The Gospel of John - part 6
preached Oct 21, 2018
"It is the perennial heresy of the human race to think that by our own efforts we can fit ourselves for the kingdom of God. Jesus makes it clear that it is impossible to fit oneself for the kingdom."
- Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John
This ‘perennial heresy’ has caught a little bit of attention recently as Lifeway teamed with Ligonier Ministries to conduct a survey which revealed 74% believe they must contribute to their salvation. Now, I typically hate surveys, and this one revealed an inconsistency in that 34% also said their good deeds help their salvation. That means 40% have to contribute, but I guess they don’t know how. But, we’re talking about 3000 randomly selected people. What bugs me is they are supposed to speak for millions. But the point is: a lot of people believe they can work their way into heaven.
Today, we meet a man who, if anyone could work their way into heaven, it would be him. And yet, Jesus will tell him, “you’re not quite there”.
John 3:1-6: Entering the Kingdom
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 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.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 1:1-3
Nicodemus meets with Jesus at night to learn about Jesus’ teachings.
Nicodemus acknowledges Jesus is from God, but has not yet fully embraced the truth of Christ. He wants to know more. He comes at night, which has sometimes been interpreted to mean he was timid, but it could also mean that Nicodemus wanted an extended study session with Jesus apart from the crowds. There is an old adage that good Rabbis study into the night, so it may just be that Nicodemus wishes to study with Jesus. Given that Nicodemus is one of the few who help in Jesus' burial, he may not be as timid as some believe. In any case, Nicodemus poses an important question, "Who are you, Jesus?"
To see the Kingdom of God, we must be born again.
Jesus' reply cuts through the formalities. If Nicodemus really wants to see the Kingdom of God, he must be born again. This phrase, born again, is theologically loaded, mainly because the Greek has two translations--both of which can work here. The first is the common "born again", and given the rest of the context, this phrasing is the better choice for English. However, the second is "born from above", which would mean Jesus is saying that in order to see heavenly things, you must be born in heaven.
Nicodemus responds with the obvious question, "How is this possible?" He accepts the physical interpretation, but why? It is because either interpretation is beyond possibility for Nicodemus. A person is a creature of earth. To become a creature of heaven is impossible. Likewise, it impossible for a grown man to go through the birthing process again. Again, however, we must remember that Nicodemus is a smart man. He must understand Jesus is speaking in metaphors. But even then, for Jesus to say a man must lose his entire history and be remade into a new nature is sheer madness. How can a person change the very fabric of their being? How can they be born again from above?
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?”
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 1:5-6
Jesus gives the solemn "I tell you the truth" to grab Nicodemus' attention. "Unless a man is born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit."
Being born again is a heavenly task.
The truth is being born again is a heavenly task. It is outside the realm of human effort. All fleshly humans can do is breed more fleshly humans. Apples create more apples. Dogs create more dogs, cats more cats, bugs more bugs, and humans make more humans. In order for spirit to be created, the Holy Spirit must do the creating. New birth is only possible because the Holy Spirit makes it happen.
What does it mean to be “born of water and Spirit”? Three options have been given through the centuries.
1) ‘Water’ is a symbol for purity. Thus, to be born of water is to be purified. It points to repentance of sin. The weakness here is ‘repentance’ is a common word and theme within all the Gospels, so why wouldn’t Jesus just say ‘repent’?
2) ‘Water’ refers to baptism. The weakness of this argument is the rite of baptism as a Christian rite associated with salvation did not occur until after Pentecost. There are still denominations who argue for the necessity of baptism as a part of salvation, however we must remember the thief on the cross who was not baptized, but nevertheless Jesus said, “Today, you will be in Paradise.”
3) ‘Water’ refers to physical birth. Avoiding the details, let’s just say in many cultures (and even today in parts of the US) water plays a role in childbirth. The phrase, ‘Water and Spirit’, points to the ‘again’ in ‘born again’. If we are to see the Kingdom, we must not just be born physically, but also spiritually.
I will point out as a side note, this verse argues against a common notion of the pre-existence of the human soul. Some advocate that humans are in Heaven before they are born, however nowhere in Scripture is that promoted. That is actually a pagan idea that has infiltrated Christianity via cult groups and Gnosticism.
Water’ refers to physical birth. ‘Spirit’ refers to heavenly birth.
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You[d] must be born again.’ 8 The wind[e] 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.”
John 1:7-8
Because it is a spiritual birth, it is an invisible birth.
Jesus likens it to the wind. No one can see the wind—where it’s from or where it goes—we can only feel it or see its effects. When we’ve been born of the Spirit, we can feel it. Do you remember when you were first saved? You may not remember the time or date, but most of us remember how we felt. That feeling when all our sins were washed away and we knew we were forgiven. But more importantly, we see its effect in our lives. For those of us who have been born again, we can see how God has changed us. Whether we were saved at a young age, like myself, or at an older time in our life, since that time we’ve seen God working and remaking us. Ultimately, this is how we know if someone is born again—the change that has been wrought in their life.
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”
Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
John 1:9-13
Jesus proves His message by:
1) the disciple’s testimony.
2) Jesus’ miracles.
3) the changed life of the believer
Nicodemus asks for an explanation or proof. The proof is in the testimony of Jesus and the disciples. Jesus has already said no one can see the Holy Spirit bringing new life, they can only see the effects. Jesus and His disciples have seen the effects of this new life. In John’s narrative, so far the only ‘miracle’ is the water turning to wine, however we should remember two things:
John does say that he hasn’t written down everything, because “no book could hold them all”
Even if turning water to wine is the only miracle performed thus far, that does not discount the miracle that happens every time someone follows Jesus. New life in Christ is a miracle in and of itself. It is the best miracle, and whenever someone found this new life, they most assuredly would share their experience with others and give evidence to the change.
Therefore, when Jesus talks about their testimony, He isn’t just talking about an esoteric or metaphorical experience, he is talking about changed lives.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
John 1:14-15
The new birth comes through faith.
Finally, we come to the ‘how’. How does someone receive or initiate this spiritual birth? What do they have to do for God to give them new birth? It is very simple: believe in the Son of Man. Just like the old story of Moses in the wilderness, the Son of Man is lifted up so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Do you remember the story?
Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
Numbers 21:6-9
The serpent rod was not magical, nor did the people even really interact with it. They simply had to look up, and their faith in God’s power would heal them. Spiritual birth occurs like this in that just as the serpent rod was lifted up, so was Jesus lifted up on a cross. The Israelites only had to look to the rod for healing, because that was their act of faith. Now, our act of faith is to look to Jesus for salvation. But we don’t look to some idol of Him, we put our life in His hands. “Whoever believes in Him”—as in whoever trusts in His work on the cross. Jesus died on the cross so that we can be saved. If we believe that, we can be saved.
Just as the Israelites looked to the serpent rod for healing, we look to Jesus.
Invitation
Today, you have a choice to make. You’ve already been bit by a snake. The poison is already in your veins racing through your heart and head. You sit condemned to die, whether you realize it or not. That poison is sin. It’s infested your very soul. The Good News is there is already a cure—freely available to all who will receive it. Jesus was lifted on that cross so that we can look to Him in faith and receive the forgiveness and cure for our sin. On the third day, he rose from the dead proving He offers life to all who will believe. He is still lifted up today in Heaven. Look to Him for your salvation and healing from sin. Do it today, before it’s too late and the poison drags you into death.