He Must Increase
A Sermon on John 3:30
Scripture
30He must increase, but I must decrease.
30He must increase, but I must decrease.
Sermon Description
What does it mean to be baptized in the Spirit? In this sermon on John 3:30, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches from the part of this gospel where John the Baptist says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” He speaks of what it means to be baptized by the Holy Ghost, which is mentioned throughout the book of John. Dr. Lloyd-Jones preaches that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is one that awakens a believer into joy and evangelism and out of despair and loneliness. Many have prayed to be baptized by the Spirit, but God has only chosen to give it to some. Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that John the Baptist was not baptized by the Spirit since he was the least in the kingdom. He also explains that John the Baptist sometimes spoke the words of God, while Jesus Christ always spoke the words of God. This contrast is important when recognizing that prophets and people are not infallible, yet Jesus Christ was and is truly without error. The difference between water baptism and baptism by the Spirit, Dr. Lloyd-Jones preaches, is that water baptism is obedience and confirmation of conversion, and baptism by the Holy Ghost is in order to bring more lost souls home to Christ.
The Book of John
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.