In John 3:30 John the Baptist says of Jesus,
"He must increase, but I must decrease."
The third chapter of John's gospel is loaded with big ideas, but I want to focus on this one verse. Here is a link to the verse in context. I have been pondering this verse for the last few months and I'm curious to know what you think.
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ReplyDeleteIt is a great thing to think deeply about important ideas!!
ReplyDeleteI like it and I'm the first one to comment on yours
DeleteI think this verse means that Jesus will be greater and I will be lesser. I will preach about him more and more so people will come to know him.
ReplyDeleteGood job Kenny! I like how you brought spreading God's Word to others.
DeleteIt's really good to spend your time preaching to others who need God which is what people need to do.
DeleteGreat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteGreat thinking Kenneth!!!!
Deleteamazing work. keep it up
DeleteVery true; I totally agree because everyone can relate to this comment. Keep up the good work!
DeleteI think this means that in our lives, God needs to become more important, and we need to become less important.
ReplyDeleteAs for living it out... I think we need to shift our focus from ourselves to God.
This is good. I agree
DeleteThat is so true! God should always be first in our lives
DeleteGreat job Ashlyn! I like your comment! I agree with this.
DeleteThis verse means that I can't be as great as God. God is greater than I am and always will be. I can live this verse out by being humble and not bragging about the things I have or things I have done
ReplyDeleteGreat Job Gracie!!!! I love how humble you are and this is a great idea that I can apply to my life.
DeleteNice job, Gracie. Totally with you here :)
DeleteGood thinking; all of our gifts are God's, not ours, so we don't have any reason to be bragging.
DeleteGreat thinking Gracie! Good job interpreting this verse!
DeleteGod job Gracie :-)
DeleteNice work Gracie! I love this! Great ideas! You are an amazing person!
DeleteNice job! Many people don't mean to, but place themselves higher than God when skipping devotionals, not praying or even losing sight of Him totally. I'm not saying we are terrible for messing up once, but we definitely need to humble ourselves and recognize that by doing these things we are disrespecting Him.
DeleteThis verse means that, since God is more important than we are, he should be more important in our lives as well. We should decrease in "us focused" things and increase in "God focused" things.
ReplyDeleteThis is true in that we should increase our God focused activities and not on just our "us things"
DeleteAidan this is very good way to explain it. Good job!!!
DeleteTrue.
DeleteThis is a very clear idea. I think this could work in junior high, as most eighth graders are often more obsessed with video games, sports, makeup, etc. than God.
DeleteI believe that this verse means we should take ourselves out of the spotlight and put God in it instead. The next time I think of going to do something I like to do, I could instead pray or worship God for a while. God is more important than me and he should be given respect and time.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good statement for what the verse is trying to tell us
DeleteI like this explanation, nice way of putting it
DeleteThis is a great, I really like your example of how to live this Bible verse
DeleteI think that this means that we must let Jesus have authority and let Him into our lives more and we should stop making decisions on our own. I will try and ask God to help me make decisions and really listen to him more instead of just doing things on my own.
ReplyDeleteI agree :) That's a good way to explain it and put it into action
DeleteGreat comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteFantastic Kali! I love how your solution is to pray and ask God for things, as prayer is always an excellent solution.
DeleteKali that's a great way to explain it.Good work!!!!!!!!!
DeleteEspecially the piece about not making all of our decisions when we should be listening to God's plan for us.
DeleteTotally. Jesus is really important and we should always give him praise
DeleteThat is a great way to apply this verse to our lives!!! Love the way you explained this verse. Praying to God is a great way for him to help us through something we need help with or don't understand!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteEspecially the piece about not making reckless decisions and following the plan God has for us.
DeleteWe all need to do this. Good job ! :)
DeleteI think that more should follow Jesus, but we have to decrease supernatural doubt.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100% julian
DeleteJulian that's a great explanation. It shows us to teach the gospel to others and bring many people to The Lord.
DeleteSo true! Decrease that doubt!!!
DeleteI personally think that this verse means that we should give all glory to God. That our triumphs should be his tributes. We shouldn't take the credit for his actions, but glorify and thank him for his gifts.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great and so true :)
DeleteAmazing Laura! I think that I can easily apply this to my life as well as when I play sports!
DeleteGreat work! I like the part when you say that we shouldn't take credit for his actions. Keep it up! : )
Deleteyea Laura this is really true, I will remember this!
DeleteNice job Laura! That's a great way to put it into words!
