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Scripture:
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:1-8)Reflections:
Today is the 1st day of June, and another week has gone by. Here in Metro Manila, it was declared that starting today it will be under GCQ. As we start to live differently from before because of this pandemic, may we always remember that our God is in control of our circumstances. So for this week, we will start with our new series entitled “In Spirit and In Truth”. Throughout this week, we will talk and reflect about how we live with God in spirit and in truth and how He becomes our primary reason for living as Christians through Jesus Christ. But before that, maybe questions come into your mind on how this can happen or how can it be attained. How can we live in Spirit and in Truth? The answer is in the bible, and it says that we must first be born again. Now, what do we mean by that? Tonight, we will look back to an encounter between a pharisee named Nicodemus and Jesus Christ and how Jesus explained the new birth to him and the truth about it. If someone who’s listening have questions in their minds and hearts right now, this may be the answer you are seeking. I pray that God will speak with you right now and touch your hearts and so that you can understand what it means to be born in Spirit.Man Needs the New Birth
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” (John 3:1-2)Nicodemus was among the group in Israel known as Pharisees. This group was the shepherds of the people. However, rather than loving a caring for the people they were wicked shepherds who placed large burdens on the people by taking God’s law and making it unbelievably strict and burdensome. His job as a member of the Sanhedrin (high council) was to rule on and teach on the Law of God. The Jewish people had taken God’s Law and used it as a means of salvation. It had become, literally, a works salvation. They thought they could access God by being good Jews. We know the reality; it was a dead and hopeless system. But even though being a pharisee, Nicodemus became curious on what Jesus was teaching. He came personally to separate fact from rumor about Jesus’ wonders during that time. But Jesus already knew Nicodemus’ heart, He knows what his view of salvation is, He knows everything about this man. Jesus knows that as religious as Nicodemus is, his religion is worthless. Nicodemus must experience the new birth. Nicodemus is a person who was searching for the truth about God and the ways of God. Nicodemus came to Jesus, perhaps because he was searching for an authentic voice from God.
You may go to church, but perhaps you are still searching. There is an empty place in your heart, and something inside tells you that you’re not really right with God. Nicodemus fasted two days a week. He spent two hours every day in prayer. He tithed. Why did Jesus say that Nicodemus must be born again? Because Jesus saw that Nicodemus had covered himself with religion but had not yet found fellowship with God. Like the pharisee, we should as well examine, encounter and experience Jesus for ourselves – others cannot do it for us. For if we start believing that He is our Lord and Savior, we will speak with Him more and seek Him more. I have two points regarding on what new birth is when Jesus explained it to Nicodemus. It is “a necessity” and it is “supernatural”.
1. New Birth is our Necessity
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:3-5)“Born again” simply means to have “faith” or “believe” in Jesus Christ.
A person can see signs and miracles and still not have genuine faith. If fact, in other stories about Jesus, the large “crowds” that followed Jesus were often people who were initially attracted to Jesus because of the miracles. Sadly, “crowds” often followed Jesus for the wrong reasons. Such “would be disciples” often fell away when they gradually discovered what it meant to follow Christ. The sad reality is that Nicodemus was simply showing that he was spiritually dead when he didn’t understand by what Jesus meant about being born again. The simple truths Jesus told him did not register and really, they couldn’t. Nicodemus was dead in trespasses and sins and could not understand anything spiritual. His response to Jesus’ teaching about the new birth shows his spiritual deadness. We might have people in our families who are like Nicodemus. We tell them spiritual things, but they never grasp spiritual truths. It’s as if they don’t even hear. This is the harsh reality of someone who is spiritually dead, and they cannot hear spiritual things. Because Jesus is the teacher sent by God, He is going to tell Nicodemus what God requires to see/enter His kingdom, and it is by new birth or being born again. Because if he had not been born again, he could not see the Kingdom of God, or the things pertaining to the Kingdom. Though he misunderstood what Jesus was saying, Jesus revealed to Him that the kingdom would come to the whole world as written in John 3:16. Not only Jews, but all living in this world – and that Nicodemus wouldn’t be a part of it unless he was personally born again. Jesus desires Nicodemus to see that the old ways of the sinner must be put to death and the new life brought on by the Holy Spirit ruling and reigning in the believer. But he could not understand that time. Do we understand today? Do we see that salvation is of the Lord and nothing else? It’s not a set of rigorous rules and it’s not even affirming a long list of truths, but it is something that happens to us at God’s hands. Similarly, to be born again is a pure miracle and pure gift. There is nothing that you and I did to be born again.
Being born again is a pure gift from a miracle of the Holy Spirit. Flesh produces flesh but the Holy Spirit produces spirit. Every person alive has experienced the natural birth. We’ve all been born of the flesh. The harsh reality is that while we’re alive and moving around, the Bible gives us the harsh reality, we’re spiritually dead. Just as aging affects the body, sin damages and infects the soul. But the soul dies to the power of sin when its faith is placed upon Jesus Christ. That’s why new birth is a necessity.
2. The New Birth is Supernatural
You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 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.” What supernatural means is that it is divine, or it is beyond our understanding. God does things that are beyond our comprehension. In verse 8, it explained that the wind blows where it blows. You can hear the wind, but you don’t know where the wind comes from. You can see the effects of the wind blowing in the trees, bending the trees, whistling through the leaves of the trees; but you cannot see the wind. Likewise, with God. Like the wind is invisible, so it is with the Spirit of God. You can’t see God, but you can see the effects of God. You can see the effect of the Spirit on a human being’s life, but you cannot identify or see the Spirit of God. You can’t control the wind any more than you can control the Spirit. Because Nicodemus was a sinner, born with a sinful nature, he could never do enough good things to save himself. He could never obey God’s Law strictly enough to merit a ticket to heaven. In this world right now, they also describe us. No one can merit God’s salvation. None can be good enough. But understand where we fall infinitely short because of sin God does what we cannot do. Do you trust God to do what only He can do? Here we see one of the most important statements in all of God’s Word. This statement affects everyone in one way or another - you must be born again. Jesus explained that we cannot control the work of the Holy Spirit. He works in ways we cannot predict and understand.Why does Jesus call this the New Birth?
The New Birth is a miracle that God alone brings about. Just as we had nothing to do with our physical birth through our parents, we have nothing to do with our spiritual birth; for it is produced through God by the Holy Spirit. Because God brings about the new birth, no one is outside the realm of salvation. We pray to God for the salvation of our loved ones and our colleagues, knowing He hears our prayers and He alone can save them. So what does it mean to born of the Spirit? To have the Spirit of Christ living inside of us. It mean to have the love of Christ, the joy of Christ, the peace of Christ, the patience of Christ, kindness of Christ, the goodness of Christ, the faithfulness of Christ, the gentleness of Christ, the self-control of Christ living inside of us. It is having the Spirit of Christ taking up residence in us and living within us.A person is “born again/born in the Spirit” through faith in Jesus Christ, who took the judgement for our sins to give his righteousness to anyone who would believe.
Photo by: Jaime Legaspino
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