Today we are beginning a new three-part series on John 3 called Eternal Life: The Live Jesus Gives. This chapter begins with Jesus telling a man about the necessity of being “born again.”
Have you noticed that the world used the phrase “born again” as an expression to describe a variety of experiences? This week I did an internet search of “born again” and here’s what I learned:
• “Born again” is used to convey a sense of newness of purpose. There was an article on Guardian Unlimited about Al Gore entitled “Born Again” which tells of Gore’s new mission to save the planet.
• “Born again” is used to describe the thrill of a new romantic relationship. The expression is sometimes used in love songs: “With you I’m born again.”
• “Born again” is used to describe reincarnation. For example, there was an episode of The X-Files called “Born Again” which depicts a little girl whom Detective Mulder believes is the reincarnation of a police officer.
• “Born again” is used to express a feeling of revitalization. When a mountain climber reaches the peak, he might shout, “I feel born again!”
What does the Bible say about being born again? One of the best passages on the subject is John 3:1-15.
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
4“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
5Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The 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.”
9“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
John 2 ends with these words: “Now while [Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man” (vv. 23-25). Notice who chapter 3 begins: “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus.” Nicodemus is an example of a man who “believed” in Jesus because of the miracles, but his faith didn’t go far enough.
Nicodemus:
• He was RELIGIOUS – “a man of the Pharisees” (v. 1). The Pharisees were the religious conservatives of the day. Jesus did call them “hypocrites” on several occasions, but they were highly regarded by Jewish society.
• He was POWERFUL – “a member of the Jewish ruling council” (v. 1). “The Jewish ruling council” was the Sanhedrin (the Jewish “supreme court”). There were only 71 members of the Sanhedrin.
• He was INTELLIGENT – “Israel’s teacher” (v. 10). A more literal translation of the original Greek is “the teacher of Israel” (NASB). Nicodemus may have held an official position as “the teacher of Israel.”
Jesus said to Nicodemus, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (v. 3). Even a person like Nicodemus needs to be reborn (v. 3).
To be reborn (born again/born from above/regenerated) means to be made spiritually ALIVE by God.
Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus reveals to us several facts about rebirth?
1. No rebirth = endless DEATH (vv. 3-7).
God warned Adam: “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Adam and Eve disobeyed the only law God gave them; and, as a result, they brought death into the world.
“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Sin causes three kinds of death:
• PHYSICAL death (separation of a person’s spirit from his/her body)
• SPIRITUAL death (separation of a person’s spirit from God’s Spirit)
• ETERNAL death (endless separation from God; the Bible calls it hell)
“All have sinned” (Romans 3:23). Everyone begins life in a state of spiritual death. Everyone needs to be reborn.
Jesus stated three times the necessity of being reborn:
• “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (v. 3).
• “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (v. 5).
• “You must be born again” (v. 7).
2. Rebirth cannot happen without God’s INTERVENTION.
The Greek word “anōthen” can mean both “again” and “from above.” If both meanings are put together, we get “reborn from above.”
a. Rebirth is accomplished by God’s POWER: we can never do enough to gain spiritual life.
“Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (v. 6).
We are made of flesh; we cannot produce spiritual life.
“To all who received [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13).
What does it mean to be born “of water and the Spirit” (v. 5)? The fact that Jesus expected Nicodemus, an Old Testament scholar, to understand what He was talking about (v. 10) may indicate that being born “of water and the Spirit” is mentioned in the Old Testament. The Old Testament does foretell of a time when people will experience inner transformation by the cleansing of water (perhaps symbolic of God’s word; see John 15:3; Ephesians 5:26; 1 Peter 1:23) and the power of God’s Spirit:
“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. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:25-27).
b. Rebirth is accomplished by God’s GRACE: we can never do enough to deserve spiritual life.
3. Rebirth is mysterious: it’s INVISIBLE yet EVIDENT (v. 8).
“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” (v. 8).
4. Rebirth can be your experience (vv. 14-15).
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (vv. 14-15).
The account of Moses lifting up the snake in the desert is found in Numbers 21:4-9.
