John the baptizer made the famous statement, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
Many people quote this Scripture indicating that we must disappear into the background as Christians, while somehow magnifying Jesus by doing so.
Yet, the context in which John speaks is vastly different.
So, Who was John the Baptizer?
John the Baptist was the forerunner, the gatekeeper, and messenger prophet of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom- who was so popular among the people and had so many followers, that the Jewish leaders confronted him. They said, “Who are you, if you’re not the Messiah, the Elijah, or the Prophet??”
John answered as Isaiah, saying, “I am only someone shouting in the desert, Get the road ready for the Lord.” (John 1:23, CEV)
So, they asked, “If you are no one important, then why are you baptizing all these people?
John replied, “I use water to baptize people. But here with you is someone you don’t know. Even though I came first, I am not good enough to untie His sandals…” (John 1:26, CEV)
So, John indicated at least 4 important truths about His work:
- His baptism of water, for repentance, prepares the road for the Lord to come.
- His baptism comes first and is the entryway into the Kingdom realm.
- There’s another One coming that they did not yet know, and He is much greater.
- The One who is coming cannot be loosed by a man (“untie his sandals”). He is loosed by God.
So, What is John’s Baptism?
John’s baptism(repentance) is the gate or entrance into the Kingdom and City of God by the washing away and remission of sins.
Anyone can do a quick study of baptism, which is the word “baptizo,” and find that this does not mean a quick dip or washing, but carries with it the same concept as “pickling”, which results in permanent change to the one who is submersed.
In The Unlocking Effect, Book 1, Chapter 2, I note and describe seven evident fruits of true transformational repentance which John said we are to evidence as believers and that Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 7:10-11:
- Earnestness– hustle, speed, study, and a desire to do Kingdom business.
- Clearing- a legal defense, a legal answer and the clearing of our name.
- Indignation– irritation and grief toward the enemy and sin, particularly the ones we have now overcome.
- Reverence– Godly fear, awe, dread, and honor as unto a husband.
- Desire– a pursuit in love; a great longing for the Lord.
- Zeal– excitement, fierceness, and jealousy on behalf of God’s will.
- Justice– a readiness to call for retribution and punishment upon the enemy for his disobedience.
These must be in the life of every believer.
But, no one just stays at the gate of their city. The goal is to go in. We enter in and engage with the business of relationship, upkeep, living, repair, etc.
So, repentance brings us into the City of our King, through the door that is Christ, but then we are to be equipped to engage with others in relationship and city activity.
The New Man is Greater Than the Old
So, what if what John meant when he said that he must decrease and Christ must increase was that although his Baptism of Water unto repentance comes first and is necessary to unlock the door of the Kingdom, the Baptism that the Father was about to loose, which was already present and would manifest very differently, was to become much greater in the life of the believer, for relationship and ministry?
“The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said: Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I told you about when I said, “Someone else will come. He is greater than I am because He was alive before I was born. I didn’t know who He was. But I came to baptize you with water, so that everyone in Israel would see Him. I was there and saw The Spirit come down on Him like a dove from heaven. And the Spirit stayed on Him. Before this I didn’t know who He was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, “You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. Then you will know that He is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. I saw this happen, and I tell you that He is the Son of God.” John 1:29-34, CEV
The baptizer of the Holy Spirit became greater than the baptizer of water.
The focus of those who had experienced repentance would soon shift from carnality, sin-consciousness, and law, to the spiritual man, Christ-consciousness, and Christ’s ministry in the earth.
“So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know Him now!” 2 Cor. 5:16, NIV
This shift did not remove the need for repentance, which must always remain, but a greater work came, which both induced and overshadowed it in greater measure, because God’s loosed power is always greater than men.
So, What is the conclusion?
If I regard my whole life as a struggle with sin, I will stand for years at a door that is already open to me, negate the permanent change that happened when I received Christ, think I am unable and unworthy to make a difference, manifest this war within my carnal nature, and be paralyzed from affecting culture.
Greater still, if I regard my life and others, according to the finished work of the Cross and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit loosed by God in the earth, I will begin to manifest the New Man- with His mind, His design, His character, and His work in my life. I will bear much fruit, as I see myself and others empowered through the Cross to do these works “and greater things” (John 14:12).
In an amazing way, this will actually produce more transformation in my life and in the culture around me than anything I could have produced in my own efforts or by focusing on my own internal issues.
So, while the baptism of repentance does open the door and leads me to God’s Person in a relationally reconciled way, it’s The Father’s baptism of the Holy Spirit that will produce the power upon my life to live in the permanent state of repentance and move me forward into the city, under the power of God.
Oh, how I do need what only He can give me in this hour, the Power of His Holy Spirit!
“Men can loose the Gospel and men can baptize in water those who confess and receive Christ, but only the Father can loose the Holy Spirit and fire, which turns the world around and brings lasting change. “
Our decrease as Christians is never to disappear into the fray and quietly worship God. We cannot make Him more visible by hiding people who are made to reflect His image and leadership in the earth. That’s unreasonable.
I believe that our decrease is that we no longer magnify the sin nature. We go through the door that is Christ, and we increase the magnification of the fullness of the measure of our salvation and the atonement and preservation of God upon the world, through the lifting up of the person of Christ and His teachings in culture, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Oh, how the church also needs the power of the Holy Spirit in this hour, so that we:
- No longer just stand in the doorway, but move into greater measures of the Kingdom by moving into the city and working with culture.
- Move from Passover to Pentecost: never forgetting what is foundational, but not forsaking the day of power.
“John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 1:5
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