,
saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me. the latchet of whose shoes I
am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptised
you with water, but he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost. As we ponder these words of our
text, the words of John the Baptist this evening, a man can receive
nothing except it be given him from heaven. We should consider
three things. Firstly, the occasion on which
these words were spoken. Secondly, of whom these words
were spoken, and then thirdly, of what these words speak, or
the general principle of which these words speak. So firstly
then, let us consider the occasion on which these words were spoken. We see the occasion on which
these words were spoken from the context, reading from verse
23, And John also was baptizing in Enon near to Salem, because
there was much water there. And they came and were baptized,
for John was not yet cast into prison. Then there arose a question
among some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.
And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that
was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness,
behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered
and said, A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. The disciples of John had come
to him with a complaint. And they came unto John, and
said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan,
to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptiseth, and
all men come to him. They were envious of Christ and
they were very jealous for their master. Rabbi, they called John. Rabbi. Oh, but see how they refer
to the Lord Jesus. He that was with thee. He that
was with thee. They dignify him with no title
at all. They do not even refer to him
by name. Are there not many in our day
who would honor the Lord's servants, but do not honor Christ? There
are those who call their ministers reverend, but the Scripture says
holy and reverend is His name. Rabbi, He that was with thee
beyond Jordan They regarded the Lord Jesus Christ as but one
of John's disciples. He was one that was with John.
In their jealousy for their master, they seek to assert John's superiority
over the Lord Jesus. To whom thou bearest witness.
John bore witness to the Lord Jesus Christ, and these disciples
of John had heard their testimony. We have that testimony, John's
testimony, there in chapter 1 of John's Gospel. John chapter 1
verse 26, John answered them saying, I baptize with water,
but there standeth one among you whom ye know not. He it is
who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoes latch
it I am not worthy to unloose. Then verse 29 he says, The next
day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he
of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before
me. For he was before me, and I knew him not, but that he should
be made manifest to Israel. Therefore am I come baptising
with water. And John bare record. saying,
I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove had it abode
upon him. And I knew him not, but he that
sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom
thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same
is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear
record that this is the Son of God, Many of John's disciples heard
these things, but they understood not with their heart, neither
were they converted." They seem to attribute Christ's
success to their master's approbation of him. Was it not he that came
to John? Was it not he who was baptized
by their master? Ah, but now look! Behold, the
same baptizeth, and all men come to him." This was their complaint. The same baptizeth. As if it
were John's prerogative only to baptize. And all men come
to him. And all men come to him. And
we note, of course, as many times in the Scriptures, all men does
not mean every single man, woman and child that's ever been born.
as the Arminian would say. No. All men come to Him. That
is, many men of all sorts and classes and conditions are flocking
to Him. This is their complaint. They
were moved with envy against Christ. And they were very jealous
for their own master and for their own sect. Now is there
not a warning here? John the Baptist was a good man.
He was a preacher of righteousness. He preached Christ. Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. And he
preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. But
there were those who adhered to him and to his preaching,
and yet there was no attachment to Christ. No attachment to Christ. How we need to beware of a mere
adherence to a sect, or a denomination, or a particular minister, whether
past or present, without any attachment, without any cleaving
to the Lord Jesus Christ by a true and living faith. How we need
to beware of imagining that there are no Christians, that there
are no subjects of divine grace, that there is no gracious work
of the Holy Spirit outside of our own church, or our own denomination. Now I say these things as a convinced,
strict and particular Baptist. I was not always a strict and
particular Baptist. The Lord brought me to it, and to the
position, I believe it with my whole heart, I believe that the doctrine,
the doctrines and the practice of the strict and particular
Baptist is all together after the teaching and pattern of the
New Testament. But we are not to imagine that
there are no Christians, no subjects of divine grace, no work of the
Holy Spirit, but amongst the strict and particular Baptists.
Remember when the Apostle John complained to Jesus in Luke chapter
9 verse 49 we read and John answered
and said master we saw one casting out devils in thy name and we
forbade him because he followeth not with us and Jesus said unto
him forbid him not for he that is not against us is for us how
we ought to strive for that true catholic spirit J.C. Ryle, an Anglican, said, I like
that hymn of Joseph Hartz. We often sing it. When is it Christians all agree,
and let distinctions fall, when nothing in themselves they see
that Christ is all in all? But strife and difference will
subsist, while men will something seem. Let them but singly look
to Christ, and all are one in Him." Well, this was the occasion
on which the words of our text were spoken, it was upon the
envious complaint of the disciples of John. And they came unto John
and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan,
to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and
all men come to him. John answered and said, A man
can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Let
us go on then in the second place to consider the words themselves
and of whom these words were spoken. A man can receive nothing
except it be given him from heaven. There are three possibilities.
