The Reality and Necessity of the New Birth
John 3:1-21
“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.” V1
History and background of a passage of Scripture is important to gain the flavor and full meaning of the passage. Those things are very important in understanding a verse by verse study of the Scriptures. This study is a doctrinal study, however, so we will not look too deeply into history or customs of the Bible times except to better understand the doctrines we are studying.
That being said: it is important to understand a little of the background of Nicodemus to see where Christ is coming from when He introduces this doctrine.
Who Was Nicodemus?
Nicodemus was a Pharisee. The Pharisees were religious and political conservatives. They believed the Scriptures were inspired of God. They believed in angels, resurrection, and, significantly, the soul of man[1].
The fact that God says that Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews shows us that he was in the Sanhedrin, which was the ruling body of the Jewish people. He would have been one of the seventy most prominent Jewish men in the world.
When Jesus said in verse ten: “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” Jesus is demonstrating the fact that Nicodemus was the most prominent Bible scholar[2] in Israel[3], and since Israel was the center of all the Bible knowledge of the world, he could possibly be considered the most noted Bible teacher in the world.
“The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” V2
In view of the facts we have just stated about the renown of Nicodemus, you can see that he may have been a somewhat humble man to come to Jesus. On the other hand, as the foremost teacher of the region, he may have wanted the latest revelation from God to stay up to date. There had not been a prophet since Malachi some four hundred thirty years previous, and he may have wanted to get an inside understanding on what new thing God was saying[4]. However, he had already made a mistake[5]. He would have done well to stop his statement with, “No man can do these miracles that thou doest except God.”
The Deity of Christ
Obviously, Nicodemus did not understand the deity of Jesus Christ.
We will see later in this Bible study that in order to get to heaven, you must believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. Nicodemus did not, at this point. Here we see the most prominent teacher of the Bible in the world did not even understand the most basic truth that Jesus Christ is God.
Nicodemus’ Need
With the simple statement in verse two, Jesus could see that Nicodemus had not yet been born again. How did He know that? When Jesus laid aside His glory in Philippians 2:6-7[6], He temporarily laid aside His omniscience (all-knowingness). So He had to learn things like a servant (Luke 2:52[7], Hebrews 5:8[8]), and perceive things like a man (Matthew 16:8[9]). So when He realized that Nicodemus did not understand that He is God, He knew that He needed to be born again.
Requirement for Entrance into God’s Kingdom
Spiritual importance does not gain salvation. Biblical education or knowledge does not gain salvation. Faith alone in Christ alone is the only way to gain salvation. Pharisees thought that they could be good enough to get to heaven[10]. Jesus was about to teach us that there is nothing that man can do to gain entrance into the Kingdom of God.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.’” V3
Necessity of the New Birth
Here, Jesus confronts Nicodemus with the necessity of a new birth.
Nicodemus, naturally, wonders how this can take place. So he asked Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” V4 (Good question)
“Jesus answered, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, ‘Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh; and that which is born of Spirit is spirit.’”
Two Different people with the Same Body
Jesus explains that the second birth is not a remake of the first birth. You cannot be born again by making the flesh stop doing things. You cannot be born spiritually by making the flesh do something. You cannot be born again by making the old flesh nature sorry, or excited, or ambitious. You cannot be born again by making the flesh promise, or confess, or look, dress, or act differently. You cannot be born again by getting the flesh to go to church, be water baptized, or take communion. There is nothing you can do with, by, or to the flesh to be born again.
The example of Isaac and Ishmael is given in Galatians 4:22-31[11]. These two fellows came to be by two separate births. Whether Ishmael behaved or not, it did not cause the birth of Isaac.
The situation might be compared to step brothers. They are no relation to each other, but they have been forced to live together. Now consider Siamese twins. They are two different people, but they share the same body. However, the flesh and the spirit might be most like step brothers who are Siamese siblings, but not twins. It is like two unrelated people living in the same body. That may sound weird (MAY sound weird?), but that is what happens when we are born again. A new creation takes up residence in the same body that has been inhabited by the old nature. Sounds like trouble to me!
“Nicodemus answered and said unto Him, ‘How can these things be?’” V9
Great question! Jesus answers it in no uncertain terms. However, before He does that, He makes a very significant statement.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?’” V10
We must understand that God does not waste any space in His Word. Every word is significant. So why do you suppose He said this? He said this to show us that this truth is not a new truth. This truth is taught in the Old Testament, and Nicodemus should have seen it. The doctrine of the two natures can even help us understand the Old Testament.
Now, in answer to Nicodemus’ question: “How can these things be?” Jesus gives us what just might be the clearest, most beloved, most memorized statement in the Bible.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” V16
Three Parts of John 3:16
This well known verse falls naturally into three parts. First we see the action. There are two actions mentioned here, and they are both done by God. God did all the work. God loved, and God gave. It is very significant that God gave. That makes the new birth a gift. What does a person have to do to get a gift? They must simply receive it. If you have to do the work, it is not a gift. That would be wages.
