A New Creation

I say that all the time, that
this truly is one of my favorites. Because in it I see, I see salvation, I believe, come
to a man. I see the Lord Jesus Christ so
graciously preach the gospel. There is so much truth in this
chapter, so much theology, so much doctrine. There’s so much
of Christ in this passage that it has always been one of my
favorites and one of many people’s favorites. The great commentator
J.C. Ryle called the third chapter
of John one of the most important passages in the whole Bible.
Nowhere else do we find stronger statements about those two mighty
subjects, the new birth and salvation by faith in the Son of God. And so how unfortunate it is
that this great chapter, in a sense, is obscured right from the very
beginning by such a mundane thing as a chapter break. Chapter divisions,
I would remind you from our study of the history of the written
word of God, chapter divisions are not inspired. And this is
proof. They’re so arbitrary at times
that several have quipped throughout the centuries, the chapter divisions,
verse references, seem to have been done by someone riding on
a horse. And every time they hit a bump,
they’d make a chapter division. Well of all the chapter divisions
and the uncomfortable ones in all of scripture, this one arguably
is the most uncomfortable of all. If you notice, and I would
have you go back to chapter 2, If you notice, there is a flow
of thought that is entirely missed if you start in verse 1 of John’s
Gospel, chapter 3. The flow of thought has to do
with Jesus Christ, as we saw last week. First of all, ministering
in the Passover, in the season of the Passover, garnering the
faith of many who were watching His miracles. As they were observing
those signs, they were placing their faith in Him. And yet Jesus,
as we saw last week, was not impressed by that faith. We read
in verse 24, but Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself
to them. He uses the same exact word,
does John. Many believed in Him, but He
didn’t believe in them. There was something about their
faith. There was an inherent weakness to it. There was something
that wasn’t yet ripe, if you will, or complete about their
faith. And so the passage goes on, but
Jesus on his part was not entrusting himself to them. And then it
begins to give us the reasons. We saw these last Lord’s Day.
For he knew all men. Jesus knew their hearts. Jesus
knew what impressed them. Jesus knew what they loved. Jesus
knew what their affections were, and what they were amused by,
and what they’re amused by, as this passage tells us so clearly,
they were amused by these signs, these miracles. And as long as
Jesus kept doing signs, he could gather a great crowd. But Jesus,
on his part, was not entrusting himself to them, for he knew
all men, and because he did not need anyone to testify concerning
man.” Jesus didn’t need a report. He didn’t need to roll into town
and to peel back some key leaders in the city and have them kind
of outline who were the strong people, who were those inclined
to faith, who were those that were legitimate, who were those
that were sincere, because Jesus knew instantly. Jesus knew their
hearts, He was God. But Jesus, on His part, was not
entrusting Himself to them, verse 24, for He knew all men, and
because He did not need anyone to testify concerning a man,
for He Himself knew what was in man. Now there was a man. That’s the chapter break that
so obscures this truth. that Jesus puts forth Nicodemus
as an example of exactly what he was talking about. And he
has John in his gospel do that for us. Jesus, on his part, was not entrusting
himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need anyone
to testify concerning man, for he himself knew what was in man.
Now there was a man of the Pharisees. named Nicodemus. Much of Christ’s popularity,
as we saw last week, was a thin veneer. It was faith of a kind,
but not saving faith. It was faith that was interested
in Christ, but not committed to him. It was a belief in a
sense. It believed that Jesus, as we
saw last week, was a religious leader, perhaps a prophet, maybe
even the Messiah. They believed that he was a Messiah
like they believed in the local rulers. But Jesus knew their
hearts. And Jesus knew that in most cases,
the faith was not legitimate. The faith was not saving faith.
The faith was not unto repentance. If you would, we want to take
a running start at this, all the way back to 223 of John’s
Gospel, and we’ll take this exchange with Nicodemus as God intended
it. Now, when he was in Jerusalem
at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name, observing
his signs, which he was doing. But Jesus, on his part, was not
entrusting himself to them, for he knew all men. And, because
he did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for he himself
knew what was in man. 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 have come from
God as a teacher, for no one can do these signs that you do
unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him,
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God. 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? 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. Do not be amazed that I said
to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes
and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes
from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of
the spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, how can these things be?
