The New Birth

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew (from above), he cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

(1) The absolute need of the new birth – because of sin (Romans 3:23);

(2) The Gospel basis for the new birth is the death of Christ for us (Titus 3:3-7).

(3) The indispensable condition for the new birth is personal faith in Christ (John 1:12-13).

(4) The spiritual character of the new birth – by the Spirit through the Word (1 Peter 1:23-25);

(5) The spiritual benefits of the new birth:

     (a) a child of God (Galatians 4:4-6);

     (b) a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17);

     (c) partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1;3-4);

     (d) sharing in Christ’s victory (1 John 5:4-5);

     (e) eternal life (1 John 5:11-12).

Bread And Wine

Bread and wine - these were the elements chosen by Jesus to teach us about His dying love. The bread speaks to us of Jesus' body broken for us. The wine speaks to us of Jesus' blood shed for us.

Jesus used bread and wine to proclaim His salvation. He did this at the Last Supper, but that wasn't the first time that Jesus had used bread and wine as visual aids to help us to understand the meaning of His salvation. Before the Last Supper, there were the miracles of turning water into wine and the feeding of the five thousand.

(1) The miracle of turning water into wine, along with the cleansing of the Temple, proclaims the miracle of the new birth. It leads us into the words of Jesus - "You must be born again" (John 3;3).

• The contrast between the water and the wine speaks to us of the contrast between "that which is born of the flesh" and "that which is born of the Spirit."
• The transformation of the water into wine speaks of the new birth which Jesus came to bring us: "Mild He lays his glory by, Born that man no more may die, Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth." This great miracle of turning water into wine prepares us to hear what Jesus says to us concerning being born again, born anew, born of God, born from above, born with a heavenly birth.

(2) The meaning of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand is summed up in the words of Jesus - "I am the Bread of Llfe" (John 6:35).

Jesus did not perform this miracle to impress the crowd. This miracle created for Him another opportunity to teach the people the real significance of His miracles and the real meaning of faith.

The Lord speaks of Himself as the Bread of Life. He gives eternal life to all who put their faith in Him. By speaking of Himself in this way, He highlights the Gospel character of this miracle.

At the heart of the miracle story, there is, in John 6:4, a short sentence, which we could easily overlook: "Now, the Passover, the feast of the Jews was at hand." We must not overlook this fact. It points us forward to the Lord's Supper, which also took place at the time of the Passover.

"When I see the blood, I will pass over you" (Exodus 12:13) - Jesus fulfilled this!

Now, the Lord's Supper, the feast of the Christians, is at hand. May God grant that your understanding of and experience of Christ's love will be deepened and enriched through our looking together at these two great miracles.

Come, Holy Spirit. Make Us New.

"We know ... " (John 3:2).

Nicodemus claimed to know a great deal about Jesus.

• Jesus had done great miracles.
• These miracles signified that God was with Jesus.
• Jesus was a teacher, sent by God.

He acknowledged that Jesus was a teacher, sent by God, but did he receive Jesus' teaching? This is an important question for us!

Jesus was unimpressed by Nicodemus' claim to knowledge. Nicodemus could know nothing without a new birth (John 3:3).. The new birth was a "must" (John 3:7).

It is possible to know a great deal, and yet know nothing that really matters.

This is true of our society. We have more knowledge than at any other time in human history, yet there's a strange absence of the kind of knowledge which brings meaning to life.

From Nicodemus, we learn that reason can take us on a journey towards faith, but it will not take us all the way to faith (John 3:4:John 3:9).

We may be impressed by the arguments, used to support the Christian Faith, but there comes a point where we must make a decision. The arguments will not compel anyone to become a believer. They may point us in the direction of faith, but they they still leave us with a decision to make.

We may be influenced by the arguments, but the arguments will not make the decision for us. The arguments provide us with information concerning the Christian Faith. We must decide what we will do with this information.

Nicodemus regarded Jesus as "a teacher of Israel", yet he didn't understand Jesus' teaching. Such understanding comes by faith.

It is possible to know very little, and yet know all that you really need to know. Through faith in Christ, we know the true meaning of our life.

It was an emotional response which brought Nicodemus to Jesus. The real problem came when he was faced with Jesus' testimony (John 3:11). He was intrigued by Jesus, attracted to Him. Jesus was calling for more than that, but Nicodemus wasn't ready to take things on to the next stage. He remained an enquirer. Did he ever become a believer? We don't know. What we can say is this: there's a huge difference between being interested in Jesus and being committed to Him. Faith begins with interest, but it doesn't stop there.

How are we to move beyond an emotional pull towards Jesus? How are we to move on to a real faith? We need to use our minds. We need to read the Bible. We need to ask the big questions - Is Jesus more than a good man? Is He more than a great teacher? Is He the Son of God? Is He our Saviour? Our answers to such questions must be more than intellectual assent. There must be more than that. There must be commitment - the giving of our whole life to Jesus.

The new birth is more than being attracted to Jesus. It's more than paying lip-service to Him. It's turning around to face Him. It's making a new beginning with Him, This is no superficial change. It's a complete change in the direction of our life.

Jesus speaks of the wind of the Spirit (John 3:8). We are to stop going against the wind. We are to start going with the wind - moving in the direction of the love of God, moving in the direction of the Saviour, moving in the direction of faith in Christ, moving in the direction of eternal life (John 3:16).

If you go against the wind of the Spirit, you will be blown along by another wind - "tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14).

It is the wind of the Spirit that will carry us beyond an emotional pull towards Jesus.

It is the wind of the Spirit that will lead us to "receive the testimony of Jesus" (John 3:11). It is the wind of the Spirit that will take us further than Nicodemus who "came to Jesus by night" (John 3:2). The Spirit does not create secret disciples, people who are ashamed of their Saviour. The Spirit leads us to say, with Paul, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of every one who believes" (Romans 1:16).

Come, Holy Spirit. Make us new - new in our heart, new in every part of our life.

Am I Going To Heaven?

Am I going to heaven? - This is the most important question of all.

Jesus says, "Unless one is born anew, again, from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

Here, Jesus is speaking about the new birth, the second birth, the heavenly birth.

His words weren't spoken to the publican in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. They weren't spoken to the woman caught in adultery. They weren't spoken to the thief on the cross. They were spoken to a "Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews" (John 3:1).

Nicodemus said to Jesus, "You are a teacher come from God" (John 3:2), but this didn't take him far enough. He still needed to hear the words, "You must be born again." He needed to be shown his need of the Saviour.

Jesus' statement concerning the new birth is His supreme message to the world. It's a message that runs counter to human pride.

The new birth is a divider of the human race. Either you are born again or you are not born again. Jesus tells us, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6).

Are you born again? If you can answer, "Yes" to this question, you can also answer "Yes" to the question, "Am I going to heaven?"

You may say, "I don't understand." We are not called upon to understand. We are called to believe (John 1:12).

The new birth comes when I believe and submit to His Word: "You must be born again."

The new birth comes when I believe in the love of God (John 3:16). God loves us. In love, He calls us to be born again.

God wants you to go heaven (John 3:17). Accept His way of salvation - faith in Jesus, His Son, faith in Jesus, our Saviour.