The New Birth
(John 3:1-21)
Jesus
and Nicodemus
“1There was a man of the
Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2The
same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a
teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except
God be with him. 3Jesus answered and said
unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God.4Nicodemus
saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second
time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5Jesus answered, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. 6That which is born of
the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Marvel
not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8The
wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born
of the Spirit.9Nicodemus
answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10Jesus
answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these
things? 11Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye
receive not our witness. 12If I have told you
earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13And no
man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven,even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14And as
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be
lifted up: 15That whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16For God
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved. 18He that believeth on him
is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19And
this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For
every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest
his deeds should be reproved. 21But he that doeth truth
cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought
in God.”
THE NECESSITY OF THE NEW BIRTH (1-3)
A. NECESSARY TO SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD...
1. Unless one is born again, he cannot see (enter) the kingdom
2. What is the kingdom of God? In brief...
a. The rule and reign of God in the person of Christ
Acts 2:36
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus,
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
b. A spiritual kingdom not of this world –
John 18:36
“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world,
then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my
kingdom not from hence.”
c. A kingdom made up of faithful subjects (i.e., the church)
Colossians 1:13
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of his dear son:"
d. A kingdom both present and future
Matthew 13:41-43
“The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom
all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42And shall cast them into a
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43Then shall the
righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear,
let him hear.”
-- Do you wish to be in the kingdom now and hereafter? You must
be born again!
B. NECESSARY TO BE SAVED...
1. To be in the kingdom is to be saved from the powers of darkness
2. Salvation requires a rebirth, a regeneration
Titus 3:5
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he
saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
-- Do you wish to be saved from your sins? You must be born
again!
[Nicodemus is confused, assuming that Jesus has in mind a physical
birth. So Jesus explains...]
THE NATURE OF THE NEW BIRTH (4-5)
A. INVOLVES BOTH WATER AND THE SPIRIT...
1. Note carefully: one birth involving two elements - water and
the Spirit
a. Not two births (born of water and born of the Spirit)
b. But one birth (born of water and the Spirit)
2. Compare Paul's description
a. A washing of regeneration (water)
b. And renewing of the Holy Spirit (Spirit)
3. An obvious reference to baptism
-- The new birth occurs when one is baptized, for in that simple
act of faith they are born not only of the water out of which
they arise, but also born of the Spirit (regenerated) by the
working of God at that moment
Colossians 2:12-13
“Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the
operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13And you, being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having
forgiven you all trespasses;”
B. INVOLVES THE WORD OF GOD...
1. One is born again by the Word
1Peter 1:23
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God,
which liveth and abideth for ever.”
a. The incorruptible Word that is preached
1Peter 1:25
“But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the
gospel is preached unto you.”
2. Jesus sanctifies and cleanses His church by the washing of
water by the word
Ephesians 5:26
“That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,”
-- The new birth involves several elements (water, Spirit, Word of
God), all coming together when one responds to the gospel in
baptism
Acts 2:37-39
“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter
and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38Then Peter said
unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39For the promise is unto
you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God
shall call.”
THE EVIDENCE OF THE NEW BIRTH (6-8)
A. SEEN BY THE EFFECT OF THE SPIRIT...
1. We should expect that what the Spirit produces is spirit (i.e.,
spiritual)
John 3:6
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
-- Has one been truly born of the Spirit (i.e., born again)? With
time there should be clear evidence that a change has occurred
1John 3:14
“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.
He that loveth not his brother abideth in death."
B. SEEN BY THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT...
1. Paul describes the fruit (evidence) of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
2. Which comes not only being born of the Spirit, but walking in
the Spirit
Galatians 5:16
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
-- Where the fruit does not appear, either there was never any
rebirth or one is walking after the flesh, not the Spirit!
Galatians 5:17
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are
contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.18But if ye be
led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”
THE REJECTION OF THE NEW BIRTH (19-21)
A. MANY LOVE DARKNESS MORE THAN LIGHT...
1. Light (Jesus) has come into the world
John 3:19
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
2. There are those who love the darkness instead, because of their
evil deeds
-- Their love for things of the world cause them to reject the
light of Jesus
Luke 16:14
“And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.”
B. MANY DO NOT WANT TO BE EXPOSED BY THE LIGHT...
1. They know that coming to Jesus will expose their evil deeds
- John 3:20
“For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved.”
-- Unwilling to give up their evil deeds, they are unwilling to
submit to the new birth which acknowledges one's sinfulness and
requires repentance
No comments:
Post a Comment