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JOHN - The Light Shines in the Darkness
A Bible Study Course on the Gospel of Christ according to John
PART 1 - The Shining of the Divine Light (John 1:1 - 4:54)
C - Christ's First Visit to Jerusalem (John 2:13 - 4:54) -- What is True Worship?
2. Jesus speaks with Nicodemus (John 2:23 – 3:21)

b) The need for a new birth (John 3:1-13)


JOHN 3:6-8
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Don’t marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ 8 The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Jesus showed Nicodemus the need for radical change in everyone. That transformation is as great as the difference between flesh and spirit. The word "flesh" in the New Testament stands for fallen human nature alienated from God, the wicked moving towards doom. The word covers not just the body, but the minds and spirits of the rebellious. This is the state of total corruption, as Jesus pointed out, "From the heart comes out evil thoughts." No man deserves to enter the Kingdom of God. Man is wicked from birth, and hence a source of wickedness.

"Spirit" stands for the Holy Spirit, God’s very self, full of truth, purity, power and love. God does not despise the wicked, but has overcome the "flesh" principle in Christ. This shows the aim of the second birth. The Spirit in us destroys fleshly lusts, so that we may live up to our calling. Are you born again, freed from the tyranny of the flesh?

On the third occasion Jesus spoke to Nicodemus gently and said, "You and all members of your Council, all the seed of Abraham must be born anew." That is one obligation, a sacred duty. We testify to you, brother, that this word uttered by Christ, "must" is imperative. Without a radical renewal you cannot know God and will never enter His Kingdom.

Have you heard the rushing of the wind? The reborn are like the winds that rise. It seems, the wind comes from the void and returns to it. So also God’s children are born from above and return to their Father. The sound of the wind indicates that it is there.

The clear sign in the reborn folk is the sound of the Holy Spirit spoken through them. We do not speak by the natural voice of mere men that springs from the mind. The Holy Spirit comes to us from beyond this world, as the voice of God’s power in the believer. Has he descended on your heart?

JOHN 3:9-13
9 Nicodemus answered him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and don’t understand these things? 11 Most certainly I tell you, we speak that which we know, and testify of that which we have seen, and you don’t receive our witness. 12 If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.

In Christ’s explanation, Nicodemus felt the wafting of the Holy Spirit. His heart responded to the attraction of the divine. But his mind failed to realize, nor did he grasp the truth in its depths. He murmured, "I do not know how such a birth can take place." A confession which was an admission of failure. Jesus went on giving guidance, "Yes, you are a respected teacher, you have come to me, while others thought they were brighter and higher than to converse with me. You excel them, but even you do not really know the purposes of the Holy Spirit. All your worship and offerings and your efforts to keep the Law are in vain. You do not know the simple principles of God’s Kingdom."

A third time Jesus spoke a crucial word, "Truly, truly, I say to you." In every case by this phrase Jesus announces a new revelation. This is because our human minds are slow to understand.

What was the new stage in Nicodemus’ learning? Christ moved from the singular pronoun "I" to the plural "we"; this joining himself to the voice of the Spirit. Christ is one with God and His Word incarnate. Jesus teaches a truth that not all recognize. He testifies to matters that he observes in fellowship with the Spirit, and so we accept this witness believe it.

What was it that he knew better than all men? He knew God and called Him Father. This mystery finds no entrance into the prejudiced minds of the leaders without the Spirit. Christ came from his Father and returned to him, he descended from heaven and ascended there. The separation between God and humans ended when the Spirit of God was made flesh in Jesus, and overcame that split. The Eternal is no longer far and fearful, but near and tender. Strangely, men did not grasp this testimony to God’s truth. They did not realize the unity between the One born of the Spirit and his Father; because they refused to believe, or confess their sinfulness. They failed to see the need for rebirth, rather they deluded themselves into thinking that they were good and intelligent enough. They should have known that self-sufficiency cannot lead them to realize the unity of the Holy Trinity.

PRAYER: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we worship you; in the surety of your love you have renewed us and made us the children of your truth. May your truth and Spirit blow over our nation, so that many may be saved, and the testimony concerning the Father, Son and Spirit spread far and wide, and become clear in our native tongue, for many to be born again.

QUESTION:

  1. What are the signs of rebirth in believers?

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