“Lifted up” refers to the crucifixion of Jesus (see John 8:28; 12:32, 34). Jesus died on that cross so that we might live. His resurrection proves that He is able to give life to those who seek it.
a. The invitation is extended to EVERYONE.
b. The condition is to ENTRUST your life to Jesus.
To “believe” in Jesus doesn’t simply mean to believe in the existence of Jesus. It means to place your life and eternal destiny in His hands. It means to make a real commitment to Him.
Two weeks ago, Marsha and I were in Toronto. One of the things we did was go up the CN Tower. While we were there, we learned that some people have jumped off the tower with a parachute. Imagine that you in the CN Tower and one of these jumpers asks you, “Will you jump with me? You will be strapped to me and I will keep you sake?” What would your answer be?
Jesus asks us a similar question: “Do you believe that I am able to give you eternal life? If so, jump with Me. Entrust your life to Me.”
“Eternal life” is both quantity and quality of life.
Quantity of life is not necessarily a good thing. I wouldn’t want to live forever if that life consisted of washing an endless pile of dishes or being stuck in an everlasting traffic jam. That would be closer to hell than heaven. Eternal life is more quality than quantity. Eternal life is being alive to God. It is knowing God.
Knowing God means:
• Knowing that He has a purpose for my life;
• Knowing that He has a place for me in heaven.
Invitation
Do you want to be reborn? Do you want to receive the gift of eternal life? Jesus has one condition: entrust your life to Him. Remember, He knows what’s in our hearts. He knows if our faith is real or not.
If you are serious about making this decision today, you could repeat this prayer silently to God:
God, I confess that I have sinned. I know that I can do nothing to gain or deserve eternal life. I believe that Jesus died and rose again so that I might be born again. Today I entrust my life to Him. Today I ask You to give me the gift of eternal life.
ETERNAL LIFE: The Life Jesus Gives
Part 1: Reborn (John 3:1-15)
Nicodemus:
• He was ____________________ – “a man of the Pharisees” (v. 1).
• He was ____________________ – “a member of the Jewish ruling council” (v. 1).
• He was ____________________ – “Israel’s teacher” (v. 10).
To be reborn (born again/born from above/regenerated) means to be made spirituallly ____________ by God.
Even a person like Nicodemus needs to be reborn (v. 3).
What does Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus reveal to us about rebirth?
1. No rebirth = endless _________________ (vv. 3-7).
God warned Adam: “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17).
“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Sin causes three kinds of death:
• __________________ death (separation of a person’s spirit from his/her body)
• __________________ death (separation of a person’s spirit from God’s Spirit)
• __________________ death (endless separation from God)
Who needs to be reborn? Everyone: “All have sinned” (Romans 3:23). Everyone begins life in a state of spiritual death.
Jesus stated three times the necessity of being reborn:
• “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (v. 3).
• “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (v. 5).
• “You must be born again” (v. 7).
2. Rebirth cannot happen without God’s ___________________.
The Greek word anōthen can mean both “again” and “from above.” If both meanings are put together, we get “reborn from above.”
a. Rebirth is accomplished by God’s ________________: we can never do enough to gain spiritual life.
“Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (v. 6).
What does it mean to be born “of water and the Spirit” (v. 5)? The Old Testament foretells of an inner transformation by the cleansing of water (perhaps symbolic of God’s word) and the power of God’s Spirit:
“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. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:25-27).
b. Rebirth is accomplished by God’s _________________: we can never do enough to deserve spiritual life.
3. Rebirth is mysterious: it’s ____________________ yet _________________ (v. 8).
“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” (v. 8).
4. Rebirth can be your experience (vv. 14-15).
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (vv. 14-15).
The account of Moses lifting up the snake in the desert is found in Numbers 21:4-9.
“Lifted up” refers to the crucifixion of Jesus (see John 8:28; 12:32, 34).
a. The invitation is extended to ___________________.
b. The condition is to __________________ your life to Jesus.
“Eternal life” is both quantity and quality of life.
