If you have your Bible with you, please open it up to the Gospel of John, the Gospel of John chapter 3.
Well, I've been looking forward to this particular message for a little while now.
We're talking this morning about being born again.
And it's one of those terms that has come to mean a lot of different things.
It's not just used inside the church, but it's used outside the church now.
I wonder what you think of when you hear the term born again.
I know some people might be thinking back to Watergate and Charles Coulson and his book, Born Again,
to former presidents who have said that they were born again,
to some of the more controversial ways that that term has been used,
especially down in the States, to refer to, I guess we could say, fundamentalists, some would say.
It's a very loaded term, born again.
Even within the church, there's a lot of different meaning by it.
Some people simply mean those who are Christians, those who have professed faith in Jesus.
Others mean, very specifically, those who aren't just people who say that they're Christians,
but those who are the real deal, true followers of Jesus, those who have been born again.
Others, again, have that kind of negative connotation.
You know, it's that sect of Christianity that maybe takes things a little bit too seriously.
You know, one of those born-again Christians.
You know, so what does it really mean to be born again?
And to answer that, we're going to go back to the source.
We're going to go back to Jesus.
He's the one who said it the first time.
What did he mean when he said that?
What does it mean to be born again?
So, we're in John chapter 3.
And this follows really closely to what we looked at last Sunday too.
Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover festival.
He had done the cleansing of the temple there.
It says in verse 23,
John continues on.
Now, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus.
And so, what John's about to tell us, this story of Nicodemus is actually an example.
John has already just said,
many were believing in Jesus because of the signs that he was doing,
but Jesus wouldn't entrust himself to them.
And we kind of wonder, well, why not?
They believed, or was it not genuine belief?
Was it superficial?
He said that Jesus knows what's in a man.
He didn't need anybody else to come give a report about so-and-so.
He knew what was in that person,
or in each person, as my translation says.
And so, this is really an example of this.
John's saying, now there was a man
who Jesus knew some things about.
And we're going to see how this unfolds.
This man's name was Nicodemus.
Chapter 3, verse 1.
Now, there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus,
who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.
He came to Jesus at night.
So, Nicodemus is a Pharisee.
The Pharisees, probably all of you know quite well who they are.
Jesus had lots of run-ins with them.
They were that denomination of Judaism,
which kind of really put forward strict adherence to the law of Moses,
and even added all kinds of rules
and things that you needed to do to be right with God.
But we also know that Jesus had many run-ins with the Pharisees,
in which he kind of denounced them
and their empty religion, their hypocrisy.
They had all these rules,
and yet, on the inside,
they didn't have a love for God.
They wanted to look good on the outside to other people.
They loved the praise of men.
They were the kind of mentality,
and Les kind of hit it on the head this morning in Sunday school,
where, you know, we, to be right with God,
to be righteous,
we need to obey.
We need to do works.
We need to observe the law.
And the better we do that, the more righteous we are,
the better we are in God's sight.
Well, Nicodemus was one of these guys,
and probably a high-up guy in this order as well.
He was also a member of the Jewish ruling council,
the Sanhedrin.
Now, there were some other representation on there
of the Sadducees and others, perhaps.
But this is no...
This is a man of reputation.
I'll say it that way.
He's come to pay Jesus a visit at night.
And this is what Nicodemus says to Jesus in verse 2.
He came to Jesus at night and said,
Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher
who has come from God.
For no one could perform the signs you are doing
if God were not with him.
Now, this is such a loaded thing to say to Jesus.
He starts with a term of respect,
Rabbi, teacher.
We know.
It's interesting that he uses the plural.
We.
You kind of get the sense.
He's not just speaking for himself.
He's speaking on behalf,
probably, of some of his other religious colleagues
of the Pharisees or in the ruling council.
And what does he have to say for himself
and on their behalf?
He says,
We know that you are a teacher who has come from God,
for no one could perform the signs you are doing
if God were not with him.
In other words,
me and some of the other religious leaders
have seen the signs
that you have been doing here in Jerusalem.
And Nicodemus actually just straight up admits
no one could do these kinds of things
unless God was with him.
In other words,
they were miraculous things.
There's probably things that just weren't recorded
in the Gospels here for us.
I mean, the cleansing of the temple itself
wasn't really a miracle.
It was a sign.
But there were probably other things that Jesus did.
And the religious leaders,
including Nicodemus,
are looking at these things and thinking,
That's impossible.
The only way that he could do those things
is if God was with him.
So they saw the signs that Jesus was doing,
the miraculous signs.
And not only did they see the signs,
but they kind of reasoned it out
to the right conclusion
or to something that was right.
