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JOHN 3:31 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
John 3:30John 3:32
“He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.”
The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all' — the sermonic conclusion begins with a metaphysical principle: origin determines nature and authority. Jesus' heavenly provenance grants him universal supremacy; earthly beings (including the Baptist) speak from earthly perspective. The principle resolves the apparent competition: Jesus' superiority is not earned but ontological.

Church Fathers on John 3:31

As the worm gnaws wood, and rusts iron, so vainglory destroys the soul that cherishes it. But it is a most obstinate fault. John with all his arguments can hardly subdue it in his disciples: for after what he has said above, he said yet again, He that comes from above is above all: meaning, You extol my testimony, and say that the witness is more worthy to be believed, than He to whom he bears witness. Know this, that He who comes from heaven, cannot be accredited by an…

Chrysostom · 4th century

Christ comes from above, as descending from the Father; and is above all, as being elected in preference to all.

Theophylact · 11th century

Or, comes from above; i.e. from the height of that human nature which was before the sin of the first man. For it was that human nature which the Word of God assumed: He did not take upon Him man’s sin, as He did his punishment.

Alcuin · 8th century
Read all 10 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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