Delete=) good
DeleteI think this means that God needs to be first in our lives over everything. God is more important than anything else. We should not be prideful about anything that we do, because it is all because of God. In my life, I need to always think of others and God before myself. God is more important than we are, and I will never be as great as Him. I can't be prideful about anything, because everything I do should be for the glory of God.
ReplyDeletePayton I love that you are so selfless!!
DeletePayton, I like how you pointed out how we should give credit to God and how we should put others first before ourselves.
DeleteGreat job! I like your comment. :) :) <3
DeleteThis is good, I think I need to do more of this.
DeleteGood job! I like your thinking
DeleteGood job! i like your thinking
DeleteThis verse means that we should let other people have the spotlight sometimes because it's not all about us, all the time. I can relate to this in my own life because I can give up going to something special to go to my brother's game, or even let other people go first in line.
ReplyDeleteGreat explanation.
DeleteIt's hardest to let siblings go first, especially younger ones; I know how you feel.
DeleteChristian great and amazing work. What a spectacular way to explain it.
DeleteHopefully more people will do this and focus on other people.
DeleteThis is very good. keep it up.
DeleteYour interpretation of this verse is great. Its sweet of you are willing to give up an activity for your brother, and I like how you emphasize putting others before yourself.
DeleteGood Job!
DeleteThis is a good verse. :-) I think that his verse is saying Jesus is greater than everyone.
ReplyDeleteWe should have complete trust in God throughout everything we do. The way I will apply this in my life is to trust in God completely.
Deletegood job.
DeleteShort and simple way to explain it. Great work!
DeleteNice!!!!!!
DeleteI second Jordan's comment. God should always be #1 in your life, and we should trust in Him fully.
DeleteZach way to put some fun into the explanation. Jesus is greater than anyone.
DeleteI like your's a lot Zach. Short and to the point.
DeleteThis means for us to pay more attention to God and less to other earthly things and people. So that we can have a better after life than life on earth. This is what I think this means.
ReplyDeletegood Spencer, I'm with you on this one. :-)
DeleteGreat way to explain it. Amazing work!
DeleteGreat way to explain it. Amazing work!
DeleteThis is what we all need to do, let go of our earthly possessions and look to God. Good job!
DeleteIt means that God is more important than us and that he needs to become more important and we need to become less important
ReplyDeleteGod is Great and so is your comment
DeleteNice job! I agree with you.
DeleteGood job! I agree with you! :)
DeleteThat is a fabulous way to put it Henry!!!!
DeleteWhat you said is very true and needs to be expressed in more people's lives. Do you have any examples to go with it?
Deletetotally agree with you, this is great!
DeleteI think that this verse means that we should treat others better than we would treat ourselves
ReplyDeleteGood job Ian well thought through
DeleteNice job Ian!
DeleteGood work. What if you gave an example on how we should treat each other.
DeleteNice job Ian! Good idea! :)
Deletetrue i will do this more often
DeleteThis means that we should be humble and kind. This Bible verse goes great with this other Bible verse: Proverb 3-5:6 -- Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight
ReplyDeleteI love how you incorporated another Bible verse to go along with this great idea!
DeleteYes, those Proverbs verses go hand-in-hand with this verse. Is there, by chance, another verse that could work with John 3:30 similarly?
DeleteGood job Sarah. This is so true in an electronic-filled world where it is so easy to be prideful.
DeleteLaura I love the way you translated the verse! Christian love how you related yours to your brother!
ReplyDeleteI think this means the focus should be on Jesus and not on ourselves or others. The next time I get praised or congratulated for something, I should give all the credit to God, and keep none for myself.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I like the part when you say that we need to focus on God.
DeleteThis is a great thought but how do you keep none of it when people force on you.
DeleteGreat way to explain it Noah. Jesus is first and we are second.
DeleteI think that this verse is saying that God's plan for us needs to increase, while our ideas for our life need to decrease. I can humble myself and ignore my own selfish desires. I often am convinced that I have it all figured out, but I cannot, as I don't know what will happen in my life, while God knows everything that has happened and will happen. I can instead try to ignore my worldly plans for my life and listen to God's perfect plan.
ReplyDeleteThis is really well thought out and covers the entire idea of the verse
DeleteGreat ideas Lauren. I will definitely apply this to my life in several areas. It's so true that just when we think we have figured it out, God can change everything.
DeleteThank you Spencer!
