In this sermon, Pastor Dave Capoccia begins examining Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3:1-21. Through this conversation, the apostle John reveals four astonishing truths that should cause you to give up your own ideas about salvation and instead believe in Jesus. Pastor Dave explains the first astonishing truth of John 3:1-8 as 1. Only the Spirit-Begotten Enter God’s Kingdom.
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Summary
This passage teaches us that entrance into God’s kingdom is not earned by human effort, religious works, or lineage, but comes solely through the sovereign work of God’s Spirit. From John 3:1-8, we see Jesus confronting Nicodemus—one of Israel’s greatest religious leaders—with the astonishing truth that no amount of law-keeping, ritual, or moral effort can secure a place in God’s kingdom. Instead, every person must be “begotten from above” by the Holy Spirit, a work as mysterious and uncontrollable as the wind.
Key Lessons:
- Spiritual new birth is not something any person can accomplish or contribute to—it is entirely the sovereign work of God’s Spirit, like conception rather than delivery.
- Even the most accomplished, religious, and morally upright people (like Nicodemus) are utterly helpless to enter God’s kingdom without being cleansed and regenerated by God himself.
- The Spirit’s work of regeneration is mysterious and sovereign—like the wind, it blows where it wishes, and no one can predict, control, or earn it.
- Salvation is by sovereign grace alone, which means all boasting is excluded and all glory belongs to God.
Application: We are called to abandon all pride in our own religious efforts and self-made ideas about salvation. If we already believe in Christ, we should respond with worship and gratitude, recognizing that God alone accomplished our salvation. If we have not yet believed, we must humble ourselves, stop striving through dead works, and come to Christ in faith.
Discussion Questions:
- Why is it significant that Jesus used the metaphor of birth (specifically conception) rather than some other image to describe what is needed for kingdom entrance?
- How does the analogy of the wind in verses 7-8 help us understand and accept the mysterious sovereignty of God in salvation?
- In what areas of your life are you still tempted to rely on your own efforts or moral performance rather than resting in God’s grace?
Scripture Focus: John 3:1-8 is the central text, teaching that one must be begotten from above by the Spirit to enter God’s kingdom. Supporting passages include Ezekiel 36:24-27 (God’s promise to cleanse and give a new heart), Ephesians 2:8-9 (salvation by grace through faith), Romans 3 (none righteous), Titus 3:5 (washing of regeneration), and 1 Peter 1:23 (born again of imperishable seed).
Outline
- Introduction
- The Wonder of Physical Birth
- From Physical Birth to Spiritual Birth
- Scripture Reading: John 3:1-21
- Overview of the Passage
- Nicodemus Comes to Jesus
- Nicodemus’s Opening Words
- Jesus Answers the Unasked Question
- Understanding ‘Born’ vs. ‘Begotten’
- Understanding ‘Again’ vs. ‘From Above’
- You Must Be Begotten from Above
- Nicodemus Struggles to Understand
- Born of Water and the Spirit
- Like Produces Like: Flesh and Spirit
- The Spirit Is Like the Wind
- Salvation by Sovereign Grace Alone
- A Call to Humble Faith
- Closing Prayer
Introduction
Foreign, thank you musicians and thank you sound booth team for all that you do every Sunday. Let’s pray.
Oh great God, may Sovereign Grace be the great theme of today. May we see the beauty of it, the wonder of it. Let our hearts not become proud, Lord, and insist upon our own way. For you conceive a god according to our own thinking? No. God made me listen to what you yourself have revealed, even now from your word. I just wonder at your salvation, that even we might be saved through Jesus Christ. Open my mouth. Help me be able to explain this well. In Jesus’ name, amen.
The Wonder of Physical Birth
Well, it is Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers here. Appropriately, we are looking at a passage today that involves childbirth. My wife and my little baby Benjamin just turned two months old last Friday.
I’ve been thinking about those last days in March in which we were waiting for our little bundle to arrive. I was greatly anticipating his birth. Based on how much he had already grown by the end of February, I thought for sure he wouldn’t last past the first week of March. Maybe he’d be born on March 4th. I mean, the date is practically a command: March 4th, my boy. I thought that would have been nice.
But as I may have even said to some of you at that time, it turns out that the baby had other plans. It wasn’t until March 12th that baby Ben was ready, and he was finally born. But then again, is that the correct language to describe what happened? Is a baby’s birth dependent upon the baby being ready, even his cooperating with his mother to be born? Does a baby have something to contribute to make his own birth possible?
Though we might want to answer no, research from the UT Southwest Medical Center in 2015 suggested the answer is actually yes. Babies help themselves be born. How so?
Not only must a baby eventually move himself into the correct position to be born—which he does on his own once he’s looking for a more comfortable space and Mama’s womb is getting too crowded—he has to move into position. Additionally, a baby ready to be born apparently releases a combination of hormones, chemical messengers basically, and they go to the mother’s brain and basically announce: “Attention, baby is ready.” The mother’s body therefore responds and begins taking action to give birth.
