Questions Concerning the Kingdom: John 3:4-8
We all have questions and concerns about the things that are “unseen” in this world, and by far, the mystery of entering the Kingdom of God is of eternal, crucial and the utmost importance. Last week we began to study the visit of Jesus with Nicodemus, who was an influential religious leader of the Jews. Jesus examined the very heart and mind of Nicodemus and swept away all of his religiosity and misgivings concerning eternal life and entrance into God’s Heavenly Kingdom with one concise authoritative statement: "Truly, truly, (or Amen, Amen,) I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)
In Jesus response, He brings to light the meaning of John 1:12-13: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Any and every person is powerless to enter and see the Kingdom OF God UNLESS they receive a heavenly or spiritual birth that is outside of the flesh FROM God.
Last week we looked at John 3:1-3: “Now 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.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
(Today) 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?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter (into) 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 (sing.), ‘You (pl.) must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
“How can a man be born when he is old?”
“How can a man be born when he is old?” The first question posed by Nicodemus shows that he is at least “interested” to know more about entering the Kingdom of God but in a sense he is also answering it with skepticism in the second part of his statement: “Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” The answer from a purely human stand point (“pou sto”: “where I stand”) would be: NO! OF COURSE NOT! THAT WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE! But what Nicodemus doesn’t realize along with all sinful humankind is that sinful man does not even SEEK God without God’s initiative, but instead runs away from God. In his fallen sinful state, man does not understand spiritual truth nor the need for salvation unless God takes the initiative. The Work is God’s WORK, not man’s!
“Unless one is born of water and of Spirit”
Jesus had already told Nicodemus in verse 3 that it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of God by his own persuasion or status or by human effort. And so Jesus reaffirms that to Nicodemus in Verse 5: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter (into) the kingdom of God.” I put a diagram in your notes and on the screen to show this: Jesus is saying the same thing twice: If you see the construction of the verses,
“born again” or “birth from God” or “birth from above” refers to the only way that you will “SEE” the Kingdom of God. In verse 5 “Born of water and the Spirit” is the only way that you will “ENTER” the Kingdom of God, “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God!”
John 3:3: “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”
John 3:5: ”Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
The “water and Spirit” are referring to the same act as “BORN AGAIN”: Being born from ABOVE has nothing to do with PHYSICAL WATER and being “BORN OF WATER” has nothing to do with the act of the waters of baptism but rather from the work of the HOLY SPIRIT. The inner spiritual birth by water and the Spirit is explained by the words “BORN AGAIN”.
You can make a similar comparison with John 3:3 and Titus 3:5-7: “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the WASHING of regeneration and RENEWAL of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” So, the words “WASHING”, “REGENERATION”, “RENEWAL”, “BORN AGAIN”, and “BORN OF WATER AND SPIRIT” ALL are used to explain the inner spiritual birth or transformation that comes ONLY FROM God in order to SEE or ENTER the Kingdom of God! The words “so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life’ explains that we enter the Kingdom of God to eternal life (He gave us the right to be heirs/children, to enter/see His Kingdom)
Jesus goes on to explain this truth: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, (THIS IS THE PHYSICAL) and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (THIS IS OF God!) .“Flesh is flesh, Spirit is Spirit.” There is no cross over: the two are totally different spheres: the flesh is earthly and the spirit is heavenly. Regeneration is being born out of the Spirit of God not out of a human womb. The way IS narrow, but it is only through the WATER OF THE WORD and by power of the Spirit. There is no evolution from flesh to spirit; it is not a process of starting with one and evolving into another. There are two separate spheres.
Listen to Paul’s explanation of sharing the wisdom of the Gospel in 1 Cor. 2:7-11: “But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age (like the Pharisees and Sanhedrin) understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”
Paul was emphasizing the same thing that Jesus was telling Nicodemus: There is an unfathomable difference between God and human beings! Mankind is helpless to transcend the gap between the God and Man. That which is from the earth is EARTHLY, and that which from Heaven is Heavenly: Man cannot somehow force his way into God’s Heaven. It is only under the Spirit’s regeneration that we can acquire that quality that is typified by THE SPIRITUAL and so realize spiritual and eternal life! The Kingdom of God is granted only by a supernatural act of God; To reach the level above the earthly, one must be born into it by God. Jesus is the only bridge to the new existence.
The Agents of God are the Word, both the LIVING Word the Lord Jesus (as well as the WRITTEN Word which He has “BREATHED OUT” for us as His testimony) and the Spirit of God.
