The Necessity of the
New Birth
Book of John Chapter
3
There are several
ways used in the Scriptures that speak of the New Birth.
1) Regeneration
actually means "new birth".
Tit 3:4 But after
that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5 Not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy
he saved us, "by the washing of regeneration", and renewing
of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he
shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being
justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope
of eternal life.
2) Restitution of
all things.
Act 3:20 And he
shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
Act 3:21 Whom the
heaven must receive "until the times of restitution of all
things", which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy
prophets since the world began.
3) Passing from life
to death.
1Jn 3:14 We know
that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the
brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
4) Becoming a New
Creature.
2Co 5:17 Therefore
if any man be in Christ, "he is a new creature": old things
are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
5) Jesus simply
says, "We must be Born Again".
We can call all
these things the Doctrine of Salvation!
*****Joh 3:1 There
was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Joh 3:2 The same
came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou
art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that
thou doest, except God be with him.
We could say that
Nicodemus is remembered as the secret disciple but in fact Nicodemus
was also a Pharisee.
In fact Nicodemus
was a member of the Sanhedrin Court, the Supreme Court of Israel.
Nicodemus was a
ruler, a high ranking official in the government of Israel.
It is obvious that
he had seen Jesus perform miracles that as Nicodemus said, He could
not have done "except that God be with Him".
Nicodemus first came
to Jesus to prove Him wrong, but the truth has a way proving to
yourself that it is you who are wrong.
We could also say
that the Holy Spirit was convicting Nicodemus of the truth!
Nicodemus came to
Jesus as formal religionist who had forgotten the work of a Shepherd.
Nicodemus had to ask
the Lord, "just who are you" because he did not know Him,
but the Lord would ask Him why did he not know, if he was who he said
he was.
Jesus was and is
much more than a Teacher called of God!
Act 10:38 How God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who
went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the
devil; for God was with him.
In truth, miracles
and signs are not that important because the Word of God is most
important.
The importance comes
when we know the Lord well enough that our lives are changed forever!
Religion will get in
our way of knowing Christ.
Religion will only
allow us to reverence Christ.
Religion will not
allow for the Spiritual change that comes from knowing the Lord in a
personal relationship.
Religion will leave
you in the darkness, while accepting Christ for who He is, will allow
the Light of the Lord to erase that darkness forever!
The truth is once
Christ begins a work in our soul, He will carry that work to an
ultimate completion!
What was Jesus'
answer to the question of Nicodemus?
*****Joh 3:3 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.
Jesus says bluntly,
that unless there is a "Spiritual Change", then no one can
see the kingdom of God!
We know what that
word "Born" means so, what does that word "again"
mean?
1) Again means we
must have a clear understanding of these things!
Luk 1:3 It seemed
good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from
the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent
Theophilus,
2) Again means it
must be repeated, it must be a personal relationship, a complete
change!
Gal 4:9 But now,
after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye
again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to
be in bondage?
3) Again means it
must be from above! We cannot be "Born Again" by using the
things of this earth.
Joh 19:11 Jesus
answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it
were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee
hath the greater sin.
Being "Born
Again" means a complete change of mind and a complete change of
direction, away from the bondage of Satan.
We entered this
world by a physical birth, so we cannot enter the Spiritual world
without a Spiritual birth!
We are dead to the
Spiritual world until the sin of this world has been removed!
Eph 2:1 And you
hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in
time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience:
So how can these
things be possible?
*****Joh 3:4
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?
How were we first
created?
Gen 1:26 And God
said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;
male and female created he them.
Gen 2:7 And the
LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
God first gave us
life made in His image.
When Adam chose to
not obey God, He chose death instead. So all his children even down
to our own generation are now born in the image of Adam and face
eternal death.
Now mankind loves
this world, that will end in death, more than they love Heaven in
which is eternal life.
So we must be "Born
Again" in the image of God.
We are "Born
Again" by accepting the life that is in Jesus Christ and
therefore now we are to be in the image of Christ or Christlike or we
say Christian.
This is not a maybe
thing, this is a certainty, or we will never enter into God's Heaven
really God's New Heaven!
*****Joh 3:5 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.
We should understand
that what the Lord was saying to Nicodemus was not impossible for him
to understand, just as we understand.
We all must have an
inward cleansing and an inward experience of Holy Ghost influence.
What Jesus was
saying to Nicodemus was, "in your present moral state you are
unable to accept the idea of the New Birth!
This is what is
wrong with the world today!