“Only God could design something so marvelous. This is no random function of evolution.”
When a baby’s lungs are fully developed inside the womb—and these are crucial for surviving outside the womb—those lungs release two special proteins into the mother’s womb, which stimulate production of chemicals called surfactants. The mother then supplies these chemicals to the baby so that with surfactants, the baby’s lungs can do their job properly once the baby gets out into the open air of the world.
So really, Mom and baby work together to start up the body systems that result in childbirth. Who knew?
But why does this matter? Certainly the complex cooperation between mother and baby in pregnancy and childbirth is part of the wonder of God’s creation. Only God could design something so marvelous. This is no random function of evolution.
From Physical Birth to Spiritual Birth
More importantly for our purposes today, the Bible uses new birth as a metaphor for salvation. And if all this is true—that a baby contributes something to his own physical birth—then could it be that a person contributes something, however small, to his own spiritual birth? Has science now shown that there is a theological problem with the truth that we’ve come to accept from the Bible?
You could answer that biblical metaphors aren’t to be taken too far; that there’s no knowledge of such medical intricacies back when the Bible was originally presented to its audiences; or that a baby’s contributions to birth are not conscious—he doesn’t will them, so he can’t take any credit. We shouldn’t get the wrong application from that metaphor.
But the real solution here is that when the Bible talks about the new birth of salvation, it’s not really speaking about the point when a child exits his mother and pregnancy ends. Instead, it’s talking about something more fundamental. It’s talking about conception—being conceived, the child first coming into existence inside his mother and pregnancy begins.
Truly, can any child cause himself to come into being or contribute something—anything—to his own conception? Of course not. The baby doesn’t even exist yet. He cannot add or do anything.
“Can any child cause himself to come into being or contribute anything to his own conception? Of course not.”
And the Bible says so: “It is with all those who will receive God’s salvation and enter into his kingdom.” In our next text in the Gospel of John, we’re going to see the Lord Jesus explain this truth to an old rabbi, and in just a few sentences, by doing so, cut apart all self-made religion and all proud efforts to work one’s own salvation.
Please open your Bibles to John 3:1-21. The title of this sermon is “You Must Be Begotten from Above.” John 3:1-21 is on page 1060 if you’re using the Pew Bible.
Scripture Reading: John 3:1-21
We’re going to read this entire section, but only focus on verses one to eight today. John 3:1-21.
“We’re going to read this entire section, but only focus on verses one to eight today.”
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, you 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 the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. 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 you do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it 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 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 in him will 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 has 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 love 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, that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.
Overview of the Passage
Well, what we’ve just read is the conversation between Jesus and a man named Nicodemus. This is one of the most famous passages in the Gospel of John, full of very many famous statements and profound words, but also shocking words. We might be used to some of what is spoken here by now because we’ve heard it so often in Christian teaching. But if we really understand what Jesus says here, especially in the context of that time and to whom he’s speaking, we would realize that he is declaring earth-shattering truth.
This would truly rock Nicodemus’s world and rock the world of the original audience of this gospel—Hellenistic Jews. When we look more closely at what Jesus says in these 21 verses—including Nicodemus, but mostly Jesus’s words—we see that everything that we naturally come to believe about God and about salvation is wrong. What we come up with, what we assume, what we intuit, it’s wrong.
We must radically adjust our thinking about God and about his salvation according to what is revealed in his son. This is why John includes these words for us in this gospel. We, just like the Hellenistic Jews of John’s day, must have our own cherished religious ideas demolished if we are ever to humble ourselves, believe in Jesus, and receive eternal life.
“We must have our own cherished religious ideas demolished if we are ever to humble ourselves and believe in Jesus.”
The passage divides thematically and grammatically into four parts, and we’re just going to look at the first today. I’ll give you the main idea of the entire conversation in presenting Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3:1-21.
John, our author—John the Apostle—reveals four astonishing truths that should cause you to give up your own ideas about salvation and instead believe in Jesus. John reveals four astonishing truths that should cause you to give up your own ideas about salvation and instead believe in Jesus.
The first astonishing truth—that’s the only one we’re going to look at today—appears in verses 1 to 8. Only the spirit-begotten enter God’s kingdom. Only the spirit-begotten will enter God’s kingdom.
We’ll look at this together, starting with verse 1 and the first part of verse 2.
Nicodemus Comes to Jesus
Now there’s a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night.
To fully appreciate these verses and the rest of the passage, we need to take a moment to remind ourselves of the preceding context. We call it chapter 2. Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a special cleansing Passover visit. A lot happened there. We talked about that.
