Jesus and Nicodemus Part 3 - What Does it Mean to Be Born Again - John 3:5-8

2:22You know, the enemy of life is what? Death. Do you know what the enemy of death is? Life. But let's qualify it. What kind of life? Eternal life. The enemy of life is death, and the enemy of death is eternal life. And this whole section is about who enters into eternal life. Who are going to go to heaven? Who are going to enter even now into the dimension? And the kingdom of God. And the answers are very emphatic: only those who are born again. Only those who are born again. You remember in chapter 2, verse 23, Jesus is doing a lot of miracles. And many people are believing him because of the signs which he was doing. But Jesus was not entrusting himself to their, he was not entrusting himself to them. Jesus did not believe in their faith. Literal words here. They were putting their faith, or they were believing, they believed in him, yet he was not believing in their faith.

3:43And so here we have in John chapter 3 the coming of an individual who has just this kind of faith that Jesus puts no faith in. It's Nicodemus, a man who basically would have all the confidence in the flesh, all of his, who he was in society, the teacher of Israel, very prominent teacher, very respected individual, a ruler of the Pharisees, one who you would expect would be able to commend himself and get it right and understand the way to heaven. And Jesus shocks him and basically says, Look, Nicodemus, unless one, unless you, including you, are born. Again, you're not going to see the kingdom of heaven. You're not going to be able to comprehend. Nicodemus comes to him to see perhaps this Jesus who he's seen and may be more than just a teacher, but maybe the Messiah. And as he comes to Jesus, Jesus tells him, unless you are born again, you're not even going to see. You're not even going to have the faculty of comprehension to see the kingdom of God. And he goes on to say, unless he is born again, born of the water and the Spirit, he will not enter.

5:07So it's very important. If being born again is what is necessary to enter the kingdom of God, to even see the kingdom of God, we need to know what born again means, right? Very important. And the Bible does not want you to be ignorant about that. The Bible, this is why Jesus is here. This is why he had this conversation with Nicodemus. This is why John recorded the words so that you would not be ignorant about how to go to heaven, how to, not only just that ultimate expression, but even now, how to enter into the dominion, the favorable dominion of God.

5:52So last time, as we just began walking our way through verses five through eight, we Stopped at chapter at verse 5 just to walk through the text and to deal with the very first element. What does being born again mean? Well, in verse 5, being born again is being born of the water and the spirit. Look back at verse 5. Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of the water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. So he's just said, you must be born again. And then he's going to further develop. Nicodemus is, how can this be? How can this, how can a man, when he's old, be born? Speaking of himself, I'm an old man. How can this be? How could this be? And so Jesus goes into more detail. He cannot enter unless he is born of the water and the Spirit. And I really appreciate much. We spent most of our time there last week, and I looked at a couple of views of what were what I would say is categorically wrong, categorically not in context, not in Jesus' mind, not in Nicodemus' mind, and not in John the Baptist's, or John the Apostle's mind. And that is that this phrase, born of the water and spirit, is a reference to water baptism. It's not. I'm not going to go back through all that. Nor is it church baptism. As the means to dispense the Spirit. So it's not talking about the external right of water baptism or the external means of water baptism that would bring a person the Spirit. And one of the dangers in those views, or either one of those views, is it puts the authorized baptizer in control of who's in and who's out of the kingdom. And John makes it very clear: John the Baptist, in chapter 1 and verse 33, John is explaining his ministry, and he says, I did not recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, he upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. So John's testimony is he points him out, he points Jesus out and he says, This is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. He's the true baptizer.

8:36And throughout Scripture, Jesus never gives that up. He doesn't delegate the true baptism to anybody, the true baptizer. He is the one, Jesus is the one who baptizes the individual in the Holy Spirit. And that is the same baptism that you need today to enter into the kingdom of God. The baptism, the true baptizer. There, Jesus is, and he baptizes with the Holy. He cleanses and renews us in the Spirit. That is what John is pointing out. This is who he is. And he never delegates that to anybody. All we do is a reflection, a symbol of what Christ has done. We are a reflection of the true baptizer when we baptize in water.

9:26Going beyond that, and I really appreciate many, I've got a lot of feedback this last week, and I don't want to camp out again on this verse because I did not spend time on what I would consider valid interpretations. I told you what I believed. I believe that this expression water and the Spirit, which only shows up here in Scripture, and it has caused a lot of people to try to say, well, then what is the water? What is he referring to? And you remember, I take the position, and I believe that at the end of the day, as I've studied this, looked around, that he is speaking about water as a symbol of cleansing. That what is being said here is that you must be washed and renewed, washed and invigorated, washed and given a vitality of the Spirit. I gave you many reasons why I believe that. But I know there are other good interpretations out of this. That would have a high view of Scripture and really honestly tries to deal with this text. And I'll just, I know that the water, some will affirm that this is John the Baptist, the repentance, repentance being necessary. And I can appreciate that view.

