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Joh_3:1-2. There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
When enquirers come to see any of you who are Christians, do not begin talking to them, but let them begin by telling you what they have to say, for it will probably guide you as to what you shall say to them in return. Our Lord Jesus could read all hearts, and he needed no one to tell him what was there, yet, for our sakes, he sets the example of letting Nicodemus speak first. This man was a Pharisee, and consequently was apt to attach too much importance to the outward part of religion, so observe how the Saviour deals with him by dwelling on the inner part of it,-upon the necessity of the new birth. He has less to say to him about believing, and more about experimental godliness, and the work of the Holy Spirit in his heart. Our main business, in dealing with men’s souls, is not to teach them what they want to know but what they really need to know, bringing forward ever that truth which, if it be not the most palatable, shall be the most profitable to them.
Joh_3:3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
“He has no idea of what it is; he cannot perceive it; he has not the faculty by which he could see or understand the meaning of the kingdom of God.”
Joh_3:4. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
His religion was external, you see; he could not grasp the spiritual idea which Christ had set before him. This matter of the new birth is very simple to all of us who know what Jesus meant, but it was exceedingly difficult to Nicodemus; as it has been to all but those who have experienced it.
Joh_3:5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
The entrance into that kingdom is by a new birth in which water and the Spirit of God are both needful. There is a cleansing, and there is a new creation. There is the cleansing water of the merit of Christ, and there is the divine operation of the Spirit of God. Or, if the Saviour only means entrance into his visible kingdom, then it is through baptism that the man outwardly makes his profession of faith in Christ. It is through the Spirit of God alone, however, that he really enters into the kingdom of God. Note the distinction between seeing the kingdom and entering into it; no man can even see the kingdom of God, much less enter it, except by that new birth which is wrought only by the Holy Spirit.
Joh_3:6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh;-
No matter who the father is, nor who the mother is, there is no such thing as inherited godliness. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh,” and nothing more; all that is born of the flesh cannot rise beyond its original source. However much the man may improve himself, our Saviour’s words will still remain true, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh;” —
Joh_3:6. And that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Everything is according to its birth, and according to its nature. The Spirit of God must, therefore, operate upon us, and we must have a new birth, if we are to see and to enter the kingdom of God.
Joh_3:7. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
“Do not wonder at this, for it must be so. The first birth, at its best, can only give you flesh; there must be another birth, a birth from above, to bring you into the realm of spirit that you may understand and share in spiritual things.”
Joh_3:8. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
He is a mysterious personage, not to be understood by carnal man. You see his outward life, but you cannot see the hidden spring by which that life is moved and controlled, for that mysterious inner life is only discerned by those who possess it.
Joh_3:9-10. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knoweth not these things?
“Dost thou profess to teach others, and hast thou never been taught this first great spiritual truth?” Nicodemus was not the last Rabbi who did not understand what it is to be born again, and it is greatly to be feared that there are still many, who are teachers of others, who yet have never experienced this all-important change. The Lord have mercy upon them!
Joh_3:11. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
The testimony of Christ, and of his apostles, and of all true disciples of Christ is this,--that there is such a thing as a new birth. Men may not believe that it is true; but, for all that, it is as certain as any other fact in the history of the world. It is foolish for any to deny it because they have not experienced it themselves. Although they have not experienced it, others have, and those who declare that they have been born again are as honest, as reasonable, and as trustworthy as any other people in the world. If any counsel had to prove his case, in a court of law, by the mouth of five or six witnesses, I am sure that he would not want better witnesses than those who declare that they have been born again. Many of them are well known people of high repute, and their testimony ought to be believed. But it is not a question of six, or a dozen, or a dozen thousand witnesses. There have been hundreds of thousands of men and women who have borne witness that a miraculous charge has taken place in them, by which they have been born into a new world, and have received a new life, and the testimony of these witnesses ought to be believed. It was hard that Christ should have to say, “Ye receive not our witness.”
Joh_3:12. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
For regeneration is, as it were, one of the commonplaces of the Christian religion. It is a thing that very often takes place among men; but if this foundation truth is not believed, how can men expect that yet higher truths shall be revealed to them?
Joh_3:13. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
So far, this chapter speaks of the new birth, and there are many people who are much perplexed because they cannot comprehend this great mystery. They ask, “How, then, can we be saved? Is there no way of salvation without the new birth?” Assuredly there is none, yet the way of salvation is very simple and clear. It is, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” and it is very significant that this chapter, which, beyond any other, teaches the doctrine of the new birth, with equal clearness teaches the doctrine of salvation by faith in Christ. Listen: —
Joh_3:14-18. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
That is the proof of his condemnation; he must be an enemy to God who will not believe on his Son. He who refuses to believe the witness of God is, by that very fact, convicted and condemned; and if he had no other sin, it is sin enough to sink him to the lowest hell to deny the veracity of God, to make God a liar by refusing to believe in Jesus Christ his Son. See, then, how these two truths are blended. “Ye must be born again,” and “he that believeth on him is not condemned.” Why is that? Because he is born again; that new birth has taken place in him, and eternal life is his, because he has believed on the only begotten Son of God.