Chapter 2 concluded with verses 23 to 25, with this observation: during this week-long Passover feast, many Jews believed in the name of Jesus because they saw the signs—that is, the sign miracles—that Jesus was doing. However, we’re also told that Jesus did not entrust himself to these believers. And why is that? Because Jesus knew all men and knew what was in man.
For these Passover feast believers, Jesus knew that their faith was not genuine or complete. They believed in something, but it was not full belief.
Well, chapter three begins with Jesus still at the Passover feast. And just so happens that a man comes to visit Jesus. Notice how “man” is repeated twice in the first two verses, emphasizing for us that what was just said about man and men in the last verses of chapter two still applies. It applies even here with this new conversation. Jesus knows what is in this man, what is in his heart, and whether this man truly believes in Jesus or not.
Now we’re told that this man is of the Pharisees. You’ve heard of them, right? The Pharisees are one of the major religious groups in Israel at that time, famous for zealously following the external aspects of God’s law, looking good on the outside while they neglected the internal aspects. They were full of dead man’s bones on the inside and all uncleanness.
“Jesus knows what is in this man, what is in his heart, and whether this man truly believes.”
The Pharisees also were famous for adding many man-made rules and traditions to what God actually gave in the Bible.
Well, we have this man from the Pharisees coming to Jesus. And we also get his name: Nicodemus. Now Nicodemus is a Greek name, even though this man is a Jew. Nicodemus means something like “victory of the people.” So while Jewish, this man clearly has some Hellenistic or Greek influence in his family, which is probably relevant for John’s audience.
We also learned that Nicodemus is a ruler of the Jews. That means he is so accomplished, so well-respected, that he was given a place in the Jews’ ruling council of 71 elders, known as the Sanhedrin—the body with political and religious authority in Israel alongside the Romans.
This shows that besides probably being an older man—because to be accomplished and to be an elder, you’re generally older—this description reveals that Nicodemus would have been considered one of the greatest men in Israel at the time.
And what does this great man, this ruler, this Pharisee, this rabbi do during the Passover feast? Well, he takes some time to come visit Jesus. And he does so by night.
Why Nicodemus Came by Night
Now that’s an intriguing detail. Why does John mention Nicodemus came to visit by night? Is it because Nicodemus wants to talk with Jesus, but he’s afraid of what the Jews and his fellow Pharisees might think? Is it the fear of man that causes Nicodemus to come by night? Possibly.
Fear of men hindering true belief and identification with Jesus is a theme in this gospel. We’ll see it again. However, we’re still early in Jesus’ public ministry. Most of the Jews, even the Pharisees, are not quite sure what to make of Jesus yet. So Nicodemus probably wouldn’t have caused a scandal by coming to speak with Jesus. He didn’t really need to fear public scrutiny at this point.
More likely, the reason that Nicodemus comes by night is that he wants, as much as possible, to have a private, extended, and uninterrupted conversation with Jesus about something that’s on his heart.
Now I say “private,” but considering that Jesus is in Jerusalem with his disciples, they’re probably there witnessing this conversation, which is why John writes that. A night visit would have been practical for Nicodemus’ goal of speaking with Jesus.
However, given the metaphorical importance of light and darkness in John’s gospel, there is a hint of something else. There’s probably an intended hint of something more—a symbolic significance of Nicodemus coming to Jesus by night. Because Jesus, as you even heard in the reading, is going to reveal himself as the light.
How intriguing that the teacher of Israel comes to Jesus in the dark. Certainly, Nicodemus will soon prove himself to be as much in need of light as anyone else.
“How intriguing that the teacher of Israel comes to Jesus in the dark.”
But let’s now see how Nicodemus opens the conversation with Jesus. Verse 2, the rest of verse 2.
Nicodemus’s Opening Words
He said to him—that’s Nicodemus said to him—”Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher.”
Well, how about that for a greeting, right? That’s pretty different. Is that even revealing faith in Jesus?
Nicodemus opens by addressing Jesus as rabbi, a title of respect for a religious teacher. Now Jesus was never formally trained as a rabbi. Jesus was not a Pharisee. So for Nicodemus, who is a Pharisee and even a ruler of the Jews, to address Jesus this way is quite remarkable.
Further, Nicodemus says, “We know”—not “I know”—”we know,” meaning Nicodemus is speaking as a representative for a group. What group? Well, no doubt some of his fellow Pharisees, maybe even some of his Sanhedrin colleagues, and even representing the Jews as a whole. Remember, the leaders are basically representatives of the Jews.
It doesn’t say “we think,” “we suspect.” He says “we know”—something that Nicodemus and his group have come to understand and believe with certainty. And what is it that they now know? That you, Jesus, have come from God as a teacher.
Now that’s an important realization, right? Nicodemus and the Jews know that Jesus comes from God. And there’s the—Nicodemus says—as a teacher. You come from God as a teacher. Just the teacher. Compare John 1:49, something we’ve already looked at.
