You must be born again, John 3:1-15

The phrase “born again” is one that is not unfamiliar to most people today.  However, I’m afraid it is not understood by the majority of people.  Unfortunately, in a lot of circles it has taken on a denigrating characterization  which is attached to someone that is considered to be sort of a religious right wing fanatic.  However, in this passage, we find it’s origin in the words of Jesus Christ Himself, which He uses to describe those that will enter the kingdom of God.  In fact, He said it is a requirement of the kingdom of God that you must be born again.  So it behooves us to investigate this phrase thoroughly this morning, that we might be confident that we have eternal life.

John said in chapter 20:31 that he wrote this gospel so that “you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”  Now up to this point, John has clearly declared who Jesus is; that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, God made flesh, and he has presented multiple witnesses to those facts.

Last week, you will remember, John presented Jesus cleansing the temple.  That taught the essential theological principle that Jesus is Lord.  And if we are the temple of God, then Jesus is the Lord of our temple, and thus has all rights to it’s use, and the right to cleanse it for His use.  Today we will see another essential principle of who Jesus is, and that is Savior.  Not only Lord but Savior.  In fact, as I said last week, the two characteristics are inseparable.  One cannot exist without the other.  You cannot be saved, and yet not allow Jesus to reign in your life as Lord.  I think there is even something to be learned from the order found here in John, who presents Jesus as first Lord, then Savior.

So in this passage, John is going to use the teaching of Jesus Christ Himself to explain the way of salvation and the author of salvation.  And of all the teaching of Jesus, this passage sets out the distinctions of our salvation in the most vivid, clear terms.  Most times when Jesus taught, He illustrated a certain perspective of faith, or a certain characteristic of the Christian life, but rarely do we find a teaching more comprehensive on the subject of salvation than this one. In fact, it’s so packed with important doctrines that we do not want to rush through this passage, so we will likely continue it next week.

But let’s start as John does, with the man Nicodemus.  In some ways, he is the representative man.  He is the best of men.  He is extremely religious, zealous for the law and a religious leader of the Jews.  This cannot be over emphasized.  Church teaching has demonized the Pharisees to the point that we have failed to realize the truth about them.  This man was a leader of the Sanhedrin, the body of 70 elders which came about as a result of Moses finding 70 men of good repute to act as judges for the people.  So he was an esteemed civic leader as well as religious leader in a public office. And as a leading member of the party of the Pharisees he would have been extremely well versed in the scriptures, much of which he had subjected to memory, as well as an expert in the Mishna and the Talmud which were commentaries written about the law.  Furthermore, he would have been someone that was considered to be above reproach and who kept the law down to the smallest details. This guy exceeded the most rigorous demands put upon priests or bishops or pastors today in every way possible; in education, in conduct, and in piety.  And to top it all off, according to historians, he was very rich.  Extremely wealthy.  In all respects, if we were to choose a man to represent mankind before God this would be the guy that we would elect for the job.

Verse two tells us that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night.  John doesn’t tell us why.  It could have been that he had to work days and nights were the only time he had free.  But I rather doubt that.  The implication agreed upon by most commentators is that due to his position in the Sanhedrin and the party of the Pharisees, he came at night to have a private meeting with Jesus without fear of being noticed by the public or even perhaps by his peers.  It would have been considered unseemly for such an exalted person, himself an esteeemed teacher, to come before a humble Galilean who had no formal training or official recognition.  And I would also point out that when Nicodemus comes, he seems to indicate that he is coming on behalf of others, not simply for his own personal benefit.  Note the use of the pronoun “we” when he addresses Jesus.  It’s quite possible in my opinion that he was sent privately by the Pharisees to try to figure out who Jesus was.  They had already asked him when he cleansed the temple a few days previously by what authority did He do these things.  So they were watching Jesus, hearing about His miracles, and wanted to delve further into who He was, but without attracting attention.

And then notice that Nicodemus not only comes under the cover of night, but under the pretence of solidarity.  He starts out by affecting a kinship with Jesus, a solidarity that they are somehow of the same ilk, or after the  same things. Basically, he is using a form of flattery to gain an advantage in the conversation.  And this is a common ploy of people who come to church today.  They rarely come on their knees in humility, seeking repentance and forgiveness.  But they come under false pretences, professing knowledge of  the things of God and claiming pure motives in their worship of God.  At the base of that attitude is a sense of self righteousness, of entitlement.  After all, they aren’t the really bad people.  Really sinful people don’t often come to church; they are too ashamed.  But religion attracts the self righteous, the ones who feel that they are basically good, moral people.  And that attitude is illustrated by Nicodemus.