10:54And certainly people will point to Matthew 3:11, says, I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who comes after me is going to baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. So, sure, I could see that that is the problem. I have with that is that Matthew, if John had said those words, I would say, yeah, that's a good thing, that's what's in John's mind. And what's very important as we're trying to understand is what's in John's mind.

11:23And so, so, yeah, certainly repentance, as you look at Acts 2:38, is when they ask what we ask Peter what they must do to be saved, certainly he says, repent, believe for the forgiveness of sins, be baptized. So, yes, I could see water as an emblem, and certainly that's a theological truth. Also, another position that holds high what's going on in that in the passage there is that he's talking about natural birth. That, okay, the water is somehow a reference. To natural birth. And that follows a parallel. Nicodemus is what Nicodemus, what is on Nicodemus' mind is going back into the mother's womb. So his whole deal is one of flesh. So maybe a position there. One of the reasons that I do not go that direction is you don't have the breaking of the water even really mentioned in the custom.

12:36That concept is really more modern than it is germane to the Hebrew culture of the time. But certainly it's a biblical truth that if you look at 1 Corinthians 15, 46 and 49, first comes the natural, then comes the spirit, the spiritual one. You get the picture of, yes, in natural birth, we'll all bear the image of Adam, and we will, as believers, bear the image of the second Adam. And so I think at the end of these positions, I choose the water because the water is an emblem of washing throughout Scripture, a very prominent image of washing. And certainly we need to be washed, and certainly it's not enough just to be. Cleansed, we must be invigorated by the Spirit. I'll be happy to talk any more about that with anybody. I appreciate y'all wrestling with the text.

13:40And I would say the important thing in all this, and certainly these three positions all come to the end that the emphasis is upon the Spirit's work, that it is a supernatural work, that one must be born of God in order to enter into the kingdom of God. So it's all upon the supernatural work. There's no reason to divide over these different positions, but I encourage you to wrestle with the text. What is most important is that you get in your mind not what a later generation, not what a theological system may impose upon this, and beware of your own theological protectionism. It was, remember, the religious protectionism of the Jewish day that put Jesus on the cross. Let's be careful of a theological protectionism and really honestly deal with the text. It's only then that we can really leave where we are and follow him. So with all that said, the emphasis certainly in the passage is unmistakably upon the work of the Spirit, and that's what's necessary to enter.

15:00The work must be done on you, Nicodemus, a work outside of you. It's not just adopting another list. It's not just checking another box. It's not just going through the ritual. There's something much deeper, much more life-changing that has to take place. So being born again is being born of the water and the Spirit. And I'll certainly say emphatically that when you come to the thief on the cross in those hours that he was on the cross, he was born of the water and the spirit. Otherwise, you set aside a truly, truly statement of Jesus. You must know that what took place in that thief on the cross is he was born again. He was born of the water and the spirit, and that without.

15:53So, whatever took place on the cross and in the thief certainly is true of this expression: he was born of the water and the spirit. But there's more. Making four observations of what born again means from verses 3, 5 through 8. So, oh, yeah, we looked at all the catechisms last time. Okay, it's number one: being born again is being born of the water and the spirit. Verse 5, verse 6, being born again involves a new nature. Look back at verse 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.

16:38Verse 6 is speaking about two kinds of begetting, two kinds of being born. There is the fathering of the flesh and the fathering of the spirit. When one is born according to the flesh, he or she possesses a body and a spiritual disposition that corresponds to the flesh. When one is born according to the spirit, he or she possesses a spiritual disposition that will correspond to the spirit. So you get the picture of two kinds of begetting: that which is according to the flesh, another subsequent spiritual disposition of the flesh, and those born of the spirit and a subsequential spiritual disposition. Look at, he uses the word flesh two times in a row. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That is, that which is born of the body, that which is born of the natural human body, is of the fallen nature of the flesh.

17:49So why didn't Jesus have faith in the crowd's faith? It's because it was of, it originated from the flesh. It originated from fallen humanity. Listen, fallen man has a fallen faith. That's the point here. Everything in fallen man is weak, it's temporal, it's fickle. Look at we, we're all around us, we see death, right? We know that we are transient, even nations and kingdoms come and they go. The influences come and go. We see man like a flower blossoming and then dying. That's what we see all around us: the fading, the transitoriness of humanity. That's our fallen being.