John 1:49: “Nathanael answered him, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel.’” Teachers a little weaker, don’t you think? But hey, teacher’s not wrong. And it’s good progress for someone who’s the ruler of the Jews, right?
And what brought Nicodemus and his company to this important conclusion about Jesus? Rest of verse 2.
For no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.
Nicodemus and the Jews—at least some of them—they’re getting it. They are understanding what the sign miracles mean, what they were always intended to do: to show that Jesus is from God. Only someone sent from God and with God’s power and God’s approval could do these miracles.
“They are understanding what the sign miracles mean: to show that Jesus is from God.”
So Nicodemus understands. The people with them understand. We need to pay attention to this sent one from God and hear what he has to say.
So this introduction certainly is a promising start for Nicodemus. Is this saving faith at work? Well, let’s not forget John 2:23. Many Jews similarly believed in Jesus because of the signs that Jesus was doing at the feast. But Jesus did not entrust himself to them because he knew there was something lacking in their faith.
How will Nicodemus turn out? Well, the conversation quickly takes a surprising turn in verse 3.
Let’s look at that.
Jesus Answers the Unasked Question
Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Oh, that was fast! Nicodemus didn’t even have time to ask a question, and Jesus is already answering it. How did Jesus do that?
Well, it’s because while Nicodemus is going through his introductory niceties, Jesus—as John 2 tells us—already sees the heart. Jesus already knows all about Nicodemus. What is one thing in particular that Jesus knows? That despite being a Pharisee, despite being a zealous keeper of the law, despite being a ruler of the Jews, and despite—according to verse 10—being a famous religious teacher in Israel, Nicodemus in his heart is concerned that he still might not make it into the kingdom of God.
“Jesus already sees the heart. Jesus already knows all about Nicodemus.”
He wants to find out from this sent teacher of God—someone who’s clearly sent from God—whether Nicodemus really has it right or not. “Am I getting into the kingdom? Have I been teaching what’s right about the kingdom? I’m not really sure. I could use your reassurance.”
And isn’t this the way in almost every religious system in the world? Even with the holiest people in those religious systems, people are doing their best to do good, to avoid evil, to go through all the rituals. But they never know if it’s enough. They hope that God will accept them in the end, let them into his paradise, but they cannot know for sure.
Nicodemus is no different. He hopes that Jesus has the answers that can bring peace to his heart. But the old rabbi is not prepared for what Jesus is about to say.
Jesus tries to help him. Now notice how he begins: “Truly, truly I say to you.”
That’s a trademark phrase from Jesus. “Amen, amen, lego soy”—or rather, “amane” in the Greek pronunciation—”our main, our main, lego soy.” Jesus likes to use this phrase when he’s about to declare something that is astonishing, hard to believe, but nonetheless must be believed because it’s true and it’s important.
He’s prepping Nicodemus for the first incredible truth to be revealed in this conversation. And what’s that truth? “Unless one is born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Now the key phrase in this verse is “born again.” And I’m going to say a lot about it. It’s going to take some explaining.
Understanding ‘Born’ vs. ‘Begotten’
The Greek word for “be born” is from the verb, the root of which we still see in English words like “genetics” or “genealogy.” Most basically it means “to become the parent of.” In the passive voice, as it is used here in this verse, the verb could be translated either as “be begotten” or “be born.”
How do we know which translation to use? It depends on the context and particularly what is the gender of the parent in mind. If it’s a father, then we should use “be begotten.” But if it’s a mother, we should use “be born.”
This is why, for instance, when ganacho is used in the genealogy of male parents in Matthew 1—going all the way to Jesus—ganacho has the sense of “begat,” translated in the New American Standard ’95 as “was the father of.” But in John 16:21, as an opposite example, when Jesus speaks of a woman giving birth and labor, ganacho has the sense of “bear” or “give birth to.”
We have to make this distinction in English. It was just one term in the Greek.
The question now is: how should ganacho be translated here in John 3:3?
We might say “be born” since just one verse later, Nicodemus will talk about being born from a mother’s womb. That’s female, and he’s using ganacho. So to be consistent, we’re right next to that. Maybe we should use “be born.” That is a major reason why all the major Bible translations go with “be born” in this passage.
However, it may be that Nicodemus has misconstrued Jesus’ meaning. After all, as we become clearer later in this passage, the one becoming the parent that Jesus has in mind is not female but male. It’s God. It’s God himself by the spirit.
In fact, there are other passages in this gospel and in the letters of John and in the letters of other New Testament writers that emphasize the one who gives birth to believers is God, and he is male.
“The one who gives birth to believers is God, and he is male.”
John 1:13 speaks of those who are saved who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God.
Or the passage we read earlier, First John 3:9: “No one who was born of God practices sin because his seed abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.”
Or First Peter 1:23: “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is through the living and enduring word of God.”