He says to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”  Notice the flattery, the fawning use of the title “Rabbi”, or Teacher, and the acknowledgment that God is with Jesus.  It’s interesting that some of my harshest critics have started out with the same approach, by first flattering me and saying how much they appreciate my sermons, or saying how it’s obvious that I am being used by God to preach the truth.  When they say such things now I instinctively find myself getting ready to duck.  I have learned the hard way that such flattery usually precedes an attack.

So Nicodemus says that they knew Jesus was of God because He did signs or miracles. By the way, we know that signs do not necessarily mean that someone is of God.  One only needs to remember the magicians of Pharaoh who were able to duplicate the signs of Moses to know that all signs are not necessarily from God.  That is one of the great dangers of false prophets who will arise in the last days.  They will be given power by the devil to do signs which will lead people astray.  Jesus warned about that in Matt. 24:24, "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” And please don’t be deceived by the fact that signs and wonders done in a church building or performed on television supposedly in the name of Jesus automatically sanctifies such things.  No, the devil is in church as well.  Again Jesus warned in Matt. 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'”  So Nicodemus was wrong on that account.  Signs and wonders do not necessarily confirm that a person is of God neither does it necessarily produce saving faith in God.  At the end of chapter 2 it says many people were believing on Jesus because of the signs that He was doing, but it concludes that Jesus did not commit Himself to them because He knew their hearts. 

And that is the indictment against the Pharisees, and particularly against Nicodemus.  They practiced what was for the most part correct doctrine, but their religion was external.  But God looks at the heart.  And salvation is a change of heart as we will soon see.

But back to our text,  I love Jesus’ response.  He isn’t fooled by Nicodemus’ flattery for one minute.  He knows the heart of man, the motives of man.  So instead of falling into the trap of flattery, of feeling special that such a great man seeks to have a private interview with Him, Jesus interrupts him and cuts to the chase.  He exposes first of all that there is no solidarity between them.  He says you are not even in the kingdom of God, how can you judge the kingdom of God then? You come in the dark because you are in the dark.  So Jesus rebukes him and at the same time offers an answer to the question that the man should have been asking. What Nicodemus should have asked Jesus is what must I do to be saved?  But instead, he offers up some form of flattery in hopes of getting an advantage, and tries to establish solidarity with God, equanimity with God because, after all, he is a great leader of the Jewish religion.  And as such he is a representative of all men who presumptuously come to God based on their own merits and their own understanding of who God is, and who offer to God a so called worship which is little more than unadulterated flattery for the sake of gaining a “blessing.” They attempt to manipulate God for their advantage through lip service but their hearts are far from it.

So Jesus’ response is found in vs. 3, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Basically, Jesus just cuts him off at the knees.  He says you can’t even see the kingdom of God.  You are so far away from the kingdom of God you can’t even see it.  All of your heritage is worthless.  All of your law keeping is worthless.  All of your worship is worthless.  Your nationality is worthless.  Anything you might try to do in your own strength is worthless before God.  In fact, you actually have to be born all over again in order to see the kingdom of God.  Now that’s kind of rough, wouldn’t you say?  Someone has a desire to become a better person, to turn over a new leaf, to start going to church, to do right, and instead of welcoming them to come as they are and God will just love you the way you are, we tell them no, nothing about you is acceptable, you have to be born all over again.  Nothing you do is going to work.  You’re hopeless, helpless, and lost.  You’re a sinner, condemned, unclean.  Wow, that’s a tough thing to say to people. It could even be thought of as offensive. That’s not exactly seeker friendly, is it?

