John 3:27-34
In this passage, John the Baptist is arguing for the superiority of Jesus' ministry over that of his own. The context actually begins before verse 27 in verse 22-26 where, following the ministry of John the Baptist's, Jesus' disciples begin to baptize believers. Some of the Jews began to argue over baptism and the manner in which Jesus was implementing it vs. the way John had done it. They try to arouse John by saying, "...the one you testified about--well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him." (vs. 26) It is to the statement in verse 26 that John the Baptist gives this reply in John 3:27-34
27 To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.' 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.
31 "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. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
The main point John is making: Jesus is superior. The reasons why Jesus is superior, John lists
(1) A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. John ministry is given, Jesus' is not. John is the chosen one, Jesus is the chooser.
(2) We belong to Jesus; Jesus does not belong to us. This is why John says, "The bride belongs to the bridegroom." (vs. 29). It is not the other way around.
(3) Jesus is from above. If we are from above, then John's point that Jesus is superior would be lost in this statement. His entire point hinges on the fact that we are "from the earth" (vs. 31) and Jesus is "from above" (vs. 31).
(4) Jesus' testimony is valid and authoritative because he comes from above and we do not. This is why we listen to Jesus and can trust his testimony. If we too are from above, then the point John is making is lost. John goes through the effort of emphasizing that we belong to the earth when he says, "the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth." (vs. 31) By contrast Jesus is "from above" (vs. 31) and "testifies to what he has seen and heard" (vs. 32).
If at any point the belief of "our preexistence" is forced into John's explanation, the entire meaning of it is lost. We are from the earth, Jesus is from above. We have not seen what is from above because we did not come from above, but Jesus did. That is why his testimony is valid and why he can speak with authority on such matters.
John 8:12-59
We don't have authority to speak about heavenly things because we are from the earth and speak as one from the earth. It is a point that comes up again in John 8 when Jesus' testimony is again challenged. The passage begins with the Pharisees questioning Jesus' testimony in John 8:13
The Pharisees challenged him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your
testimony is not valid."
If we keep in mind that Jesus' following words is a response to this statement from the Pharisees, it will help us understand the point Jesus is trying to make--his testimony is valid. Jesus, like John the Baptist, labels the testimony of others a lesser ("You [the Pharisees] judge by human standards..." vs. 15). By contrast, Jesus says to the Pharisees, "You are from below; I am from above. You are from this world; I am not from this world." (vs. 23) Verse 23 is the reason why Jesus' testimony is valid--he is from above (i.e., heaven) and they are not. Jesus is clearly saying that he has a preexistence and they do not, which is something the Pharisees understand and find blasphemous (see vss. 58-59), but it is the point Jesus is making nonetheless.
One of the prophecies concerning the Messiah was that his origins would be "from ancient times" (Micah 5:2). The manner in which Christ argues his preexistence is to make the point that this is exclusively his nature. He also stresses the point that we are dependent on his testimony because, by contrast to those "from the earth" (John 3:31), he speaks about the things he has seen (John 3:32). We haven't seen these things because we are from the earth (John 3:31; John 8:23). Therefore, only Jesus can speak authoritatively about them.
Again, if we force a doctrine of preexistence onto these passages, then the point John the Baptist and Jesus (and John the author of this Gospel) are trying to make is lost. We have to do violence to these passages and are rendered incapable of using them for anything. They simply lose their point.
John 9
In regards to the passage in John chapter 9, no violence is done to the main point if we do not believe in preexistence. It is as easy to say that the reason why the disciples ask "who sinned, this man or his parents?" is that they had always believed that sickness was cause by personal sin. The blind man offered an unexplainable exception for which they had no answer. Their question could be taken to imply that they knew he couldn't have sinned since the man was born that way, so they had no choice but to ask the one who would know. They were seeking an answer to something that their world view could not answer and was in contradiction with. But the answer they sought was not the answer Jesus gave and the point they wanted was not the point Jesus made. The main point was that God sovereignly and purposefully allowed this man to be blind in order to gain the glory. It did not hinge on whether you believe in preexistence or not. It seems that the sovereignty of God and his freedom to allow this sickness is more the point Jesus taught than anything else. The author of Romans 9 makes the same claim that the potter has the freedom to do as he pleases over the will of the clay (Romans 9:19-21). It was God's sovereign freedom Jesus was teaching his disciples. The issue of (a) preexistence or (b) consequences of sin (the point the disciples were trying to make) are not the points Jesus makes here in this passage. They a moot points.
GT
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