These words were either spoken of John's disciples, or of John
himself, or of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now Bible commentators
are divided. as to whom these words are to
be applied. Dr Lightfoot and others apply
these words to John's disciples. Chris Ostom applies them to Christ,
as does Matthew Paul, the Puritan. Calvin follows Augustine in applying
them to John the Baptist. Matthew Henry and John Gill both
apply them to John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ. Well,
I'm going to suggest that they can be applied to all three.
Firstly, these words may be applied to the disciples of John the
Baptist. It's evident that the disciples
of John had not received John's testimony concerning Christ.
And so he declares, a man can receive nothing except it be
given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness
that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. There were many who heard the
words of John the Baptist, but his words went only as far as
their ears and no further. In John chapter 1 we read of
only two who turned and followed Christ at the preaching of John
the Baptist. They're in the first chapter,
verse 35, and again the next day after John's after john stood
and two of his disciples and looking upon jesus so and again
the next day after john stood and two of his disciples and
looking upon jesus as he walked he saith behold the lamb of god
and the two disciples heard him speak and they followed jesus Why then did not those who now
spoke to John not follow Jesus? They too had heard John's testimony
concerning Christ. Well, here is the reason. A man
can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. Did
we not read Christ's own declaration in verse 3 of this chapter? The
Lord's words to Nicodemus, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Or as
the margin has it, except a man be born from above, he cannot
see the kingdom of God. When Simon Peter confessed the
Lord Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the Living God, you
remember how Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou,
Simon Barjola, for flesh and blood have not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And so it is today. There are many who sit under
a faithful gospel ministry, and yet they remain in an unconverted
state. Oh, they may be very dedicated
to the cause and to the minister, diligent in their attendance
upon the ministry of the Word, but without the quickening grace
of God the Holy Ghost, without the sovereign operation of the
Holy Spirit upon their souls, there can be no real spiritual
understanding and no true following after Christ. No man can say
that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. And so these
words of John the Baptist may be applied to those disciples
of John who heard the preaching with the outward ear but received
it not into their hearts. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from heaven. Secondly, these words may be
applied to John the Baptist himself His disciples had sought to elevate
him. But he humbles himself and he
exalts Christ. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from heaven. All that John had declared he
had received from heaven. It was God who had sent him to
baptize. It was God who had put him into
the prophetic office. That which he had prophesied
He had received by revelation. His preaching of Christ was by
revelation. And John bear record, saying,
I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode
upon him. And I knew him not, but he that
sent me to baptize with water. The same said unto me, upon whom
thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him. The same
is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." His preaching of Christ was by
revelation. It was revealed to him that this
is the Son of God. And so he preached. He had received
his ministry from God and he would not glory as if he had
not received it. The ministry and success in the
ministry is God's gift to bestow sovereignly as He will. It's
God's work. It's God's work. And if John's
ministry must diminish, then so be it. I must decrease, he
says. In verse 30. I must decrease. He is wholly resigned to the
will of God. A man can receive nothing. except
it be given him from heaven. John's disciples wanted to see
him elevated, they wanted to see him made great, they wanted
to see him successful. They were offended at the decline
of his ministry, but he says a man can receive nothing except
to be given him from heaven. Oh, we would like to see our
minister successful, wouldn't we? We would like to see conversions
under the ministry of the word in this place, wouldn't we? Well,
perhaps we all need to learn this lesson. A man can receive
nothing except to be given him from heaven. And besides, success
is not to be measured in terms of numbers, but rather in terms
of faithfulness and humility. He must increase, but I must
decrease. What a lesson in humility there
is here in the example of John the Baptist. Surely ministers
are here taught to rejoice in another minister's success, even
when their own ministry appears to be in decline. There's probably
nothing more unbecoming in a gospel minister than ministerial jealousy,
to be jealous of another man's or another servant's apparent
success in the labors in the gospel. or to be jealous of another
man's gifts. A man can receive nothing except
to be given him from heaven. And we are, each one of us, whether
ministers or not, we are each one of us here taught not to
exalt ourselves but to be content with the place which God has
assigned to us in his providence. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from heaven. Here is the antidote against
pride and envy and selfish ambition. These words of John the Baptist
then may be applied to the Baptist himself. But thirdly they may
be applied to the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice the alternative rendering
of these words in the margin. A man can take unto himself nothing
except it be given him from heaven. In Hebrews 5 and verse 4, we
read concerning the office of the high priest. And no man taketh
this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as
was Aaron. Then Paul goes on to say, doesn't he, so also Christ
glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but he that said
unto him, thou art my son, today have I begotten thee. As he saith
also in another place, thou art a priest forever, after the order
of Melchizedek. the Lord Jesus Christ as the
mediator, the man Christ Jesus. He received gifts for men. He
was given the office of High Priest. The Lord hath sworn and
will not repent thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. He was made a prophet to his
people too for he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God
for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. and he has
received a kingdom. The Father loveth the Son, and
hath given all things into his hand. He is the head over all
things to the church. All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth, he said, after he rose from the dead.
