John 3:1-10

Good morning, everyone. Open up your copy of God's Word to the Gospel of John.

I'm going to continue our study in John's Gospel, and today we're going to enter into the infamous John chapter 3,

John 3 · chapter mention

and something that we all grow up hearing a lot of.

So before we dive into it, join me in a word of prayer.

Father, we come to you just needy and helpless today in asking that your Word would work deeply in our souls.

And if we haven't come here today expecting to hear from you, that you would change that.

That we would have faith to believe the promises that we study today, and you would apply it to our hearts.

And as at this time it would be pleasing to you, in Christ's name, amen.

Alright, we are in John chapter 3 today.

John 3 · chapter mention

Some of the background, TJ did a wonderful job last week.

But it's always good to just sort of reconnect to what's going on.

But the Gospel of John gives us a very clear portrait about the identity of who Jesus actually is.

And it also forces us to either receive Him or reject Him.

This Jesus that is portrayed by John the Evangelist.

We have to come to Him or flee from Him.

It doesn't really leave much choice in this Gospel.

But before we get into John chapter 3, just a little background and reconnection to last week.

John 3 · chapter mention

Jesus is now in Jerusalem with His disciples.

And He has cleansed out the temple in His holy and righteous anger.

And He goes on staying in Jerusalem with His disciples.

And people see Him do many signs and many miracles.

And it says that He actually kind of fled the crowd to avoid the fanfare.

Seeing that their expressed faith wasn't really real.

It was superficial.

And He knew it.

He knew that.

He didn't entrust Himself to them.

So later on, we see the story here in chapter 3 of Nicodemus, a Pharisee.

They came to Jesus at nighttime.

Probably to avoid the dangerous implications of actually being seen with Jesus.

Because many in His own religious order were against Jesus.

So He sought Jesus out to take a closer look to hear Him out.

He's genuinely intrigued by Jesus and His claims.

So we learn, though, in this interaction, some very serious things for our spiritual lives that are described in this interaction with Nicodemus.

And it answers a massive question for us that John addresses.

That question is, how can a fallen sinner that is dead to God actually enter into the kingdom of God?

How can those who are dead and sin, how can they have new spiritual life?

How can those who are rebels against the king have peace with him and then enter into his kingdom as his loyal subjects?

Enter into his presence.

That's the question.

And the answer is we must be born again.

That's where we're going.

But the kingdom of God is God's active reign or His kingly rule, both in the present and in the future,

that we get to experience in our souls once we come to know Christ.

It's not just a future reign, but a current reign.

Right now, the kingdom is here and it is coming.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, the kingdom is coming, but also the kingdom of heaven is here, it's at hand.

Both are expressed in the New Testament.

Christ ushered in the kingdom of God when He came the first time.

He brought it in.

The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Repent and believe the gospel, He said.

It exists with us now in the present and is also spreading.

His kingdom is spreading throughout the entire world by the preaching of the gospel.

And it will be perfectly realized when Christ comes to consummate at the end with His return.

And so, again, this is serious, but the coming of God's reign, His kingdom, either forces us,

it demands us to either repent of our sin or it brings us into judgment.

It's one or the other.

And so, let's read our passage today.

Today, we're going to look at John 3, 1-10, the first little section of John 3.

We read,

Now 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.

And Jesus answered him,

Truly, truly, 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?

And Jesus answered,

Truly, truly, I say to you,

unless one is born of water and the Spirit,

he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of flesh is flesh,

and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Do not marvel that I say to you,

you must be born again.

The wind blows where it wishes,

and you hear its sound,

but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes.

So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

So, and we go on to verse 9 and 10.

Nicodemus said to Him,

How can these things be?

And Jesus answered him,

Are you the teacher of Israel,

and yet you do not understand these things?

So we will stop there to begin unpacking this section.

But one of the ways I like to approach passages that I've found helpful to break that up

is do it by questions.

And the first one is,

Why do we need to be born again?

Why do we need to be born again?

And we see this toward the end,

some of this at the end of chapter 2,

just by way of reminder.

