Of The Grace In Regeneration

Open Your bibles this morning to the Gospel of John chapter 3. 

This morning we are talking the heading in our statement of faith which says, “Of Grace in Regeneration”. IN this section we find this,

“We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated, or born again; that regeneration consists in giving a holy disposition to the mind; that it is effected in a manner above our comprehension by the power of the Holy Spirit, in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel; and that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life.”

 This follows very naturally from the last heading because when we hear about the work of salvation being of God, and we know that the nature of man in spiritually destitute, we are left to ask the question the disciples once asked Jesus in shear desperation, “how then can man be saved”. Yet, this morning we find ourselves into the climax as it were of the Christian faith. The people of God have rarely ever viewed the world as just stuff. Like the material portion is all there is. No, the people of God have understood that God is Spirit, and he presents himself back and forth between these places. For He says in Isaiah 66:1, “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is the footstool of My feet”. Thus, there is another realm out there, or at least a part of this world we live in is unseen. 

In our modern world we would like to believe that there is a supernatural realm, but it’s almost like we make it more of a joke or a dream land than a reality. If you have a hard time believing that there is a supernatural  realm, don’t worry, you are not alone. There are many today who have a hard time with this. But even that is not uncommon. For man has always had a hard time wrapping his head around the reality of the supernatural realm. I want to share a quote with you this morning before we get to our text to show you what I mean. 

Emily and I have been reading Bram Stokers, 1897 classic, Dracula. One of the characters in the the book, the hero, Dr Van Helsing is a man that has seen some crazy stuff unexplainable yet very real occurrences in his life. And he is working with another Dr, Dr John Seward, in relation to some very weird things in the present. Now, keep in mind that this book is Fiction. However, in a conversation between these Dr’s, in the climax of the book when all the information is being revealed about what is really going on, Dr Van Helsing says this to his friend John… 

“Do you not think that there are things which you cannot understand, and yet which are; that some people see things that others cannot? But there are things old and new which must not be contemplated by men’s eyes, because they know -or think they know- some things which other men have told them. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain”. 

My friends, to understand John Chapter 3 and bask in the glory of the Almighty God we must tell our modern scientific knowitall man to be quiet and listen. Listen to the words of Christ, and consider the consequences of His words. The word is more than just stuff. Let’s stand and read John 3:1-8

John 3:1–8 LSB

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 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 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 again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 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 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.”

The situation is this, Nicodemus is a Pharisee… Meaning he was of the religious sect that was known for their strict adherence to the Torah, or the law of God. But it wasn’t just law. They were strict adherers to their own oral traditions. And as we see in the New Testament Jesus was not a fan of them. Was it because of their piety? No. Jesus was not a fan of them because of their pride. They used their religious and political influence to glory in themselves. To place burdens on their listeners that they themselves would not partake in. They did not know God. His word was on their lips, but their hearts were far from Him. So Nicodemus is a pharisee, but not only a pharisee, a ruler.

Our man Nic had a high and very prestigious position. This man was very educated and was held in high esteem. Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night. Which seems like an odd detail for John to put in there. But why did He come to Jesus by night? Well it does signify that he doesn’t want to be seen by his fellow pharisees. However, it also describes the way in which he comes. What I mean is that already in John’s gospel John has told us that Jesus is the Light. He is the new beginning, he is the day that is dawning. Before he was a man he was by his father’s side shining bright. In creation, he was the word that broke forth light into all of create to create. Paul says in Colossians that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and in him all things were created, in the heavens and on earth, both visible and invisible.

There we see it again, there are things visible to your eye, and things invisible. But what about the night. Our man nic comes to Jesus in submission to and through the lens of the old covenant. The old covenant, or as the apostles will come to describe it, the covenant of death. Night is a key word for death and darkness and evil. Jesus will go on to tell Nicodemus just a few verses later that everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God.

Under the cover of the old covenant, figuratively and literally, Nicodemus comes to Christ pricked by some sort of curiosity. Nicodemus has come to the light, he has come to the right person. But how does he address him? Nicodemus addresses Jesus as Rabbi, as a teacher. He is acknowledging his gifting, and recognizes that it is from God. He also recognizes that no one can do these signs that Jesus has been doing unless God is with Him. There is something that has pricked Nicodemus’ mind. He comes as the head of the royal we, he tells Jesus, “WE KNOW”. Who is that? His friends. He comes as a representative of other jewish leaders.

However, in this interaction we get a glimpse into the heart of Nicodemus. He can tell that something is out of the ordinary. It seems like he can’t quite put his finger on it because he does not come to Jesus throwing stones, or calling him names, or even challenging Him, but seemingly in submission to Him. The text does not show that Nicodemus even asks a question to start, but Jesus makes a statment in a declarative fashion that seems to draw out what is going on inside our man Nic.

Jesus says, Truly Truly I say to you… Meaning, I tell you the truth… Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God… Heres the thing, Nicodemus claims to see something in Jesus’ miracles. He thinks he understands who Jesus is, but there is a missed connection.