Jesus answered and said to him, 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 it if I tell you
heavenly things? 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. For God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the
Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might
be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not
judged. He who does not believe has been
judged already. because he is not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment,
that the light has come into the world, and men loved the
darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil. For
everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to
the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices
the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be manifested
as having been wrought in God. As we embark on this study of
John chapter 3, let me just give a forecast or layout for you
a very basic outline. You’ve already seen it, you’ve
read through the passage, and there is a God-given outline
to this passage that will serve as a framework. I am not by any
means committing, because there are three parts to this outline,
to limiting our time in this chapter to these three particular
weeks. The first section, you can basically
stand back and look that there are a series of three exchanges. where Nicodemus comes and speaks
to Christ and Christ then replies. The first one you have is in
verses one through three. You might even call it a confrontation. Nicodemus comes with one purpose
and Christ turns it immediately to the necessity of rebirth,
spiritual birth. Then Nicodemus asks another question. The second exchange takes place
in verses four through eight. Here there is a degree of clarification,
or at least an attempt by Christ to answer this almost silly question
that Nicodemus poses. How can a man be born when he’s
old? This over-literal take on what Jesus had said, he cannot
enter into his mother’s womb and be born again, can he? Well, there’s a lengthy period
of clarification there in verses 5 through 8. That’s the second
exchange. The third exchange begins in
verse 9. This is the most lengthy of all.
The first exchange is a brief 80 words. question you might say, at least
a proposition, countered by Christ. The second exchange is more lengthy,
but still somewhat brief, given the nature of the subject. 127
word exchange, but this third is massive. Almost 300 words. And you might notice that throughout
this process, Nicodemus’ words start off as lengthy, even wordy. You might even say that as he
approaches Christ, he’s almost trying to butter him up, schmooze
a little bit. His words are much more brief
in the second exchange, but in this third, he’s almost dumbstruck. In verse nine, he just simply
says, how can these things be? And Christ proceeds to give the
most lengthy and detailed clarification of this subject that he’s embarked
upon yet. You might even call this an intensification. If he clarifies in verses four
through eight, now things really get intense. And he essentially
is laying out the gospel with absolute clarity to Nicodemus.
It’s heavenly testimony. He ultimately will prophesy of
his own resurrection. But for now, if you would, go
back to the beginning, back to verse 1. I’ve entitled the section,
the message this morning, A New Creation. Because what you have
here is the introduction, and it just really is that. It is
a, it’s just a very brief introduction where Jesus enigmatically almost
lays these things out to Nicodemus as bait. He wants Nicodemus to
engage. He wants Nicodemus to question
and query the very things that he’s laid out. But it’s an introduction. these first few verses, verses
1 through 3, Jesus merely introduces this idea of a transformed life. And in it, He will give us three
elements of salvation. We’ll get to those in a moment.
In this initial confrontation, I told you it’s brief, it’s the
briefest of all three. There was a man of the Pharisees,
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This word at the outset, now,
it ties us in immediately, doesn’t it, to those three final verses
of chapter two. Nicodemus, Jesus identifies,
is one of those many people who would come to him. He had come
in some kind of faith, a degree, a measure of faith. Many had
done so. And Jesus wants to illustrate
this in graphic terms. He basically positions Nicodemus
using John to capture this scene. He uses Nicodemus to put flesh
and blood on this idea of those who came in some measure of faith,
but not saving faith. Jesus knew his heart. Jesus knows
every person’s heart. And he wants to give us an example
of what that looks like. This is a godly man. It’s the
leader among the Jews. This is one who knew his Bible.
This is a religious man. This is a man of faith. And you
and I observing this man, if he were alive today and sitting
among us, would likely be inclined to rubber stamp his faith. You
might even say he’s one of us. He’s a member. What John does here, through
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is give us this graphic example
of exactly what Jesus was talking about in chapter two. A man of
faith that wasn’t. A man of so-called faith, a measure
of faith, that wasn’t saved. He had not closed with Christ.