If you look at verse 23 of chapter 2,

When He, Jesus, was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast,

many believed in His name when they saw the signs and miracles that He was doing.

But Jesus, on His part,

did not entrust Himself to them,

because He knew all people,

and needed no one to bear witness about man,

for He Himself knew what was in man.

And so, we see here a couple of things,

and from last week's passage and our passage today,

about what being born again is not.

Just to clarify,

it's not merely,

this is important,

not merely affirming the supernatural in Jesus.

Jesus did not entrust Himself or commit Himself to those crowds

that were witnessing His signs and His miracles.

He knew what was in their hearts.

He knew that many of them were not expressing genuine saving faith in Him,

but were merely enthused,

mesmerized by all the signs and miracles that He was doing.

So, belief in Jesus' name,

therefore, isn't just an intellectual assent to a true reality.

It's not just,

Hey, yeah, there's Jesus.

You know what?

There's something really amazing about Him.

There's something different about Him.

That's not what being born again is.

One of their own religious leaders that we see here today,

Nicodemus,

and others,

it says in our passage,

they affirm something special about Jesus too.

He says,

Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher that's come from God.

Because no one could do the signs that you're doing unless God was with him.

So even Nicodemus,

notice that it says we in that verse.

And not just Nicodemus,

he's implying that even other people,

maybe other Pharisees as well,

notice that there's something different about Jesus.

And that God is actually with him.

So, and he calls him Rabbi,

which is a very respectful term,

because Jesus,

especially because Jesus had actually never been to their schools,

and received their formal training,

as you can read about in chapter 7, verse 15.

But yet,

yet,

Jesus does not respond to Nicodemus

by saying,

hey, you know what?

I wish what you're seeing now

is what all those other people saw.

He doesn't say that.

I wish that they could see the truth that you see,

Nicodemus.

He doesn't respond to that.

Instead,

he catches them completely off guard.

And Jesus says,

Nicodemus,

listen

very carefully

to me.

You cannot enter into the kingdom of God

unless you're born again.

You'll never even see the kingdom of God.

And so,

it's not,

being born again

is not just

beholding signs

and miraculous things

that Jesus may do,

and being mesmerized by them,

and even giving credit.

Right?

That's what he says.

Like,

no one could do it

unless God was with him.

That doesn't save anyone.

So,

one of the great dangers

of signs and miracles

is because you don't need

a supernatural life

to be amazed by them.

Satan himself

knows that Jesus

is the Son of God

and that he works miracles.

It's Mark 1.24.

So then,

merely acknowledging

that there's something supernatural

about Jesus

does not give you the key

to the kingdom of God.

So,

is there someone you know

that,

right now even,

that may know some

true things about Jesus,

recognize something special

or different about Jesus,

but it hasn't really gone

beyond that?

We see here,

so it's not just

affirming the supernatural

in Jesus.

It's also

not merely getting

new religion

as we see here

in this passage.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee,

which means

the separated ones.

During the rule

of Herod the Great,

there were several

thousand of them.

He had lots of religious

zeal for the law of Moses.

He had dedicated

his life

to studying

and memorizing

huge portions

of the Old Testament Scripture.

And most Pharisees

at this time

prayed two hours a day,

they fasted

two days a week,

and they tithed everything.

He said Nicodemus

was a ruler

of the Jews,

meaning that he was

one of the head leaders

in the Sanhedrin,

the religious council

of the Jews

at that time.

He was the head

of most of us

in terms of

his religious zeal.

Yet,

Jesus again says,

he tells them

that's not enough

to enter

into the kingdom

of God.

He refers

to the Pharisees

in Matthew 23,

27-28,

Woe to you,

scribes and Pharisees,

hypocrites!

For you are like

whitewashed tombs,

which are outwardly

appear beautiful,

but within

are full of dead

people's bones

and uncleanliness.

So,

you also

outwardly

appear righteous

to others,

but within

you are full

of hypocrisy

and lawlessness.

So,

just getting

religious,

having religious

fervor,

doesn't equal

being born

again.

You think of

someone you may know

or you yourself

that becoming

a Christian

is just adopting

some new customs,

some new traditions.