It revolves around this birth thing. Nicodemus does not understand, for He wonders how it is a man can be born again from his mother. But Jesus is not talking about the physical. He jumps to another realm, He is not talking about the material birth, He is talking about the spiritual birth. Which let me make clear, the spiritual and the natural are not two separate things. They are one. They interact with each other, one bears consequence on the other. If it were not so, Jesus would not have said that it is even a possibility to have this new birth. But it is not just a possibility, it is a requirement.

How does Jesus help a ruler of the Jews understand? He goes to a classic passage in Ezekiel, Ezekiel 36. Oh I don’t have the time this morning to read it all to you, but for your sake this I urge you to go back and read this later. Read all of Ezekiel 36 and see the promise of a new covenant God will make with his people.

But the passage that Jesus addresses is just that. It is God telling Ezekiel that the people of God in those days will be cleaned by water and that God will put His Spirit not just in their midst as he has been, but IN THEM. That God will do a mighty work in them to transform them because apart from him doing this, they are dead! And then he shows Ezekiel what he means by taking him to a valley of dry bones and making them come to life. This is the grace of God in regeneration. The grace of God is this, that something dead is made alive. That God reaches down to man in his desperation and helps this non deserving, non earning, unholy creature.

In other words, Jesus is telling nicodemus that unless God works in you to see, you cannot see the kingdom of God. But now He says in verse 5 that Unless God puts HIS Spirit in you, you cannot understand the things of the kingdom or even ENTER it. You will simply reason and think and live and die like earthlings. Which is bad news because Jesus tells pilate in John 18 that His kingdom is not of this world.

Here is the rub… Nicodemus and all of his prestigious religious cohort think they understand God completely. That people who are of God act a certain way, and wear certain things, and stick to certain traditions and rituals. They reason about Jesus and all things of God from a worldly heart. And they think they understand… But Jesus is telling them, actually, Nicodemus, you don’t get it at all because you are not born of the Spirit.

You see the point here is this… The focus is not on the potential converts humility or brokenness or even their faith, but the need for a transformation and a new life from another realm by intervention of the Spirit of God.

He likens the Spirit of God to the wind. In fact in the greek and the Hebrew they are pretty much the same word, wind and spirit. But Jesus invokes an illustration here. When one is born again, God has done a mighty work in them that they don’t quite understand themselves. The wind blows where is wishes and in fact you hear it’s sounds, you see the leaves move and the clouds go by; You don’t know where it comes from or where it goes and you have no control over it. But you can see and feel its effects. So it is with everyone who has been born of the Spirit. When the Spirit works in our lives it is undeniable because He transforms us.

And that is what the Spirit does, He transforms dead things into alive things. Jesus isn’t talking about turning over a new leaf. Many life to boil christianity down to this. They think they understand it. Oh yes, to be a Christian is to think well of Jesus, and go to church, and read a bible, and pray before meals, and do good works for the poor and when you do that you will be thought well of and feel better about yourself. But my friends, this is religion. Christianity is not about making others feel good or feeling good with other people. It is not about Sunday gatherings. Its not about enjoying a building. It is not about keeping rules. It is not about communion.

But without being born again, this is all you will know. When one is born again they finally see becausae Jesus has given us spiritual eyes, and spiritual ears, and a spiritual discernment.

We see that its not about me at all. Its not about working at all. Its not about anything that the world says its about. Its about Jesus. The Spirits work in our life begins by giving us a new heart. And that spiritual heart inside of a person enables someone to follow Jesus fully. Without a new heart you are left dead in your trappings of religion without Christ. For in the life to come, we will continue to be in eternity what we spend our life becoming here on earth. Will you continue to live apart from jesus, in your own understanding. Or will you continue to live with Christ?

The kingdom of God does not start some day in the future. It is here now. To become a part of the Kingdom of God you must be born again. Apart from the Spirit of God you can do nothing. You can understand nothing. Like our friend nic here, you will think you get it, you will think you see it, but you don’t.

Which is how many church people spend their life. Believing they know what it takes to be saved. Just be a goodish person. We think we know what it means to build a church, be nice and make an attractive place for people to come. We think we know what it means to walk in the spirit as people are follow their waves of emotion. We think we know what it means to love God. But where is the transformation?

The texts tells us, that which has been born of flesh is flesh. The best we as humans can do is to make someone who looks like a worldly christian. Christianish, but no heart transformation. Which is what the church in america spends millions of dollars doing. get them to change their behavior… Say the right thing, act the right way, and then, we have done our job. This is not salvation…. To change ones’ behavior is not a work of the heart. it is classical condition. We can go through counseling and learn how to change our behavior… But Transformational heart change, that which the kingdom requires, is not a work that an earthen counselor will ever effects in you… It requires the work of God.

When someone is born again, when the Spirit of God comes and transforms a person into a kingdom person, not one person who has been through that can look back and say, “oh… I totally understand how that happened”. No, no science or reason can explain how it happens. But oh my can we see the effects. What do we see you may ask? We see lives take a dramatic course change from being a know it all, hardened, angry, fake rebel to voluntarily obeying the words of Christ in repentance from sin followed by a humble love of God and fellow christians.

Nic has got it all wrong. We don’t come to Christ telling him who he is. We come to Christ to be told who we are and to find mercy in His hands. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory over the death that clings to our soul, and replaces the wicked heart which consumes us with one that feels the weight of the glory of God and the magnificence of His grace.