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NASB | John 3:34 "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 3:34 "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God [proclaiming the Father's own message]; for God gives the [gift of the] Spirit without measure [generously and boundlessly]! [Deut 18:18] |
Bible Question:
Reference #124161. John 3:34, KJ, "For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him." John 3:34, NKJ, "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure." What total do you interpret by capitalization for the nouns and pronouns of Deity for this verse? 4,5, or 6? From the heart, Ray |
Bible Answer: The question seems to have an extensive background, being linked to #124161, etc. However, I take it as relating to the context of John 3. I take it that you are asking to whom or to what the word “Spirit” (or “spirit”) is referring when the word says “He whom God has sent speaks the words of God: for God gives not the Spirit by measure unto him”. As you have noted elsewhere, the original language does not differentiate between words by means of capitalization. It seems to me then that capitalization infers interpretation. In other words, the translators use capital letters to indicate when they believe the word refers to a person. That is when they use the convention in the English language that the name of a person starts with a capital letter. Therefore it is not in the form of the word but from the context that we gather the meaning. The context is the passage itself and the entire word of God. It should be clear that the person giving the Spirit is the Father, since it is he who sent the son. That idea is all over the Gospel of John. The Father had sent John the Baptist, he had sent Jesus into the world, and he had sent the Holy Spirit to Jesus. Jesus is God, but the word “God” often refers to the Father. Clearly, there are other spirits beside the Holy Spirit. But the context of John 3:34 suggests it is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, that we are seeing in the life of Jesus here. The Spirit of God is related to the word of God. It is he who moved upon holy men of God to write it (2 Peter 1). The word is referred to as his sword (Ephesians 6). He is the one who brings the word to our remembrance (John 14:26). It is he, then, who is functioning like that, enabling Jesus to remember and speak the word of God. One might wonder why it is that Jesus needs this help, since he is himself God. We must remember that Jesus is here in his humanity, submitting himself to the Father, and, in this case, to the Holy Spirit as well. As he would say, “I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak” (John 12:49). I do believe it is not capitalization but context that tells us the meaning. As we have said before, there are many spirits (1 John 4, etc.). It has also been noted that the definite article would be referring to one particular spirit. In this case the one that is intimately associated with the word of God, and truth. He is referred to elsewhere as the Spirit of truth (John 14, 15, 16). It is because of his influence we are assured that the man Christ Jesus was always speaking the truth. The fact that Jesus had been given the Spirit without measure assures us he was always full of the Spirit and therefore every word he spoke was truth. Again, Jesus himself is the Truth (John 14:6), but we are speaking of him in his humanity here. It is hard to escape the idea that the passage is referring to the Holy Spirit. If it was another spirit, would it not have been necessary to identify it? It might have said that God had given him the spirit of eloquence or something, but it simply says “the spirit”. It is the same Spirit that God gives to us when we are saved, and it is he who fills us when God sends us. It is the Holy Spirit. He leads us, and reminds us, and enables us, to speak the word of God. |