DeletePersonally, I think that this means that I need trust in God more than myself. This also means that when I am trusting in myself I need to lower myself,and trust in God instead of myself. I can use this in sports when I am trusting in myself and doing ok, I can trust in God and do much better.
ReplyDeleteGood job!!!! It's great that you trust in God, and believe in yourself
DeleteWhat are some specific things we can do to live out this verse?
ReplyDeleteHmm...
DeleteMaybe one way we could live it out is to take time out of our busy, busy lives (if at all possible) and spend it in prayer, reading the Bible, and trying to do all you can to connect to Him. In this way, we will shift focus from ourselves and put it on God.
We could preach the gospel to those who do not know God yet.
DeleteOne area in your life that you can use this is when it come to making big decisions. You have to trust that you are not as wise as God and leave all the decision making to him.
DeleteI am going to think less about myself and my desires and put into practice the things that will glorify God.
DeleteThat is great thinking Ashlyn. Yes sometimes we have busy days but we can still take a few minutes just to pray or read our Bibles.
DeleteDefinitely! We always have time to play sports, do homework, just relax, etc., but somehow God is always the last thing on our to-do list. He needs to be our number one priority!
DeleteI believe that I can be more humble when winning by a lot in a lacrosse game.
DeleteYou must pay more attention to the lord instead of wondering how we look, what others think about us, and what are we going to be doing today and other stuff that isn't really super important unlike the lord.
ReplyDeleteGood way to explain it =)
DeleteI believe that this simply means that the next time I think of going to do something I like to do, I could instead pray or worship God for a while. God is more important than me and he should be given respect and time.
ReplyDeleteI can be more humble and give all the glory to God. If we aren't humble we think to highly of ourselves and become self-involved and forget that we could never do certain things without God.
ReplyDeleteSome things that we can do to live this verse out is that we can let other people cut in front of us, or we can share our belongings with our friends or siblings. We should also let God have authority and full control of our lives; he is the Creator, and He has a plan for each and every one of us.
ReplyDeleteGood work, but if you add some instances to this it would make it twice as amazing.
DeleteI think we can live this out by praying more to God and giving him credit for things. For example I always pray before volleyball games, and if we win I want to give the glory to God for giving me and my team the ability to play good, instead of just giving myself the credit.
ReplyDeleteI think we could read the Bible more often so that God becomes a bigger part of our life, and that God will be ultimate factor in our lives as Christians.
ReplyDeleteI can live out this by not being so prideful. When I am playing sports, such as volleyball, instead of thinking that I'm awesome because I got a great hit, I will realize that I couldn't have done it without my team, and I wouldn't even be here without God. I will give more credit to God, instead of myself.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Payton! I think this is really good! I want to try this!
DeleteGood job! I need to do this more.
DeleteThis is VERY true as a teen. If we save a goal, make a masterpiece, or get a A, we're often too prideful to realize that this is God at work. When we believe this is our victory, we refuse to learn from our mistakes by getting the idea that our mistake was simply a fluke rather than God telling us to tone our self-image down.
DeleteA specific thing we can do is try to put others before yourself, instead of taking credit for something, give it.
ReplyDeletethis is good. I like the idea of putting others first.
DeleteLike, when you do a project or have share and idea with someone, instead of taking full credit, tell the things the other person did and point out their ideas.
DeleteGood ideas. Many people need to do this, including me!
DeleteI can live this out by always thinking about God in hard and easy circumstances, and give my life to Him.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Cat! You are right that it is difficult to think about God in the hard circumstances, but it seems easier to connect with God when our life is easy.
Deletegood. We all need to give our lives to him.
DeleteI can live this out in Synchronized Swimming when I am trying to hold my breath for a certain amount of time and I know I can not do it on my own so I will pray, and be able to hold my breath for the amount of time. This is one way I can live this out.
DeleteNice job Cat! Great idea!
DeleteGreat thinking Cat. I know how it is hard sometimes to think of God when life is easy because we give the glory to ourselves instead of God.
DeleteI know I can spend less time on my hair and makeup in the morning and read my Bible during that time instead.
ReplyDeleteGood job Lauren. This is great advice for all girls.
DeleteWe should not worry about what people think about us because that's what can stop us from preaching to others. We should worry about what God thinks about us. He wants us to speak about him because he wants more and more people to come and know him. 1 Corinthians 9:27 I beat my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to talk about the Lord to other people and read the bible more often because He needs to become greater than us
ReplyDeleteSome things that we can do are pay more attention to God in every situation. Many times we can be focused on ourselves and what we are doing as opposed to what God wants us to do: for example listening at Church, praying, and reading the Bible.
