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        "You Must Be Born Again"
        John 2:23-3:15
        Theme:         The Gospel consists of God giving to man what man cannot gain for Himself eternal life.

        1. The Deficiency of Religious Faith 2:23-25

          1. The Existence on "Non-Saving" Faith v. 23

            1. "Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name . . ." his popularity grew and many were "believing"
            2. However, the faith that they possessed was not a "saving faith" but was oriented merely to the "signs which He was doing."
            3. [Romans 10:17] The only way a person can come to saving faith is as response to the objective revelation of God through the hearing of the truth of God’s Word with ears opened not by discernment gained through the observation of the miraculous, but by the agency of the Holy Spirit of God who quickens the hearts of sinners.
            4. Here we see the condition of those whose faith is dependent on "observing His signs which He was doing" it is not focusing on the issue of issue of sin, righteousness and judgment.
            5. Miracles or signs are not designed to create faith, but to strengthen true, saving faith cp. John 20:30-31.

          2. The Evaluation of "Non-Saving" Faith vv. 24-25

            1. John teaches us here that "Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men. . ." He refused to see these "believers" as true believers to whom His cause could be entrusted.
            2. The reason this is true is "because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man."
            3. When "push comes to shove" spiritually, it matters little what I say about what I believe or what anyone else says about what I believe.
            4. All that really matters is what Jesus Christ says about the condition of my heart is what is present in my heart the work of grace by which I have been stirred up to respond obediently to the demands of the Gospel.
            5. Or, is my heart one a natural heart, responding according to the "logic" of religion without having dealt with the issue of my sin?
              1. I might be religious to the point of preaching, but if my sin has not been dealt with Christ "never knew me" cp. Matthew 7:23
              2. I might be religious to the point of reaping the benefits of consistently being in the environment of Christ’s presence and fellowship, but if my sin has not been dealt with Christ has no recollection of having fellowshipped with you cp. Luke 13:27
            6. Jesus himself evaluated the "faith" of these who were dependent on being thrilled by "signs" and recognized that their focus was on religious affection and not on a repentance of sin which had been his message "for He Himself knew what was in man" cp. Matthew 4:17.

        2. The Demand for Regenerating Faith 3:1-8

          1. The Confrontation of the Work of Men vv. 1-4

            1. To demonstrate the reality of Christ knowing "what was in man," John introduces us to "a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews"
            2. As you might recall, the Pharisees was a party of religious leadership having originated around the time of the Greek domination of Palestine.
              1. They were a reactionary movement against the secular spirit of Hellenism.
              2. Hence they became known as the separatists who believed that piety was primarily a matter of testimony and not necessarily integrity.
              3. They consequently externalized religion often considering outward conformity to the law as the goal of one’s life.
            3. It was to this "religious" pre-Pelagian group of self-righteous spiritual leaders that possessed the perspective that eliminated one’s dependency on the inner working of the grace of God that Nicodemus belonged.
            4. He comes to Jesus "by night" presumably desiring a private audience (not necessarily become of cowardice), and embarks on a pious sounding concession that "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."
            5. However, Jesus is not interested in the dealing with the self-righteous assessment of the Pharisees as to who Jesus is, but sees into the heart of Nicodemus and recognizes the question he wants to ask: "What good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?""-cp. Matthew 19:16-26.
            6. He interrupts Nicodemus’ train of thought and answers this question before it had even been asked: "Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, Truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’"
            7. His answer echoes what He would later say to that other ruler who comes that there is nothing possible for you to do it is necessary to have a work done in you by God (Aorist Pass. Subjunctive from "to bring forth" or "to give birth").
            8. Nicodemus is so steeped in religious self-dependence and pride that Christ’s answer sticks in his throat, as would a fishbone: "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?"
            9. Nicodemus sees Christ’s comment in light of his unspoken question and is oriented on what he (Nicodemus) must do and therefore fails to apprehend Christ’s point.
            10. Whereas Nicodemus focuses on a radically impossible deed, Christ focuses on a radical and impossible change that is not accomplished by the sinner but by the work of God cp. Matthew 19:26.

