The New Birth Cause and Effect
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John 3
1.Now there was a
man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
Nicodemus is
introduced as a pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. Now there is a lot happening in this setting.
Passover is happening in Jerusalem. Which means there is a lot of traffic
happening. Also the man named Jesus is there. I wanna back up justy a few verses in the previous chapter to give the context of this conversation that is going to take place
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.
But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,
and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.
The man Nicodemus
Now we come to this man named Nicodemus who is a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews. And this man has come to see the One everyone is talking about. The One everyone is believing in. Nicodemus decides to take this opportunity to see Jesus. And just before this in the previous chapter recall that Jesus just cleansed the Temple of the money changers and greedy priests taking advantage of people. so the setting is exciting as well as tense.
What is a pharisee? They were teachers of the Scriptures. lay leaders. they knew the Bible and were concerned with obedience to it. Term means separated ones. They were concerned with purity and conformity to the law. They helped build the the temple and preserved the Hebrew Scriptures and customs that centered around the Temple. political religious group. influential in local synagogues and popular among the people. Started around 150 B.C. They believed in the oral tradition and tradition of the elders.
What does it mean to be a ruler of the Jews? He was part of the Sanhedrin. It was the Jewish supreme court that made religious decisions that effects the daily lives ofthe Jews. These people were well off. coming from the upper middle class. means council.
This is what Nicodemus comes from. this is his background and education. His upbringing. This is his identity
2 this
man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come
from God as a teacher; for no one can do these [a]signs that You do unless God is with
him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born [b]again he cannot see the kingdom of
God.”
He recognizes and affirms Jesus as a Rabbi. but why did he come by night? there are some possibilities. Could’ve been fear or He just wanted to speak to Jesus and night time would be the right opportunity.
Says “we” meaning that there were other secret believers in the council.
These pharisees were expecting the Messiah and kingdom restored to Israel, but still did not accept the plain truth. He knew that the Messiah would perform certain signs and those signs would authenticate His being Messiah. Jesus tells his cousin John the Baptist that he did these signs.
The disciples of John reported to him about all these things.
Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”
When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?’ ”
At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.
And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
“Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
Notice how Nicodemus did not ask a question but Jesus gives and answer. Jesus knows his theology, ther way of life, their doctrine. They believe their efforts in keeping man-made tradition would allow them to enter the kingdom of God but Jesus says you must be born again . you do not earn merit with God. Must be regenerated.
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?” 5 Jesus
answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water
and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That
which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the
Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to
you, ‘You must be born [c]again.’ 8 The
wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but do not know where it
comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the
Spirit.”
Nicodemus did not understand the necessity of regeneration. He understands rabbinical ways of teaching. But due to his background and upbringing he cannot see this fundamental truth of regeneration.
What does water mean and spirit mean? is it redundant? Could be water represents the Word or symbol of the Holy Spirit. Or could be a reference to John the baptists ministry of repentance. Or mean natural birth.
Prefer to see the water as the need for cleansing. this has place in Old Testament. for example. Ezek 36:24-27
“For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land.
“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
Jesus is saying we are born in flesh. flesh begets flesh. But it is the Holy Spirit who can bring forth our spirits from the dead. We are born enslaved to sin but the HS is the giver of life.
We cannot see the Spirit with our eyes.but just as heavy gusts of wind do damage and we see the effects of it, so we can see the effects of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.
9 Nicodemus
answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus
answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not
understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to
you, we speak of what we know and bear witness of what we have seen,
and you do not accept our witness. 12 If I
told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell
you heavenly things? 13 And no one has ascended
into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever
believes will in Him have eternal life.
Nicodemus is still not getting it. Its simple but this great teacher does not get it. He ought to know. Notice how Jesus calls out Nicodemus by saying that he is “the teacher”. This was in the Scriptures nothing new. Jesus did not come to bring a new thing or religion, but to open blind eyes. not just psychically, but spiritually.
the “We” is Jesus and His disciples. Jesus associates Himself with His disciples
Jesus is the Son of Man who has come down from heaven. So He has the authority to teach these divine truths and has the ability to teach it since He is from there. And by Jesus being from heaven He has the pure understanding of divine mysteries and therefore can teach them with out any defilement or contradiction. Nicodemus flesh has impure understanding of regeneration because he is earthly and not from heaven. Our sinfulness rejects the truth and is blind to it.
Jesus alludes back to the wilderness and Moses lifting up that bronze serpent. All who looked up it with faith were healed.
The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.”
And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.
It was through their faith that healed them from their disobedience. So to Jesus says that those who believe in Him when His name is exalted and proclaimed to all for what he has done will have eternal life.
16 “For
God [d]so loved the world, that He gave
His [e]only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For
God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that
the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who
believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already,
because he has not believed in the name of the [f]only begotten Son of God.
God is love and is the first cause. Jesus is the gift to the world sent by the Father to give eternal life to whoever believes in Him
This is the mission of God. To save sinners from condemnation. Thus the Father sends the Son to accomplish this mission and they send the Holy Spirit to apply this finish work on the cross to those who come to faith
The means of being saved is believing in the the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
those who do not believe are condemned because they reject the only witness from God. There is no other savior. God has given more than revelation for all mankind.
The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.
19 And
this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men
loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For
everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his
deeds be exposed. 21 But he who practices the
truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been
done by God.”
We see the difference between unbelievers and believers.
Unbelievers stay in darkness and continue in evil deeds. They hate Jesus! He exposes you. He exposes our sinfulness
“But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’
the Light changes believers, who were once unbelievers, so that through the power of God they practice the truth
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
Applications:
V1. Nicodemus became a believer eventually, but did have to affiliate himself with a group that hates Jesus Christ? (Jhn 12:42-43; 19:38-40)
After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body.
Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.
So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;
for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
V2. Nicodemus came by night but didn’t want to be seen publicly with Jesus. Is that with you? State who you are with
V3. Man-made rules will not get you into the kingdom. it will damn you. Thats whast the Pharisses were doing and teavhing. Not everything was wrong, but they added things that vdid not belong in God’s word. If you think that your rule keeping will save you, you need to repent and trust in Jesus who kept the law perfectly on our befhalf. Deut 4:2; Rev 22:18-19
“You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
V8. Just as strong winds leave damage and we can see the result as Jesus was saying. Has the Holy Spirit left His effect on your soul? Can you and others see the result of The Holy Spirit’s work on you? Or are you still the same? No effect from the Spirit of God. Not having the Spirit, thus belonging to Christ
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
V13 Understand tghat without regeneration from the Holy Spirit you cannot understand spiritual truths. Just as Nicodemus could not still understand. When you try tell people divine but they are not born again don’t be surprises. they are unregenerate. You need to be born again.
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
V15 When Christs name is exalted and proclaimed are you looking upon Him in faith/trust to be saved? This applies to born again believers as well are you still trusting Him? Continue to trust. The gospel is not just for the lost unbelieving pagan. Its for those who have already been born again.
Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
V.16 God demonstrates His love to the world. Are you like Nicodemus still questioning? doubting God’s love for you. How do I know God loves? Remember this
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
V.21 Faith in Jesus Should result in practicing the truth and a life of repentance. Transformation.
I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.