What was the conclusion that they came to?
He says,
We know that you are a teacher
who has come from God.
That word know is a strong word.
You know, we know.
Interesting words here.
And I wonder,
even as Nicodemus says this,
I wonder what the other members of the Pharisees
and the ruling council
would have thought about him saying this.
It's almost like an admission that
we know that you're from God
because how else could you do these things?
We've seen the signs.
I wonder,
would some of the other members
be quick to say,
Well, yeah, I agree.
Or is it more of kind of an admission
of the conversations
that they had had together
as religious leaders in the back room?
I mean, look at the things this guy is doing.
How else could he do it?
Well, he must be from God.
Otherwise, there's just no other way.
I think perhaps Nicodemus speaks to
what they knew deep down inside.
That yes, Jesus has come from God.
But perhaps something that others
were not ready to admit.
I mean, we're going to see this
as the Pharisees kind of
come into connection with Jesus.
Tensions are going to rise.
But even as those tensions rise,
it's not because the Pharisees
are completely ignorant
and just came to the wrong conclusion about him.
I mean, what Nicodemus says here is,
We know.
We've seen the miracles.
We know that you are from God.
But what's interesting
is just when we look at this confession,
this admission,
at first, it really does seem like,
Wow, Nicodemus,
you hit the nail on the head.
You're on the right track.
He has come from God,
which has big implications.
If he is a teacher from God,
then we must listen to him.
We should follow his teaching
and do what he says.
And so we're kind of left
with this question of,
So Nicodemus, do you believe?
Do you believe that
Jesus is who they've been saying?
But when we kind of compare this
to some of the other things
that have been said
about Jesus by his disciples,
all of a sudden,
it kind of just puts it in perspective.
We see just how far short
this falls.
Notice, I mean, back,
we looked at this.
Nathanael said,
Rabbi, you are the son of God.
You are the king of Israel.
Philip and Andrew,
you are the Messiah,
the one spoken of by the prophets
long ago.
And now we come to Nicodemus.
Well, we've seen the signs,
the miraculous signs
that only God could do.
So we know that you're a teacher.
That's it?
Just a teacher?
How about a prophet?
How about the Messiah?
You know, like it falls short.
And so we're kind of left
with this question.
Do you believe, Nicodemus?
Do you really believe?
We're going to find out
not this Sunday,
but next Sunday
as we explore more of this.
But we want to get into this discussion
of being born again.
And this is where the conversation goes.
Nicodemus says this to him
and then Jesus replies in verse three.
He says,
Very truly,
I tell you,
no one can see the kingdom of God
unless they are born again.
Now you might read that and wonder,
well, what does that have to do
with what Nicodemus just said?
We know you're a teacher
who comes from God.
Nobody could do the signs.
I tell you,
you must,
to see the kingdom of God,
you must be born again.
At first I kind of thought,
well, maybe Jesus is just ignoring him
and just kind of going straight to the heart
or something like that.
Actually, if you look really closely,
it's not as though Jesus just ignored him.
He heard what Nicodemus said.
Jesus actually structures his statement
in the exact same way
that Nicodemus did his.
For no one could perform the signs
you are doing
unless God were with him.
Jesus says back to him,
no one can see the kingdom of God
unless they are born again.
It seems as if Jesus just kind of decides
to take over the conversation
and steer it the direction
that he wants it to go.
Maybe I'm,
I don't want to speculate too much,
but reading between the lines
a little bit here,
it's almost as if Nicodemus
has come to Jesus saying,
let's talk about you.
We've seen the signs you're doing.
And Jesus' reply almost seems to be,
first, let's talk about you,
Nicodemus.
Let's talk about you
and how you must be born again.
Verse six.
As Jesus says this,
no one can see the kingdom of God
unless they are born again.
He's including Nicodemus in it.
No one,
including you,
Nicodemus,
can see the kingdom of God
unless they're born again.
Why does he say this to Nicodemus?
My best guess is because
Nicodemus is a Pharisee.
He's one of those people
who very much
with the order of that day
has this mentality of,
I can get a right standing with God.
I am a part of the kingdom of God.
I can,
I will enter
by doing enough good works,
by observing the law well enough.
And I have done it very well.
And so,
I'm in.
It's almost as if Jesus
just kind of strikes
right to the heart of that
with this word.
No one,
including you,
Nicodemus,
doesn't matter how good
a life you've lived,
how well you've kept the law,
no one can see
the kingdom of God
unless they are born again.
Now,
what does Jesus mean
by see the kingdom of God?
Does he mean perceive
the kingdom of God
as in it's invisible,
like understand it?