The Kingdom of God
begins with a complete submission to the Will of God! To enter this
Kingdom there must be our New Birth!
We must understand
that we need a "new life" based upon a "New
Foundation" that is not of this world!
Act 26:18 To open
their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins,
and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in
me.
**The "born of
water". For the Jews, the High Priests had to go through a
ritual cleansing before He could offer a sacrifice to the Lord.
To the Christian
that ritual cleansing has been replaced by the water of regeneration
by the Holy Spirit.
Tit 3:3 For we
ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving
divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and
hating one another.
Tit 3:4 But after
that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5 Not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy
he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he
shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being
justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope
of eternal life.
Why is this
necessary?
*****Joh 3:6 That
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit.
Job 15:14 What is
man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that
he should be righteous?
Job 15:15 Behold,
he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in
his sight.
Job 15:16 How much
more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like
water?
Our flesh, that is
void of the Holy Spirit, cannot be at peace with God! The flesh that
is washed and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, will be at peace with
God and possess the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Jas 3:17 But the
wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and
easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without
partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Jas 3:18 And the
fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
We should not wonder
why these things are true!
*****Joh 3:8 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.
We cannot see the
wind, but we know that the wind exists because we can feel it and we
can hear it as it moves from place to place.
Even today modern
scientist cannot truly know where or when the wind is going to blow
or where the wind came from.
They certainly
cannot understand those gentle breezes that move around us each day.
To understand what
Jesus is saying, no one can understand the workings of the Holy
Spirit except God.
We can learn many a
lesson from the Book of Job and we can learn this lesson to.
Job 33:4 The Spirit
of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me
life.
This is something we
all need to understand!
The Holy Ghost must
be allowed to do His work by convicting us of sin!
1Co 12:13 For by
one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or
Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink
into one Spirit.
Even with the
greatest Teacher of all speaking, Nicodemus was so full of religion
and worldliness, he just could not grasp what the Lord was teaching
Him.
*****Joh 3:9
Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
Joh 3:10 Jesus
answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest
not these things?
We should understand
that this was not some new doctrine for the Jews, even the songs they
sang in worship gave this doctrine.
Psa 51:10 Create in
me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psa 51:11 Cast me
not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Psa 51:12 Restore
unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Psa 51:13 Then will
I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto
thee.
This is the same
doctrine of the Millennial Kingdom when the Lord next returns to this
earth.
Eze 36:25 Then will
I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your
filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
Eze 36:26 A new
heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you:
and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will
give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I
will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes,
and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Eze 36:28 And ye
shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be
my people, and I will be your God.
The was very little
excuse for a Pharisee or a member of the Sanhedrin to not know these
things!
They were too busy
looking upon all others to take a look at themselves!
Jesus will have
these same words for us when we refuse to study the Word of God, as
we are commanded.
What is sure is just
what the Lord says. If we cannot receive the truth of our existence
upon this earth, we will never understand the Heavenly things that
are also real!
*****Joh 3:11
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and
testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
Joh 3:12 If I have
told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if
I tell you of heavenly things?
The words of the
Lord are certain and their fulfillment sure!
When we do not
believe the words of the Lord, then we have rejected the Giver of all
life!
On this day
Nicodemus could not believe what he was hearing from the Lord, but we
know that maybe he went back and studied what the Lord had said and
compared it to the Scriptures for in the end Nicodemus became a
believer!
As for those who
doubt the Lord today, they need only look at the nation of Israel and
the Jewish people as a guarantee of the truth of God!
God expects us to
believe and accept every Word He has given to us and we cause our own
problems when we do not!
God divides our
world into only two groups, those that believe and repent and those
who do not believe nor repent!
1Jn 5:9 If we
receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this
is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
1Jn 5:10 He that
believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that
believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the
record that God gave of his Son.
1Jn 5:11 And this
is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life
is in his Son.
1Jn 5:12 He that
hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not
life.
It is a fact that no
man in the flesh has ascended up to Heaven because they would perish
from the Glorious Majesty that is God.
The Lord Jesus
Christ had to take on the form of a man after He came to this earth
to keep from destroying mankind. He came to save and not to destroy.
We should also know
that the Lord Jesus returned to Heaven in His glorified body and
whatever that body looks like is the way our body look when we see
Jesus.
1Jn_3:2 Beloved,
now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for
we shall see him as he is.
Before these things
can take place, the Lord Jesus had to die!
*****Joh 3:14 And
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of man be lifted up:
Joh 3:15 That
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
The serpent in the
wilderness is a great Biblical truth.