It's not,

or do you think

it's just about

outward,

external behavior

modification,

where you

deem certain

things as good

and certain

things as bad

and you

try not to do

bad things

and try to do

good things,

that your

relationship with

God just boils

down to a bunch

of do's

and don'ts.

That's not it.

So,

Jesus says

that either

affirming

the supernatural

in Him

or just

simply having

religious zeal

does not equal

entrance to

the kingdom

of God.

There's a big

problem.

So,

why does

Jesus say

that you must

be born again?

Why does He

say that?

Well,

the answer is,

make all these

connections in

the Scripture,

the answer is

that man,

fallen man,

we are born

spiritually

dead.

Our sin,

our falling

short,

or our missing

of the mark

of God's

intended purpose

has brought

all men

and all women

to spiritual

death.

As it says

in Ephesians

2,

just make the

connections.

You ever

done it before?

Why do you

have to be

born again?

The connection

is because

you're spiritually

dead.

You have to

have a new

life.

Ephesians

Ephesians 2:1–3

2,

verse 1

through 3,

you were

dead in

your trespasses

and sins

in which you

once walked,

following the

course of

this world,

following the

prince of

the power

of the air,

which is

Satan,

the spirit

that is now

at work

and the sons

of disobedience

among whom

we all once

lived in the

passions of

our flesh,

carrying out

the desires

of the body

and the mind

and were by

nature children

of wrath

like the rest

of man time.

So the

Greek word

for dead

here means

corpse.

It means

a lifeless

body.

It's what

you see

in a cemetery

or a funeral

home.

It's spiritual

corpses

before God

because sin

has done

that to us.

Sin

is awful.