18:52And our fallen being produces a fallen faith, a faith that is fickle and weak. That's why Jesus didn't have faith in their faith. You can think about what kinds of faith is produced. You know, there may be an intellectual ascent. These people are watching Jesus do these miracles, and there's a aha, there's something unique about him. He's doing some signs that no one can do except for God. There may be an emotional excitement. Wow, they're at the festival. They're excited about all that's going on. And then here's this miracle worker, and there's an excitement.

19:40And yet, it's going to go away. Okay, we're several weeks into the new year. Now, be honest: how many of you are doing well with your new year's resolutions? All right, we got some. How many of you are not lying? How many of you are kind of already botched it with your new year's resolution? All right, there's some. All right, got some honest people, right? Right? Well, that's very much like the faith that Jesus is referring to here that he doesn't have faith in. It's like another resolution. Okay, I'm going to do it better this time. I'm going to get into it.

20:23And I'm going to give it. But that kind of faith is fickle. It's weak. It's not going to endure. Sometimes fallen man comes up with a religion that he creates in order as a means to an end. In other words, God very early on says, don't make any images because I don't want you to make any images. I don't want you to come down and bow down and worship other images. Because what man does is he's an idol factory. And what he does is he worships himself. He comes up with the deity that he would like that would fit, suit his needs. And so he bows down and he creates this deity, and then he bows down and worships it because ultimately he wants a deity that will get him where he wants to go. And so all of that, all of that is fleeting, passing, fickle.

21:17Like begets like. And so if Nicodemus could travel through the birth canal again, guess what? It wouldn't do him any good. Flesh produces flesh. Wouldn't do him any good. Something else is needed. Being born again involves a new nature. There has to be a change, a paradigm, a whole nature change. The order has to change. And two times in a row, you see the word spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. That is, that which is born of the spirit, that is of the Holy Spirit, is of the nature of the Holy Spirit. That is of the nature of the spirit. Listen, religion without rebirth is nothing but a change of beliefs or a change of a moral list. That's all it is.

22:22I mean, nothing we can do can prevent the fact that we are born with this nature, and even our children are sweet. Little, precious little children have this nature. And amen. We've seen it. We've been there. But only that. And what Jesus is saying here is: only that which has the nature of God can enter the kingdom of God. Only that which has the nature of God can enter the kingdom of God. And Nicodemus, you can't get that from your nature. It doesn't spring forth from fallen humanity. It springs forth from above. That's where it comes from. You know, I've been able to be at all of my children's births. Every time a child comes into the world, they're very different, but there's a lot of similarities, right? A new baby has a whole set of battery of appetites and a whole battery of personalities and traits. They come out and they're hanging around for a while and they start checking out the place. Like a new baby, they start taking in new things. That's what Jesus is talking about here. A new life begins.

23:462 Corinthians 5:17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away. Behold, all things become new. So a new person, that's what he's talking about, a new person with a new nature, with new appetites, with a new trajectory. That's what Jesus is saying. A faith that isn't born from the earth, but a faith that is born from above. That's what's going to endure. So what does being born again mean? or involved? It means being born of the water and spirit, the cleansing and renewal of the spirit involves receiving a new nature, the gift, the settlement of a very new nature that has a whole different taste palate, palate that tastes and thirsts for heaven, heavenly things. Third, being born again should not be a surprise. Should not be a surprise. Look at verse 7. Do not be amazed that I said to you, you must be born again. Don't be astonished. This shouldn't blow you away. I think Jesus is just, just like when he was 12 years old and he told his parents, why would you look for me anywhere else? Just an innocent surprise, Jesus is saying, don't be amazed that I say this. This should not shock you.

25:23And there are several reasons why Nicodemus's statement, or Jesus' statement, you must be born again. Again, should not have surprised Nicodemus, and it should not surprise us. First, it deals with the enduring nature of the kingdom. Here's the teacher of Israel, prominent, teacher, very well respected. He should have known about the enduring nature of the kingdom. In fact, Jesus is referenced the Son of Man in this, I believe, the thought in Nicodemus's mind about the kingdom of God deals with the whole picture of Daniel and the Son of Man coming, that everlasting kingdom that is brought, the one that will not ever pass away. I think this is what Nicodemus is looking for: a real literal geopolitical kingdom that extends into eternity, eternal kingdom. I believe that's what he's looking for. And I believe that's what's in his mind. And this is the only time that Jesus, or that the phrase kingdom of God shows up in John. So this isn't a passage about the nature of the kingdom, but the entry into it.