But that’s what Jesus does.  He doesn’t mince words.  He doesn’t play church.  He doesn’t play the game called religion with anyone.  And ultimately, that’s what is in their best interest.  Because only the truth will set you free.  Now the key to truly understanding what Jesus means is found in the word “unless” or it may say “except” in some versions.  In other words, man in his natural state is spiritually dead.  He has a sinful nature, and in fact, he is exceedingly sinful.  And God is holy and can not tolerate, or even look upon sin.  The first key to salvation is understanding your need of salvation.  That you are sinful and lost and separated from God to such an extent that you can never bridge the gap to the righteousness that God requires for fellowship.  Except you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God because in your present condition you are dead spiritually.  That is the result of the fall – God said if you eat of the tree you will surely die.  And we are all Adam’s children, and as such we have inherited Adam’s fallen nature, the same nature that got Adam kicked out of the Garden, separated from fellowship with God.  So you must be born once again.  Born anew.  To be born again does not mean reformation, that is education, nor does it mean renovation, as in making new year’s resolutions or turn over a new leaf, but it means regeneration.  It means something that was gone, dead, torn off, grows back again.  It requires a supernatural event, a divine intercession from God to make what is dead come to life again. To bring the spirit of man back to life through the gift of righteousness so that he can have fellowship with God once more.

Now Nicodemus doesn’t understand what Jesus is talking about.  I guess this is the first time he has ever heard the phrase born again.  That’s a phrase that has fallen out of fashion today in religious circles.  I have found that Roman Catholics in particular are put off by that word.  People in general make fun of it.  It’s used as a put down, as in “you must be one of those born again religious fanatics.”  Nicodemus probably was sincere though when he asked how it was possible to be born again.  Vs. 4, Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”  He was obviously thinking only in the physical realm. 

Jesus’ answer is to distinguish physical birth from spiritual birth.  He says in vs.6 “that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”  So there are two births then.  One is of the flesh, that is the result of coming from the seed of your father and the womb of your mother.  The second birth is that which is of the Spirit.  And we know that God is Spirit.  So the Spirit of God gives new birth to our spirit, so that we might be the children of God.  That is what John declared in his opening treatise, remember? John 1:12-13 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

So Jesus says that both births are necessary.  Vs. 5-6 “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. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” 

There is a lot of differences in the way commentators interpret that statement in vs. 5.  What does born of water signify?  Well, I would suggest that it means two things at the minimum, and these two things are what most Bible scholars would camp out on one or the other.  I happen to think that both interpretations are true.  The most obvious interpretation is that water is speaking of natural birth, when the water breaks a woman gives birth.  And that thought is paralleled in vs.6 because Jesus uses a parallel statement; “that which is born of flesh is flesh.” Vs. 6 is obviously expanding on vs. 5, so that you would have to say that 6 is just an explanation of 5.  But some people think that water  speaks of baptism.  And while I do not find that as likely, yet it is possible in that baptism is a symbol of repentance.  That was the baptism that John the Baptist had just finished doing all over Judea, baptizing with a baptism of repentance in preparation for the kingdom of God to be manifested in Jesus Christ.  So if you take that view, then you might say that one cannot be born of the Spirit without first repentance and then faith in Jesus Christ.  And that would be true doctrinally.  But I believe that the most obvious explanation is that it refers to physical birth, that which is born of the flesh is flesh.  Baptism as we know cannot save you, but repentance is necessary as a precursor to saving faith because of the reason I previously made, that is man’s inherent sinful condition estranges him from God.  But baptism does refer to a cleansing by repentance which precedes the infilling of the Holy Spirit as evidenced by Ezekiel 36:25-28 which says "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.” 

Now the point being is that you must be born again, you must be born of the Spirit.  And so Jesus reiterates that by saying, “Do not be amazed that I said to you, you must be born again.”  By the way, that word again in the Greek can also be translated as “from above.”  So there was implicit in that phrase born again the need to be born from above, that is born of the Spirit of God.  That is what it means to be born again. And so Jesus says, don’t be amazed by that. We don’t understand how it happens, but we believe it does happen upon repentance and faith in Christ.  Upon recognizing your sinfulness and need of a Savior, confessing and repenting of your sins, and believing and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are born again by the Spirit of God to new life in Christ.