He had not placed his faith in Christ alone for salvation. And
it just tells us in these staccato little tidbits, information about
this man. Watch how it unfolds. There was
a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
John wants us to know who he is. But he’s a man of the Pharisees,
and we’ve already met the Pharisees in John’s gospel. Remember, they
were those who sent this coalition of people to challenge and investigate
John the Baptist. These were those who were the
official leaders of the Jewish religion there in Jerusalem.
and they were a strong bunch. They were separatists, really.
They held themselves apart from the rest of the masses whom they
deemed more sinful than they. These were the original holier
than thou. They believed that they had arrived. They believed that they had the
bead on heaven, the bead on a right relationship with God through
their obedience, through their adherence to the law. As one
described them, this party seems to have originated as a reaction
against the secularist spirit of heathenism. And again, if
this individual were a Christian and walked into our midst, or
in this modern day, presented himself as a Christian and walked
into our midst, we would receive him heartily because he’s conservative. A lot of times we’ll ask that
question, we’ll ask questions about what people believe before
we even know that they are in the faith. That as long as they
line up with our doctrinal particulars, they’re welcome. He goes on. during the second
century BC, those who abhorred the idolatrous customs of the
Greeks and who, during the fierce religious persecution, stood
firm and refused to abandon the faith. These were doggedly committed
men, zealots in many cases, but they were conservatives who held
to the things of God strongly. And so you say, well, where is
their error? These became the Pharisaical
party. And although the Pharisees were
correct on much of their doctrine, much of their doctrine you could
back up and see is straight and directly derived from the scriptures. But as he goes on, they made
one basic and tragic error. They externalized religion. Our
conformity to the law was far too often considered by them
to be the goal of one’s existence. And there again, we have the same problem in our
day and age. Almost anybody can dress up for an hour and walk
into church, play the part, have the speech, look like a Christian, look like
they belong. The problem with the Pharisees
is they not only upheld and lived strictly and rigidly according
to what the law said, but then they began to embellish the law
and adhere even more strongly to their own, what was called
oral tradition. That got to a point where it
was almost held on a par with scripture. In fact, many times
if it contradicted scripture, they held to their oral tradition
more highly even than the law. They were so utterly scrupulous. These are the ones that began
to lock horns with Christ over his apparent libertine practices. Picking heads off the grain on
the Sabbath and eating them was akin to working in their eyes.
And they criticized Christ not only for that, but even for healing
a man on the Sabbath. So their movement these men and
their efforts was well-meaning. It was probably good in a sense
that they were reacting to the sinful culture in which they
lived and they were separatistic in that standpoint, but they
quickly went overboard and became legalistic. They elevated their own traditions
above even God’s. And even though they stressed
all these careful attentions and elements of the law, unfortunately, it ultimately
became akin to salvation. That if you only lived this way,
if you only live like we do or live like we tell you to do,
you will have salvation. It became legalism, salvation
by works. And so John tells us right off
the bat that this Nicodemus, this Nicodemus which nobody else
talks about, Matthew, Mark, Luke in their gospels, nobody else
talks about Nicodemus. But this Nicodemus was part of
the religious elite. He was part of that group that
was looking and longing for the Messiah. They were the ones that
you look to, not only this party, but even the more exclusive party
to which John tells us he belonged. Because
if you look at verse one, it was a man of the Pharisees, Nicodemus,
a ruler of the Jews. That can only mean that he was
a member of the Sanhedrin. Those are the ones ultimately
that would be opposed to Christ. But this was the ruling body. This was not civil, mind you. This was the ruling body among
the Jews. This was their ecclesiastical
elder board, if you will. And it consisted of 71 men. made up of Levites and priests
and teachers and elders, all led by the high priest. And so we discover immediately
that not only was Nicodemus one of these Pharisees, these strict
conservatives, but he was a leader among them. And a prominent one
at that. He was a as such a professional
student, you might even say. These were those that steeped
themselves in the word and in the things of God. So Nicodemus is presented here
as this representative of this group, well instructed conservatives. Nicodemus is mentioned only,
as I said, in John’s Gospel, and that three times. We’ll look
more at those later. Chapter 750, we see him again.