And you know, a bride has been given to him. He that hath the
bride is the bridegroom. John's disciples had complained
that all men were flocking to Christ well yes says John he
that hath the bride is the bridegroom he tells them that he was but
the friend of the bridegroom he that hath the bride is the
bridegroom but the friend of the bridegroom which standeth
and heareth him rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice
this my joy therefore is fulfilled he must increase but I must decrease
He had, as it were, prepared the way for the bridegroom. He had helped the bride to get
herself ready for his arrival. And now the groom had arrived,
he would give place to him. And of course, all true gospel
ministers are the friends of Christ and helpers to the Church.
Their work is to help the bride to prepare for that great day.
when Christ the heavenly bridegroom shall come again to take his
espoused bride home to be with him where he is." This was Paul's
great concern, wasn't it? For I am jealous over you with
godly jealousy for I have espoused you to one husband that I may
present you as a chaste virgin to Christ, he says, writing to
the Corinthians. And if any man seeks to take
the bride away from Christ, to take her to himself, and takes
to himself the offices of prophet, priest and king, well then that
man is surely guilty of spiritual whoredom, and is none other than
that very Antichrist. And that professed church which
cleaves to another acknowledging another to be her head, other
than Christ, is manifestly the very whore of Babylon. You know, the Apostle John wrote
of one of the forerunners of Antichrist in his third epistle,
Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence. That could be a description of
the papacy, couldn't it? The Pope of Rome who loveth to
have the preeminence. John the Baptist was of an altogether
different spirit. He must increase but I must decrease. Christ must have the preeminence.
He is the head of the church and there is none other. The
bride belongs to Christ. The bride is that people which
was given by the Father to the Son before the world began. They
are Christ's by donation. the donation of the Father to
the Son in the eternal covenant of grace. This is an arranged
marriage. Furthermore, they are Christ's
by purchase. He shed his blood that he might
have them. And they are his, for they are quickened together
with him, and they are indwelt by the Spirit of Christ. Now
if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. all who come to the Lord Jesus
Christ come to him because they are given to him all that the
Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out and all who come to Christ come
to him because it is given to them to do so And he said, Therefore
said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were
given unto him of my father. The disciples of John the Baptist
bring this complaint then against the Lord Jesus. All men come
to him. But we see in John's reply words
which may be applied to the Lord Jesus Christ and to all those
who do come to him. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from heaven." Well, we've considered the occasion
on which these words were spoken, and of whom these words speak.
Let us go on to considering the third place, finally, of what
these words speak. Of what these words speak. These
words speak of a general principle. And it is a general principle
that John takes and applies to the then present situation. A
man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven.
And surely it is a general principle which we may take and usefully
apply to ourselves. We must always bear in mind that
whatever we have we have received. Whatever we have, we have received.
life itself is God's gift we receive it from Him for thou has possessed my reins
thou has covered me in my mother's womb it is He the Lord our God
who keeps us living for in Him we live and move and have our
being the psalmist speaks of God which holdeth our soul in
life and all that we enjoy in life
comes from our God every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above and cometh down from the father of lights with whom
is no variableness neither shadow of turning spiritual life comes
from God James continues there in his epistle, "...of his own
will begat he us with the word of truth." Our natural lives come from God,
our spiritual life comes from God. The reconciliation of any
sinner to a holy God is of God Himself. And all things are of
God. who hath reconciled us to himself
by Jesus Christ." Salvation! Salvation, which is a deliverance
from the power and from the penalty of sin, is of God. As Jonah says, salvation is of
the Lord. And every part of salvation,
all the things that accompany salvation, are of God. Things
such as faith, for by grace are ye saved through faith, and that
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Things such as repentance,
Him, that is the Lord Jesus Christ, have God exalted with His right
hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel
and forgiveness of sins. And of course the Gentiles are
not excluded, because we read later in the book of Acts, then
have God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. And persecutions too, for Christ's
sake, are of God. For unto you it is given in the
behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer
for his sake." Note the words, unto you it is given in the behalf
of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for
his sake. All the gifts and graces with
which any believer is endued are bestowed, they are not of
themselves, but they are of God. Every gift, every grace is bestowed. Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter
12 says, Now there are diversities
of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are diversities of
administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities
of operations, but it is the same Spirit which worketh all
in all. But the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. All those who are grafted into
the body of Christ, that is the Gospel Church, are grafted in
by God. As Paul says again in 1 Corinthians
12, But now hath God set the members, every one of them, in
the body, as it hath pleased Him. And through each individual