1 Peter 1:23 says it this way: “Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” “There are many symbols for the Word of God in the Bible. The bible is “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. (Ps. 119:105. It is like “a fire and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces” (Jere. 23:29). It is “milk” to the spiritual infant and “strong meat” to those of a more mature age (1 Peter 2:2, Heb. 5:11-14. It is a sword (Heb. 4:12, Eph 6:17), a “mirror” (1 Cor. 13:12, 2 Cor. 3:18, James 1:23). It is a “schoolmaster to bring us to Christ” (Gal. 3:24). It is a branch grafted into our bodies (James 1:21).
Peter says in verses 18 and 19: “It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed…but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. “Through Him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God” (v. 21)
God first of all plants within the heart of the person what we might call the ovum of saving faith, for we are told that even faith is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8) Second, God sends forth the seed of his Word…which contains the divine life within it, piercing the ovum of fiath that God has already placed within our hearts. The result is conception. By this means, a new spiritual life comes into being, a life that has its origin in God and that therefore has NO CONNECTION whatever with the sinful life that surrounds it.” (p. 202 “The Gospel of John”, James M. Boice) This is why we exclaim that Salvation is from God alone. To God be the Glory Alone.
“The wind blows where it wishes…”
Jesus knew the heart of Nicodemus, and that though he was being drawn by God, the new birth is very difficult to understand, so Jesus explains further, (THIS IS WHAT IT IS LIKE!): “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Just like the wind, the Work of the Word and Will of God’s Spirit are undeniable and perceptible but not controllable nor understandable by man BECAUSE man is FLESH. Man does not choose where the wind blows nor does man originate the power of the wind, but we can certainly sense and see the effects of the wind. We know when the wind has come mightily because we can SEE the effects of it.
In the same way, although you do not know HOW God works you can certainly know that God HAS WORKED because you can witness the effects of His Work; You know its effects and you are able to acknowledge that the work of the Word and His Spirit have been accomplished by Him and by Him alone without any human endeavor. Praise be to our Great Saving God!
Warning to the skeptics: “Do NOT marvel” at this!
Jesus slips in a word of warning to the skeptics in verse 7: “Do not marvel that I said to you (in the singular, specifically to Nicodemus and to you and I personally), ‘You (plural, any of you who think differently) must be born again.” No one is excluded from Jesus’ statement of undeniable fact: Anyone who enters or sees the Kingdom of God will gain access by a spiritual birth from God, by the water of the Word and by the Power of the Holy Spirit! Jesus is saying: Stop “wondering” if you can achieve access by some other means or measure because there is NO OTHER WAY: The new birth is absolutely essential and it is a gift from God, so that you have nothing at all about which to boast. The new birth is a permanent thing by God and makes you fit for the kingdom of God.
Have you been born again? Sinful Human nature will never be able to produce Godly life: It is a human impossibility! The heart of flesh is natural man and the heart of a natural man is a polluted spring of water. You may be able to paint the top of the pump which is showing so that what is visible may appear good, but the spring of water will still be polluted with sin. Paul wrote in Romans 8:9: “Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.”
Is there a new spring of water within you or are you still painting the pump over the spring of your old human nature? You must face this question honestly, for the Bible teaches that there is no good in you that can satisfy God’s righteousness. In order to please God, you must have the life of God inside of you and it is why Jesus insists, that the only way you can enter or see the Kingdom of God is if you have been “born of God, born again.” It is God’s work alone for God’s Glory alone. Praise His Holy Name!
OUTLINE:
I. Question 1: “How can a man be born when he is old?” (Vs 5 and Titus 3:5c)
1. It is impossible!
2. Man does not seek God but runs away from God.
3. In his fallen state, man does not understand spiritual truth unless God takes the initiative. (1 Cor. 2:7-11)
4. The Work is of God.
II. Answer #1: “Unless one is born of water and of Spirit”
1.“Flesh is flesh, Spirit is Spirit.”
2. Regeneration is being born out of the Spirit.
3. There is no evolution from flesh to spirit.
4. Emphasizes the difference between God and human beings!
5. To reach the level above the earthly, one must be born into it by God.
6. Jesus is the only bridge to the new existence: Agents of God are the Word and the Spirit
III. Answer #2: “The wind blows where it wishes …
So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (1 Cor. 2:7-11)
-The Work of the Word and Will of God’s Spirit are undeniable and perceptible but not controllable nor understandable by man, but you know its effects. God’s effect is well known but totally acknowledged after it is accomplished by Him.
IV. Warning to the skeptics: “Do NOT marvel” at this!
1. Jesus responds to Nicodemus personally but excludes NO ONE. (Sing. and Pl.)
2. Stop “wondering”, because the new birth is absolutely essential.
