Please note that Jesus was baptized and did himself baptize others. This verse often gets skipped over in the debates regarding the importance of baptism in this era.
John the Baptist paints a very illustrative picture of Jesus here. Jesus is described as being from above, He is God sent, speaking that which is from above, what He has seen above He testifies, He speaks the words of God, the Spirit is not limited in measure or proportion unto Him. He that believes exactly on this description of Jesus has eternal life.
Those who believe that Jesus was just a man like us who may have received a spiritual enlightenment full or partial, that He was the first of many, or that we can receive a similar enlightenment, have much to un-explain and dilute about this clear passage from John the Baptist. Jesus being the groom, being sent, testifying what He had seen long before incarnation, having unmeasured Spirit and the seal of testimony, all suggest that there is none other like unto Jesus and that He is not the first Christ of many nor partial.
A believer that overcomes the first two elements must also contend with the cares of this world. It may not matter what others believe or think or behave, the believer is settled and assured in this part of his faith. However, the real issues of life and family and citizen present a constant drain on his time and energies causing anxiety and fatigue and over extension. The productive fruit of his life gets chocked out without him barely realizing it. I speak from experience.
2012 - pBiblx2 Field Wise Bible System Version 2.0.9d - GPL3
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