Introduction
Before I went on holiday, we were looking at the story in John 2 of how the Lord Jesus went up to Jerusalem and cleared animals and birds and their sellers from the temple courts. He also overturned the tables of those who were changing money. The temple was to be a place where God’s Old Testament people were reconciled to God and where they had fellowship with him. So, it’s where they went to offer sacrifices for God for their sins and where they worshipped him. But they had turned it into a place of business. And so, God the Son cleared the temple to remind the people of what the temple was for and how it was to be this place where God and his Old Testament people could meet together.
And then the Lord Jesus went on to refer to his body as a temple. So, whereas God once dwelt among his people in a building, he was now dwelling among his people in the flesh. And he said that the temple of his body will be destroyed and raised on the third day. He was referring to his death and resurrection. And because of his death and resurrection, all of God’s people in every place and in every generation are reconciled to God through the forgiveness of their sins and we can look forward to life in the presence of God for ever.
2:23–25
Today we come to the verses which I read a moment ago. And in verse 23 of chapter 2 John tells us that while the Lord was in Jerusalem for the Passover, many people saw the miraculous signs which the Lord was doing and they believed in his name. So, John hasn’t recorded what these miracles were which the Lord performed in Jerusalem at that time. And perhaps you might be wondering: Why not? Why not tell us what these miracles were?
John tells us why not at the end of the gospel. Right at the end he said that if every one of the miracles which the Lord performed were written down, the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. He’s exaggerating, of course. But he’s explaining to us that there wasn’t room in his gospel to record absolutely everything the Lord did while he was on the earth. Recording everything would make his gospel far too long. And so, John has chosen to record a sample of the things the Lord did.
And so, while he was in Jerusalem for the Passover, the Lord performed a number of miraculous signs. And many of those who saw these signs believed in him. John then tells us that the Lord did not entrust himself to them. So, they put their trust in him, but he did not put his trust in them. Why not? John tells us. It’s because he knew all men. That is to say, he knew — without anyone telling him — what was in a man.
It’s not entirely clear what John means here, but what he says reminds me of a time when I lived in Naas and a new person started coming to the church. And he was very enthusiastic about the church and about me and he heaped all kinds of praise on me as a preacher. He was full of compliments and said that my preaching reminded him of Billy Graham, the world-famous evangelist. And, of course, I was immediately suspicious, because, for a start, I know I’m nothing like Billy Graham. And I also know what people are like and that very often people are not what they seem to be. And sure enough, after a few weeks of this, I discovered that the man was just buttering me up, because what he really wanted from me was not the good news of the gospel, but some money. And when he realised that I wasn’t going to give him any money, we never saw him again.
It’s possible that John is talking about something similar here. The people believed in the Lord Jesus when they saw the miraculous signs he performed. But did they really believe? Was their faith in him genuine? Or were they only interested in him because of what they could get out of him? Later in the gospel, after the Lord fed the five thousand, he complained that they were only interested in him because he had satisfied their hunger. But he had come to give them something more than food. He had come to give them eternal life. However, they weren’t interested in that. And after he said these things, many of them deserted him.
And so, it’s possible that this is what John means: some of the people believed in the Lord’s name, but the Lord held himself back from them, because he knew what we’re like and how it’s often the case that people are interested in Christ and religion for the wrong reasons.
And that means that we should examine ourselves and our motivation for being here in church. Why are we here? Why do we come to church? People can come to church for many reasons, but the only reason that counts is because we want to worship God and give thanks to him, because we believe that every good thing we have — including our salvation — has come to us from his overflowing goodness and love. And so, we should examine ourselves and our motivation. And if we’re here for the wrong reasons, then we shouldn’t stop coming. But instead we should repent; and ask God for forgiveness; and we should come to church to worship him.
But let’s move on to the story about Nicodemus.