Or does he mean
enter the kingdom of God?
I think that the answer comes
as we keep reading.
Verse 4,
Nicodemus responds,
he says,
how can someone be born
when they are old?
Surely they cannot enter
a second time
into their mother's womb
to be born.
Jesus answered,
very truly,
I tell you,
no one can enter
the kingdom of God
unless they are born
of water
and the spirit.
Okay,
so Jesus kind of clarifies
what he means by see.
He means enter,
enter into the kingdom of God.
That's what Jesus
is talking about.
In this language,
he uses it elsewhere too
in verse 36.
Whoever rejects the sun
will not see life.
He's using it
kind of metaphorically.
He's talking about
entrance into the kingdom
of God.
What is the kingdom of God?
What is Jesus really getting at here
for Nicodemus?
It's not the easiest thing
to describe or define
or to sum up.
Those of you who've read
through the gospels
know that Jesus taught
a lot about the kingdom
of God.
He told many parables
about it.
Like earthly kingdoms,
it's a kingdom
that has a king.
God's chosen king,
the Christ.
Jesus is that king.
And like earthly kingdoms,
it too has citizens.
People who belong
to this kingdom.
But unlike earthly kingdoms,
these citizens,
these people of the kingdom,
they kind of stretch
through time.
They're God's people
throughout generations,
throughout the generations.
And they're not necessarily
confined to a specific spot.
I mean,
it kind of seemed
to start that way
with the Israelites
in the Old Testament,
with the descendants
of Israel.
Israel.
But then,
it kind of grows
and expands from there
to include people
from among the nations,
all who belong to God
through faith in Christ.
Jesus talked about
how this kingdom is,
it's got like this
invisible aspect to it.
It's hard to see.
It's like yeast
in the dough.
But that one day,
we will see
the kingdom of God.
There will be this
day when the kingdom
breaks forth
into our world
in all its glory,
in all its greatness.
Isaiah speaks about
how, you know,
it'll be a time
when justice is brought,
when God's king
brings peace,
and that peace
will last forever.
No other kingdom
will challenge
this kingdom.
This is the kingdom of God.
This is the kingdom of heaven.
One of the places
where Jesus
had quite a lot
to say about it,
but the parables
that I love
is in Matthew 13,
the parable of the weeds.
Some of you may recall
that story.
A farmer
or a landowner
sows seed
into his field,
and then an enemy
comes and sows weeds
into the field,
or false wheat.
And when they finally
realize what has happened,
it's, you know,
it would threaten
the good wheat
to just rip out
the false wheat,
and so they decide
to let both grow
until the harvest.
And Jesus talks
in that parable
about how
the field is the world,
and the good wheat
represents the sons
of the kingdom.
And those who are
false wheat
are those who are not
sons of the kingdom.
And one day,
for now,
they're growing together
in the world.
They live among each other.
But one day,
there will come a day
where he will
do the separation.
He will send forth
his angels,
and they will take
those who are not
sons of the kingdom,
and they will be
ripped out
and thrown into
the blazing furnace.
Judgment.
The judgment.
There's a future aspect
to the kingdom of God.
And the question is,
are you a true
son of the kingdom?
That's really what's
at stake here
as Jesus talks
to Nicodemus.
You think you're in.
You think you're
a true son of the kingdom.
That you are one of those
who will remain
at the end.
But no one
will enter
the kingdom of heaven.
No one can enter
the kingdom of God
unless they are born again.
Says Jesus.
Unless they are born again.
Nicodemus,
I think,
does his best
to try to figure out
what Jesus is talking about.
Like,
what do you mean
born again?
I try to give him
the benefit of the doubt
a little bit
that he didn't actually
think Jesus meant
an old man
climbing back
into his mother's womb
a second time.
I think these are
rhetorical questions.
You know,
how can someone
be born
when they are old?
Surely they cannot
enter a second time
into their mother's womb
to be born.
It can't be
physical birth
that you're talking about.
So what do you mean,
Jesus?
What kind of birth
do you mean
born again?
We've heard that term
so many times,
it almost,
we don't hear it
the same way
that Nicodemus hear it.
Perhaps we could
paraphrase it like this.
No one can see
the kingdom of God
unless they are
birthed again.
That's what Nicodemus
is hearing.
And he's trying
to wrestle through
what do you mean
by this?
Jesus answers
in verse 5
and he clarifies.
But in many ways
he says the same
thing again.
Very truly,
I tell you,
no one can enter
the kingdom of God
unless they are
born of water
and the Spirit.
Born of the Spirit.
