You Must Be Born Again!
“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”John 3:3 (NIV)
By Alexandra Copeland
In John 3, we find a conversation taking place between Jesus Christ, our Lord and Great Redeemer, and Nicodemus, a Pharisee. Nicodemus was not an ignorant man, but one of Jewish breeding and education. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, someone of authority in Jerusalem. Nicodemus sought a meeting with Jesus Christ during the night hours, and many believe it was because he wanted this meeting to be on the down-low, as the principles of the Pharisees were vehemently opposed to the ways and message of Christ. These were two very busy men, Jesus Christ occupied with the affairs of our Heavenly Father, and Nicodemus occupied with the affairs of men; trying to do what he could amidst the corruption of the day. So it could be that a night time meeting was looked upon by Nicodemus as the most convenient. It was an opportunity to converse with Jesus Christ with the least amount of disturbance and the greatest amount of leisure.
In John 3, we find a conversation taking place between Jesus Christ, our Lord and Great Redeemer, and Nicodemus, a Pharisee. Nicodemus was not an ignorant man, but one of Jewish breeding and education. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, someone of authority in Jerusalem. Nicodemus sought a meeting with Jesus Christ during the night hours, and many believe it was because he wanted this meeting to be on the down-low, as the principles of the Pharisees were vehemently opposed to the ways and message of Christ. These were two very busy men, Jesus Christ occupied with the affairs of our Heavenly Father, and Nicodemus occupied with the affairs of men; trying to do what he could amidst the corruption of the day. So it could be that a night time meeting was looked upon by Nicodemus as the most convenient. It was an opportunity to converse with Jesus Christ with the least amount of disturbance and the greatest amount of leisure.
No doubt Nicodemus had seen and heard
about the extraordinary miracles at the hand of Jesus. The
manner in which Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God was
unlike anything anyone during that time had ever heard.
So we can imagine that Nicodemus was chopping at the
bits for an audience with the Master. In John 3:2(NIV),
Nicodemus referred to Christ as “Rabbi”, a great teacher. He
then said, “We know
that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one
could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with
him.” Right off the bat, Nicodemus sets parameters. He
knew that Christ was a great teacher, but beyond that point
he had not, nor could he have without Christ, been prepared
to go.
This really does remind us of so many
that know of Jesus Christ by the popularity of his name and
works, but choose to stand only on the periphery of what he
made available to each of us personally. Jesus understood
the mindset of Nicodemus, and cut right down to the chase.
He said in John 3:3 (NIV),
“Very truly I tell
you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born
again.” Hearing this for the very first time must have
been a shock to Nicodemus’s system. Circuits required to
process such a thought had never come together in his brain;
the wiring had never crossed.
There was no previous precedent for the
words that Christ was speaking—nothing within the realm of
natural flesh that would support the concept of being born
twice. Nicodemus possessed a mind accustomed to reasoning
with limited knowledge and intellect. He could not stretch
in this moment to grapple with Kingdom precepts, but
demonstrated for Christ that he was at least open to be
taught. A crack in the darkness of error and wrong teaching
had formed.
Nicodemus knew the mechanics of natural
birth, and reasoned that it was not possible for an adult to
re-enter a mother’s womb. Today, so many water down the Word
of God to suit their own agendas. One such person might
wonder why, after hearing Nicodemus, Jesus Christ would not
acquiesce. Why did he not lower his explanation to a level
of reasoning upon which Nicodemus might slowly catch on? He
did not do this because our Lord and Savior knew that each
of us possessing a sound mind has the capacity to hear,
digest, and abide in the truth of God’s Word if we so desire
to do so. We limit ourselves, because we refuse to rise up
in our believing, but we are entirely capable of taking in
the words of Christ to such magnitudes that we can be
utterly and completely transformed by them.
John 3:5 (NIV):
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
There was no compromise, no spoon
feeding, no games. A supernatural regeneration is absolutely
required to enter the Kingdom of God, and Jesus Christ spoke
these words of enormous spiritual capacity very plainly.
Although it seemed a lot for Nicodemus to take in, somewhere
in his psyche, he knew that this meeting with Christ would
be beyond any other he had ever experienced. Hearing the
words of Christ cemented for him that something new and
exciting had entered the earth’s realm, and nothing would
ever be the same.
We needed a new nature, born from that
which is Spirit, and not flesh. This is the cure for all
souls, more than a cure; so much more.
In verse 8, Jesus Christ said,
“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.” You and I cannot control
the wind, and we cannot control the Spirit. We cannot limit
him, nor can we detract from his awesome power. He is
married to our human spirits through the new birth reality,
and through him we are made brand new! We are aided in our
relationship with God through Christ!
John 3:16-17(NIV):
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Jesus Christ came to give us life, to
save us from eternal death; the wages of sin and darkness.
It pleased God to send His only begotten son to purchase
back the lives of His adopted kids from the depths of hell.
In those days, arrogance was so pronounced that it was
believed that God would only send a Savior for a chosen few.
They thought this savior would further their cause to be
puffed up as intellectual giants, wealthy tycoons, and
conceited zealots; but instead, he came to save the entire
world. Not to condemn it, but to save it. This is the gospel
of the new birth. Not only can we embrace it through our own
salvation, and wear it like a second, more resilient skin,
but we can share it with those in our day and time. They
desperately need to know that they, too, can be born again,
and start anew in Christ!■
Scripture taken from the New King
James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used
by permission. All rights reserved.
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by
Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All
rights reserved worldwide.
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