and particular member, particular duties and responsibilities are
given. we each have our place if we are members of his church
and we all have a work assigned to us to do, every one of us
who are Christ's Romans chapter 12 verse 4 for
as we have many members in one body and all members have not
the same office so we being many on one body in Christ and everyone
members one of another having them gifts differing according
to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us
prophesy according to the proportion of faith, or ministry, let us
wait on our ministering, or he that teacheth on teaching, or
he that exhorteth on exhortation, he that giveth, let him do it
with simplicity, he that ruleth with diligence, he that showeth
mercy with cheerfulness, and so on. all the members you see are given
a place in the body and they are given graces and gifts for
the edification of the body this is how a true church works this then is a universal truth
a man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven it
could be equally applied to the godly and to the ungodly mark
you the righteous and the unrighteous, to the church and to the world,
to the kingdom of God and of grace and to the realm of nature. A man can receive nothing except
to be given him from heaven. You know the most powerful men
on earth have no power at all but that which is given them
by God. Pontius Pilate boasted of his
power didn't he before the Lord Jesus then saith Pilate unto
him speakest thou not unto me knowest thou not that I have
power to crucify thee and have power to release thee Jesus answered
thou couldest have no power at all against me except it were
given thee from above And we read of how Pilate sought to
release Jesus, but he was not able to do so. Why not? Because
it was according to the divine purpose that the Lord Jesus Christ
should be delivered up to be crucified, to be slain for the
salvation of his people. Pilate could not release him.
He did not have the power to release him because it was not given to him
from above. None of us have anything in providence
or in grace which we did not receive. For whom maketh he to
differ from another, and what hast thou that thou didst not
receive?" Paul asked the Corinthians. The right understanding and the
knowledge of this principle in our hearts and minds will be
an antidote, I believe. an antidote against peevishness
and pride and selfish ambition. The knowledge of this truth in
our hearts and in our minds will serve to dampen down pride and
all the accompanying and associated sins of hatred, variance, emulations,
wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, and so on. remember Paul's word to the Corinthians
that no one of you be puffed up for one against another for
who maketh he to differ from another and what hast thou that
thou didst not receive now if thou didst receive it why dost
thou glory as if thou hadst not received it perhaps some might feel their
lack in spiritual things You need grace. You need faith. You cannot, of your own self,
repent. You need the Lord to work that
repentance in you. You want that peace with God,
that reconciliation with Him. You want the forgiveness of your
many sins, and you need to know that all your sins are forgiven
you for Christ's sake. You want to know that His righteousness
is imputed to you. that your nakedness might be
covered, that you might not be ashamed on the day of judgment. You want to know that Christ
is yours and that you are his. Or you want to be made wise,
wise unto salvation. Well, a man can receive nothing
except it be given him from heaven. Now if that be the case, if you
feel your need of these things, then you must ask the God of
heaven for them. If any of you lack wisdom, let
him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth
not, and it shall be given him." That's the promise. That's the
promise. Has not the Lord Jesus Christ
himself promised in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7 verse
7 ask and it shall be given you seek and ye shall find knock
and it shall be opened unto you for everyone that asketh receiveth
and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall
be opened all the rich and precious promises
of the covenant of grace are contained in the promise of the
Lord Jesus Christ to those who ask, how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?
I say all the rich and precious promises of the covenant of grace
are contained in that promise. Shall not the Father give the
Holy Spirit to them that ask him. I'm reminded of the words of
John in the next chapter, in John chapter 4. The words of
John the Apostle, that is. The words of the Lord Jesus Christ,
they're in John 4, verse 10. Speaking to the woman of Samaria,
Jesus answered and said unto her, if thou knewest the gift
of God, And who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink, thou
wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living
water. Mark the words, thou wouldest
have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. And so we have it there in the
Sermon on the Mount, for everyone that asketh, receive him. What a motive there is here then
in this divine truth to ask and to seek and to knock to come
in all our great need as sinners onto the throne of grace that
we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Surely as we do so, We will find
the inspired promise of the Apostle true. But my God shall supply
all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Yes, the Lord our God, he loves
to give. For God loveth a cheerful giver. The scripture says God loves
a cheerful giver because that is how he himself gives. He delights
to give. He giveth to all men liberally." May the Lord then give us grace
simply to ask and we shall find that we shall simply receive
every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. God will
grant us the gift, the best of donations, the gift of the Holy
Ghost if we but ask. The Lord bless his word to us
each then, a man can receive nothing. A man can receive nothing. How
awful it would be, wouldn't it, if the words of our text ended
there. A man can receive nothing. But no, read on. A man can receive
nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Amen.