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You Must Be Born Again
The document discusses the necessity of being 'born again' to enter the kingdom of God as explained by Jesus to Nicodemus in the Gospel of John. It emphasizes that true spiritual rebirth comes through faith in Christ and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, it conveys the message of eternal life for those who believe in Jesus, who is depicted as essential for spiritual sustenance and justification.
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You Must Be Born Again
- 1.
- 2. John3:1-3 1 Now therewas a man of the Phariseesnamed Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by nightand said to him,“Rabbi, we know thatyou are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs thatyou do unlessGodis withhim.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unlessone is born againhe cannotsee the kingdom of God.”
- 3. John3:4-6 4 Nicodemus saidtohim, “How can a man be born when he isold? Can he enter a secondtime intohis mother's womb andbe born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unlessone isborn of water and the Spirit,he cannotenter the kingdom of God. 6 Thatwhich isborn of the fleshis flesh, and thatwhich isborn of the Spiritis spirit.
- 4. John3:7-9 7 Do notmarvel that I saidto you, ‘Youmust be bornagain.’ 8 The windblows where it wishes, andyouhear its sound, butyou do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born ofthe Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus saidto him, “How can these thingsbe?”
- 5. John3:10-12 10 Jesus answeredhim, “Are you the teacher of Israel andyet you do notunderstandthese things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you,we speak ofwhatwe know, andbear witness towhat we have seen, butyou donot receive our testimony. 12 If I have told youearthly thingsand you do notbelieve, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
- 6. John3:13-15 13 Noonehas ascendedinto heaven except hewho descendedfrom heaven, the Sonof Man. 14 And as Moses liftedup the serpent inthe wilderness, so must the Sonof Man belifted up, 15 that whoever believesin himmay have eternal life.
- 7. Review You must beborn againto go to Heaven. We must place our faithin Christ. Only the righteousness of Christ can justify us and protect us from the wrath of God. We cannot cause the new birth, but God can. Callon Him. New birth means new life. We are a new creation with a new relationship, not a new religion. Jesus is the life. Apart from Him, we are nothing. Live for Him!
- 8. Invitation For Godso lovedthe world, thathe gave his only Son, thatwhoever believes in him shouldnotperish buthave eternal life. John 3:16
Editor's Notes
- #3 John 3:1 Ruler of the Jews refers to a member of the Jewish governing body called the Sanhedrin. John 3:2 Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night, which usually carries a symbolic overtone of spiritual darkness elsewhere in John (9:4; 11:10; 13:30; but not 21:3). Coming from the “teacher of Israel” (3:10), the addressRabbi (meaning “teacher”) denotes respect, especially since it was known that Jesus did not have formal rabbinic training (cf. 7:15). The signs presumably include many miracles performed by Jesus in Jerusalem (cf. 2:23).
- #4 John 3:3–6 This discussion of the need for spiritual rebirth further develops the earlier reference to the “children of God” who are “born of God” (1:12–13; cf. 8:39–58; 11:51–52). The phrase born of water and the Spirit in 3:5 refers to spiritual birth, which cleanses from sin and brings spiritual transformation and renewal. Water here does not refer to the water of physical birth, nor is it likely that it refers to baptism. The background is probablyEzek. 36:25–27, where God promises, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean. … And I will give you a new heart. … And I will put my Spirit within you.” For further discussion of being born again, see 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18. The kingdom of God, a major topic in the other Gospels, is mentioned in John only in 3:3, 5 (see the reference to Jesus’ kingdom in John 18:36).
- #5 John 3:7–8 The change from singular to plural in I said to you [singular], “You [plural] must be born again,” probably is meant to include Nicodemus and his fellow Sanhedrin members (cf. “we” in v. 2), but the plural also carries broader application to all people: everyone “must be born again.” Wind and Spirit translate the same Greek and Hebrew words.
- #6 John 3:10 As a prominent teacher (the teacher of Israel), Nicodemus should be able to understand Jesus, since this new life is like the resurrection depicted inEzekiel 37 and the new heart in Deut. 30:6; Jer. 31:33; and Ezek. 36:26. John 3:11–12 Earthly things probably refers to Jesus’ teaching about the new birth, which takes place in a person’s life on earth. If Nicodemus as a teacher cannot even understand this, then Jesus cannot convey deeper truths to him. You is plural (in Gk.) in the second instance in v. 11, and all four times in v. 12.
- #7 John 3:13 Ascended into heaven probably means “entered into the counsels of God in heaven and remained there.” When Jesus descended from heaven it does not mean that in his omnipresent, divine personhood he completely left all fellowship with the Father, but rather that the focus of his activity became his earthly life as one who was now both God and man. John 3:14 The reference to the Son of Man being lifted up is the first of three “lifted up” sayings in John’s Gospel (cf. 8:28; 12:32). All three sayings speak of the future “lifting up” of the Son of Man in a typical Johannine double meaning (see notes on 4:10; 8:24; 11:50–51; 19:19; cf. also 3:7–8), so that it refers to both Jesus’ death and his resurrection and exaltation to glory in heaven (cf. Acts 2:33; 5:31). Regarding the serpent in the wilderness, see Num. 21:9; but cf. Isa. 52:13 also.