In 1939, we see him again. Some have equated him, and I
think incorrectly, with the rich young ruler of Luke 18. His name
means that he was the conqueror of the people. And so even his
name positioned him as being above, head and shoulders above
the rest of his men. He certainly seems to have an
appreciation for the truth. But then it says something very
fascinating, doesn’t it? There was a man of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus
by night. Now I have to tell you, in times
past when I’ve thought through this passage, or taught through
this passage, or at least used this passage as an illustration,
this always looks so sinister to me. This always looks so weak. And it made Nicodemus, and I
have participated in that, it made him out to be this coward
who came skulking around in the darkness and waiting for a unique
opportunity, and that may very well be the case. But there are
many times in Scripture where it identifies the time and day,
at dawn, at midday, in the late afternoon. I don’t know that
two little words by night can be distilled down to make this
man to be something that the rest of Scripture doesn’t necessarily
present him to be. Some said he was timid, and this
illustrated his spiritual condition, said one. Another said that by night, because
he was a member of the Sanhedrin, because he was a Pharisee, and
because they were opposed to Christ, which is not entirely
true yet, to avoid compromising himself, he came by night. And
so there’s another tidbit of cowardice. Another one said it
this way, for fear of the Jews and a high regard for his reputation,
he could not trust God because he feared man. Now all of those
things may very well be the case. God knows. But the interesting
thing is, if you look at the passage, There was a man of the
Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to
Jesus by night. You know what happens in verse
3? Jesus doesn’t rebuke him for that. Jesus doesn’t call him
a coward. Jesus doesn’t rebuke him for
being timid. Jesus is absolutely abrupt. He’s straightforward, he’s even
blunt, to the point. But Jesus doesn’t criticize Nicodemus
for this evening visit, and in a sense, you could even back
away and take a look at Jesus’ day and his daytime activities,
and you might almost commend him. I found this to be true,
that if you go to a conference, If you expect to talk to the
speaker or whoever it is you’re waiting for, if you expect to
talk to them, the big wigs at the front, the main preacher
or pastor, if you expect to talk to them within the first 10 minutes
following, forget about it. There’s a line 20 people deep.
But if you wait 15 or 20, you can have as much time with them
as you want. It might even be commendable that Nicodemus held
this subject so valuable and saw Christ in his potential so
clearly that he wanted an uninterrupted, calm, quiet interchange with
Christ. What better opportunity than
to come at night, everybody else for fear or superstition, had
gone to bed, didn’t want to be out at night. Not Nicodemus. And he comes to Christ and it’s
just recorded that he hails him as rabbi, teacher. He knew that Christ was a teacher.
He knew that Christ had some capacity in that regard. A knowledge
of the Scriptures with something to say. He even acknowledges
Him as a God sent teacher. 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. He knew that those signs
were authenticating His words. We don’t have to see even in
these words, and I’ve seen other discussions here that presented
these as some kind of schmoozy flattery. It’s possible, and
God knows, but Jesus doesn’t rebuke this either. Who are you
to call me teacher? Who are you to call me rabbi?
Jesus doesn’t do that at all. He’s just merely approaching
Christ and speaking to him as only He knows how to do at that
point in time. He’s a divinely commissioned
teacher. And for those, remember they
had just scrutinized John the Baptist, right? Who do you think
you are? What are you doing? for Nicodemus
to refer to Christ as a teacher is very significant because it
says that in some measure they already were esteeming Christ
to be something far more than ordinary. We know that you have
come from God as a teacher and notice that it’s in the plural.
