Born of God, Part 2
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Today we are going to continue our study through the Gospel of John chapter 3.
Please open your bibles to John chapter 3.
John 3:1-21 records the interaction of Jesus with Nicodemus. It is one of the most famous passages in scripture because it is here that Jesus tells us that we must be born again.
Two weeks ago, we looked at verses 1-8. We learned that Nicodemus was a well respected teacher in Israel. He was a Pharisee who held a high regard for the word of God, and taught it to others. He saw all that Jesus was doing when he cleared the temple of the marketers, and his zeal for the Lord. So, he came to Jesus as night to learn from him.
For all his study of the scriptures, Nicodemus still wondered, “How can I enter God’s kingdom?”
“How can I be right with God?” I believe he knew from studying God’s word, the Old Testament that he had, that he was a sinner, and unworthy of entering the kingdom.
Jesus knew his heart, and answered his question straight away.
Let’s read the passage together.
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.
He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
After Jesus told Nicodemus he had to be born again, or literally—from above, Nicodemus wanted to know how this was possible. All his life, Nicodemus would have been taught that he was an Israelite! He was born into the people of God.
Jesus told him that he needed to be born of the Spirit of God. What is that? Different Churches or Traditions define this birth differently. For example, Reformed Theologians would define this as when the Spirit gives life to a person’s spirit inside them so that they can then believe. Other men teach that this happening at baptism, and yet others define this as happening when one speaks in tongues.
Rather than defining this according to men’s traditions, we chose to look at the Bible’s definition of this birth. We saw that God defines this birth in the bible as the following.
By the Spirit of God - John 3:1-8, John 1:12; Titus 3:5
With the Word - James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23
Through Faith - John 1:12; 3:15-16; 1 John 5:1; Galatians 3:26
Today we are picking up in verses 9-13. Let’s read it together.
“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?
Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?
No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
How can this be?
How can this be?
Nicodemus heard the words. He knew he needed something. But he didn’t get this new birth… this born of the Spirit thing. How was this going to happen?
You do not understand?
You do not understand?
When Nicodemus asked, “How,” Jesus said, “You are Israel’s teacher and do you not understand?”
I think the idea here is that Jesus expected Nicodemus to ‘get it’. He expected that Nicodemus should know this.
He called Nicodemus Israel’s teacher. That means Nicodemus studied God’s word, what they had at that point was the Old Testament. He studied it. He could quote it. He could tell you all about it, and he did. He was the premier teacher. And as a Pharisee had all the answers for what was right, and what was wrong.
But he had no clue when Jesus talked about being born from above, being born of the Spirit.
But how would Nicodemus know this? Isn’t this the chapter in the bible that talks about being born again? If it isn’t mentioned until here, isn’t it unfair for Jesus to expect him to get this?
That is what is significant about what Jesus says next...
We speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen.
We speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen.
Who is the ‘we’? God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Where did they speak? In the Bible. They spoke to and through the prophets. They had the Bible written down. They gave a witness, a testimony, of who God is, who man is, what man’s problem is, and what they, God, were going to do about it. It is all there in the Old Testament.
God knows what man’s problem is. God knows what the solution is. He knows us inside out.
God has seen? Does that mean God has learned as He saw things… No. God already knows. This word ‘seen’ is also translated as what is seen with the mind’s eye, what is understood. As in Matthew 13:14, ever seeing but never perceiving. Or, John 6:22, when the crowd realized that only one boat had been there and Jesus had not entered it with his disciples.
God understands. And He has shared his understanding with us.
God did not wait until this night with Nicodemus as recorded in John 3 to let us know about this work of the Spirit to give new life.
No, God revealed this all in the Old Testament. That is the homework this week. The gospel according to the Old Testament.
God spoke, but…
You people do not receive it.
You people do not receive it.
The Israelites had received the Word of God, the Bible. They had copies of it. Many, like Nicodemus, read it. They studied it. They discussed it. They memorized and quoted it. But something was missing.
They did not truly receive what God was testifying. They did not receive what God was communicating. They took the truth God shared about man, sin, justice, grace, mercy and forgiveness through faith, and turned it into a moral code—their own personal code of conduct. They missed the point of what God communicated all along!
How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?
Even from birth the wicked go astray;
from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.
The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
God new that we didn’t need a moral code. We need a heart transplant. We need His Spirit to change us from the inside out.
However, even though it is all right there, people do not receive his testimony. They do not receive what He says, so they do not receive the new birth only the Spirit can give.
Homework: Does God reveal the need for a new birth in the Old Testament?
What has god revealed about our need for regeneration, a new birth? Read Psalm 51:5; 58:3; Job 25:4. When does our need for a birth from God begin? Does it end there? Read Isaiah 53:6.
What is the root of sin? Read Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:2; Genesis 3:5-6.
Sin manifests itself externally, but where does it start? Genesis 6:5; Ecclesiastes 9:3; Jeremiah 11:8; 13:10; 16:12; 17:9.
What does sin do to us? Isaiah 57:20-21; Job 15:20-35. What does it do to our relationship with God our Creator? Isaiah 59:2.
Even though men are thoroughly sinful, what is God like? Psalm 36. How does this Psalm describe people? How does it describe God. What 4 qualities does the Psalmist describe in verses 5 and 6?
What does this loving God, our Maker promise? Deuteronomy 30:6; Ezekiel 36:25-28; Ezekiel 37:1-14. The Holy Spirit will give new life, and put into those who will receive Him, a new heart.