John 3:15-35

¹⁵so that all who believe in him may have eternal life.

¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

¹⁷For God did not send the Son into the world in order to condemn the world, but in order to save the world through him.

¹⁸He who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is already condemned because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

¹⁹This is the reason for the judgment: The light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.

²⁰For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, so that his deeds will not be exposed.

²¹However, he who practices the truth comes to the light so that it may be plainly seen that his deeds have been done in God.”

²²After this, Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea. There he spent some time with them and baptized.

²³Now John was also baptizing in Aenon near to Salim because there was much water there. People were coming to him and were being baptized,

²⁴for John had not yet been thrown in prison.

²⁵Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and a Jew about ceremonial washing.

²⁶They went to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, about whom you have testified, look, he is baptizing, and they are all going to him.”

²⁷John replied, “A man cannot receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven.

²⁸You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but instead, 'I have been sent before him.'

²⁹The bride belongs to the bridegroom. Now the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the voice of the bridegroom. This, then, is my joy made complete.

³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease.

³¹He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth is from the earth and speaks about the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.

³²He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.

³³He who has received his testimony has confirmed that God is true.

³⁴For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God. For he does not give the Spirit by measure.

³⁵The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.