We know. They had a firm conviction. This
was something they were noticing. This man was on their radar. And based on what they had seen,
he was legitimate. We know that you have come from
God as a teacher. They knew because they ran the
school. They knew that he hadn’t come
up through their ranks. And they knew that if he was
going to be that well-trained, God alone must have trained him. We know that from God you have
come. That little phrase, that prepositional
phrase from God is in the emphatic position. We know that you came
from God. We know that God himself has
sent you. And in that sense, you begin
to back up and look at Nicodemus a little bit differently, don’t
you? Than perhaps we have in the past. For no one can do these
signs that you do unless God is with him. We’ve seen your
signs, we’ve seen you at work, and still there is, with Nicodemus,
a measure of doubt, isn’t there? Nicodemus doesn’t quite know
what to do with Christ. He doesn’t really know who he
is, and that if he’s the Messiah, he certainly doesn’t know how
to treat him as such. But that’s why he’s there. He’s
come to Christ. He’s come to the source. He wants
to hear from Jesus himself. And so, there’s this statement,
perhaps of flattery, perhaps just of basic respect. Rabbi, we know that you have
come from God as a teacher, for no one could do these things
that you do unless God is with them. It’s a sign of respect.
But Jesus responds. And immediately as Jesus responds,
he begins to introduce this idea of a transformed life. And he
catches Nicodemus off guard. Because if anyone thought that
they were in line, in the pipeline of salvation itself, the Pharisees
did, and who among the Pharisees would have a direct line to God
himself? But the Sanhedrin. Nicodemus,
I’m certain, as he approached Christ, thought that he was in
the mix. He was in the fold. That he was one of God’s men. And Jesus begins to teach Nicodemus
about the foundational elements of salvation. And as I suggested,
there are three. Three that he unfolds here in
this passage. First of all, the ultimate destiny. The ultimate destiny. Look at
verse three. Jesus answered and said to him,
truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God. That alone, just that statement,
let alone the rest of the dialogue that follows. No wonder Nicodemus
is bewildered. No wonder he goes through two
more exchanges with Christ because he had to be caught totally off
guard. He thought that he was already
in the kingdom. He thought that he had a sure
line on the kingdom. But the merciful thing here is
that Jesus Christ is not willing, he’s not content to leave Nicodemus
where he is. With a topical appreciation for
the miracles that he had worked. He could have just said, thank
you Nicodemus, I appreciate you coming up. Let’s set up a time,
let’s have lunch. He takes Nicodemus right where
he is, and he seizes the opportunity to preach the gospel to him like
Nicodemus had never heard. Jesus isn’t desirous to leave
anyone at that point, appreciating basic miracles. And so, as recorded
for all, including you and I, he lays out before Nicodemus
the truth behind these miracles, the need not for a more thorough
reform of life. Because Nicodemus probably lived,
by human standards, an impeccable life. He didn’t need more reform. What he needed was transformation.
And without that, neither he nor anyone would come into God’s
kingdom. Jesus doesn’t even address Nicodemus’
statements. Jesus doesn’t talk to him about
works. He doesn’t talk to him about his qualifications as a
teacher. He doesn’t identify himself immediately
as the Messiah. What Jesus wants to do first
and foremost is address Nicodemus with the gospel. And in a sense,
He cuts it short and goes right to the gospel. He doesn’t address Nicodemus’
words, what he addresses is what’s really in his mind. And that
is the kingdom of heaven. He addresses what’s really in
his mind, salvation. Am I good here, Jesus? Am I on a solid footing with
this whole thing? As one said, Nicodemus misunderstood
the true nature of the messianic kingdom. It was a spiritual kingdom,
not of this world. No appreciation of signs or miracles
would bring a man any nearer the understanding of it. The
new faculty of spiritual vision must be acquired. Jesus saw his
heart. Jesus knew. Jesus knew Nicodemus
was lost just like the rest of them. And rather than papering
over this idea of these miracles that Christ, Jesus seizes this
opportunity to preach the gospel and he tells them about the kingdom
of God first. It’s the ultimate destination.
Now this is a very common phrase in the synoptic gospels, but
it only occurs twice in John’s. Repeatedly in the synoptic gospels,
it’s almost overwhelming how many times they record Christ
as discussing or laying out this idea of the kingdom of heaven
or the kingdom of God. 32 times in Matthew’s gospel, he
speaks of the kingdom of God. Mark speaks of the kingdom of
heaven. Luke, 32 times the kingdom of heaven. And really, if you
back away from it, there’s not a difference, there’s not a hard
and fast distinction that can be made as to the kingdom of
heaven and the kingdom of God. They’re both talking about the
same thing. What it points to is this idea
that the Jews had of this theocracy, that they really believed that
when the Messiah came down, that he was going to set up this earthly
theocracy, a kingdom, where they would be first in line. because
of their great faithfulness. That’s what the Pharisees believed.