Joh_3:19-21. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Now, my friend, art thou willing to come to the light,-to the light of Scripture,-to the light of Revelation? If so, so far well. God grant us grace to feel that light is our friend, that we do not need to shun it, but desire to walk in it!
We can scarcely find a chapter in which the gospel lies so compact and so plainly stated.
Joh_3:1. There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
Christ’s door is open at all hours. You may come to Christ by day. You may come to Christ by night. There is never a time when Christ is from home. He that seeketh findeth, and, to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. “The same came to Jesus by night.” Perhaps he was timid. It is just as likely that he was prudent, and did not wish to commit himself till he had seen what it was that Jesus taught. Perhaps, too, he was busy, and had no time except at night. Better come at night than not come at all. “The same came to Jesus by night.”
Joh_3:2. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
The miracles were accepted as a proof of Christ’s mission, and if they do not seem to be quite such a proof to us at this distance, they were a most marvelous and necessary proof at the first. Perhaps they have ceased because, that first work being done, the testimony can now stand upon its own strength, and men reading it may judge it to be of God if they will. But to Nicodemus it was quite clear that Christ could not have worked his miracles, except God were with him.
Joh_3:3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Here is a greater miracle than I have wrought in the outside world. Here is a spiritual miracle. This is what you must receive as well as others. You cannot even understand my kingdom, and know what it means — you cannot see it, except you are born again.
Joh_3:4. Nicodemus said unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Thus do men interpret Christ’s figures literally, and this has been the basis of a great many mischiefs and false doctrines. When he is using metaphors to make the thing plain, they straightway use the metaphor rather as a cloak to hide the meaning than as a glass through which to see it. This is the reason why the doctrine of transubstantiation has come up. Because our Saviour said, “This is my body,” men have not been able to understand that he meant, “This represents my body. This is a figure.” Truly “the letter killeth.” It is the inner spirit that gives life.
Joh_3:5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
He cannot be Christ’s professed disciple except he receive the Spirit, and except he be baptized — if the water here relates to baptism at all, which we judge it does not. He must be renewed, and washed, and purified. That must be the water; and he must have the Holy Ghost dwelling in him, or else, as he cannot see, so he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh_3:6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh: and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
A man may have the best parents that ever lived, but all that is born of the flesh is flesh, at the very best. Your father may be a saint, and your mother a saint, but thou art born in sin, for that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and unless thou be born of the Spirit, thou canst not understand or see spiritual things, and thou canst not enter into the spiritual kingdom, for thou hast no spiritual capacity. “The carnal mind discerneth not the things that are of God, for they are spiritual, and must be spiritually discerned.” Therefore we must be born again so as to receive that Spirit by which spiritual things are discerned and entered into.
Joh_3:7-8. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
There are mysteries in nature. There are mysteries in grace. Every now-born soul is a mystery, he cannot explain himself. He can scarcely understand himself.
Joh_3:9-10. Nicodemus answered, and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
These simple things — these elementary principles — these rudiments of the school book of believers.
Joh_3:11. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen: and ye receive not our witness.
This was an additional hint to Nicodemus of the unbelief that still lingered in him. “Ye receive not our witness.”
Joh_3:12. If I have told you earthly things,
Things that have to do with men while here below.
Joh_3:12. And ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
If I lift the veil, and talk to you about greater mysteries still, if you do not believe about regeneration, where will you be if I begin to talk of any Godhead, and of all the inner secrets?
Joh_3:13. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
A riddle, doubtless, to Nicodemus, which in after days he understood.
Joh_3:14-15. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Oh! that blessed “whosoever”! Hear it, ye sons of men, and tell it to your neighbors — “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Joh_3:16-18. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world: but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned:
He may be very faulty. His conscience may accuse him, but he is not condemned.
Joh_3:18. But he that believeth not is condemned already,
Hear that, “condemned already”; not in a state of probation. Never was there a greater mistake than to say that men are in a state of probation. That probation has passed long ago. They have been proved in the world, and, if they are unbelievers, they are condemned already. “Condemned already.”
Joh_3:18-19. Because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation,
The condemnation — the head and front of it.
Joh_3:19-20. That light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
This is the secret of infidelity. This is the reason of all opposition to Christ. It is love of sin. Trace it home to its den and lair, and you shall find that it is love of sin that breeds hatred of Christ. Men do not see because they do not want to see. They do not want to see too much lest they should be uneasy in their present state of life. So they kick against Christ, and try to put out the light of his gospel, least they be reproved by it.
Joh_3:21. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
God give us the heart that seeks the light, and sooner or later we shall find it. We shall find it in Christ.
Let us once more read together part of this blessed soul-saving chapter. I suppose that more souls have been saved through the reading of this chapter than through almost any other portion of Holy Writ.
Joh_3:1-2. There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night,
He could not have come at a better time; the business of the day was over, and all was quiet.
Joh_3:2. And said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him.
