John 3:6-9 You must be born again

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"

(6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Because of the alienation of man from his Maker, physical birth cannot bring about spiritual life.  Earth and heaven are two separate realms.  Matter and spirit are two distinct substances.  Earth's plants and creatures bear offspring after their own kind.  The notion that fallen mankind could develop such pure spiritual tendencies, and evolve into beings so holy as to be reunited with God is an absurd, but common, myth.  We are born into this world as body, soul, and spirit.  But the spirit of our natural birth is merely a spirit of human nature, which is a fallen, selfish, and sinful nature.  In our natural state we are estranged from the Holy Spirit, and from the life of God.  Corrupted man reflects only dimly the divine attributes of his original condition as the image and likeness of God.

 

The Son of God and the Father have coexisted eternally.  Yet Jesus, the God-man, was conceived by the Holy Spirit so that the Son might enter this world as the child of Mary.  So it is also required that the sons of the flesh who have been given the right to become the children of God through faith in Jesus (John 1:12) be conceived and born by the Holy Spirit.  Even though natural born children begin their lives innocent of outward transgressions, they are nonetheless devoid of the indwelling Holy Spirit, but are fully endowed with a soulish and self-centered spirit.  The fallen spirit can only beget more fallen spirits.  Only the Holy Spirit can impart the indwelling Holy Spirit in fulfillment of the promise; I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. - Ezekiel 36:27

 

(7) Do not marvel that I said to you, "You must be born again."  Jesus commanded Nicodemus, "Do not marvel."  All objections and theoretical arguments concerning man's reconciliation to God must be abandoned.  The words of Christ are to be received as fact.  Both eternal life, and the sacred spiritual genome, have been forfeited through the sin of Adam; and they cannot be restored by any earthly reconstruction process.  They can only be bestowed upon fallen and helpless man as a gift from above.  Thus, Jesus reiterates the ultimatum, "You must be born again."

(8) The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.  Rebirth by the Spirit is an invisible event.  Spiritual rebirth causes no physically detectable changes to the body.  But just as the wind affects its surroundings, salvation should be evidenced by a changed life which bears the fruit of the Spirit and exhibits victory over sin.  The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such there is no law.  And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. - Galatians 5:22-24  We cannot see the indwelling Spirit, but we can see the beauty and peace of the presence of God which is manifested in the life a born-again believer.

 

But also like the wind, man's salvation is unpredictable.  Jesus said in John Chapter Six, "Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me;" but that, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him."  A person might be made fit for salvation by education or training, but only the unseen hand of God can actually bestow the gift of eternal life.  So then salvation is not the handiwork of any man, whether they be mentor or student.  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:8-10

 

(9) Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  As a Pharisee and a council member Nicodemus would have been accustomed to a life ruled by strict and orderly methodologies.  Jesus had just described a way of salvation which was beyond man's control.  Nicodemus was confounded by the gospel which reveals God's outreach toward mankind, rather that man's religious  attempts to reach God.  This gospel of Jesus places Almighty God in control.  The contemplation of being reborn from above by the power of God threatened to overturn the self-governing internal system that Nicodemus thought himself to have mastered.

 

Jesus words were undoubtedly spoken with the expectation that Nicodemus would be forced to acknowledge (at least to himself) that he had not yet been born again by the Spirit.  So finding himself at a complete loss to either, account for his own spiritual poverty, or to absorb this new approach to religion, Nicodemus honestly confessed to his ignorance; "How can these things be?"  It is always best when we don't understand God to humble ourselves and honestly admit our human limitations.

 

For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
"I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones." - Isaiah 57:15

John 3:1-5 Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."

(1)  There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  Nicodemus was a Pharisee and was also a member of the Jewish ruling council known as the Sanhedrin.  The Jewish religious party of the Pharisees believed in the books of the Law and the writings of the Prophets.  The Pharisees also believed in the unseen spiritual realm and recognized the existence of angels and life after death.

 

Nicodemus - William Brassey Hole

(2)  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Here we must reflect back to the previous verses and recall that many people had believed in Jesus because of the miracles He had performed during the Passover.  Nicodemus began this conversation with a somewhat pretentious statement; claiming, "We know that You are a teacher come from God."  Whereas in truth, the Jewish leaders were thus far decidedly skeptical that Jesus was acting as an agent of God.  The fact that Nicodemus came to Jesus privately instead of addressing Him in public at the Temple reveals that Nicodemus sought to form his own opinion of Jesus apart from the consensus of his colleagues.

Nicodemus might have more honestly confessed, "Even though You have been officially rejected by the religious leaders of Jerusalem, the miracles You have performed incline me to believe that You may very well be the Christ."  When Nicodemus stated, "No one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him," he was probably voicing his honest resolve.  But the logic of this statement is flawed by the fact that signs are not reliable proofs of God's handiwork.

 

Pharaoh's magicians were able to replicate several of the miracles performed by Moses.  And later in Jesus' ministry the Jewish rulers would assert that Jesus was casting out demons by the hand of Satan.  The Apostle Paul wrote that in the last days a deceiver would come performing signs and lying wonders:

 

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. - 2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12

 

We are, however, given the impression by his opening remarks that Nicodemus had already been persuaded (to the extent that the empirical evidence provided by signs could persuade him) that Jesus was in fact the Christ.  But philosophical and religious beliefs are never fully founded upon physical evidence.  Something more, something higher, was involved in the formation of Nicodemus' bent toward believing that Jesus was the true Son of God.

