‘He who comes from above is above all. He that is of the earth is of the earth, and of the earth he speaks. He who comes from Heaven is above all. What he has seen and heard, of that he bears witness, and no man receives his witness. He that has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives not the Spirit by measure.'
It is sometimes difficult in this Gospel to know when the speaker's words cease and the comments of the writer begin, and many would see these words as the comment of the writer, in which case he now summarises what he has been writing.
‘He that is of the earth is earthy, and speaks of the earth, He Who comes from Heaven is above all'. He contrasts the One Who has come from above (compare v. 13) with the one who is but an earthling. The latter can only speak of earthly things, however exalted, for he is limited to earthly knowledge even if it is revealed knowledge. But the One Who comes from Heaven is above all. This is repeated twice for emphasis. He has knowledge both of earthly things and of things that none on earth can know, even by revelation, for He is over everything in Heaven and earth. This contrast is true not only of John in contrast with Jesus, but of all men in contrast with Jesus. Men who claim special heavenly knowledge deceive themselves. It is beyond their understanding.
‘What He has seen and heard, of that He bears witness.' Only the One Who has come down from Heaven can understand such things. This is because He has actually seen and heard them. So He bears witness to what He has seen and heard above. Even John in Revelation only had a partial revelation of such things in dreams and visions which were largely symbolic, for they are beyond man's vision even when in the Spirit. But Jesus, being Himself ‘Spirit', and being above the spiritual and angelic world, has full knowledge of all things. This is the most emphatic statement possible of the uniqueness and unique knowledge of Jesus.
Yet still ‘no man receives His witness'. Men as a whole reject His testimony. It is only man as enlightened by the Spirit of God Who can even begin to receive it for such things are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:11-14). But it is not true of all that they fail to receive His witness. There are those who do hear Him (John 1:12), and by doing so they are in fact certifying that God Himself is true.
‘They set their seal to this, that God is true'. By believing His words and acting on them they put their stamp on them as being true and genuine. They recognise that the One Whom God has sent is uttering God's words. And by believing those words they are believing God Himself. And in believing God they are testifying to the fact that God is true, for no one believes someone unless they accept him as true.
They accept Jesus Christ's words because He has the Spirit in full, without measure. In contrast to this Midrash Rabbah on Leviticus 15:2 declares that the prophets received the Spirit by measure. (Midrash is the subjecting to writing by the Rabbis of oral testimony about the Torah in the long period since the time of Ezra. It is not possible to date its contents). Thus Christ's experience exceeds that of the prophets. He is supremely blessed.
‘He gives not the Spirit by measure.' The above interpretation sees this as referring to God's giving of the Spirit to Jesus enabling Him to speak the words of God.. Others see it as referring to Jesus as the giver ‘without measure' in speaking the words of God, a giving which is not restricted in any way. Still others see it as a general statement that God always gives the Spirit overflowingly, He does not give by measure, and that this is especially exemplified in the ministry of Jesus. However, experience suggests that God does give the Spirit to individuals ‘by measure', therefore if either of the last two meanings is accepted they must indicate ‘to the whole church'.