ReplyDeleteFor example,the next time I think of going to watch television, I could instead pray or worship God for a while. God is more important than me and he should be given respect and time.
ReplyDeleteGreat work. I should try that!
DeleteI can live out this verse in real life like when you're at a swim meet and get first place, be humble and be a a good sport about it
ReplyDeleteI can live out this verse by being more humble. For instance when I am playing volleyball I can get a little cocky about my setting. I could give all the glory to God and stop thinking so highly of myself. I would be nothing without the rest of my team.
ReplyDeleteThis applies to me in when i play basketball. Instead of giving all credit to me i will give it all to God.
ReplyDeleteThe things we can do that will increase God in our lives is glorifying Him by thanking Him for the achievements we accomplish with Gods help. Some examples are thanking Him for a win in a sports game, for remembering things on a test, and for the family you're in that take care of you.
ReplyDeleteInstead of taking all the credit, I could give the credit and glory to God. When I score a basket, or get a good grade on a test, it is because of God, not me.
ReplyDeleteI think that this means God needs to be more important than ourselves and we need to be less important. In our daily lives we need to shift the focus and attention from ourselves and onto Him.
ReplyDeletetrue
DeleteThis verse is saying that people should put others before themselves. Also, you shouldn't take the credit for somethings, but instead give it to someone else.
ReplyDeleteThis is Dylan. I love your idea David. Good job. ��
DeleteThis verse says we should be humble and give the credit to God when we make a shot or win a game because everything we do is from God. He created us and all we do. We can glorify God with our lives by crediting God for the thing we do.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this! Good job Jack I love the idea
DeleteI totally agree, Grace! I need Jesus everyday too.
ReplyDeleteI think it means that Jesus's works must increase, but John's should decrease.
ReplyDeleteHow do you think we should apply this to our lives?
DeleteI do not know. I was going for a general Idea for what John meant when he said it in context
DeleteI think that this means that God gets all the glory because he is all powerful and it is because of him that we are living. God helps us succeed in life and thrive. God should get all the glory in our lives. If we put God first in our life then we will live a great and peaceful life knowing that the God of the universe is in control of our lives. God will protect us and keep us safe if we trust him and put our trust in him and give him all the credit.
ReplyDeleteGreat thinking!!!
DeleteI think stat this verse means that God should get all of the glory and praise, and we need to be humble. No matter how cool we think we are, we are not as cool God is.
ReplyDeletePeople who had heard of John doing these things were inclined to believe that he was the Messiah. John humbles himself and admits that he is not the ONE, he even says "one is coming after me, ones whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." This means that we must do the same, in order to live as God wants us to, we have to show others that the reason we are so joyful and willing to help is because Jesus has planted himself in us and we are feeding that spirit until it is all that we are. John tells us this when he says "He must increase, but I must decrease. :))
ReplyDeleteYes! You got it, Caitlyn. Now we should all live that out!
DeleteI think it means that we should recognize that God is above everything including us.
ReplyDeleteThis verse mean to me that we all need to stop being proud of what we do well, telling jokes, sports, artwork, writing and more... instead we need to remember the God who created us and breathed life into us. He made our talents happen, so we should raise HIM up instead of raising OURSELVES up.
ReplyDeleteI think that this verse means that we should worship and glorify God for all he has done for us. I can apply this to my life my thanking God for all he has after sports games.
ReplyDeleteWhen we do things in the name of God, some people may confuse us for God and give us all the credit, when it was really God. But instead of letting them do this, we should speak up and say that we shouldn't be glorified, but God should be. I think that this is the meaning of the saying, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
ReplyDeleteThis verse means that we should humble ourselves to glorify God and show how great He is. When God is happy, we should be happy. In school, we should know that God is in control of everything and we succeed nope because of ourselves, but because of God. I will make sure to remember that God is the Creator of all things and He helps me every day to be the best person I can be.
ReplyDeleteI think it means that when we get attention in life we should torn it towards God instead of using it for our personal benefit. When we turn the glory to God, people can learn about Him and they might become Christians.
ReplyDelete~Cassie
When we stay humble, and give God the glory, it brings him great joy. In sports, it can be hard to stay humble if we score the winning point, but who gave you the power to do that? Giving God the glory is the least we can do.
ReplyDelete