John 3:27–36

²⁷John answered, “People can’t receive anything unless it has been given to them from heaven. ²⁸You are witnesses that I said, ‘I’m not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of him.’ 

²⁹“The groom is the person to whom the bride belongs. The best man, who stands and listens to him, is overjoyed when the groom speaks. This is the joy that I feel. ³⁰He must increase in importance, while I must decrease in importance. 

³¹“The person who comes from above is superior to everyone. I, a person from the earth, know nothing but what is on earth, and that’s all I can talk about. The person who comes from heaven is superior to everyone ³²and tells what he has seen and heard. Yet, no one accepts what he says. ³³I have accepted what that person said, and I have affirmed that God is truthful. ³⁴The man whom God has sent speaks God’s message. After all, God gives him the Spirit without limit. ³⁵The Father loves his Son and has put everything in his power. ³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, he will see God’s constant anger.”