That’s what the Sanhedrin were there for. This direct rule of
God with God as the king, the Messiah himself on earth ruling
over them. It was heaven on earth, literally. In fact, the Jews, the zealots,
they had this phrase that they would say as they looked at the
Roman rule about them and the heathen rule over the past centuries. Their phrase was, no king but
God. No king did they esteem on earth
but God alone. And so they longed and looked
for the Messiah. And Jesus knows that. But Jesus
wants Nicodemus to know what the kingdom of God is really
like. That it’s not going to be this heaven on earth. It’s
not going to be this earthly kingdom as he is presuming. Jesus
knows that he’s longing for the kingdom. Jesus knows that he
has doubts about how to get there. And Jesus wants so eagerly to
proclaim this to him. This kingdom has in a sense a present reality,
but it has an ultimate fulfillment. As one pastor said, in its universal
aspect it refers to God’s sovereign rule over all his creation. So
you could say the kingdom is everywhere, but that’s not the
That’s not what Jesus is referring to here, the universal kingdom. He’s speaking specifically of
the kingdom of salvation. The spiritual realm where those
who have been born again by divine power through faith now live
under the rulership of God, mediated through his son. And he knows
that Nicodemus is longing for that kingdom. How difficult to watch a person
like this squirm, longing for this place, longing and having
a false method. And so Jesus wants to zero in
and talk about the kingdom, this spiritual realm, this spiritual
kingdom where the Messiah would rule. It’s the realm where You
and I would know that it’s the realm where all believers have
this intimate communion with God. When Jesus lays out before
Nicodemus this idea of entering the kingdom of God, he’s essentially
telling him, look, here’s how to be saved. Here’s how to close
with God. Here’s how to draw near in communion
to God. Here’s the one right way. So
he tells him not only about the ultimate destiny, but look at
the passage. He tells him about complete transformation. And this is the shocking part
for Nicodemus. He would have known about the
kingdom of God. And he would have known about
the strictness, the strictness of means of entering into that
kingdom. But this complete transformation
caught him totally off guard. Look at the passage. Truly, truly,
I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God. That word, it means what it says
it means here. It is the act of begetting, giving
birth. What he takes Nicodemus to in
his mind’s eyes to the very beginning of life for any person. Now there’s
some discussion, controversy, what have you, over whether,
whether Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born from above,
and it could be translated that way, or born again, or anew,
and it could be translated that way. The bottom line there is,
even if he tells Nicodemus, look Nicodemus, you must be born from
above. He’s still telling him that he has to be reborn. He
still has to be born a second time. There still needs to be
a spiritual birth. The bottom line in that discussion
of whether John intends born above or born again is simple.
Even if you construe it to mean born from above, it requires
that second birth. One pastor characterized this
new birth so richly when he said, the change which our Lord here
declares needful to salvation is evidently no slight or superficial
one. What he said to Nicodemus had
to just absolutely rock his world. Because if there was anybody
who ever thought he was in line and had done everything right,
and now you’re telling me I’ve got to go start over? Completely
over? It’s not merely reformation,
or amendment, or moral change, or outward alteration of life.
It is a thorough change of heart, will, and character. It is a
resurrection. It is a new creation. It is a
passing from death to life. The calling into existence of
a new creature, with a new nature, new habits of life, desires,
judgments, opinions, hopes. He basically tells Nicodemus,
look, you gotta scrap it. And God’s got to do a work in
you. God’s got to recreate you. This whole idea, which Jesus
addressed on repeated occasions of being a child of Abraham and
letting that be their calling card, was not enough. It wasn’t enough
to be a child of Abraham. It wasn’t enough to be a Pharisee.
It wasn’t enough to be in the Sanhedrin. It didn’t matter.
Didn’t matter if you were a Jew. Didn’t matter if you were in
the direct lineage of Abraham himself. You have to be born
again. And that’s the part that probably
just shocked Nicodemus. No wonder he’s got more questions.
