Faith Baptist Church
4258 Botetourt Road
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
(540) 473-2325
John 3:1-7
This is one of most repeated stories from the New Testament. That’s because our Lord makes the presentation of salvation so clear. Salvation is not difficult to understand when it is read from the pages of the Bible. The difficult part is in our willingness to use our personal faith to believe past the physical world into the spiritual world. We must get by the eyes of the flesh and into the eyes of our soul. Though we cannot see the soul we all must admit we have a soul. We think, we feel, we have a conscience, we have self awareness, we have free will, so we know there is a bona fide reality that part of our human makeup is immaterial. The brain surgeon can operate on the brain and its nerve centers, but he cannot see the soul when he operates. The soul is given to us by God as Gen.2:7 says. Ezek.18:4 says all souls belong to the Lord. Ps.49:8 says the redemption of the soul is precious. Isa.55:3 says “incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live...”
When we leave this life we are told that our bodies go back to the ground, but our soul returns to God who gave it, Ecc.12:7. The soul is immortal; it is the body that is mortal. Because the body is of this earth, but the soul is from God. Jesus Christ came to save the part of us that returns to God; the living soul. Death is not the end of life, it is simply the conscious immortal soul leaving the sin cursed mortal body. II Cor.5:8 says as soon as the saved die, their souls instantly go to heaven. As soon as the unsaved die their souls go to Hades.
Jesus Christ came to save souls, your soul and my soul.
v.1 In our passage today we see Jesus Christ is approached by a curious religious man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus’s name means victor over the people. There are some theologians who believe Nicodemus was the brother of the famous Jewish historian Josephus. Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin council, somewhat like our Supreme Court judges, except his jurisdiction applied to spiritual matters in keeping the Mosaic Law among the Jews. As a Pharisee he was well trained in the Jewish religion. He was steeped in the do’s and the don’ts of Judaism. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection and in miracles whereas the Sadducees, who also sat on the Sanhedrin council, did not.
Religion was important to him. Keeping the Sabbath and the moral code as well as the customs of the Law of Moses was near and dear to his heart. As we would say today, “he was a religious man”, he was a dedicated educated upright man. He had position, prosperity, and power, but his soul was not satisfied. As a ruler of the Jews this meant according to rabbinical literature that he was noted as a great man, a prince. Rabbinical tradition holds that Nicodemus was the third wealthiest man in Jerusalem. However,
he saw something in Jesus Christ that he had never seen in any man before. What he saw made him question his religion, his own righteousness and his riches. There was something more to this man Jesus than he had ever experienced. His soul began to thirst for waters he could not bring up from any earthly well.
v.2 And yet we see he came to Jesus. He came at night. He was curious, but he was also cautious. Perhaps some of you this morning feel the same way. You want to know what God is really all about, but you’re not sure if you want to get to close to him. Well, He is close to you whether you understand it or not.
At night Nicodemus would not be spotted by his peers, but this didn’t bother our Lord. Nicodemus said, Rabbi, which means master teacher, we know you are a teacher, didaskalos, an instructor that has come from God.
The preposition, from, apo, means to come from the source. This master teacher as Nicodemus addressed him was also a miracle worker, doing things only one who is from God can do. The miracles were performed to show Jesus was God in human form.
Jesus had turned the water into wine at the marriage at Cana and apparently Nicodemus had witnessed other miracles. Jesus came with words and wonders that turned the world up side down. He healed, gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, legs to the lame, health to the sick, he raised not only the physically dead, he forgave sins and raised the spiritually dead.
v.3 Following Nicodemus’ address to our Lord, Jesus perceived the earthly limitations of Nicodemus’ thinking. He saw the inquisitive nature, but he did not see the instinctive spiritual perception of one who was born again. If you are born again you know it, but Nicodemus didn’t know it. He was still unsaved, or lost as the Bible explains the unsaved condition.
So Jesus said to him, “verily, verily [which means truly, truly], I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
v.4 Nicodemus saw only the physical aspect of birth because he did not understand the spiritual concept of being born again. Nicodemus actually answered his own question with his question. How can a man possibly enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born again? The answer is it is impossible for a man to be physically born again. There is nothing a man can do of his own efforts to be born again spiritually either no matter how moral and religious he may be.
The physical body will be raised on the day of resurrection, but this is not the new birth that Jesus Christ is referring to. He is referring to the new birth of the soul. The soul is condemned and is thus spiritually dead, and it is the soul that needs the new birth. Spiritual death came upon all mankind when Adam sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, Gen.2:17, Gen.3:6. Because of Adam’s original sin Nicodemus was born in a sinful lost condition. He just as we need the new birth. Have you experienced the new birth? Do you desire to be born again?
v.5 So Jesus said to Nicodemus and us as well, “Except a man be born of the water” [reference to the water of life found in Jesus Christ] and be born of the Spirit,
[ regenerated by the Holy Spirit ] he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration [new birth] and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
v.6 Jesus went on to say to Nicodemus; “That which is born of the flesh is flesh [physical birth] and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit”,[ spiritual birth].
v.7 “Marvel not, [do not wonder, do not be amazed] that I said unto you, you must be born again.” You cannot see the kingdom of God if you’re not born again. Translated, you cannot go to heaven when you die if you are not born again. Flesh and blood cannot enter into heaven, I Cor.15:42-50.
How may I be born again? Paul said to the Philippian jailer who ask him the same question, he said in Acts 16:31 ... “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be... .saved...” Paul said in Rom.10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
John 3:13-18
Jesus Christ went on to explain to Nicodemus what he had to do was believe, put faith in, trust the saving of his eternal soul by believing in and accepting who Jesus Christ was. That my friend is all we have to do. No works, no aisle running, no religious observances, just faith in the gospel message. God will then take care of the rest. After salvation God will make a new person out of you. He will give you the strength to live the Christian life.
If you want to be saved tell God when we go to prayer in a moment,
1. that you know you are a sinner;
2. you believe Jesus Christ went to the cross and there he suffered and died to pay for your sins.
3. You believe God raised him from the dead in three days and now he is in heaven with the Father.
4. You now accept him as your Savior. You put your trust in his power to save you.
5. Then thank him for saving you for all eternity.
If you pray this prayer God’s Holy Spirit will come into your life and seal you into the family of God forever. God will write your name down in the Lamb’s book of life where it will never be blotted out. Your sins will all be forgiven and you will start to understand what it means to be a child of God.