The incarnate Son of God has come to earth from above (cf. John 3:13). John sought to fulfill his purpose of proving that Jesus is the Christ ( John 20:31) partially by stressing that Jesus" origin was "from above." Birth from above ( John 3:3), the new birth, can only come by faith in Him who is from above. His place of origin illustrates His superiority over all earthly people that humanity binds to the "earth" (Gr. ge, this planet) including John the Baptist. Finite humans can only reveal things that they experience on the earth, but Jesus could reveal things about heaven. John could call people to repentance, but he could not reveal divine counsels, as Jesus could, nor could he provide new life from above. Jesus had previously said that people do not typically receive His witness ( John 3:11), and the writer repeated that fact here. The Greek word martyria, "witness" or "testimony," appears some47 times in this Gospel. [source][source][source]