The Work
It also is significant that God did the loving. In I John 4:10 God says: “Herein is love, NOT THAT WE LOVED GOD, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation (That means satisfactory or complete payment.) for our sins.” The Bible says in Romans 5:8: “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ paid for this gift by dying on the cross. How do we receive it? In John 1:12 God tells us. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God (be born again) even to them that believe on His name.” We receive Jesus by believing on His name. Can that be right? Is that all? Let us go back and see what John 3:16 says.
The Condition
The next thing we see in John 3:16 is the condition: “That whosoever believeth in Him.” The only thing that He requires of us is that we believe in Him. What does that even mean? He explains exactly what we must believe in verse eighteen. However, we are not there yet. We must find out the third movement in verse sixteen.
The Results
The third thing brought out in John 3:16 is the results. “Should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just as there are two works that God did to save us, there are two results of what He did.
Future Results
The first result is future. I can know very little about the future for sure, but I can know this for sure; because it depends on God alone, and what He already did almost two thousand years ago. “Should not perish.” I may not know anything else about the future, but I know that I will not perish in the lake of fire.
“But it says you SHOULD not perish. It didn’t say you WOULD not perish,” Some might say. True enough, but the result depends on the work of God which He ALREADY accomplished shortly after He made this statement, and God always does what He should. The question is: “Will you trust what He did to accomplish what He said He would do?”
Present Results
The second result is present: “Have everlasting life.” “Have” means right now. A great evangelist in North Carolina named Bob McCurry once said, “Everybody believes in eternal security. The question is, ‘When do you get it?’” Good point! God says that you have everlasting life the moment you receive it by believing in Jesus—right now.
“For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” V17
Why Jesus Came
Jesus made it very clear exactly why He came. Some have said that Jesus came to be an example. Jesus raised the dead, made the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, and lived a sinless life; then He came back from the dead by His own power. That is a pretty difficult example to follow if that is what we must do to get to heaven. Jesus said He came to save us from perishing in hell and the lake of fire, not to be an example.
Some have said that Jesus came to give us rules to live by. Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is heaven is perfect,” in Matthew 5:48. We cannot get to heaven by keeping His rules. Jesus said that He came to save us.
In Luke 19:10 He said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Bondage to Fear of Death
To be lost is to not know where you are going. To be lost spiritually is to not know where you are going when you die. Jesus wants us to know that we are going to heaven. In Hebrews 2:15 God tells us that He came to “Deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Jesus came to deliver (save) us from bondage to fear of death.
Oddly enough, the agent Satan uses to bring mankind into bondage to fear of death is religion.
“He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” V18
Two Groups of People
Here we see everybody in the world divided into one of two categories. Each person is either condemned to the lake of fire, or he is not condemned. We also see the reason a person is condemned. It is because: “He hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
The Name of the Son of God
Jesus was a Jewish child. His name in the Jewish language, which was Hebrew, was Jehovah Yasha.
Jehovah is the personal name of God. It means the “Jah” or Almighty, “Hovah” the Everlasting One. If you do not believe me, that is fine. Believe what God says in Isaiah 9:6 where God says, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given…and His name shall be called…The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father.” So, to believe on the name of the Son of God, you must first of all believe that Jesus is the Everlasting God the Father.
However, we must also believe that He is the “Yasha.” Yasha is close to the same as our word “Savior.” When Jesus entered into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, the crowd proclaimed, “Hosanna!” Literally translated that word means “Save now.[12]” Yasha and Hosanna come from the same root word. The crowd was chanting part of His name[13].
Yasha actually means: “The One who saves, keeps, defends, gives victory, etc.” Basically, it means “The One who saves and Keeps.[14]” So, the second thing we must believe to gain eternal life is that Jesus saves and keeps us saved.
So, to believe on Jesus’ name we must believe that He is God the Father, and that He has done what it takes to save us and keep us saved.
What Is NOT Required
It is significant to note that, based upon this explanation, Nicodemus trusted Christ as his Savior, and, eventually, became Jesus’ disciple. In view of this, it is important to note what was not required. There was no mention of baptism, confession, sorrow, turning, or anything about Nicodemus’ sin, Jesus’ resurrection, virgin birth, or any other required truths.
What IS Required
The only thing Jesus required in John 3:16-18 was belief in His name.
A person is condemned to hell because he does not believe on the name of Jesus. He either does not believe that Jesus is God, or he does not believe that salvation depends solely on Jesus. Notice that there is no one in hell because of murder. They are in hell because they have not trusted Jesus to get them to heaven. In fact everyone in hell has had his sins completely paid for. In I John 2:1-2 God says that Jesus: “Is the propitiation (satisfactory payment) for our sins: but not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
What’s more, there will be no unbelievers in hell. In Philippians 2:10 God says, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things UNDER THE EARTH.” Everyone in hell believes. They just believed too late. After you die it is too late to change your mind.