          2. The Contrast of the Work of God vv. 5-8

            1. Jesus responds to Nicodemus’ incredulity and confusion by drawing a distinction between that which is natural and what is supernatural.
            2. He first declares that what He is referring to is a supernatural accomplishment: "unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
              1. His first point is that the heart needed to be cleansed of sin and a new heart established cp. Ezekiel 36:25-27
                1. This is what is meant by "born of water" - something that is later clarified as referring to the power of the Word of God cp. Titus 3:5; Ephesians 5:26
                2. This demonstrates the central role that Scripture has in the process of a person being born again cp. Romans 10:17.
              2. The other element is that a man also must be "born of … the Spirit" a reference of the regenerating work whereby the Holy Spirit imparts new life, quickening a dead soul Titus 3:5
              3. In other words, Jesus tells Nicodemus that unless God’s Holy Spirit imparts new life to him through bringing him into orientation to the truth of God’s Word, "he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
            3. He then draws a clear distinction between that which a man is able to know and experience on a natural plane "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (natural, physical birth) and "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (supernatural work of God)
            4. He then tells Nicodemus that he ought not be stumbling at this: "Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’."
            5. Once again Christ knew the heart of Nicodemus; he was completely oriented to the idea of a salvation by the act of a man’s effort but now he is being taught differently that salvation is a work of God which, in its initial stage, sees man’s role as necessarily "passive."
            6. Hence Nicodemus is in confusion attempting to reconcile what he is hearing with what he has believed:
              1. He believes that keeping the Law and being personally righteous saves a man.
              2. Now however, he is being told that salvation is not on the basis of who is "naughty and nice" but a work of God.
            7. Jesus illustrates the sovereignty of this work of God by using an illustration of the wind: "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
            8. Hence, salvation seems totally unpredictable to a man who had based his entire life on a set norms generated out of a self-righteous, man-centered religion.

        3. The Delineation of Redeeming Faith 3:9-15

          1. The Demonstration of the Need For Grace vv. 9-13

            1. Nicodemus’ consternation at this "revolutionary" theology is seen in his response: "How can these things be?" demonstrating that he lacked even the most basic understanding of how a person is genuinely saved.
            2. Despite the Old Testament that presents salvation as a work of God, the teaching of John the Baptist, and Jesus’ own teaching, the truth still has not penetrated Nicodemus’ reliance on his own self-righteousness a condition to which Jesus responds by saying: "Are you a teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?"
            3. Now Jesus embarks on a discourse to which no response by Nicodemus is recorded beginning with a statement that aligns this "strange new teaching" with the testimony of the prophets: "We speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony."
            4. The plural "you" here indicates that Jesus is grouping Nicodemus together with the Pharisees and all others who believe that salvation is a work accomplished by men.
            5. Jesus refers to the things that take place within the realm of man’s experience namely regeneration through the agency of the power of God’s Word in the hand of the Holy Spirit: "If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?"
            6. The "heavenly things" most likely refer to what He is about to reveal to him, namely that God sent His Son into the world v. 16.
            7. In order to possess first-hand knowledge it must be revealed to them "No one has ascended into heaven [to gain a knowledge of ‘heavenly things’], but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man."
            8. Hence, Jesus brings it back to Nicodemus’ original statement confirming indeed that He had "come from God" but in a different way than Nicodemus had thought.
            9. Here then, we see the utter dependence that men have on the grace of the Lord and the need for that grace: God’s decree regarding redemption lies completely outside of the range of man’s knowledge until it is revealed to him.
            10. The only way to gain understanding and experience the work of redemption is through the One "who descended from heaven: the Son of Man" = Jesus Christ.

          2. The Description of the Provision of Grace vv. 14-15

            1. The grace of God in redemption was not something completely unknown or unrevealed it had been partially disclosed through types throughout the Old Testament.
            2. Jesus explains: "As Moses lifted us the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up."
              1. In Numbers 21, Israel was guilty of rebellion and sin against God demonstrated through their grumbling and murmuring against Him.
              2. In judgment, God sent along a plague of poisonous snakes that killed many.
              3. As a remedy, God instructed Moses to make a serpent out of brass and lift it up into the plain view of the people and whoever would look to that serpent would be saved.
            3. Here we see the point of God’s instruction that in judgment for sin, God has condemned all men.
            4. However, God has provided a remedy for our sin-sick plight: He has sent his Son to "be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life."
            5. It is all brought into perfect focus in the next verse: "For God so love the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

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