Flesh gives birth
to flesh,
says Jesus,
but the Spirit
gives birth
to Spirit.
So Nicodemus,
I think,
was on the right track.
It's not a physical
rebirth
that Jesus is talking
about.
It's a spiritual birth.
The birth that is
flesh in nature
kind of comes
from a person
who is flesh
just like we were
born from our mothers.
But the birth
that is Spirit
in nature,
the birth that Jesus
is talking about
comes from a person
who is Spirit.
Spirit.
The Spirit of God.
It's a spiritual birth.
And Nicodemus
is probably
thinking
what we're all thinking.
What does that mean?
What is a spiritual birth?
It says in verse 7,
Jesus says,
you should not be surprised
or you should not wonder
at my saying.
Nicodemus is wondering,
like,
what are you talking about?
In verse 9,
Nicodemus says,
how can these things be?
What do you mean?
This is not something
that's easy to understand.
And I think part of the reason
for that is that
we're creatures
of flesh and blood.
We have an immaterial part
to us too,
soul or spirit.
But we're creatures
of flesh and blood.
And we take the world in
through our physical,
material senses.
Taste,
touch,
sight.
Jesus is talking about
a whole nother realm.
A whole nother reality.
A spiritual birth.
A birth that is not material.
And so we are right
to be kind of perplexed.
And like,
how do we describe that?
What does that mean?
What does it look like?
Jesus even seems
to acknowledge
that it's not
the,
it's not easy
to understand.
He goes on to say this,
you should not be surprised
at my saying,
you must be born again.
And then he gives
a bit of an analogy.
He says,
the wind blows
wherever it pleases.
You hear its sound,
but you cannot tell
where it comes from
or where it is going.
So it is
with everyone
born of the spirit.
The wind is kind of
a mysterious thing.
It's something
that we can't see.
It's invisible.
It just kind of
comes and goes.
It's unpredictable.
One day,
I'm on my way
to the church,
walking down
Third Street,
and it's calm.
It's wonderful.
The next morning,
I'm walking down
the same street
and I'm getting blasted
like I'm in a wind tunnel.
How do we know
what day,
what's going to happen
on what day?
We don't.
It's a mystery.
Some of you
may have seen
some of those
golf shots
or those
field goal kicks
which were,
they were lined up
perfect to be
right on mark
and hit the target.
And then at the last
minute,
out of nowhere,
a gust of wind
carries it off course
and they miss.
The wind is like that.
I mean,
we see its effects.
We can hear it.
We see how it blows things.
But we don't understand it.
We can put a windsock up
and we can figure out
what direction
it's blowing
at any given moment.
but we can't really
predict with any certainty
where it's going,
what it's going to do
in the next five minutes.
If it's going to switch
or blow hard
or just stop.
Jesus uses this
as an analogy.
It's the same.
So it is
with everyone
born of the spirit.
The spiritual
is something
that's invisible to us.
We can't see it.
It's mysterious.
It's unpredictable.
We can see
the effects of it.
We see the effects
of the spirit
on a person's life.
We see that
radical transformation.
But we couldn't tell you,
well,
who's going to be next?
Who's going to be
born again next?
We couldn't tell you
just what the spirit
of God
is going to do next
because we just
simply don't
understand that.
So what is
the new birth?
There are a number
of other passages
that speak to it.
Drawing from all of them,
trying to bring them together.
That's kind of what
systematic theology is,
they call it,
in school.
And I'm borrowing
from another guy here,
Wayne Grudem.
This is his
explanation.
He says,
or definition,
the new birth
is a secret work
in which God
gives new
spiritual life
to his people.
people.
It's a secret work
in which God
gives new
spiritual life
to his people.
And if you look
at some of those
other passages,
you see that
this is
first,
this is,
I'd say,
even 100%,
this is something
that God does
to people.
It's not something
that we do
for ourselves,
just like we can't
give birth
to ourselves.
it's something
God,
by his spirit,
does to people.
He gives them
new life.
It's not something
that we can earn.
It's a gift,
as we've been looking
at in 1 Peter,
who,
praise be to God,
who,
in his great mercy,
has given us
new birth.
It's a gift,
and it's undeserved.
There are other
passages that speak
to the reality
of the new birth
in different ways.
Paul says,
you know,
you were dead
in your sins,
but God,
in his mercy,
in his grace,
made you alive
with Christ.
It involves us
being united to Christ
and having new life
in Christ.
Ezekiel,
in his prophecies,
he kind of spoke
of it in this way.
He said,
there will come a day
when I will give you
a new spirit.
I will put
a new spirit in you,
and I will take out
your heart of stone
and give you
a heart of flesh.
