Bible Questions and Answers

 

John was the messenger sent to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. When Christ began his ministry and was baptised by John, the major part of John’s work was done. John ‘decreased’ by being put into prison and eventually executed by Herod. 

 

Christ ‘increased’ by fulfilling the purpose that God had assigned to him, being raised from the dead to the divine nature and sitting at the right hand of God. He will further ‘increase’ by returning to rule this earth in righteousness.

 

That is the literal situation. The spiritual principle illutstrated by John's statement in terms of ‘knowing God’ is that it is always the case that our personal "I" must decrease so that the "mind of Christ" - see Romans 8 -  may increase in us. The role of every follower of Christ is to displace the mind of the flesh with the mind of Christ. We put to death our selfishness and grow into the image of Christ. Christ must increase in us while our natural self must decrease. See Ephesians 4:15, 16; 1 Corinthians 2:16; and Romans 8:6-14

 

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God bless,

Mike