3:1
At the end of chapter 2, John tells us that the Lord Jesus knew what was in a man. And in the first verse of chapter 3, he introduces us to a man called Nicodemus. And by all appearances, this man has a lot going for him, because we’re told that he was a Pharisee. The Pharisees were known for their devotion to God’s law. Their name — Pharisee — means ‘the separated ones’. And they wanted to separate themselves as far as possible from everyone who was ritually unclean according to God’s law. And they were careful to observe all the Old Testament laws and all the traditions of the elders about things which are clean and things which are unclean. And so, this was a religious man.
And not only was Nicodemus a Pharisee, but he was also a member of the Jewish ruling council. That is to say, he was a member of the Sanhedrin. You might remember that the Lord was brought before the Sanhedrin to be tried. And in the book of Acts, the apostles were also brought before them. And the Sanhedrin could decide whether someone who was brought before them should live or die. And so, the members of the Sanhedrin were powerful people. And Nicodemus was one of them.
And one biblical scholar believes on the basis of his name that Nicodemus was a member of a very wealthy and prominent family in Jerusalem.
So, Nicodemus had a lot going for him. If you or I met him, we might be impressed or even intimidated by him. But since the Lord knows what we’re all really like, since he knows what is in us, since he knows that we’re sinners in need of salvation, then the Lord knew what to do and say when this man came to him at night.
And it’s interesting that John notes for us that Nicodemus came to see the Lord at night. On one level, it’s unremarkable that he came at night, because he was coming when his work for the day was over and he had time to meet people. But on another level, night time signifies Nicodemus’s darkness. So, do you remember John’s prologue? We learned that the light of the knowledge of God has been shining continually around us and in us, but we haven’t seen it, because of the darkness of our sin and unbelief. We’re like people on holiday who don’t notice the bright sunshine all around them because of their dark sunglasses. And we don’t notice what God has revealed about himself all around us and in us. We don’t notice it because we’re sinners. And even though Nicodemus is a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council and a member of an important family, he’s in the dark about God and about God’s Son, Jesus Christ. But the good thing is that he has come to the Lord Jesus, who is the Light who has come into the world to reveal God to us in a new and better way so that we can know God and his overflowing goodness and love towards us.
3:2–6
And in verse 2 we have Nicodemus’s opening statement to the Lord. He addresses the Lord as ‘Rabbi’, which means teacher. And he goes on to say that we know that the Lord is a teacher who has come from God. Indeed, he acknowledges that no-one could perform the miracles which the Lord has done unless God were with him. So, he’s complimenting the Lord, which was apparently the custom in those days whenever two people met together for this kind of discussion. Even though you may be debating something with someone, you still began by complimenting one another. It’s the same in parliament, where the members address one another politely even when they’re disagreeing with one another.
And perhaps the Lord was meant to return the compliment. But instead of doing that, he declared to Nicodemus: ‘I tell you the truth, no-one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’ Do you see that in verse 3? I’ll explain a little later what the Lord means by the kingdom of God and by being born again. But for now, take a look at Nicodemus’s reply. He asks how can a man be born again. And he follows that up by saying that surely a man can’t enter his mother’s womb a second time. It’s not clear whether he’s completely baffled by what the Lord says or whether he’s suggesting that the Lord is talking nonsense. Perhaps it’s a bit of both. You know: ‘I don’t understand what you’re saying, but it sounds like nonsense to me!’ And the Lord responds by saying that no-one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. So, no-one can see or enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again of water and the Spirit.
So, what does the Lord mean when he refers in these verses to the kingdom of God? And what does the Lord mean when he refers in these verses to being born again of water and the Spirit? That’s what we’ll think about for a while.
The kingdom of God
We’ll start with the kingdom of God. No-one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. No-one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. What is the kingdom of God?
Ultimately, what the Lord is referring to is eternal life in the new creation to come where God will rule over his people with goodness and love and where we will reign with him for ever.
The Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden held out to Adam and Eve God’s promise to them and their descendants of eternal life in his presence. But when Adam disobeyed God, he forfeited the right to eat from the Tree of Life and to live with God for ever. And so, because of Adam’s disobedience, they were told that they would die instead of living with God for ever. And since Adam was our head, representing us, then we too lost the right to eat from the Tree and live for ever with God. Because of Adam’s sin in the beginning, and because of our own sins, we are now justly liable to God’s wrath and curse and we deserve to be sent out of his presence for ever.
But because of his overflowing goodness and love, God sent his Only Begotten Son into the world to do what Adam failed to do, which is to obey God, and to regain for his people the right to eat from the Tree of Life and to live for ever with God in the new creation to come where God will rule over his people with goodness and love and where we will reign with him for ever.
And so, when the Lord refers to seeing and entering the kingdom of God, he’s talking about seeing and entering eternal life in the presence of God in the new creation to come. But one of the remarkable things we learn in the New Testament is that the kingdom of God has already come. It has already begun. It has come, because the Lord Jesus is the king of God’s kingdom. And when he was on the earth, he went about preaching about the kingdom and calling men and women and children into it. And now that he’s in heaven, he continues to call men and women and children into it through the reading and preaching of his word here on earth. Through the reading and preaching of his word, he calls sinners to turn from their sins in repentance and to turn to him with faith in order to receive forgiveness and peace with God and the hope of eternal life. And whoever repents and believes is added to his kingdom, which he’s building on the earth. And he will continue to build it on the earth until he comes again. And when he comes again, then all of God’s people will live with him in the new creation, where God will rule over his people with goodness and love and where we will reign with him for ever. And there, in the kingdom of God, in the new creation to come, we’ll be perfectly holy and happy for ever as we behold the glory of our God.
The new birth: what it isn’t
So, that’s the kingdom of God. But no-one can see or enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again of water and the Spirit. What does the Lord mean when he refers to being born again of water and the Spirit?
Let me begin by saying what it isn’t. Firstly, the Lord is not referring to normal childbirth, but to another kind of birth which is spiritual and which is from God. That’s why in verse 5 the Lord distinguishes between flesh giving birth to flesh and the Spirit giving birth to spirit. When he refers to flesh giving birth to flesh, he’s talking about normal childbirth. A person made of flesh and blood gives birth to another person made of flesh and blood. So, he’s talking there about regular childbirth. But the Spirit gives birth to spirit. Now he’s talking about another kind of birth, which the Holy Spirit produces and brings forth. The Holy Spirit of God brings forth a new kind of life in us. He enables us to be born again. So, a mother gives birth to her child. That’s normal childbirth. That’s flesh giving birth to flesh. But during that child’s life, he or she may also be born again of water and the Spirit.
Secondly, our Lord is not talking about baptism. People sometimes read verse 5 where the Lord refers to being born of water and the Spirit and immediately they think of the water of baptism. And so they go on to believe that children are born again as soon as they’re baptised in church. They believe that we become Christians the moment we’re baptised with water. As soon as the child is splashed with water, the gates of the kingdom are flung open to them. But our Lord isn’t talking about baptism. He doesn’t even mention the word.
So, why does he mention water here if he’s not referring to baptism? Well, when water is mentioned in the Bible it very often speaks to us of our need to be cleansed of our sin and guilt. The humble sinner thinks of his sin as a stain which needs to be removed. And he hates his sin and wants rid of it, because he knows that his sin makes him unfit to come before a holy God. Think of a bride who weeps because her wedding dress has become muddy and is ruined. She thinks: how can she appear before her friends and family and the bridegroom looking like that? Think of the business man who is about to go into an important meeting and discovers a stain on his tie. He thinks: how can he go into the meeting looking like this? He needs to change. And the sinner looks at his sins and his disobedience and the guilt which clings to him and he weeps because of it and wonders how can he ever hope to enter into the presence of God when he’s covered with sin.
But, then, in our Bibles the Lord promises to wash away the sins of his people. He promises to cleanse his people. And he does this once a person is born again. So, in his letter to Titus, the apostle Paul tells us that when the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. The washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit is another way of speaking about what happens when we’re born again. Once we’re born again, our sins are washed away. And once we’re born again, we’re filled with God’s Spirit who begins to renew us and to make us more and more willing and able to keep God’s commandments.
