You must be born again. (John 3:1-21)

For the last week I have been working on memorizing Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus in John 3:1-21, with some success. I've got 3:16-21 pretty well, and today (Monday) I've worked on the earlier part off and on. Much insight is to be gained from this passage. Often quoted is john 3:16, which shows the simplicity of believing. But in this simplicity we must not overlook the hard truths and demands Jesus confronted Nicodemus with.

John the Apostle writes "1 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 are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”"

Nicodemus began speaking to Jesus with a confession of faith, but he had not yet come to see Christ as God incarnate, standing before him. His confession fell far short of the truth about Jesus, that He is much more than a teacher from God.

Without acknowledging, refuting, confirming, or denying Nicodemus's statement that He was from God, Jesus answered a question that Nicodemus had not even asked, demonstrating his omniscience, a first hint of his true identity: "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.”"

The phrase born again can also literally be translated "born from above." This answer shocked Nicodemus, who I'm sure would have expected Jesus to be pleased with his confession. Jesus read Nicodemus's heart and came to root problem, the need for regeneration or spiritual transformation produced by the Holy Spirit.

Before/Unless one is born again by the Holy Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God in a large sense is God's sovereign rule over his creation. Until Christ's return to judge the world in righteousness, God's sovereign reign takes on a special meaning, which is His sovereign reign in the hearts and minds of believers. Jesus described this narrower sense of the kingdom of in this way: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). God’s holiness and glory in his heavenly throne room is so overwhelming that all creatures there honor him with unqualified voluntary service. On earth, however, creatures rebel and refuse to acknowledge God as King, and evil kingdoms rise up to oppose God’s Kingdom. The hope that Scripture presents from cover to cover is that this disparity between the heavenly throne room and earth will be eliminated one day (1 Chr. 16:31). God will judge the wicked and bring redeemed humanity into a new creation (Isa. 65; Zech. 14). When this transformation takes place, only God’s kingdom will stand and voluntary obedience to him will extend to the ends of the earth as it does in heaven (1 Chr. 16:31; Ps. 97:1-2). The coming of the kingdom at the end of the age can be described as "regeneration" (Matt 19:28) but regeneration of the individual is required before the end of the world in order to enter the kingdom. In short, to see the Kingdom of Heaven is to be saved.

You must be born from above, that is regenerated by the Holy Spirit, before you can see the truth, before you can be saved. Regeneration necissarily preceeds salvation.

Whether Nicodemus took Jesus literally about the need to be born again or was simply picking up on the figurative language, he was shocked by what Jesus said. John records that "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?”"

Jesus hits Nicodemus with a second shocking truth "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." To be born of water and the Spirit is not refering to literal water, but the need for cleansing, as in Ezekiel 36:25, 27: "25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. [...]27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." This is the what it means to be born of water and the Spirit. Nestled right between those verses is another promise of God, Ezekiel 36:26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." This is the new birth, the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. Dead people don't bring themselves to life, nor can a man give himself a heart transplant.

Summarizing/paraphrasing Jesus up to this point: Unless one has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, born again, one cannot see the truth. Regneration preceedes the spiritual sight necessary to percieve truth.(vs 3) Unless one has been spiritually cleansed (repentance) one cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven (be saved) (vs 5).

And to leave no doubt about where this spiritual cleansing that produces repentance comes from, Jesus continues: "“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is 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 the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”"

Only the Holy Spirit produces spiritual effects, such as faith, repentance, a new heart with new desires. The Holy Spirit goes where it wishes, renews those that it wills. We can't understand where this will happen, who it will happen to, but the evidence that it does is evident. A teacher such as Nicodemus would have understood what Jesus meant here about being born again from above. And it shocked him. As a legalistic pharisee, the truth that he could do nothing for himself, that in fact he needed to start all over, and only God could give him the cleansing and spiritual regneration. He could not do it for himself. He must be born from above.

After shocking Nicodemus with the truth that he must be spiritually purified and spiritually reborn before he can enter the Kingdom of God, Jesus gently chided Nicodemus, "7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’"

John records "9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”" I've asked the same thing myself many times before. Everyone who really deals with the isues presented by scripture instead of sweeping them under the rug will as well. Don't feel alone.

"10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" As Jesus mentions, Nicodemus was the pre-eminant teacher in all of Israel, yet understood very little of the scriptures. But he should have. The Old Testament plainly taught the way of salvation, but men's spiritual deadness kept them from seeing the truth.

Jesus told Nicodemus that he "did not believe" and "did not receive." Faith comes before full understanding. (see 1 Corinthians 2:14)

Nicodemus did not want to confess himself to be a helpless sinner. And like many of us, if we can't claim all the credit for our salvation, well, I'll claim just a little of it then. John records "3 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven." Again, Jesus attacked Nicodemus system of works. You must be born again.

"14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. " Christ had to come and be lifted up on the cross that we might be saved. We must forsake believing we can do anything at all to save ourselves and believe in Christ to save us and provide for what we need.

That is the offer to often quoted "whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Those who believe are not condemned. Those who do not believe are condemned already. But theres a problem:"19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."

No one fits the description! There are none willing, because men loved darkness rather than light (thats you and me) because our deeds are evil (thats because we are by nature of the fall evil). We don't only love darkness by nature, we hate the light, and wont come to the light.

But God will not be thwarted. "21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”" There are none willing naturally, and thats why "you must be born again." Those who do come to the light show that they have been renewed by God, that their deeds have been performed in the grace god has sovereignly given.

And what shall we say to thse things? Praise be to God, that though we redeemed deserve eternal punishment just like the rest, God has chosen us based on the council of His good will! Love and worship God as he so deserves. Thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done, on earth (and in me) as it is in heaven!