1437AFC091214 – STAGE 2
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John 3:1-7 – Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.'”
Aloha, Beloved; Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son in the truth and love of the Holy Spirit. Glory to God forever!
In a great many pulpits around the world this coming Son-Day, the Gospel reading will touch on John 3:13-21 – the setting for the most-quoted Bible passage in the world, John 3:16. When looking at this verse in the past, I have always reminded you that John 3:17 is equally important: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. Today I’ll just refer you back to some of those previous messages and ask you to turn with me to focus on this conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus. As with all of the Gospel of John, there are layers upon layers of insights in each passage, sometimes in each word. We’ll let Scripture do a lot of the teaching today, but we’ll also look into interpreting the teaching.
Let’s start with the man’s name. This Pharisee is known as Nicodemus which is the Greek name Νικόδημος (Nikodemos) which means “victory of the people” from Greek νικη (nike) “victory” and δεμος (demos) “the people.” In this conversation, Christ the Lord and Savior is telling “victory of the people” how God’s plan of redemption works, and also what the result will be. Nicodemus is a sincere, albeit fearful, seeker who recognizes that Jesus is surely sent from God, but isn’t sure what he, Nicodemus, should do about it. It’s almost as if Nicodemus suspects Jesus is not Jewish enough, and that worries him enough to cause him to seek out Jesus under cover of darkness.
The contrast between Darkness and Light is one of the major themes in the Gospel of John, and so when we see Nicodemus coming to The Light (see John 1:3-4), we note that he’s in the dark about Jesus’ teaching and Jesus is showing him the Light. Jesus tells Nicodemus “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” No one can see the Kingdom of God (in the Dark) without being “born from above.” Being born from above? A number of other translations read “born again,” hence, the Born-Again Christian. The Greek word here is ἄνωθεν [anōthen] {an-o-then}, and it carries the connotation of from above, from the beginning, from the first, of things which came or come from heaven, anew, or over again. Nicodemus needs a change in perception to see The Kingdom.
He has glimpsed the Kingdom in the mighty miracles Jesus has done. He understands that the authority of Jesus is something elusively greater than everything else with which he is familiar. Nicodemus is asking Jesus to tell him how this Kingdom can be seen and experienced. He wants to know if the baptism John practiced at the Jordan was sufficient. Jesus tells him it is not; what is required is to be born “from above,” to be “reborn,” to be born of water (John’s baptism of repentance) and the Spirit (Jesus’ baptism of everlasting life). Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be born from above; Nicodemus misunderstands that as born again. Jesus is talking about spiritual rebirth; Nicodemus is thinking about physical rebirth (“born again). This is a little surprising, because in those days, the Pharisees were actively seeking converts – they were proselytizing (trying to convert somebody to a religious faith or political doctrine) – and the proselyte is regarded as a new-born child having shed his/her previous life to become a child of Abraham.
Nicodemus’ question, however, is the opening for Jesus’ teaching that follows, the teaching about Spiritual rebirth which ends at verses 14-15 where he says, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him would have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15) This is the first time “Eternal Life” is used in the Gospel of John; this term emphasizes quality of life rather than quantity or duration. Everlasting life is life that is always renews, it is always new, it is always regenerated from the moment it begins through all of eternity with God. Eternal and everlasting: What’s the difference? As an adjective eternal means “without beginning or end.” As an adjective, everlasting connotes something created with a beginning but which continues ad infinitum through eternity. God is eternal; the redeemed know everlasting 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.
Everlasting/Eternal in Greek is αἰώνιος [aiónios] {ahee-o’-nee-os} and it connotes something existing “for ages and ages.” It is independent of time in that it is included in measured time as well as excluded from measured time and therefore beyond measured time because it itself is timeless. Confusing, yes? But that is the Mystery of the Life of God and God’s children by adoption through the birth of his “only begotten son.” This timelessness is available only in The Kingdom, and being in The Kingdom is only available to those who are born from above, reborn as “a new creature in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) We have a glimpse of this from the prophet Daniel when he speaks of the end of days and says: Daniel 12:2 – And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
And as Jesus makes his point, Nicodemus begins to understand that The Kingdom is not political so that it will evict Rome from Israel, nor is it religious in the sense that it will acknowledge the holiness of the Pharisees. The Kingdom is a place of spiritual renewal through repentance and conversion – conversion from a creature which lives a mere seventy years to an entity that lives for the rest of eternity. When Jesus says,” What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above,'” Nicodemus begins to understand that Jesus as the Messiah is showing him “a more excellent way.” (See 1 Corinthians 12:31, the introduction to the Chapter of Love).
So, Beloved, Jesus wants us to begin a new life by laying aside our old life. Those who earnestly seek him where he may be found have the beginnings of that new life. Those who serve him in The Kingdom have left this World behind and gone to him here in The Kingdom of God. All who believe that God sent is only begotten Son into the world will know everlasting life because God has sent his Son to redeem the world, not to condemn it. That is why he said to Nicodemus then – and to you and me now – “Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.'” When people are “born again,” we call them “Born-Again Christians.” Next time you hear that term, I hope you will hear a little voice saying, “That means ‘born from above,’ and that means reborn in the Spirit!” Beloved, YOU will be living in the Kingdom if you will remember Romans 8:9 – But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Remember? What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Hold out your hands in prayer and call the Spirit to pray for you, “Jesus, I trust in you. Jesus, I love you. Jesus, I give my life to you. Jesus, I accept you as my personal Savior. Jesus, my Brother, you are Lord, Christ, and Son of God. In your Name I pray. Amen.”
Welcome (back) to the Kingdom! The Kingdom which is life that is always renewed, it is always new, it is always regenerated from the moment it begins through all of eternity with God, your new everlasting home forever and ever. Stage 1 is life outside The Kingdom. Stage 2 is life inside The Kingdom. Stage 3? That has to be between now and the Resurrection; the Resurrection is Stage 4, the final stage.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved
Please pray fervently for an end to the violence in the Middle East (from the Mediterranean to beyond the Amu Darya River, and all across Africa.
chick