It is always well to go as far as you can in your avowal of belief in Christ. Nicodemus confessed what he knew to be true, and he drew from it the thoroughly accurate conclusion that Christ must be a teacher come from God because of the miracles which he wrought. Dear hearer, if thou dost not yet fully know Christ, take heed that thou dost not trifle with the truth which thou dost know. If God has taught thee a little about him, prize that little, and thou shalt have more, as we have often said, “He that values moonlight shall yet have sunlight.” Thank God if thou knowest as much as Nicodemus knew, and ask him to teach thee more.
Joh_3:3-4. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
Staggering at the symbol, he stumbled at the letter of Christ’s saying, and did not perceive its inward sense.
Joh_3:5-6. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh;-
Flesh, and nothing more; and it never can be anything more than flesh. The first birth brings no one any further than that. The children of the most godly parents, so far as their sinful nature is concerned, are in precisely the same condition as the offspring of the most ungodly. If they are ever to be numbered amongst the children of God, they must be born again, because “that which is born of the flesh is flesh;” —
Joh_3:6. And that which is born of the Spirit-
And that alone —
Joh_3:6. Is spirit.
Now, the flesh cannot enter into the spiritual kingdom, only the spirit can enter that realm; and hence the need of a new birth, that this spirit may be created in us.
Joh_3:7-8. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
He is a mystery. The effect of the work of the Spirit upon him is seen in him, but no man understands what the Spirit of God is, or how he works, any more than he knows whence the wind comes, and whither it goes.
Joh_3:9-10. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
A very similar query to that might be put to some who are living now “Are you profound philosophers, students deeply learned in classic lore, or wise concerning many of the mysteries of nature; yet know you not these things? What will be the good of all your knowledge if you do not know how to gain admission into the kingdom of heaven? It would be better for a man to be ignorant of all other things, and to know this one thing, than to have all possible human learning, and yet to miss this knowledge which is the most essential of all.
Joh_3:11. Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Christ speaks with an authority that no mere human teacher can ever possess.
Joh_3:11. We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
In a certain sense, every true minister of Christ and every true child of God, can say this, for we know that there is a spiritual kingdom. We have seen it, we have entered into it; and we can testify that there is another life which is as much superior to the ordinary life of men as the life of men is superior to that of the brutes that perish; and we know that we have that superior life. We have other eyes than these eyes that are visible, and other ears than the ears of our flesh. There is a higher and better life to be enjoyed even now, and he that believeth in Christ has that life. “We speak that we do know and testify that we have seen;” and yet, though our testimony would be believed if we gave it concerning anything else, we are not believed when we witness concerning this higher and better life.
Joh_3:12. If I have told you earthly things,-
Things that take place here below, such as the new birth, —
Joh_3:12. And ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
Christ will not go on to teach us the deepest doctrines of the Christian faith if we will not learn that which is simplest. Shall the boy be taught the classics if he will not study the spelling-book? If men will not believe that there is such a thing as the new birth, shall they be taught the doctrine of union to Christ, and all those higher truths that rise out of it? They would not believe these things if they were taught them.
Joh_3:13. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
There was a nut that Nicodemus could not crack, a riddle that he could not solve; and the Saviour left him thus puzzled, for the time being, that he might learn that, unless he was taught of the Spirit, he could not understand the teaching of Christ. You and I, who have been taught of the Spirit, understand the meaning of these words, but Nicodemus did not, though he was “a master of Israel.”
Now follows another passage of Scripture which I always rejoice to read in this chapter. There are two great truths revealed here; the one is, that we must be born again, and the other is, that whosoever believeth in Christ is saved. Sometimes those two truths seem to come into conflict with one another. A man says, “You say to me, ‘Only believe, and you shall be saved;’ and then, by-and-by, you tell me that I must be born again. Are both these statements true?” Yes, they are both true, and they are both in this chapter. We have been reading about the necessity of regeneration, now comes the glorious freeness of the gospel of Christ.
Joh_3:14-15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
You must be born into a new life if you are to be saved; how are you to have that great blessing? There is life for a look at Jesus Christ lifted up upon the cross, and lifted up in the preaching of the gospel. Look to him, then; and, as surely as those who were bitten by the serpents in the wilderness were healed the moment that they looked at the serpent of brass, so surely shall every son or daughter of Adam, who gives a faith-look at the crucified Saviour, be saved at once and for ever.
Joh_3:16-17. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
There was no necessity for Christ to come here to condemn us, for we were condemned already by our sin. Why, then, did Jesus come? He must have come upon an errand of mercy, to bring salvation to the lost. It is even so; God sent him for that very purpose, that he might give eternal life to as many as believe on him. Oh, the glorious freeness of this precious gospel! Surely they deserve the deepest hell who will not have heaven upon such terms. They must forever perish if they reject life when it is set before them in this truly gracious manner.
Joh_3:18-19. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation,-
The very first form of it, the proof of it, and the reason for it: “This is the condemnation,” —
Joh_3:19-21. That light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Those who love their sins cannot at the same time love the Saviour; they must love the one, and hate the other; and it is a terrible choice when they deliberately reject the only Saviour; “the Light of the world,” and choose the darkness of sin, the darkness of woe, the outer darkness, where there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.