What’s the point? “Be born” is an acceptable and accurate translation here in verse 3 and elsewhere in the New Testament. In fact, in English at this point of Bible translation, we don’t really use the word “begot” or “begat.” So Bible translators usually just go with “be born.”
But let’s not miss what really is being communicated here. It’s deeper than “be born.” “Be begotten” is actually better. We’re emphasizing male parentage when we’re talking about being born of God, and that even goes back to conception.
That’s why I titled my sermon the way I have. That’s why I’m speaking here about being begotten.
Understanding ‘Again’ vs. ‘From Above’
Now, what about the next word? Let’s talk about the word translated “again.”
The word for “again” in Greek is “anothen.” And oddly enough, “anothen” can mean either “again” or “from above,” which is why you may have a little note in your Bibles next to the word “again” at the bottom of the page. It says “or from above.”
Anything can be translated either way. How do you know which sense is meant in a given passage so that you use the right translation? Well, the answer is context.
It is significant that in the next verse, Nicodemus will talk about entering his mother’s womb to be born a second time. So that suggests that “again” is the sense of Jesus’s statement right before. You look at Jesus. He’s looking at Nicodemus. He talks about “again.” So surely Jesus was using the sense of “again.”
This is why all major Bible translations go with “again” as the translation here in John 3:3 and in other parts of the passage: “be born again.” Or if you accept what I said before: “be begotten again.”
However, Nicodemus may misunderstand Jesus because “anothen” can be taken two ways. Jesus notably does not mention the idea of “again” anywhere else in this passage. Rather, Jesus talks about birth by the spirit and his abode is above. That would be birth from above.
Furthermore, every time that John uses the word “anothen” in this gospel—every other time, I should say—it has the sense of “from above.” Even just a little bit further down in the passage, John 3:31.
John 3:31: John the Baptist says, “He who comes from above—anothen—is above all.”
So while “again” is an acceptable translation for John 3:3, and our author John may have appreciated the double meaning of a word like “anothen”—he has one meaning in mind, but he accepts that “again” is something else his readers might be thinking about—the better translation here is “from above.”
“Every time John uses ‘anothen’ elsewhere in this gospel, it has the sense of ‘from above.’”
It’s not wrong, but better is “from above.”
You Must Be Begotten from Above
Putting the key phrase together in John 3:3, the best rendering is: “You must be begotten from above.”
There could be a hint of the idea of “again” there, but the main point is “you must be begotten from above.”
Theologically speaking, what Jesus communicates does not change too much whether you understand it as “be born again” or “be begotten from above.” The main idea here—and don’t miss this—is that of new life or regeneration that comes through, whichever translation you use. But I think this phrase is worth clarifying because “be begotten from above” even more clearly emphasizes what is needed to avoid the second half of what Jesus says.
“The main idea is new life or regeneration that comes from above—be begotten from above.”
And what is that? Again: “Unless one is begotten from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
What is meant by the phrase “the kingdom of God”? This is a term that appears very much in the New Testament, either in this form or in a similar one: “Kingdom of Heaven,” “my father’s kingdom.” I’ll just say this for now.
The kingdom of God represents the great eschatological hope of all those who fear God. The Old Testament foretold of the coming kingdom for Israel, over which God’s Messiah and even God himself would rule. The arrival of this kingdom would bring judgment on all wicked nations in the world. It would also bring the rescue and vindication of God’s chosen people.
This kingdom would be a kingdom of prosperity and righteousness. It would be centered in Jerusalem, but it would extend across the entire world and dominion over all people of the world. In this kingdom, the curse on the earth would be reversed. There would be peace and joy. There wouldn’t be war. Even the animals that used to harm one another would—and even harm humans—would be docile.
In short, the kingdom of God represents the promise of heaven being brought to earth and God dwelling with and reigning with his people forever. This was the kingdom hope of the Jews, even in Jesus’ day. And this hope was not wrong. God still is going to establish this kingdom one day.
We Christians sometimes call this kingdom the millennial kingdom or the eternal states. Remember, heaven is not the final destination of believers. It’s the new heavens and the new earth.
But where the Jews got off course in their expectation is about who enters this kingdom and when it will arrive. They thought the kingdom was going to be established right away when the Messiah first appeared. And they also thought—as many Jews still do today—that entrance into God’s kingdom is secured if one is born a Jew and one vigorously keeps the Jewish law, Mosaic law.
But what does the teacher—clearly sent from God—say? Are those the right expectations about getting into the kingdom?
Jesus says instead: “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is begotten from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Without new life, without new birth from heaven, you cannot ever see or experience God’s kingdom.
Nicodemus Struggles to Understand
Now, do you understand what Jesus is saying? Nicodemus doesn’t, which is why he gives his reply in verse 4.
Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? You cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
Now here, I think Nicodemus is not simply being dense. He’s not scoffingly writing off what Jesus just said as ridiculous. Rather, Nicodemus just cannot quite compute what Jesus just presented. He’s asking for clarification.
He’s like, “Jesus, I need you to explain that metaphor a little bit more because I don’t see how this works. Surely an old man like myself could not be begotten, anothen, born again. Surely no one can accomplish this new birth you speak of by going back into his mother’s womb. So what do you mean?”
“Nicodemus cannot quite compute what Jesus presented. He’s asking for clarification.”
Notice the Nicodemus reply. Nicodemus is still thinking about what a person can do on his own. “Cannot enter his mother’s womb. He cannot force himself to be born, can he?” He’s asking for clarification.
Jesus provides it. Jesus begins providing clarification starting in verse 5.
Born of Water and the Spirit
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.”
Do you notice how verse 5 is basically a restatement of verse 3 with different but parallel words? You see the same structure. You see repetition of many of the words. This time, though, instead of saying “begotten from above,” we have “born of” or “begotten of water in the spirit.”
Now, based on the parallelism, that phrase must have the same essential meaning as what Jesus just said: “be begotten from above” equals “being begotten of water in the spirit.”
What does it mean to be begotten of water in the spirit? Well, the spirit part may seem less strange to us, especially with what Jesus is about to go on to explain. The spirit—the Holy Spirit—is God. So when Jesus says that you must be begotten of the spirit, he’s saying that the Holy Spirit must beget a person, must give a person new life, for that person to enter into God’s promised kingdom.
“The Holy Spirit must beget a person, must give a person new life, for that person to enter God’s kingdom.”
And as I said before, the spirit—God—dwells above. That’s his notable dwelling place. So it’s not too hard to see how “begotten of spirit” and “begotten from above” are parallel. That’s where the spirit resides.
What Does ‘Water’ Mean?
But what about the water? What role does water play in regeneration and entrance into God’s kingdom? This is a tricky question.
Some think that the water is a reference to the fluids related to human physical birth. Jesus would be saying, “You must be born physically and also born spiritually to enter God’s kingdom.” The problem is water is never used this way in any other biblical passage or in literature outside the Bible up to the point of John’s writing.
Additionally, requiring physical birth to get into the kingdom is not much of a requirement because every human qualifies. So that can’t be Jesus’s meaning.
Some others think that water is a reference to baptism. Jesus would be saying, “You must both be physically baptized and spiritually begotten in order to enter God’s kingdom.” The problem here is there is nothing in the rest of Jesus’s words to Nicodemus that has to do with water or baptism.
Furthermore, baptism as a Christian rite did not even exist at this point of conversation. The church doesn’t exist yet. Jesus will reprove Nicodemus in verse 10 for not already knowing what Jesus is talking about. That seems hardly fair if Jesus is talking about baptism. There’s no way Nicodemus could know about Christian baptism.
Much more significantly, this whole passage stresses that heavenly begetting is the sole kingdom entrance requirement. That is contradicted if an external human work like baptism is also necessary. That’s something that you can do. But if the spirit has to do everything, that doesn’t fit together.
“This whole passage stresses that heavenly begetting is the sole kingdom entrance requirement.”
So being begotten of water cannot refer either to physical birth or physical baptism. So what does it refer to?
Water as Cleansing from Sin
Here’s the answer: water represents something else that only God’s spirit can do for a person. And that’s cleansed from sin. Cleansed from sin.
This is actually part of what the Christian rite of baptism represents: being cleansed and made new in God. The baptismal water doesn’t have any special mystical qualities to it that it somehow mystically takes away your sin. It’s just a picture. It’s a picture of what God does with believers. Just a symbol.
The Apostle Paul writes in Titus 3:5: “He saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness but according to his mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.”
That sounds exactly like what Jesus is talking about, isn’t it? For entrance into the kingdom of God, you must be washed and given new life, which are both accomplished by God’s spirit.
This is not simply a New Testament concept, but an Old Testament concept as well. Listen to what God promises to do for Israel one day in Ezekiel 36:24-27.
Ezekiel 36:24-27: “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. 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.”
Ezekiel 36:25-26: “I will sprinkle clean water on you… I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.”
Do you notice there that in Ezekiel we have the same two elements described together as in John 3? We have water. We have spirit. And what was God promising with this water? A giant bath for the Jews? No. But a cleansing of their hearts, being made new on the inside. And that is what Jesus is saying in John 3:5.
And an exact parallel to John 3:3. Nicodemus, you want to know how to get into God’s blessed kingdom? You want to make sure you’re going there? I tell you, it must all be accomplished by God for you. You cannot work your way in, no matter how hard you try, because you are utterly sinful.