26:42But he should have known the kingdom of God endures forever. Everything we see around us is transitory. You see, eternal life must have a beginning point. We see all around us ending points. But the kingdom of God endures forever, and guess what? So must those who enter it. If you're going to enter the kingdom of God, guess what? You're going to have to be able to endure forever. Because that's the very nature and definition of the king. If you cease to be, cease to exist in union with him, can't have it. Now, physical life has a beginning point and an ending point, right? Spiritual life or eternal life has a beginning point. It just doesn't have an ending point. But there is a beginning point.

27:43So you should know there is going to be a point in which one begins to live forever. That moment. So he should have known that the kingdom goes on. He also should have known because of the nature of the king and his subjects. Look, heaven is for those who love the king, right? His ways, his glory. That's what the kingdom is about. It's not about our glory or man's glory. It's about his glory. You know why Lucifer fell from heaven? He couldn't stand the beauty of heaven's God. It was torment. I want to be the one.

28:31And that pride. Like heaven is for those who love the king, love the beauty of his glory, who are caught up into it, who rejoice in his glory and in his ways and in his being. And there must be a change for that to take place. You know, I was, I remember I was in like sixth or seventh grade. My friend had a birthday party, and there was this really popular girl in school, and we thought we'd invite her. And she had an older sister who was even more popular and several years older and wider circles. And her older sister said, Is that a cake and ice cream party? Yeah, cake and ice cream party. She goes, Well, that's more your speed. That's more your speed. You know, for her, you know, it was the heart of alcohol and all that kind of thing. Whoever was, I don't know, well, what's wrong with ice cream? You know, what's wrong with the cake? You know, especially when it's got a lot of frosting on it, you know.

29:42And even now, I mean, now we're in bluebell country. I mean, what's wrong with ice cream? But I remember the scorn. And our party was totally not her speed, or our, and her party was not our speed. She was. She would have been miserable at our little cake and ice cream party. Well, eternal life must be for those who have a taste for it. Only those who are born of heaven are going to have a taste for heaven.

30:18And so the desire for heaven originates from heaven. And that's what that's what Nicodemus is saying. I mean, that's what Jesus is saying. The desire for heaven originates from heaven. It doesn't originate from fallen humanity. But third, and most importantly, Nicodemus should have known that being born again was a necessity. He should have known that from the clear teaching of Scripture. From the clear teaching of Scripture. It was there. And here's the teacher. He was very well, he had no doubt read these words many, many, many times. Deuteronomy 29:4, he should have known, probably could even recite: Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear. This is Moses telling the Israelites, you're going to go into the land and you're going to fail. And the reason you're going to fail is because you do not have a heart. The Lord has not given you a heart. But he would also have known the promise in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 30, verse 6. Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants to love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul so that you may live. In other words, Israel, God's going to have to do a work in you so that you can go into the land and occupy the land.

31:57But he didn't know. It shocked him. And many of us don't know. You don't know that you must be born again. You must. You do not enter. You will not comprehend who the king is. You cannot enter. You know what's really impressed me about this passage is Jesus' kindness to Nicodemus. He is very approachable. He can deal with your questions. He can deal with your hang-ups. Whatever they are, whatever quadrant of life they come from, he can deal with it. Come to him. Honestly, come to him. Come, bring it. Work through it.

32:50That's who he says he is. But he takes him aside. He takes time to listen. He took time to patiently teach. Rightfully, Nicodemus. Demons called him teacher, because that's certainly what he is. So, the need to be born again should not surprise us. So, just these observations I'm making about being born again. Being born again is being born of the water and the Spirit. Being born again involves a new nature. Being born again should not surprise us. And number four, being born again is seen, and yet it is unseen. Look at verse 8: 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. Everyone who is born of the Spirit. Let me read, give you a literal translation of this. The wind, where it is currently willing, it is currently blowing, and the sound of it you are currently hearing, but you do not know from where it is currently coming and where it is currently going. So are all who are born of the Spirit.

34:18You get a picture? I love how that actually you get the feeling that we're sitting there in the room listening to him, right? And here's Jesus saying, Do you hear the wind? Listen to this. You know, we got wind out here, right, today. I printed this out this morning, speaking about wind. He uses, I think Jesus may very well be using an analogy from what's going on right there. Are the breezes coming off the Mediterranean? I don't know. Maybe he's using an analogy from the moment, just the language.