So, the Lord is not referring to baptism here in John 3, but to having our sins washed away and to being filled with God’s Spirit.
Thirdly, the Lord is not referring to something we do ourselves. People will often decide that they want to improve themselves. Bookshops and Amazon are full of self-help books and books about self-improvement and self-development. And people are now using AI as a kind of life-coach to help them improve their lives. And so, when people are unhappy with themselves and with their lives, they might decide to change themselves and they try to be better people. Or perhaps, they decide to move to another country and to begin a new life there. Or perhaps, they decide that they’re going to get serious about Christianity. Up until now, they’re only taken a passing interest in the church. Now they want to be more committed and do all the things that serious Christians do.
Now in each of these cases, someone decides they want to change their life and they go about changing it in one way or another. But the Lord is not talking about that. He’s not talking about turning over a new leaf. And he’s not talking about something we do ourselves. He’s talking about a change which God the Holy Spirit produces in us. Look again at verse 5 where he refers to being born of water and the Spirit. Then look at the end of verse 8 where he refers to being born of the Spirit. This is something the Holy Spirit does. This is something he produces in us.
And then look at the rest of verse 8, where the Lord compares the work of God the Holy Spirit to the wind. The wind blows wherever it pleases so that we can’t control it. And none of us can control the Holy Spirit. He’s free to work in whomever he wants, whenever he wants. And then the Lord says that we can’t see where the wind comes from or where it’s going. And none of us can see the Holy Spirit, who works secretly in the hearts of men and women and boys and girls. We can’t see the wind when it’s blowing; and we can’t see the Holy Spirit when he’s at work in someone’s heart. This is something he does deep down inside us.
But, of course, the wind gives itself away. You hear its sound, the Lord says in verse 8. And the Holy Spirit gives himself away because of the change he produces in us. So, we can’t see him, but we can see the effect he has on people once they’ve been born again. And I’ll say more about that in a moment. But here’s the thing to note for now: the Holy Spirit is the one who does it. He’s the one who comes to us and gives us the new birth. He’s the one who changes us. It’s not something we do ourselves; he does it.
The new birth: what it is
So, the Lord is not talking about natural childbirth; he’s talking about something spiritual. And he’s not talking about baptism, even though he mentions water. And he’s not talking about something we do ourselves; the Holy Spirit gives us this new birth and therefore he changes us. So, if the new birth is none of these things, then what is it?
When the Lord refers to being born of the Spirit, he’s telling us it’s something the Holy Spirit causes to happen in us. So, it’s an act of God the Holy Spirit.
And when we’re born again, the Holy Spirit implants new life in us. He makes us new. One day the heavens and earth will be made new. One day our bodies will be made new. But before that happens, the Holy Spirit gives new life to God’s people.
And when this happens to us, then every part of our being is changed. The whole person is changed. Not perfectly, because we remain sinners in this life. But we are truly changed when we’re born again of the Spirit.
And so, once we could not understand the truth about God which we read in the Bible or which we heard about in church. It all seemed like nonsense to us. But once we’ve been born again, we’re able to understand these things. Not perfectly, but truly.
And once we were bored by the truth about God and had no interest in it. We said the preacher was boring and what he was saying was irrelevant to my life. We even hated the truth. But once we’ve been born again, we love the truth and rejoice in it. Not perfectly, but truly.
And once we had no desire to obey God. In fact, we were naturally inclined to do evil. But once we’ve been born again, our heart’s desire is to do God’s will and to obey him in all things. We’ll not obey him perfectly in this life, because we will remain sinners. But we truly want to obey him and we are sorry when we fall short.