So

traditionally

many people

look at this

there's been

debate

obviously

over the

history

of the

church

but

Pelagius

taught

back in

the earlier

days

of the

church

a false

teacher

that

man was

born a

clean slate

that he

wasn't

affected

by the

sin of

Adam

and that

he just

really just

needed some

help

some moral

guidance

and he

would be

okay

like man

had the

ability

to do

it

he just

needed

some

help

and that's

what

Jesus

came

to do

not

true

a little

further

on

you would

call

them

the

semi

Pelagians

or

Arminians

they would

take it

as

well man

isn't a

clean slate

he is

tainted

by sin

he has

an issue

he's

very

very

sick

and he

needs

a doctor

to heal

him

we also

would contend

based on a lot

of other

debaters

and faithful

men in the

church

like Luther

Calvin

Jonathan

Edwards

that's

not

how

it

is

man

is

spiritually

dead

he

doesn't

need

a

teacher

he

doesn't

need

a

doctor

he

needs

a

miracle

worker

someone

who can

actually

bring him

back

from death

to life

so

man's

senses

are darkened

by sin

we're

separated

from God

this is

the grave

condition

that we're

focusing on

Paul wrote

in 1st

Corinthians

2

14

the natural

person

does not

accept

the things

of the

spirit

of God

they are

folly

to him

he is

not able

to understand

them

because they

are spiritually

discerned

so it

stands to

reason

right

that if

someone's

dead

they also

can't see

they also

can't hear

this is

the point

Nicodemus

recognized

as others

did

there's

something

supernatural

about

Jesus

but

that wasn't

enough

at least

at this

point

he still

was

confused

he didn't

quite

understand

it

now

later

in the

gospel

of

John

we do

see

Nicodemus

show

back up

and when

they were

trying to

condemn

Jesus

among the

council

of religious

leaders

he actually

stood up

for Jesus

and he

goes

is it

wrong

is it

wrong

for us

to

condemn

a man

without

you know

bringing

him in

this way

against

our

law

so he

stood

up

for

Jesus

and he

also

helped

bury

Jesus

along

with

Joseph

of

Arimathea

so maybe

he

got it

at some

point

but we

have a

deep

need

for

change

why do

you

and why

do I

constantly

have this

push

this desire

to remake

ourselves

why is

that

why can't

we just

kind of

settle

on it

why do

we love

new

things

why is

it

there

well

millions

of dollars

are spent

every year

on

psychiatrists

psychologists

who want

to just

change

their

behavior

hours

at the

gym

trying

to

change

your

outward

looks

and be

more

attractive

tons

of money

on

cosmetic

surgery

to look

more

pretty

on the

outside

people

desire

they want

to look

different

feel

different

and act

different

but

Jesus

says

the real

problem

is not

without

it's

within

the

problem

is

your

heart

has been

corrupted

by sin

he said

that in

Mark 7

Mark 7:20

verse 20

he said

what comes

out of a

person

is what

defiles

him

for

from

within

out of

the

heart

of

man

comes

all

kinds

of

evil

he

goes

on

to

say

all

these

evil

things

come

from

within

and

they

defile

a

person

so

the

fact

that

he's

saying

you

have

to

be

born

again

he's

saying

that

there's

nothing

that

isn't

in

us

not

just

a

makeover

of

the

old

but

a

completely

new

spiritual

life

we

cannot

it

stands

to

reason

that

we

cannot

look

to

outward

superficial

things

to bring

about

change

in

our

soul

we

can't

look

for

outward

remedies

when

the

problem

is

within

so

Jesus

says

this

in

Nicodemus

you

need

a

new

spiritual

life

not

just

a

repair

or

makeover

of

the

old

but

a

new

spiritual

life

this

is

our

need

as

well

so

all

this

goes

to

under

the

question

of

why

do

we

need

new

birth

so

a

great

need

we

need

it

because

we

are

separated

from

God

because

apart

from

Christ

we

are

spiritually

dead

hearts

corrupted

by

sin

stands

to

reason

right

so

number

two

the

second

question

how

does

God

give

us

new

birth

how

does

God

do

it

how

does

he

give

us

new

birth

we

see

in

verses

three

through

six

the

answer

verses

three

through

six

he

says

truly

truly

I

say

to

you

unless

one

is

born

again

he

cannot

see

the

kingdom

of

God

he

said

to

him

how

can

a

man

be

born

when

he

is

old

can

he

enter

a

second

time

into

his

mother's

womb

be

born

is

he

still

confused

Jesus

answered

truly

truly

I

say

to

you

unless

one

is

born

of

water

and

the

spirit

he

cannot

enter

the

kingdom

of

God

that

which

is

born

of

flesh

is

flesh

and

that

which

is

born

of

spirit

is

spirit

so

he

doesn't

hold

back

Jesus

doesn't

hold

back

he

repeats

himself

and

he

goes

truly

you

must

be

born

again

to

see

the

kingdom

of

God

so

due

to

the

severity

of

our

own

spiritual

condition

before

God

Jesus

says

break

this

up

no

one

can

no

one

can

so

that's

an

absolute

statement

no

one

can

meaning

no

one

can

even

see

or

perceive

the

kingdom

of

God

unless

