Real Life Ministries Newport
The Hope of Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12-22)

      • 1 Corinthians 13:7NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 13:7NIV2011

  • Introduction

    Last week we talked about our position before God.
    If He is our Lord, there are very real and important implications for what that means for us.
    We discussed the master/slave dynamic and how Jesus’ call to us was to follow Him and for Him to be our Lord
    He becomes our identity
    His will becomes our will
    Our rights are laid aside
    Our lives are His
    Our future is in His hands.
    God is a merciful, forgiving and loving master
    This world is a ruthless and cruel master.
    I wanted to set the tone for this series as we opened up.
    As we open the discussion of the Gospel, we need to have a clear understanding of what that means.
    Our world has presented a gospel that is really no gospel at all.
    It is distorted and diluted.
    In fact, in our world most people would accept anything other than complete and utter rejection as saving faith in Jesus Christ.
    I believe this is a misunderstanding of the Gospel.
    Simply not rejecting is not embracing the Gospel.
    Today’s story should bring with it some deep thought and personal reflection.
    We are going to look at how Jesus presented His Gospel to Nicodemus in John 3.
    ​
    John 3:1–21 NIV
    Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

    Pray

    ​

    Main Topic

    John 3 is usually communicated as the primary verse that we would share with non-believers about how simple it is to come to faith in Jesus.
    In it is the Hall of Fame verse, John 3:16.
    It carries with it the brilliant illustration of being Born Again.
    This metaphor that Jesus used has become part of the vernacular of Christians around the world.
    Even in reading statistics, we used a stat last week that stated that 1/3 of Americans consider themselves to be Born Again Christians.
    Today, we are going to look at this story and break down what it says about being Born Again.
    It is my goal to share what I believe Jesus tells about the Gospel, both through this story, and through the phrase, ‘Born Again’.
    ​
    John 3:1 NIV
    Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.
    I want to set the stage for this story.
    This story takes place very early in Jesus teaching ministry.
    To this point, Jesus had been baptized, he had started to call a few of his disciples, he had done his first miracle (turning water into wine) and he had cleared the temple.
    Jesus was starting to make waves in the religious world.
    His miracles, his teaching and clearing the temple had many people likely wondering who this Jesus guy was.
    In this story, a guy named Nicodemus approaches Jesus at night to find out about him
    Now, we don’t know if he was sent by the ruling council. Or maybe, he was simply trying to find out information for himself.
    I want to build some of the background on Nicodemus, because I feel it is very important for this story.
    First, we see that Nicodemus is a Pharisee.
    A Pharisee was a group of people who studied and knew the law of God.
    They scoured the OT and had built a list of rules that the people needed to maintain in order to be righteous before God.
    These rules became the law of the Jewish people
    Now we often look at the Pharisees as these Jerks who were always opposing Jesus. As an insult, we call people who live by a strong set of rules a Pharisee.
    But to those people at that time, the Pharisees were very highly revered.
    These people had a passion in their hearts for obedience to God.
    Is this a bad thing?
    God had given His law, and the Pharisees were put in place to ensure people followed that law.
    In a way, they had become the police officers of Biblical law.
    The people respected them because they were keeping the country aligned with God’s law.
    Nicodemus was also a member of the Jewish Ruling Council.
    The Jewish Ruling Council was also called the Sanhedrin.
    It was the court system for the Jewish people.
    Nicodemus loved the law of God
    Nicodemus taught the law of God
    Nicodemus was a righteous man in the eyes of God’s law
    Nicodemus was a respected leader.
    So when we see Nicodemus coming to Jesus, he likely had many questions for Jesus about who he was, what his teachings were, and what his path forward was.
    Was Jesus following the law?
    On the list of followers of God in that culture, there were the priests and Levites, then there was the Pharisees.
    Did he believe in God? Yes.
    Did he read the Bible? Yes.
    Did he pray? Yes.
    Did he go to church (Temple and Synagogue)? Yes.
    Did he make sacrifices for his sin? Yes.