So, the Holy Spirit produces this new life in us. He creates it in us. And by doing so, he changes us and makes us new. Normally he produces this new life in us through the reading and preaching of God’s word. So, God sends a preacher to announce to us the good news of the gospel. And while we’re listening to the good news, God the Holy Spirit works silently in us to make us new and to enable us to understand and to believe and to love what we have heard. And the Holy Spirit then enables us to turn from our sins in repentance and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ so that we’re justified: pardoned and accepted by God. And through faith, we’re adopted into God’s family so that God the Judge becomes God our Father and we become his beloved children. And then, the Holy Spirit continues to work in us to renew us in God’s image and to make us more and more willing and able to obey our Heavenly Father and to honour him. And he’ll continue to do so until we’re brought at last into the presence of God in the life to come where we’ll be made perfect. And all of this begins with the new birth, when God the Holy Spirit gives us this new life.
So, think of a gardener who plants a seed in the ground and the seed begins to grow. God likewise plants new life in us when he gives us the new birth. And then that new life begins to grow in us and it produces in us faith and repentance and an ongoing desire to love and serve the Lord.
Biblical examples
There are lots of examples of God doing this in the lives of different people.
Think of Lydia in Acts 16. Paul and his companions found some women who had gathered outside the city of Philippi. And Paul preached the gospel to them. And we read how the Lord opened Lydia’s heart so that she paid attention to Paul’s message. What had happened? It was the new birth! God the Holy Spirit was at work in her, enabling her to respond to the message she heard.
Then there’s the church in Corinth. Paul wrote about what they used to be like. They were immoral. And idolaters. They were thieves. And they were greedy. And they were drunkards. And so on. But then they heard the gospel message about Jesus Christ crucified and risen. And to many, the message seemed like foolishness. And to others, it seemed like weakness. But not to them. To them it was a wonderful message which they believed. And their lives were changed. How did this happen? It was the Holy Spirit who worked in them to enable them to believe and to trust in Christ so that they began a new life of faith and obedience.
And then there was the church in Thessalonica. In 1 Thessalonians Paul refers to the great change in their lives and how they turned from idols and false gods to serve the living and true God. And how did this happen? Paul writes about how the gospel message came to them in power and in the Holy Spirit and with conviction. In other words, the Holy Spirit worked powerfully through the word to convict them of their sins so that they turned from their old life of sin and turned to God.
And in Ephesians, Paul says to his readers that they were once dead in their trespasses and sins. But then God made them alive with Christ. It’s the same idea: God gave to them a new life so that, for the first time, they were able to trust in the Saviour and they began to walk in his ways.
Conclusion
The Lord Jesus is saying to Nicodemus — and he says it to everyone — that you need to be born again in order to see and enter the kingdom of God in the new creation to come, where God will rule over his people with goodness and love and where we will reign with him for ever.
And it’s because of God’s overflowing goodness and love that there is this new birth, which many of us, if not most of us, have already received. Instead of leaving us to our self-chosen path of sin and misery, God not only sent his Son to pay for our sins with his life, but he sends his Spirit into our lives to enable us to turn from our life of sin and misery and to turn to Christ for forgiveness and for peace with God and for the hope of everlasting life. And by the same Spirit he renews us in his image and he will keep us until the end when we’re brought into God’s presence in the new creation to come. And we can look forward to this, because of God’s overflowing goodness and love towards us in Christ Jesus, who created us in the first place and who recreated us through the new birth to be the object of his goodness and love for ever and ever.
And since the new birth is so absolutely necessary to salvation, and since it is an act of God and not something we can produce ourselves, then we should pray and pray and pray to God our Father to send his Spirit through his Son into the hearts of unbelieving people everywhere to produce in them this wonderful new birth so that people everywhere will turn from their sin and misery and turn with faith to the Saviour.
We want to see people converted to faith in Christ. But people will not be converted to faith in Christ without the new birth, which only the Holy Spirit can produce. But not only can he produce it in one or two people, but he can produce it in thousands and thousands and thousands of people. And so, we should pray to him, asking him to work in the hearts of unbelievers everywhere so that they are born again of water and the Spirit and enter God’s kingdom. And all to the praise of his glorious grace.
Sermons and Stuff 