Verse 34
For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for he giveth not the Spirit by measure.
John 3:32, above, was a statement that what John the Baptist had seen and heard was that of which the herald had borne witness; but the words were equally applicable to Jesus Christ and his message; and here the same declaration is made in such a manner as to show that Jesus is the one named.
He giveth not the Spirit by measure ... The descent of the dove alighting and remaining on Jesus (John 1:33) is in view here, leading to the conclusion that it was a measureless gift of the Spirit received by Jesus, and the inevitable corollary that Jesus spoke the true words of God. These words further indicate that Jesus was in full possession of God's Spirit, not merely in some manifestation of it, or some portion of it, but to the fullest and total extent. Jesus said to the disciples that "The Holy Spirit abideth with you, and shall be in you," a clear reference to himself as being the perfect embodiment of the Spirit. On the other hand, Christian disciples receive merely "an earnest" of the Holy Spirit, and not even the apostles possessed the Spirit in the total sense that Jesus did.
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