    In fact, all of the actions, thoughts and feelings of Nicodemus would lead us to believe, “He’s certainly a follower of God.”
    There would certainly be many more people who we would consider to need greater Spiritual help from Jesus than Nicodemus.
    ​
    John 3:2 NIV
    He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
    This respected, religious leader came to Jesus and made a statement.
    I don’t know if this statement was flattery, or if this statement was made from a truly genuine heart.
    Rabbi means teacher
    A leader, and teacher is addressing Jesus as “teacher”.
    He approached Jesus as peer to peer.
    Leader to leader.
    He recognizes that Jesus comes from God
    And he states why he believes Jesus came from God
    Miracles
    This is something I believe we miss about the miracles Jesus performed and I believe it is something we miss as we pray for miracles today.
    Miracles validated the message of the person performing the miracles.
    How would people know to listen to Jesus.
    He would perform a miracle and the people would see that what this person has to say is validated by God
    You couldn’t misunderstand the miracle. It was plain for all to see.
    Miracles were never for convenience. They were never to make life more comfortable.
    They were always a validation from God to engage them to His message and draw them to Himself.
    Nicodemus had seen the miracles and rightly looked beyond them to their purpose
    The purpose of the miracle was to validate that Jesus carried God’s authority.
    So we have a religious person approaching Jesus and acknowledging correctly (to a point) who he is.
    Now Jesus could have really used an ally like Nicodemus.
    If he has Nicodemus in his circle, he will have a voice in the Jewish Ruling Council.
    He will have a Pharisee validated message.
    The implications for Jesus ministry would be enormous!
    We would think that Jesus would recognize this possibility and embrace it.
    He certainly wouldn’t want to do anything to blow it.
    Here is how Jesus responds.
    John 3:3 NIV
    Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
    Nicodemus didn’t ask any questions about the Kingdom of God.
    Nicodemus wasn’t here to get a sermon.
    But Jesus’ statement was authoritative and profound.
    Jesus is speaking as if He knows who will see the Kingdom of God and who will not.
    He speaks with authority as if he knows the path.
    He speaks exclusively.
    NO ONE can see the Kingdom of God.
    The only way someone can see the Kingdom of God is if they are Born Again!
    Nicodemus was a teacher. He was familiar with the OT texts. He knew of all of the rabbis in Israel.
    He had never heard this metaphor used in this way.
    Nicodemus taught his idea of a path to the Kingdom of God.
    Nicodemus’ path to the Kingdom of God included all sorts of rules to follow.
    It was something that required absolute adherence to the rules.
    The road to the Kingdom of God was a hard road, but a road worth traveling.
    ​
    John 3:4 NIV
    “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
    I don’t believe that Nicodemus thought Jesus was talking about a literal second birth.
    Some people will come to this passage and lump Nicodemus into a very special class of stupid with this response.
    But Nicodemus’ response was his way of saying, “I know you don’t mean a literal second birth, but I am not following your teaching.”
    ​
    John 3:5 NIV
    Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
    Jesus then ties the statement of being born again to an Old Testament concept that Nicodemus would be familiar with.
    He makes another very strong statement exclusively saying, “NO ONE can enter the kingdom of God”
    Only those born of water and Spirit
    This is something else that would have connected, but confused Nicodemus
    NO ONE can enter the Kingdom unless they are born again, and this birth must be of water and the Spirit.
    This is where theologians and opinions spill into this conversation about what does it mean to be born of water and the Spirit?
    I believe Jesus was pointing to the OT when he said this.
    He was speaking of the book where Nicodemus drew his understanding of the law.
    As He read the Scriptures, he saw rules to follow. He saw religious systems that needed to function.
    Jesus pointed to Ezekiel 36:25
    Ezekiel 36:25 NIV
    I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.
    In order to be born again, there must be the purification of sin.
    To the Jewish people, this was symbolized by ceremonial cleansing.
    Jesus is pointing to this passage because this is a prophetic passage. This points to a time that God will cleanse humanity. Not ceremonially through ritual. Rather, He would do this by His own work.