Now to explain that further He says, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  And what I think Jesus is referring to here is the sovereign call of the Holy Spirit upon the soul of man which brings about the spirit of repentance and the gift of faith resulting in salvation.  We don’t understand how that works, but we should not be dismayed by it.  But the fact is that the effectual call of God is active is undeniable in salvation, just as the effect of wind is undeniable, even though we may not see it or know how it comes about. And we know this by many verses in the Bible, but perhaps my favorite is Rom. 8:28-30 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

The fact that God is the author of our salvation is irrefutable.  How He does that I cannot understand.  But I believe it.  However, I also believe in the responsibility of man.  Not just the sovereignty of God, but the responsibility of man.  And I approach those two seemingly opposing arguments this way:  when I pray, I pray according to the sovereign will of God to interpose His will in the events of life through supernatural means.  But when I preach, I urge men to respond according to their responsibility to act in accordance to the truth.  I do not know how to reconcile both opposing arguments in my mind, but I know that the Bible teaches both, that God predestines and calls men to Him, but at the same time He tells man to receive Jesus Christ, to believe on Him, and repent and turn from his sins.  So both are not only  possible but necessary and are not exclusive of one another but somehow interdependent upon one another.  It is a mystery,  as is the mystery of the wind blowing where it wills and coming from places unknown, yet working effects that can be seen and felt here on earth.

Are you  confused by this?  Well, so was Nicodemus.  He said, “How can these things be?”  I think it’s a cry of desperation, not necessarily frustration.  I think it’s a desire to know the unknowable.  And that’s why I think Jesus gives him a further illustration.  To help him understand by a more simple example. But first Jesus gives him another rebuke.  I don’t think Jesus was being vindictive here by the way. Nor was Jesus being mean by rubbing his nose in his ignorance.  But what I think Jesus is impressing on Nicodemus is his need of being reborn.  He wanted him to realize that his ignorance concerning spiritual truths was part of his fallen nature, and  that he wasn’t righteous, he wasn’t sufficient because of his position or title or pedigree or even by his works, but he was a man in need of a Savior, just as everyman is in need of a Savior.  So Jesus gives him a mild rebuke: “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”  In other words, if you can’t understand fleshly things, how can you understand spiritual things?

So Jesus gives him another illustration in order to help him understand.  And to do that He draws from the Old Testament story of the exodus, when the Israelites had sinned against God yet again in the wilderness, and God sent poisonous snakes into the midst of the camp to bite the Israelites which caused them to get sick and die. And God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and hang it on a pole that whoever might turn and look upon it would be saved from death.  So Jesus uses that illustration to explain the process by which man is saved from death and given new life. 

And so Jesus says in vs. 13 "No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”  Now remember He is explaining the process of salvation, the process of new birth which is as unknowable to us as the wind.  And so Jesus starts by affirming that mortal man cannot achieve heaven.  He cannot ascend to God, and so God had to descend to man. Even the Son of Man who came down from God to man, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. 

And even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness upon a pole, so must the Son of Man take on sin, symbolized as the serpent, and die upon a cross, so that whoever believes on Him, whoever looks to Him might be saved.   Now this illustration is taken from Numbers 21.  And in that account, when the people were bitten and started to die, they came to Moses and repented of their sins. They said we have sinned against God. Num. 21:7-8 “So the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us." And Moses interceded for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live."  So in that illustration we see that repentance and faith are the twin pillars of salvation.  By repentance and faith our sins are forgiven, and we are made children of God.  We are made children of God because we are born again of the Spirit of God.  As I said last week we are the temple of God because the Spirit of God dwells in us. 1Cor. 6:19 says  that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you.  So having been made righteous through faith in Jesus’ righteousness and propitiation for us, the Holy Spirit then lives in us, producing new birth and eternal life, so that we are a new creation. 

So what Nicodemus needed to understand was that Jesus was the remedy for his sinful, deadly condition.  He needed to look up at Jesus taking his sin upon Himself on the cross, dying in His place to satisfy the justice of God, and in so doing Jesus would be his Savior.  That is the only way Nicodemus could enter the kingdom of God.  That is the means by which all men can enter into eternal life.  Not just everlasting life, but the life of an eternal quality, spiritual quality that enables us to live as God designed us to live.  To have life and have it more abundantly.  That we might have fellowship with God again.  To be restored again to communion with God.  That is what it means to be born again.  And it is only possible through faith in what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. 

Today I will close with just asking you the simple question, have you been born again?  Have you turned and received what Jesus did for you on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins?  If you will just receive Him. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”