John 3:3-7 (WEL) Jesus answered and said to him, “Very truly, I say to you, ‘Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.’” 4 Nicodemus says to him, “How is it possible for one to be born when one is old? Can he enter into his mother’s womb a second time and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I say to you, ‘Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.’ 6 “What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 “Don’t be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
V3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Very truly, I say to you, ‘Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.’”
Very truly signifies Jesus emphasizing the truth of what He is about to say.
The Kingdom of God was very important to the Jews in Jesus’s day. Messiah would be King. All the blessings of the kingdom which were prophesied will exist. Israel will be at peace. All Jews thought that if one is an ethnic Jew, he will be in God’s kingdom. Compare Matthew 3:9-10, Romans 2:28-29, and Luke 17:21 (within means inside of a person, see Robertson’s Word Pictures notes on Luke 17:21).
Jesus would later explain to Israel of a physical kingdom where He, Jesus the Messiah, reigns in Jerusalem, and could have been in Jesus’s first coming, but it was rejected (Matthew 23:37-39).
Jesus clarifies who will be there. It is not ethnicity, but a new birth.
A new birth is needed. Our first birth is one with the sin nature present in each human (Psalm 51:5, Romans 5:12, and Ephesians 2:3).
The new birth is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
One receives the new creation upon faith (John 3:16) as Abraham believed (Genesis 15:6).
Without the new birth, new creation, an individual cannot be a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Compare Ephesians 2:17-22.
Devotional Sermons (John 1:43-48):
“Lastly, the Kingdom begins in personal acquaintance. Do you know how other societies are formed? They are formed by the drawing up of rules and statutes; and men are solemnly enrolled as officers, and everything is formal and exact. Here only, in quiet and simple ways, a Kingdom (though not of earth) is being founded, and it begins in acquaintance with the King. As it began so has it continued. The mark of citizenship is personal knowledge still. Strangers and aliens may say, “I know about Him.” But the true citizen can say, “I know Him.”
V4 Nicodemus says to him, “How is it possible for one to be born when one is old? Can he enter into his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”
Nicodemus didn’t have a clue about what Jesus is talking about. He was shocked. Jesus was shocked too because a Master teacher of Israel should know this since it is taught in Genesis 15:6 and Habakkuk 2:4.
V5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I say to you, ‘Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.’
Water refers to physical birth as seen in the next verse. There are many interpretations, including the error of thinking it is water baptism.
Spirit is used in verses 5 and 6 and are parallel. So, it is reasonable to believe that water is equivalent to flesh. Two births are needed: a physical birth and a spiritual birth.
Compare Ezekiel 36:25-27 and Acts 10:44-48.
V6 “What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
A fleshly birth is what all humans have. The spiritual birth is only for those who meet God’s conditions, that being faith and trust in Jesus alone. The spiritual birth is accomplished by the Holy Spirit.
V7 “Don’t be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
The look on Nicodemus’s face must have been a sight to behold. A new birth is needed. Just being born an ethnic Jew does not qualify a person to be in the Kingdom of God.
We learn:
- About the ignorance of those with only the natural human birth.
- About Jesus’s knowledge and teaching regarding a new birth.
Questions:
- Have you experienced the new birth?
- Do you understand the difference between normal physical birth and spiritual birth?