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” V19-20
Why Some People Do Not Believe
We see here why many do not trust Christ to save them. Really, think about it. Since Jesus has done everything it takes to get us to heaven, and the only thing He requires of us to get to heaven is to trust what He already did on the cross, why would anyone turn that down? It is because of what they are afraid will happen. People will not trust Christ, because they realize that they are not good enough. They think that their sins will be exposed. They fear that their works will be found lacking. The problem is, those things will only happen if they do NOT trust Christ to get them to heaven. Then their sins will become an issue, and their works will be found lacking. If we trust Jesus’ sinless sacrifice and work on the cross, our work and sin are nowhere in view. They are no longer the issue. Jesus paid for our sin and did the work it takes to get us to heaven. Look how God words it in verse twenty-one.
“But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought in God.” V21
When we come to Christ, the deed we want done—our salvation—is wrought (worked- like wrought iron-iron that has been worked) in God. In other words, the salvation that we want has been worked out by God. That is the fact that we need to trust.
What did He do to save us? How did He do it?
The Payment for Sin
We have all done things wrong. The wrong things that we do, God calls sin. Sin causes pain sickness, sorrow, and, ultimately, death. Since sin causes death, God decreed that the payment for sin is death in Romans 6:23[15]. That is because that is what sin does. It destroys everything that comes into contact with it. That is also why no one can go to heaven with sin. If one man entered heaven with even one sin, then there would be sickness, pain, death, and sorrow in heaven. Heaven would, eventually, come to an end because of sin, just as earth will.
What God Did About Our Sin
However, God, instead of saying that the wages of the SINNER is death, said the wages of SIN is death, effectively opening the possibility of separating the sin from the sinner. God loves us and forgave us. Consequently, He came to earth, took our sin onto Himself, and paid for it Himself by dying on the cross. Then He came back from the dead completing the legal payment for sin. All that was required to get us to heaven was accomplished by Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. He offers eternal life in heaven as a gift. All we have to do is believe who He is and trust what He has done. If we do that, then we can know that we are going to heaven.
The New Birth
This brings about a new spiritual birth. When we trust Christ to get us to heaven, we are born again.
The flesh, on the other hand, is basically selfish. In its egotistical self-centeredness desire to earn salvation by its own good works and self glorification, wants to rely on its own religion and effort. This was Nicodemus’ problem. Pharisees were probably the most humanly righteous people to live on the face of the earth, but they trusted their good works to save them. Trusting human works to get to heaven satisfies the basic selfish desire of the flesh. However, the old nature can never be good enough to get to heaven, and will, ultimately, lead to destruction. So we must be born again spiritually.
The Condition and Conclusion
To be born again you must simply believe that Jesus is God the Father who did everything that it takes to get us to heaven.
QUESTIONS:
1-What two things must we believe to be born again?
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2-What are two synonyms of the Word “believe”?
(1) _______________ (2) _______________
3-What is the payment for sin? ___________
4-When does a person receive eternal life?
____________________________________________________
5-Why is a person condemned to the lake of fire?
____________________________________________________
6-Will there be any believers in hell? ______
7-Is Jesus God the Father? ______________
8-What did Jesus do to save us?
____________________________________________
9-Can you be certain of going to heaven?
_____________________________________
[1] “Pharisees,” The Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopedia, 1908 ed.
[2] G. Campbell Morgan, Studies in the Four Gospels, 3rd edition (Westwood: Fleming H. Revell Company,1927), p. 57.
[3] Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on John, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan 2010), p. 67.
[4] Oliver B. Greene, The Gospel According to John, Nineth edition, (Greenville: The Gospel Hour, Inc., 1966), pp. 132-133.
[5] John Phillips, Exploring the Gospel of John, (Grand Rapids, Kregel Publications, 2001), pp. 63-65.
[6] James A. Parker III, The Apologetics Study Bible “The Incarnation: Could God Become Man Without Ceasing to Be God?”, Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 1999) pp. 177-1777.
[7] Luke 2:52 “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”
[8] Hebrews 5:8 “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.”
[9] Matthew 16:8 “Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?”
[10] John D. Davis, A Dictionary of the Bible, Fourth Revised Edition, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1925) p. 602-603.
[11] Galatians 4:23-31 “It is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.”
[12] T. Alton Bryant, ed., The New Compact Bible Dictionary, fourteenth edition, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1967), p. 233.
[13] James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, (Iowa Falls: Riverside Book and Bible House,), pp. 32 Hebrew dictionary.
[14] Strong’s, pp. 53,79 Greek dictionary.
[15] Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”