Curator’s Note: This article is a part of our Adult Sunday School literature for 2019.
3 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.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
John 3:3-8 (KJV)
Nicodemus, respected and devout member of the Sanhedrin, was a learned man. He recognized that Jesus possessed a knowledge that far surpassed his, and being an honest seeker, he came to Jesus at a time when it was less likely that they would be interrupted. Jesus evidently responded to what He knew was in the heart of Nicodemus. He was gentle and patient with him; whereas with other Pharisees, He was often sharp in His rebuke and stern in His correction of them.
“Verily, verily, I say unto thee” is a phrase peculiar to John’s gospel. It always prefaces a central truth which Jesus is about to utter, and this one is no exception. “Except a man be born again” is clearly a reference to the new birth, without which no man can be saved. Every person regardless of his race or station in life can be saved only if he is born again. Nicodemus’ reply, “...How can a man...enter the second time into his mother’s womb...?” (v. 4) implies that he understood Jesus to be saying something about a second birth. Of course, the second birth is from above, and that is what Nicodemus was having trouble understanding. (For other passages related to being born again, or regenerated, read 1 Pet. 1:3, 23; Matt. 19:28; Titus 3:5.)
Being “born again” is more than determining in one’s will that he will take a new course in life. It is nothing less than a complete change of heart and character which is produced, not by the individual, but by the regenerating work of the Holy Ghost through the blood of Christ. Such a person becomes a new creature. The Bible speaks frequently of the new spiritual birth.
In Ezekiel, it is the giving of “one heart, and a new spirit” the taking away of a “stony heart” and the giving of a “heart of flesh” (cf. Ezek. 11:19).
In Acts it is called repentance and conversion (cf. 3:19).
Romans refers to it as being “alive from the dead” (6:13).
In Corinthians it is called being “a new creature” (2 Cor. 5:17).
In Ephesians it is called being “quickened” (2:1).
In Colossians it is putting “off the old man” and putting “on the new” (Col. 3:9, 10).
In Titus it is “the washing of regeneration” (3:5).
In Peter it is being “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4).
In John it is passing “from death unto life” (1 Jn. 3:14).
These are only a few of the expressions which describe the new man in Christ Jesus. There are of course technical differences in some of these expressions. Our point here is to show that the theme of the new birth is very prominent in Scripture, and it involves a very fundamental change in the person; a change that only God can affect.
Being “born again” is a requirement
John 3:3 KJV
“Except a man be born again he cannot SEE the kingdom of God.” There are two ways of looking at the word “see” in this verse. Unless one is born of the Spirit, he cannot see, or understand, the things of God (cf. 1 Cor. 2:10, 11, 14); or unless one is born of the Spirit he cannot come into the Kingdom. Natural man is spiritually blind and cannot understand the things of the Lord, especially the deeper things of the Spirit. It is also true that no matter how hard a man may try to enter the Kingdom of God, he will never get there unless he is born again.
The Kingdom of God is that domain in the hearts of men over which Christ reigns supremely. Every time a new person is saved, the Kingdom increases. One day, following the cataclysmic events of the Rapture, the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming, and the battle of Armageddon, the Lord will set up His universal millennial kingdom, over which He will rule throughout the whole earth.
A spiritual birth explained
John 3:4 KJV
The question Nicodemus asked of the Lord regarding the spiritual birth is rather typical of natural man’s level of thinking on such matters. Jesus was speaking of a spiritual rebirth, but Nicodemus could not rise above the natural birth. A similar question was asked by the woman of Samaria when Jesus spoke to her of living water. He said, “...If thou knewest...who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water .” Her reply to that: “...Sir , thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?” (Jn. 4:10, 11).
For all of his great training in religious matters, Nicodemus was not able to follow Jesus in the realm of spiritual truth. The reason was that he was not able to tune in to that spiritual frequency. His equipment was not adapted to that type of reception. To illustrate, when we are sitting alone where it is quiet, except for the sounds of the environment, we might think we are picking up all the sounds that are being put out, but that simply is not true. We are only picking up those sounds which we are equipped to hear, but that does not mean that is all that is going on. If we had a built-in radio receiver, we could hear radio programs; if we had a television receiver in our heads, we could pick up television programs. There are other sights and sounds which completely escape us because we do not have the proper receptors. So it is with the things of God, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:5-8 KJV
By the Spirit, Jesus means of course the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the godhead, whose office work it is to illuminate our minds, to change our hearts, to fill us with faith and love, to lead us, to sanctify us, to baptize us with His fullness.
What does Jesus mean when He says, “Except a man be born of water?” It has been a widely discussed question. Some hold that Jesus means it is absolutely essential to salvation to be baptized in water. This is not supported by Scripture. On the contrary, it is clear that salvation does not come by ritual, but by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. We do know that this statement is directly related to verse 3. Actually, there is no strong evidence that water baptism is what Jesus was speaking of. A proper conclusion may be drawn from verse six.
That which is born of flesh is flesh. A natural birth is a natural birth, and no matter what one is born to in natural birth, he is never born into the Kingdom of God through the flesh. By the same token, one is never made a Christian by any ritual, including water baptism.
In verse seven, Jesus cautions Nicodemus not to marvel at the teaching, “Ye must be born again.” The natural fleshly birth has nothing to do with the spiritual birth, and the spiritual birth has nothing to do with the natural birth. It is a radical teaching, and there are no exceptions mentioned. Y e must be born again, if you would enter the Kingdom of God.
What happens in the new birth? How does it take place? Jesus says in effect that it is a mystery which is beyond our mortal capacity to understand. It is like the wind blowing where it wills. We hear it and see signs of it, but we do not actually see the wind; nor do we know where it came from or where it goes “so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