The people had been
unresponsive to God,
and so God was going
to perform surgery
on them,
so to speak.
This is what
the new birth is.
It's God's secret
work upon us
to give us
new life,
to join us
to Christ,
to put his own
spirit in us,
to live within us,
and its results
are things like
a change of heart,
a change of desires.
We begin to love
what is good
and hate
what is evil.
We begin to see
and hear
and value
the word of God
and the words
of Christ.
We take them
seriously.
It's like the blinders
have been lifted off.
this is God's work
that he does
through the spirit,
the new birth.
And one of the things
that really strikes me
most about it
is just this simple,
simple truth
that it's something
God does
to us
and in us.
It's not something
you can do
for yourself.
Our world will use
the term
born again
in that way.
You know,
like I had
a massive life change,
just a change
of perspective,
you know,
or turned a new leaf.
That's not what
Jesus is referring
to here.
He's referring
to the spirit
coming
and giving us
new life
where there was none.
It's not by works.
It's a gift
of God's grace
to his people.
We're going to go on
and look at the rest
of this conversation
with Nicodemus
next Sunday.
But I want to focus
just for the rest
of our few minutes
here on
what I think
Jesus would say
if he was here.
What John
is really getting at.
And that's that question
that we ought
to ask ourselves.
Are you born again?
Jesus has said
this is crucial.
This is critical.
No one
can enter
the kingdom
of God
unless they are
born again.
This is the difference
maker between
heaven and hell.
Between life,
eternal life,
and death.
Are you born again?
no one.
Doesn't matter
how good they've been,
what they've done,
will see
the kingdom of God
unless this reality
has happened
in their life.
Unless
they have undergone
this new
birth.
How do I get
the new birth?
death.
How do I get that?
Well,
we've already said
you can't earn it.
You can't do this
for yourself.
It's God's work.
If you flip back
just a page,
I think John
has given us
the answer
right out of the
start of his gospel.
John 1,
verses
11 to 13.
Jesus,
the word,
the son of God
came to that
which was his own,
but his own
did not receive him.
Yet,
to all who did
receive him,
to those who
believed in his name,
he gave the right
to become children
of God.
Children born
not of natural descent,
nor of human decision,
or a husband's will,
but born of God.
There it is.
The effects
of the new birth,
the result of it,
is that we become
children of God.
He's not talking
about children
born in the human
flesh way.
He makes that clear.
Born of God.
And the way
to get that,
to receive that,
to get that right,
to all who did
receive Jesus,
to those who
believed in his name.
We get it simply
by believing,
by receiving him
for who he truly is,
the son of God.
the Christ.
By believing,
by taking his words
seriously,
yes,
embracing,
you are the one,
just like Nathaniel said,
you are the son of God.
That's the way.
We didn't look at this
yet in Sunday school,
but we're coming to it.
it's through the word.
It's through the word
of the gospel
that we,
we put our trust
in that
and,
and we receive
this gift.
And it's still mysterious.
We don't necessarily
see or understand
that moment,
but we know
something's different
on the other side.
It's like the lights
have gone on.
The world is different.
We see everything different.
We see Christ
differently.
It's a beautiful thing.
And I know
probably most of you,
I believe,
are born again
and have experienced that.
But,
I hope that
just looking at this again
is,
is just encouragement
and reminder
of this wonderful gift
of grace
that God has done
for all of us,
giving us new life
by his spirit
through faith in Jesus.
Lastly,
I want to just
draw our attention
to,
to the,
to this one thing
that Nicodemus
said.
He said,
Rabbi,
we know that you are
the teacher
who has come from God.
Just kept hitting me.
If,
if you know it,
will you listen
to his teaching?
Will you obey?
Will you do
what Jesus says?
And the good news
is that those of us
who are born again,
we know that Jesus
is more than a teacher.
We know that he is
the Messiah
and that he is
the Son of God.
The good news is this,
we're not left
to ourselves
to try to obey him,
to try to do
what he says.
We have the Spirit
of God within us
who enables us,
who has changed
our hearts,
who gives us
new desires
to do
what is good,
what is right,
to love.
It's an amazing gift
and it's,
it's a gift of grace.
Praise be to God
who in his great mercy
has given us
new birth
into a living hope.
Let's pray.
Amen.
Lord Jesus,
we thank you
for your Spirit
and his work
in our lives.
We don't want to think
about what life
would be
without that.
We confess
and we admit
freely to you
that apart from you
and your work
in us
and Christ
and how he has lived,
we'd be lost.
Thank you
for the new birth.
It's in Jesus' name
we pray.
Amen.