and

here's

the

condition

unless

he

is

born

again

and

the

Greek

means

born

from

above

so

something

coming

from

heaven

so

we

see

Nicodemus

pick

you know

he picks

up on

this

idea

that

yeah

I

see

you're

using

this

figurative

language

but

I

still

don't

understand

it

how

can

someone

be

born

when

he's

old

how

does

this

happen

and

Jesus

responds

in

verse

five

by

saying

a

fallen

sinner

cannot

enter

the

kingdom

of

God

unless

one

is

born

of

water

and

the

spirit

so

when

he

says

water

here

he's

not

referring

to

literal

water

but

the

need

for

cleansing

as we

read

about

in

Ezekiel

and other

places

usually

in the

Old Testament

when water

is referred

to in

this way

is expressing

this

desire

for renewal

or spiritual

cleansing

especially

in conjunction

with the

Holy Spirit

Psalm 51

Psalms 51:9

verse 9

David

David

mentions

that

sprinkle

me

clean

with

clean

water

David

says

thus

Jesus

made

reference

to

the

spiritual

washing

that

we

need

purification

of our

soul

this

accomplished

by

the

Holy

Spirit

so

look at

verse

6

Jesus

is

indicating

that

people

become

a part

of an

earthly

family

like

all of

us

are

we

were

born

into

that

family

by

physical

birth

not

hard

to

understand

but

then he

goes

on

to

say

yeah

and

if

you're

going

to

have

a

spiritual

birth

it

only

comes

to

be

a

part

of

God's

family

through

the

Spirit

that's

it

so

here's

the

stunning

connection

both

of

those

births

are

out

of

our

personal

control

you

didn't

choose

to

be

born

you

are

dependent

on

outside

agents

for both

of

those

and

so

another

word

that

is

used

in

the

scripture

to

speak

of

being

born

again

is

the

term

regeneration

it's

used

I think

only

two

times

or maybe

three

times

in the

New

Testament

but

it

means

a new

birth

a

reproduction

a renewal

or

recreation

it's

used

to

denoted

the

restoration

of

a

thing

to

its

original

pristine

state

a

renovation

of

something

that

has

deteriorated

often

used

in this

term

as a

renewal

or

restoration

of

spiritual

life

and

so

we

see

here

be

born

again

being

regenerated

and

so

how

does

this

happen

Jesus

says

that

who

is

the

agent

of

this

it

is

the

Holy

Spirit

so

the

father

had

an

act

in

our

salvation

the

son

had

an

act

in

our

salvation

and

the

Holy

Spirit

has

an

act

in

our

salvation

he

is

the

one

who

gives

us

new

spiritual

birth

he

reveals

as it

says

in

1

Corinthians

2

the

Holy

Spirit

is

the

one

who

reveals

to

us

the

truth

about

God

he

shows

us

the

secret

things

of

God

man

through

his

own

intellect

and

exertion

as much

as we

want

to

throw

down

understand

things

we

only

can

attain

a

certain

knowledge

of

God

but

that

can

often

fall

short

of a

saving

knowledge

this

is

something

that's

beyond

the

natural

life

our

physical

faculties

long

ago

God

promised

this

we read

from

Jeremiah

earlier

Nathan

read

from

Jeremiah

that's

one

reference

to

the

promise

of

the

spirit

coming

to

give

us

a

new

heart

one

of

my

favorite

is

seen

in

Ezekiel

so

this

is

a

prophecy

about

the

Holy

Spirit

coming

and

what

he

will

do

to

our

hearts

and

our

souls

!

this

is

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 11:19

11

verse

19

I'll

read it

to you

God

says

I will

give

them

one

heart

and

a

new

spirit

I

will

put

within

them

I'll

remove

the

heart

of

stone

from

their

flesh

and

give

them

a

heart

of

flesh

!

See

that

like

sin

makes

our

hearts

hard

unfeeling

toward

God

that

they

may

walk

in

my

statues

and

keep

my

rules

and

obey

them

and

they

shall

be

my

people

and

I

will

be

their

God

and

if

you

go

down

to

later

on

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 36:25

36

verse

25

it

says

I

will

sprinkle

!

Here's

that

reference

I

will

sprinkle

clean

water

on

you

and

you

shall

be

clean

from

your

uncleanliness

and

from

all

your

idols

I

will

cleanse

you

and

this

is

the

part

that

connects

it

directly

to

being

regenerated

born

again

I

will

give

you

a

new

heart

and

a

new

spirit

I

will

put

within

you

I

will

remove

your

heart

of

stone

and

give

you

a

heart

of

flesh

and

here's

the

spirit

verse

27

I

will

put

my

spirit

capital

S

within

you

and

cause

you

to

walk

in

my

statues

and

be

careful

to

obey

my

rules

so

what

happens

in

regeneration

is

not

just

getting

some

new

religion

it's

not

just

improving

on

what

you

have

on

the

outside

it

is

a

new

birth

given

to

us

by

the

Holy

Spirit

the

Holy

Spirit

is

the

one

who

applies

the

work

of

Jesus

to

our

souls

and

he

raises

us

from

spiritual

death

to

life

Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter

2

just

after

we

just

mentioned

that

man

is

dead

in

his

trespasses

Ephesians

Ephesians 2:4

2

verse

4

but

God

being

rich

in