Doesn’t matter how religiously you dress yourself up on the outside. No matter how many works you do, they are dead works because your heart is corrupted. You—yes, even you, Nicodemus—must be cleansed and made new. Your heart must be washed by God. You must be begotten by God himself. Otherwise, you can never enter God’s kingdom.
Like Produces Like: Flesh and Spirit
Jesus further clarifies his answer to Nicodemus in verse 6 with a simple analogy. Look at John 3:6.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.
What’s this all about? This is just a reminder of a simple rule: in begetting, in producing offspring, like produces like. A dog doesn’t beget a cat, and a human doesn’t beget a cow. Why not? Because you can only give birth to what you yourself are. You can only reproduce what you already are. There is no evolving from one type of creature to another, despite popular scientific notions today.
What does this have to do with the kingdom? According to Jesus, only the spirit-begotten can enter God’s kingdom. Which means, in a sense, God requires a new race of humanity for his holy kingdom. He needs a new kind of human that is spiritual—not that is incorporal, that doesn’t have a physical body, but that is born of spirit with a nature after God’s own.
True children of God and his holy kingdom are the only ones who could be allowed in. But the problem is that is not the kind of race that we are. The human race is a race of mere flesh. Our spirits are dead. This is what we’ve inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve.
We will never get into the kingdom of God on our own because when it comes to new birth, the only kind of birth we can accomplish is of more flesh. There is no evolving by hard work or willpower or rituals from flesh to spirit. We can’t change our own nature. Only a being that is spiritual can beget spirit.
Which means God must choose to beget you, or you are never getting into his kingdom.
“Only a being that is spiritual can beget spirit. God must choose to beget you, or you are never getting into his kingdom.”
Does that surprise you? That’s what Jesus just said. Does kingdom entry all come down to God’s choice of whom he will beget?
The Spirit Is Like the Wind
Well, Jesus is going to provide one more analogy, which should hopefully help you be less surprised. Look at verses 7 and 8.
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 was everyone who is born of the spirit.
And there’s something here in Greek that you cannot easily detect in English. It’s a little play on words. You see, the word for “spirit” in Greek is “pneuma”—p-n-e-u-m-a. Pneuma. We have theology. There’s a branch called pneumatology, which is the theology of the Holy Spirit. That’s because pneuma is the Greek word for spirit.
But pneuma is also the Greek word for wind or breath, which is why we see the root in certain English words that have to do with air, like “pneumatic” or “pneumonia.” Same root.
And the reason this word is the same is because the Greeks saw the spirit of a person and the breath of a person as related. When a person died, when his spirit left him, he was no longer breathing. So breath and spirit, they just saw it as the same. Same word.
Well, Jesus builds on this meaning overlap to show how spirit—pneuma—is just like wind—pneuma. “Don’t be surprised at how the spirit works. It works just like the wind. I mean, they’re both pneuma.”
Experientially speaking, no one can see the wind or understand what it’s doing. The wind is always moving. It seems like it’s always changing. It’s like it has a mind of its own. One minute it’s blowing, and then it stops, and then it starts blowing again, and then it changes direction. You can’t control the wind. You cannot fully know the wind.
That is the pneuma. But you can sometimes hear it. You can sometimes see its effects.
Jesus says the same is true of spirit—pneuma—of the Holy pneuma, especially when he begets a person. You cannot tell who will be born of the spirit or when or how or why. After all, the spirit blows where it wishes.
Sometimes you can see the spirit working, or you can see its transforming effects in a person. But in the end, the spirit and its begetting work in people remains a mystery.
“The spirit blows where it wishes. The spirit and its begetting work in people remains a mystery.”
Salvation by Sovereign Grace Alone
So then, at the end of the first part of this conversation, where has Jesus brought Nicodemus and us? Namely, to the astonishing revelation that entrance into God’s kingdom is not determined by lineage, by baptism, by good works, by law-keeping, by religious activities, by prayers, by giving, or anything else connected to the flesh.
Rather, entry simply comes down to the mysterious choice of God and the blowing of his spirit.
Now, if you’ve never heard that before, you are probably thinking one thought right now. And that is: “That’s not fair. Come on, Pastor Dave. You’re saying that there’s nothing—even the most religious people can do to save themselves—that deliverance from destruction, that entry into the kingdom, it simply comes down to God’s choice? God’s not even giving people a chance? What kind of God does that? Not my God.”
Well, if that’s what you’re thinking, I gotta say, friend: I didn’t come up with this. This isn’t my thought. This isn’t my theory. This is the word. This is the revelation of the heaven-sent one. This is the declaration of the Lord Jesus, the son of God. You can either humble yourself and accept this word, or you can vainly trust in your own made-up ideas.
And really, the only reason you might resist this truth is because you have too high of a view of man and too low of a view of God.
After all, what does all this discussion about the need of cleansing and spiritual begetting presuppose? That man is hopeless without it. Man is spiritually dead, and his heart is utterly corrupted.