(3)  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."   "Verily, Verily, I say to you . . "  Jesus instructs Nicodemus that beyond all doubt and without exception the kingdom of God cannot be detected through the physical senses.  Fallen mortal man is simple incapable of spiritual discernment.  An entirely new creature with a new mode of perception must come into to being in order to recognize the things of God. 

"The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!'  For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." - Luke 17:20,21  Jesus does not indicate that people are the gods of their own subjective reality; but that the ability to see God's kingdom is not based upon physical sight, but upon spiritual vision.

 

In Paul's words; ". . the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  And again Paul writes; "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  But as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'  But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit." - Excerpts from 1st Corinthians 2

(4)  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?"  Nicodemus asked a very reasonable question.  The idea of being born again is a foreign and unnatural concept to the human mind.  How can a person be regenerated and re-formed?  And how similar is spiritual birth to the physical birth process?

(5)  Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  Being born of water and the Spirit has two traditional interpretations.  In both cases the Spirit obviously refers to being conceived and brought forth by the Holy Spirit.  But what does the water represent?  Based solely on the text, in which Jesus is speaking of the distinction between natural and spiritual birth; the water would intuitively represent the mother's water in the womb which is broken at birth.

 

The second assumption regarding the water is that Jesus was meaning the water of Baptism.  Although nearly all of the verses in the New Testament which mention salvation are associated with personal faith, belief, and trust in Jesus; several verses associate salvation with baptism.  But then in order to distinguish between natural and spiritual birth, verse five would need to read; unless one is [RE-]born of water and the Spirit . . ;" because the water in this case would refer to the second birth.

 

Without dispute, the critical concept that Jesus is conveying is that both, the ability to identify the true Kingdom of God, and the ability to enter His Kingdom, require the supernatural work of His Holy Spirit.  Salvation is not naturally achieved.  It is not possible for natural-born man to "figure God out."  Faith is required.  But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. - Hebrews 11:6  The good news is, that God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. - Romans 12:3c

John 1:9-13 The right to become children of God

That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.  The Son came into the world that every one would be effected by His incarnation.  And there is only one true Light who is capable of projecting the true image of God, and impressing that true image upon our hearts.  As Isaiah records in Chapter 43:

Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.
I, even I, am the Lord,
And besides Me there is no savior.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  John further develops the irony of the fifth verse that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  The created world did not recognize its own Creator.  The heart of fallen man was so alienated from the will of God, and God's own image was so far removed from man's resemblance to God, that the world's inhabitants were unable to perceive the perfect Model after which they were copied.

 

He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  Romans 11:36 affirms, For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.  The world, including mankind, belongs to God. 

 

You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created - Revelation 4:11

 

Man's alienation is made manifest by his denial of God as the source and purpose for life.  Man was created with a free will after the image of God.  But by choosing to ignore God, mankind has mistaken this gift of free will for a false sense of complete autonomy and independence from his Maker.  Yet even though man is born of blood into the material world, he is nevertheless born because it so pleases God.  Thus Jesus came unto His own when He came into this world.

 

But to be more specific, Jesus came to His own ethnicity - the Jews.  He was born in Bethlehem of Judea through the lineage of David the son of Jesse.  The Hope of Israel walked among His own people - unacknowledged by most, and even despised by many; fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy.

 

He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. - Isaiah 53:3

 

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.  The question is often asked, "What does it mean to receive and believe?"  John has just previously documented the failure of humanity at-large to grasp or accept the identity of Christ.  Most were either spiritual blind or willingly unreceptive.  The world did not know Him.  His own did not receive Him.  The first step in receiving Jesus is the willingness to get to know Him; being open to Him, receptive.  The awareness of our own alienation from God, and the consequences of our own personal sins, together compel us to believe in the only Savior who can take away our sins.

 

Those who have received Christ are those who have determined that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  They are persuaded that Jesus of Nazareth is that anointed One who was to come into this world and be God with us - Emanuel.

 

Those who believe on His name are those who have put their trust in the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  They have decided to trust that the Son is able to save fallen man from sin and death, and to grant everlasting life to those who believe.  And the reward for receiving Jesus and believing in His name is the authority to become children of God.

 

who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  One might ask, "aren't we all God's children?"  Well just as sin caused mankind to be cut off from eternal life, man's rebellion resulted in our estrangement from God as His children.  Adam's fallen children were born into a fallen world controlled by Satan.   Children who are born of flesh and blood all enter this world with the innocence of a blank slate - free of any good or bad works.  But every parent becomes quickly aware that fallen children must be trained to be unselfish, to share, and to be nice.

 

However, the restoration of a right relationship with God the Father does not come through training.  Only the forgiveness of sins afforded by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross can resolve our separation from God.  And God the Father has ordained that mankind may only be reconciled through His Son.

 

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. - Colossians 1:19,20

 

Let us not be resistant to the work of God like those who choose to remain in their dark, ignorant, and unreceptive world.  Receive Christ!  Believe Christ!  Truly live as children of the Living God.