The escapees from
Egypt had journeyed in the wilderness safe in the harms of God and
had become discouraged forgetting that had been redeemed and God had
met all their needs.
When God had heard
enough of their complaining God sent fiery serpents among the people
and those who were bitten would die without God's help.
God gave some
instructions to Moses on how this people could be saved.
Num 21:8 And the
LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a
pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when
he looketh upon it, shall live.
Num 21:9 And Moses
made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass,
that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of
brass, he lived.
These people could
only live if they put forth the effort to gaze upon that serpent that
was raised, so more of them could see.
Jesus said: "if
you are familiar with this story in the Bible you could better
understand what He had come to this earth to do"!
It may not have been
until Jesus was raised upon the cross at Mount Calvary that Nicodemus
totally understood what the Lord was teaching him that day.
God came down from
Heaven and took upon Himself the body of a man just, so this body
would die to pay the sin debt of all this world.
It took the pure
Lamb of God to be such a sacrifice!
We may ask why God
would do such a thing and we will get the same answer every time!
*****Joh 3:16 For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
We see that to God,
salvation is a love thing!
1) The fact is: God
"So" loved.
2) The evidence was:
God gave.
3) The purpose was:
to save.
4) The proof was:
God sent His Son to die.
5) The means of
salvation: it is only through the Lord Jesus Christ that salvation
and eternal life in the Kingdom of God can take place!
To the Jews this was
a wakening. They had thought that Jehovah God was only the God of the
Jews.
This world we live
in, is not the perfect place that so many depend upon.
This world we live
in, is not to be the world of the angels that did not leave with
Lucifer.
This world we live
in, is not a world of creations such as Adam that was said to be very
good.
This world we live
in, lies in wickedness!
God made us to be as
common as the sunshine but those that close their eyes, the sun is no
good to them.
Salvation extends to
all the ignorant and the educated, all the very worst and all the
very best. Salvation is for all!
When we that know
the Lord think about it, there is no greater gift that God could have
given to us!
Most all the world
of false religion do not believe that God can love, and they are so
very wrong!
God loves with so
much affection, it cannot be matched even by the love of our Mothers!
1Ti 1:14 And the
grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is
in Christ Jesus.
1Ti 1:15 This is a
faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1Ti 1:16 Howbeit
for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might
shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should
hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
1Ti 1:17 Now unto
the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour
and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
God does not allow
unworthiness to cloud His eyes!
God does not allow
religion to cloud His eyes!
God does not allow
cruelty to cloud His eyes!
God does not allow
anything to stop His love for us all!!!!!!!!!!
God has a loving
nature!
1Jn 4:8 He that
loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
1Jn 4:16 And we
have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love;
and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
God wants everyone
in this world to know His love!
1Jn 3:16 Hereby
perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us:
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
God also wants this
world to know that His love is complete when we accept His Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Joh 16:26 At that
day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray
the Father for you:
Joh 16:27 For the
Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have
believed that I came out from God.
Joh 16:28 I came
forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the
world, and go to the Father.
There is not enough
of paper in all the world to write down all the words that describe
the love of God!!!
It is God's love
that draws us to Christ and it is Christ who brings us to everlasting
life!
But there are always
those who chose to go their own way trusting this world to show them
life.
*****Joh 3:17 For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that
the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18 He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God.
We know that love of
God does not mean that all the world is saved.
We know that God is
not disappointed in His design because we know God had this plan of
salvation in place before the first day of creation.
We must believe that
God has provided the only means of salvation and we must volunteer to
reach out and take this precious gift of God!
God's love is based
upon the "redeeming" work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God's love is based
upon the energy of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore salvation
can come only by the combine work of the Triune God, the Holy
Trinity.
We know the proof of
God's love, shown His greatness when He raised the Lord Jesus Christ
up from that garden tomb!
Jesus Christ is now
the Mediator of God's love!
If we should ever
wonder, it is not the believer who can ever be condemned, it is only
the unbeliever!
Every sinner holds
righteousness in his own hands!
The unbeliever is
condemned already because they remain under the present curse upon
this world brought on by the sin of Adam!
Rom 3:10 As it is
written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is
none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Rom 3:12 They are
all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there
is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Rom 3:23 For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
The sinner is
condemned because they have not believed the truth of God!
1Jn 5:10 He that
believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that
believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the
record that God gave of his Son.
1Jn 5:11 And this
is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life
is in his Son.
Amen
Let's Pray!
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