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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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 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 ago or two months last Friday two months old and I’ve been thinking about those last days in March in which we were waiting for our little bundle to arrive of course I was greatly anticipating his birth and 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 and 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 well 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 but 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 and the mother’s body therefore responds it begins taking action to give birth also when a baby’s lungs are fully developed inside the womb and these are crucial for surviving outside the womb those lungs release to 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 a 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 well certainly the complex cooperation between mother and baby is in pregnancy and and childbirth it is part of The Wonder of God’s creation only God could design something so marvelous this is no random function of evolution 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 of course 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 but instead talking about something more fundamental is 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 cannot add or do anything and the Bible says so it is with all those who will receive God’s salvation and enter into his kingdom and 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 the Bibles of John 3 John 3 verses 1 to 21 the title of this sermon is you must be begotten from above you must be begotten from above John 3 verses 1 to 21 is on page 1060 if you’re using the Pew Bible we’re going to read this entire section but only focus on verses one to eight today John 3 1-21 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 was 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 now which is born of the flesh is flesh now which is born of the spirit is Spirit to not be amazed that I said to you you must be born again the wind blows weird wishes and do 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 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 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 well what we’ve just read is the conversation between Jesus and a man named Nicodemus and this is one of the most famous passages in the Gospel of John full of very many famous statements 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 indeed when we look more closely at what Jesus says in these 21 verses including nicotemus 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 even here this is why John includes these words for us in this gospel we just like the Hellenistic Jews of John’s day we must have our own cherished religious ideas demolished if we are ever to Humble ourselves believe in Jesus and receive eternal life the passage divides thematically and grammatically into four parts and we’re just going to look at the first today but 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 he reveals four astonishing truths that should cause you to give up your own ideas about salvation and instead believe in Jesus so I’ll repeat that 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 it appears in verses one to eight and that’s number one only the spirit begotten enter God’s Kingdom only the spirit begun will enter God’s Kingdom and we’ll look at this together starting with verse 1 and the first part of verse 2.
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 do need to take a moment to remind ourselves of the preceding context we call and in Chapter 2 Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a special cleansing Passover visit a lot happened there we talked about that chapter 2 concluded though with verses 23 to 25. with this observation that 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 actually how man is repeated twice in the first two verses emphasizing for us that what was just said about man and men and the last verses of chapter two it’s going to still apply 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 now you’ve heard of them right the Pharisees they’re 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 of course 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 that 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 now this shows that besides probably being an older man because you 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 will it take some time to come visit Jesus and he does so by night now that’s an intriguing detail why does John mention nicotemus 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 nights 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 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 didn’t really need to Fear public scrutiny at this point more likely the reason that Nicodemus comes my 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 so a night visit would have been practical simply would have been practical for Nicodemus goal of speaking with Jesus however it’s sitting 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’s 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 the teacher of Italy Israel literally comes to Jesus in the dark certainly Nicodemus will soon prove himself to be as much in need of light as anyone else but let’s now see how Nicodemus opens the conversation with Jesus verse 2 the rest of verse 2.
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 hmm just the teacher compare John 1 49 something we’ve already looked at John 149 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 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 answered and said to him truly truly I say to you unless one is born again it 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 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 now 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 so he’s prepping Nicodemus for the first incredible truth to be revealed in this conversation and what’s that truth last one is born again it cannot see the kingdom of God now the key phrase in this verse is born again and I’m gonna say a lot about it it’s going to take some explaining Greek word for be born is from the verb the root of which we still see in English words like genetics or genealogy most most basically means to become the parent of and in the passive voice as it is used here in this verse the verb could be translated either as be begotten or be born well how do we know which translation to use well it depends on the context and particularly what is the gender of the parent in mind if it’s a father well then really we should use B 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 of course 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 ganado so to be consistent we’re right next to that maybe we should use be born and that is a major reason why all the major Bible translations go with be born in this Passage only major Bible translations used be born however it may be that Nicodemus has misconstrued Jesus meaning after all as we become clearer later In this passage the one becoming the parents 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 they’ll emphasize that the one who gives birth to believers is God and he is male John 1 13 John 1 13. so this is earlier in the gospel speaking 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 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 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 well 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 it 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 so that’s why I titled my sermon the way I have and that’s why I’m speaking here about being begotten now what about the next word let’s talk about the word translated again now the word for again in Greek is ano then 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 scent is sense is meant in a given passage so that you use the right translation well again the answer is contexts 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 and this is why all major major Bible translations that go with again as the translation here in verse 3 and in other parts of the passage be born again or if you accept what I said before be begotten again however like I said before Nicodemus May misunderstand Jesus because anything 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 it has the sense 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 so again it’s not wrong but better is from above so 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 you must be begotten from above not 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 B be gotten from above even more clearly emphasizes what is needed to avoid the second half of what Jesus says 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 a lot that I could say but 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 and 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 now do you understand what Jesus is saying Nicodemus doesn’t which is why he gives his reply in verse 4.
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 anemus is not simply being dense and he’s not scoffingly writing off what Jesus just said is ridiculous rather Nicodemus just cannot quite compute what Jesus just presented and 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 Anno thin 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 Jesus 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 and Jesus provides it Jesus begins providing clarification starting in verse 5.
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 gone from above equals being begotten of water in the spirit what does it mean to be gotten 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 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 yeah that’s that’s where the spirit resides but what about the water what role does water play in regeneration and entrance into God’s Kingdom this is a tricky question answer some think that the water is a reference to the fluids related to human physical birth so 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 and 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 mean some others think that water is a reference to baptism so Jesus would be saying You must both be physically baptized and spiritually begotten in order to enter God’s Kingdom problem here is there is nothing in the rest of Jesus’s words to Nicodemus and has to do with water or baptism furthermore baptism as a Christian right did not even exist at this point of conversation the church doesn’t exist yet baptism has an ordinance of the church doesn’t exist yet yeah 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 that Christian baptism and much more significantly this whole passage stresses that Heavenly begetting is the soul Kingdom entrance requirements 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 so being begotten of water cannot refer either to physical birth or physical baptism so what does it refer to 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 right 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 Titus 3 5 of God saying this 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 Spirits 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 this is an Old Testament concept as well listen to what God promises to do for Israel one day in Ezekiel 36 Ezekiel 36 verses 24 to 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 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 Jesus further clarifies his answer to Nicodemus in verse 6 with a simple analogy I look at verse 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 well this is just a reminder of a simple rule that 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 well 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 they 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 then 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 and does that surprise you that’s what Jesus just said surprise you Kingdom entry all comes down to God’s choice of whom he will beget 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 was 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 Numa we 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 left him he was no longer breathing so breath Spirit they just kind of 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 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 cannot tell who will be born of the spirit or when or how or why after all the spirit blows weird wishes sometimes you can see the spirit working or you can see is transforming effects in a person but in the end the spirit and its begetting work in people it remains a mystery 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 you of man and too low of you of God after all what does all this discussion about the need of cleansing and spiritual begetting presuppose that man is hopeless without it the 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 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 heeded 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.
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 now that’s if you believe in Jesus but if you’re hearing this message today and you don’t yet belong to Christ so 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 is not contradict one another they go alongside one another you have a responsibility perhaps the spirit is blowing on you so 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 you know 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 and 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 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 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