34:50The wind, it is blowing, and you are hearing. But listen to this: Brazos County printed this out this morning. Strong west to northwest winds today. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour can be expected with possible wind gusts over 35 miles an hour. The impact, strong winds over these more saturated grounds, will increase the chance for trees to topple. These winds will blow around loose items such as trash cans and patio furniture. Winds will also make open waters of area lakes choppy and dangerous. Strong crosswinds will pose a hazard to high-profile vehicles. So, drivers of vans, campers, trailers should be alert to the dangers of these winds.

35:44It's windy out there, right? Probably hear it, right? If we. I mean, it's really blowing. I pull in. You see leaves flying. You hear the noise howling through the trees. You see, I saw trash. Flying through the air, but all of this, all of this is a picture of what takes place in the heart of man when the Spirit does His work. You see the swaying of the trees, the debris that's flying, the sounds, the howling, the creaks, the rattles, the slams, all testify that there's a force out there. You can't see it. It's air movement. It's air. You can't see the air, but it's there. And it's moving.

36:34Likewise, your thoughts, your words, and your deeds reveal the presence of an invisible force that drives you. It's there. What drives you? Being born of the Spirit, there are going to be effects of those who are born of the Spirit. You may not be able to fully explain it, but you're not going to miss it. We were down in South Africa, I believe, on our way back from spending some time there. And I stopped by this, my kids and I stopped by this duty-free place in the airport to buy some gifts. Went through the cash register, said hello, and the guy. Said to us, you're from Texas.

37:35I said, that's very distinguishing. I said, you know, you're from the South or you're from whatever, or you're from the United States or something like I would expect, but he said, you're from Texas. I said, wow, that's pretty good. He goes, no, I can tell the difference between that was in that South Africa, right? Yes, yeah, okay, that was there. I've got the right, yeah, and we're all like, wow, that's pretty good. There was something about my accent that gave me away. Go figure.

38:04Well, there is a holy influence that gives away the people of God, the effects of the Spirit of God. Now, some of the aspects of the workings of the Spirit are not comprehensible, but the effects are clear. Maybe we'll not fully understand what Jesus is saying. Don't worry, you're not going to fully get your mind around the workings of the Spirit, but you'll be able to tell who's born of the Spirit. You know, in Genesis chapter 3, man died, right? He died spiritually. Jesus said, or God said, in the day you eat of this, you will die. He died spiritually in the garden, but his physical body didn't just fall over. And yet, God's word is very clear. He died. Death took place. It was an invisible change that took place on the inside. But then you get into chapter 4, 5, and 6, and you see the horrible effects that the fallen nature produced.

39:21Well, man died, and the effects followed. Corruption and death followed. Likewise, what Jesus is saying is: man must be born again. He must be resurrected spiritually from the dead. You must be resurrected spiritually from the dead and placed in union with God again. And the effects, just as the effects of the fall were seen, so also the effects of the rebirth will be seen. And the effects are going to be renewal and life, visible effects, effects of the inner, invisible work of the Spirit.

40:12So we've looked the first eight verses. In the first four verses, the main question was: who gets to heaven or who enters the kingdom of God? The answer is those who are born again. And then in this second part, we've looked at in verses five through eight. The overriding question is: what does being born again mean? Well, it means being born of the water in the Spirit, the washing and renewal work of the Spirit. It's being a new nature. It's seen, and yet it's unseen. It should not surprise us, being born again.

40:50So the question comes to us: have you been born again? Have you been born again? In part three, next time, the big question is: okay, how? This is Nicodemus. How can these things be? And we're going to deal with it very carefully: how to be born again from Jesus' own words. And just in case you're not here, I'll give you a preview. Verse 15, the answer's there. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we know that we must be born again, and we know that only those who believe in your name believe that you have come. You've walked among us, you've gone to the cross, you lifted yourself up, you gave yourself, Father, that we could look upon you, believe in you, have a real sacrifice for our sins, be cleansed of our iniquity, and, Father, and in. your resurrection be given that life-giving-giving vitality that walks in true freedom father i pray for everybody here today that does not know you father to that you would awaken father that what you would use the words that have been spoken today to awaken to stir hearts and minds and father i pray for those of us who do know you, have walked with you, Father, that we can rejoice knowing that you are doing your work, Father, and that you're going to complete it. And Father, give us this faith. Help us always walk in the faith that comes from above and not the faith of our own thinking. In Jesus' name, amen.