No wonder there’s a protracted dialogue. No wonder he takes
a stab at even manipulating this illustration into something almost
absurd. You mean I have to go be born
again in my mother’s womb? Jesus tells him, look, it isn’t
the strict adherence to the law. It isn’t that you need a refresher
course on Judaism. What you need is to be reborn,
spiritually speaking. And Jesus is telling him this,
mindful that he is a representative. Remember, he said, we, we know
And Jesus says, look, go back to your group. Go back to these
law doers. Go back to these legalists. Go
back to them and preach the gospel to them. Go back and take the
hope of the kingdom of God through rebirth. Jesus knew exactly what
he was doing. Jesus knew what he was doing
with Nicodemus and he knew what he was doing with the whole lot. He would have been just fine.
Nicodemus would have marched out one happy camper if Jesus
said, you know what, go tell the Gentiles they’ve got to be
born again. It’s not what he said. He said,
truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God. Every person ever born needs
this rebirth. Peter speaks of this rebirth.
Turn, if you would, to 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 1, Peter speaks
of this rebirth, so does Paul. 1 Peter 1, verse 3, Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to
His great mercy, there wasn’t anything in me, there wasn’t
anything in Peter that prompted God to move in his direction.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again. How absurd it would have been
had Peter said, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ who allowed me to give birth to myself all over again.
It’s impossible. It’s absurd. This is the language
of birth, of human birth. He’s caused us to be born again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead. Paul uses the same illustration,
a different word, but turn to Ephesians 2. Paul uses the same
illustration with a different word to drive home the point
that spiritual rebirth is God’s work, not ours. Ephesians chapter 2. How’s this for sobering news?
Peter tells the Ephesians, you were dead in your trespasses
and sins in which you formerly walked, according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
I think some of you know that I’m teaching this eighth grade
worldview class. What an incredible opportunity. We went back to Genesis 3. We
went back to the fall of mankind. And here these 8th graders now
are able to regurgitate my outline of essentially the effects of
the fall of man. Inherently sinful. From that
point we all have this natural inclination to sin. Inherently
sinful. Temporally vexed. In this world,
we are going to have the sweat of the brow. In this world, we’re
going to have pain in childbirth. In this world, we are going to
have difficulty and frustration. It’s all part of the fall. Inherently
sinful. Temporally vexed. Physically
dying. Don’t ever tell me that somebody
died of natural birth or natural causes. Inherently sinful. Temporally vexed. Physically
dying. Spiritually dead. When we’re
born, we are estranged from God. And that’s exactly what Paul
tells the Ephesians. But look at verse 4. But God,
being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which
He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made
us alive. We didn’t do it ourselves. We
didn’t do it through reform. We didn’t do it through church
membership. We didn’t do it through church attendance. We didn’t
do it through baptism. We didn’t do it through strict
adherence to anything. God made us alive. As J.C. Ryle said, this mighty
change we cannot give to ourselves. No man is the author of his own
existence and no man can quicken his own soul. We might as well
expect a dead man to give himself life. Man can do many things
but he cannot give life to himself or others. What John talks about
here, back if you would to John 3, what John talks about here
is that moment where a sinner by a special and instantaneous
work of the Holy Spirit is regenerated, reborn from a state of deadness
into a state of newness of life. Regeneration is holy and completely
a work of the Holy Spirit. The sinner is entirely passive,
just like you were in your natural birth. And Jesus will go on to
make that point to Nicodemus with graphic clarity. Once we are enlivened, and we
hear the truth of the gospel, we see ourselves in our natural
condition, sinful before God, the individual comes to saving
faith in Jesus Christ. This is the beginning. But in
salvation, God moves first. God moves first. Thirdly, we’re
looking at a new creation. This idea being introduced by
Jesus to this eager hearer about the transformed life. And Jesus
lays out to him those three elements of salvation. First of all, the
ultimate destiny is the kingdom of heaven. Nicodemus longed for
it. Others longed for it. You and
I long for the kingdom of heaven. He talks to him about that complete
transformation of rebirth. But Nicodemus is stuck. There’s
no doubt Nicodemus is stuck by the way Jesus started that phrase.
Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. What he lays out before him is
an absolute impossibility. There’s an absolute prohibition
here. There aren’t multiple ways of
salvation. There isn’t another alternative
here. It’s not Christ or. That either Nicodemus comes to
see his sin for what it is, and either God does this work of
regeneration in his heart and life, or He will not. He cannot see the Kingdom of
Heaven. It is absolutely impossible to Him. By the way, When it says,
unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
He’s not talking about a casual glimpse. Yeah, I saw it. He’s
not talking about a brief perspective. He’s not talking about a peek
at glory. He’s talking about seeing it
in the ultimate sense to fully enjoy. To take it in. To participate in it. To have
that as your experience for eternal life. What he points to is this truth
that there is one way of salvation. There aren’t multiple ways. There
are alternative means of salvation, not for Nicodemus, not for you,
not for anyone. Jesus Christ so faithfully teaches
Nicodemus these elements of salvation, that there is an ultimate destiny.
There is a kingdom of heaven. There is a kingdom where God
and his sovereignty rules in glory and holiness. There is
this complete transformation that is available. Jesus would
not have called Nicodemus to be born again if it weren’t possible. But I want you to note, even
before we get into next week’s passage, he doesn’t tell Nicodemus
to do anything. He just tells us it’s an absolute
requisite. Tells him about this complete
transformation and he tells him that there’s an absolute prohibition
of any other alternative. There aren’t multiple paths.
There are two ways of salvation. He tells Nicodemus, unless you
are born again, unless even you as you sit here this morning
are born again, you will not see the kingdom of heaven. Charles Spurgeon preaching on
this, no one has ever surpassed these words. When Spurgeon said
of regeneration, evangelical repentance can never exist in
an unrenewed soul. We are as helpless to cooperate
in our regeneration as we are to cooperate in the work of Calvary. And as it is the cross alone
that meets the guilt of sin, so it is regeneration alone which
meets its power. sinner, unconverted sinner, I
warn thee that thou canst never cause thyself to be born again. And though the new birth is absolutely
necessary, it is absolutely impossible to thee unless God the Spirit
shall do it.” Do what you will. And still,
at your very best, there is a division wide as eternity between you
and the regenerate man. The Spirit of God must make you. You must be born again. The same
power which raised Christ Jesus from the dead must be exerted
in raising us from the dead. the very same omnipotence without
which angels or worms could not have had a being, must again
step forth from his privy chamber and do as great a work as it
did at the first creation in making us anew in Christ Jesus
our Lord. In the salvation of every person
there is an actual putting forth of divine power, whereby the
dead sinner is quickened, the unwilling sinner is made willing,
the desperately hard sinner has his conscience made tender, and
he who rejected God and despised Christ is brought to cast himself
down at the feet of Jesus. There must be a divine interposition,
a divine working, a divine influence, or else do what you may. Without
that you perish and are undone. For except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. Let’s pray. O merciful God, we know in this room that there
are those that are just like Nicodemus. There are those who think that
mere formality, going through the motions, doing these things
here and there, is enough to allow them to waltz
into heaven. And it’s not. Oh Lord, what a
great regard we have for our Savior. Especially after seeing
His gentle and gracious treatment He could have dismissed and dispatched
Nicodemus on the spot. But he so graciously begins to
lay out the gospel to him. Father God, we thank you. We
thank you for the clarity of your word. That you tell us, repeatedly,
that there is a kingdom, there is glory. And Lord, You give
us the means that it’s absolutely required that a person be born
again, every man, woman, and child. No one gets into heaven
without that work of God in their lives. Oh Lord God, we thank You. And
we plead with You on behalf of any in this room. For those of
us who have been brought to faith and been brought face to face
with our own need of a Savior. Lord, we know you have wakened
us as it were from the dead. And so for those, any of those
who remain unconverted, we plead with you on their behalf. So work in their life that they
too would look about and realize that you alone have done a work of salvation in their
life. Lord, we thank you and praise you. It’s in Jesus’ name
that we pray. Amen.