Romans 3 says: “There is none righteous, no, not one. No one does good. No one seeks for God.” Not even the people who seem to be doing that, who seem so good and moral and polite and religious on the outside—no, they are just as corrupt as anyone else.
Therefore, fairness would be a holy God leaving everyone in that corrupt state to be judged by his anger forever. But amazingly, that is not what God chose to do. He chose mercifully to intervene with some, to show them unmerited favor, by doing what they could never and never would want to do for themselves: cleanse them, give them a new heart, and give them a new life to believe and follow him.
In other words, here in the beginning of John 3, Jesus is revealing one of the great themes of the scriptures: that salvation is by sovereign grace alone. It is only God’s undeserved favor towards sinners that brings them into the kingdom.
“Salvation is by sovereign grace alone. It is only God’s undeserved favor towards sinners that brings them into the kingdom.”
Which means that if you believe in Jesus Christ this morning and you are heading into the kingdom, how did that happen? The gracious pneuma of God blew on you and begot you unto salvation. You didn’t do anything. He did it all. He gets the credit. You don’t.
This is why the scriptures say: “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves. It is the gift of God so that no one will boast,” as Ephesians 2:8-9.
Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves. It is the gift of God.”
Why did God do that? Why did God do that for you and not do that for someone else? No one knows but God. He’s like the wind. It blows where it wishes. He has a reason, but it’s in his mind. It’s nothing that you deserved or earned. You didn’t do anything to receive this gift from God. You could never work for it. But you received it anyways.
You were given a place in that kingdom that will never end, in joy and life and blessing with the Lord forever.
So what should you do? How should you respond? Well, you should love the Lord who did that for you and live for him. You should lift up his name before all for the grace he has shown you.
A Call to Humble Faith
Now, that’s if you believe in Jesus. But if you’re hearing this message today and you don’t yet belong to Christ, you just become a fatalist: “Let go and let God. Maybe he’ll send a little salvation boat your way and bring you into the kingdom.”
Well, here’s the strange truth: the Bible simultaneously proclaims that no one will come to God unless God chooses that person. But also that you must come to God and believe in Jesus today. This does not contradict one another. They go alongside one another.
You have a responsibility. Perhaps the spirit is blowing on you. Now you must humble yourself and take the promise of John 3:16.
See the love of God for sinners. And do the only thing that someone in whom God is working must do: look upon the one in faith who can save you. One was sent to die for your sins so that you will not die, you will not perish forever, but you will have eternal life instead.
Every person naturally and pridefully wants to believe that he can do something to earn his salvation. That is why all the religions of the world—even the fake versions of Christianity—are works-based. There’s some ritual. There’s some amount of works that you can do to bring you into the kingdom. But that is not true.
Jesus has revealed that is not true. Moreover, if salvation only comes by spirit-begetting, why strive after that which does you no good? Why will you pile up dead work after dead works, supposing that it might bring you into the kingdom? Jesus has just told you it won’t.
So stop trying to work for your salvation and come and believe in Jesus. Turn from your sins. Turn from your empty works. Turn from your whole self. Let go of your proud ideas, your self-made ideas about religion and salvation. Let God instruct you and come believe in Jesus.
“Stop trying to work for your salvation and come and believe in Jesus. Turn from your sins and your empty works.”
Well, next time we’ll see that Nicodemus has a hard time accepting what Jesus just said. But that just leads to an explanation of a second astonishing truth, which is what we’ll go over next time.
Closing Prayer
Let’s close in prayer.
Holy God, it is, as the song says, “It’s your grace from beginning to the end.” To your grace we can never comprehend why you drew the ones who ran from you. What can we do but offer you praise?
Lord, when we think about how hopeless, how lost we are without your spirit coming down to give us life, we think about what might have been our road and our ultimate fate. But how you chose in love not to do that with us, not to let us go our own way, but to bring us to yourself, we marvel. We marvel, Lord.
Why shouldn’t hell be our destiny? It’s what we’ve earned. It’s what we worked for. But that’s not what you chose to do. Truly, you are the unexpected God. No one can fathom what you have done. We’re so glad that you’ve revealed it.
Lord, help us to humble ourselves, believe it, believe in Jesus, and give you the praise.
Lord, if there are some who resent this message and want to say, “No, that’s not the god I want to believe in,” God, I pray that you would pierce them, help them to see that their own ideas will never save them. They need to listen to that which is trustworthy, and that’s only what you declare in your word.
God, you are determined to humble the pride of man, and salvation clearly does that. Oh, Lord, let us not resist you and find ourselves broken, but bow before you, come to you, and find that you welcome us in.
Thank you for Jesus Christ. Thank you for the beginning work of the spirit. Thank you for the cleansing work of this spirit. Do that even more, God, in our days so that we may see it and give you glory.
In Jesus’ name, amen.