    The second part of this passage is seen two verses later in Ezekiel 36:27
    Ezekiel 36:27 NIV
    And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
    God says that He will put His Spirit within His people and that it would be the work of His Spirit within us that would follow His law.
    To Nicodemus, there was a certain level of pride and accomplishment if you were able to follow the law yourself.
    Nicodemus would have been very familiar with these passages. He was an OT guy!
    He knew Ezekiel had prophesied about one day when God would do this.
    It is what Nicodemus knew was between these two verses that Jesus was making a huge point about
    Ezekiel 36:25–27 NIV
    I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
    The promise God had given through Ezekiel was that one day He would purify them. He would put a new heart within them. He would put His Spirit within them.
    This would not be done in their effort. It would be done by His hand.
    ​
    John 3:6 NIV
    Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
    In this context, Jesus says, “If you are trying to earn favor with God through your flesh, you will not see spiritual results.
    We can only experience being Born Again by the Spirit who gives birth to Spirit.
    I want you to know how this flew in the face of Nicodemus.
    Everything in his life was built around what he did for God. He understood his favor before God by how righteous you had lived.
    His entire job and reputation were centered around this. It was the lens that he viewed the world.
    Now Jesus is saying, “It isn’t by how committed you are to religious practices that will get you into the Kingdom of God. It is by God that you will have favor with God.
    He was likely hoping that Jesus would validate all of his efforts like he was trying to validate Jesus’ efforts.
    But now, Jesus was treating him like he was lost.
    Nicodemus, lost. That thought had not crossed his mind.
    He didn’t know what it meant to be born again.
    Jesus is saying the only people who would see the Kingdom are born again.
    If he didn’t know what it meant to be born again, Jesus was saying that he would not see the Kingdom of God.
    If he would not see the Kingdom of God, Jesus is implying that he, Nicodemus, was a sinner and separated from God.
    This is shocking. This is borderline scandalous!
    Jesus knew the surprise in Nicodemus’ mind
    ​
    John 3:7 NIV
    You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
    You should not be surprised. You should have known the heart of God.
    John 3:8 NIV
    The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
    The law was rigid. It was in print.
    These are the things you must do. These are the things you must not do.
    However, those born of the Spirit.
    These people who are born again
    These people who have been purified by God, they have a heart of flesh and have their hearts of stone removed, and they have His Spirit within them. Yeah, these guys.
    They won’t be walking around by a rigid set of laws.
    They will be guided by the Holy Spirit.
    They will be doing His will whenever and wherever He leads them.
    Nicodemus was not God. This was a leadership he would not be able to wrap his head around.
    At this point, Nicodemus was likely spinning in his mind.
    Had he missed something? Who was Jesus? Is this all true? Am I truly going to miss the Kingdom of God unless I embrace what He says?
    He was likely feeling confused, angry, embarrassed, at a loss for words.
    ​
    John 3:9–10 NIV
    “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?
    How can this be?
    These are the last words Nicodemus spoke in this interchange.
    There was no clarity to his question
    How can I be born again? How can I be lost? How can this be true?
    Nicodemus’ confusion led Jesus to clearly state the condition of God’s people under his leadership.
    You are Israel’s teacher and you do not understand what God desires?
    If the leaders missed the point, all of Israel had missed the point.
    Jesus continues
    ​
    John 3:11 NIV
    Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
    Jesus is including Himself with the writers and prophets of the OT.
    They communicated the message of God’s will to the people of Israel.
    The religious leaders never listened to the prophets.
    Every prophet who knew and experienced the nature of God was rejected by the Israelite people.
    Jesus says, “And now I am here and you do not accept my testimony either”
    Testimony is not a “How did I come to Jesus” kind of word
    Testimony is a court phrase. It is telling exactly what you saw and experienced. It is speaking the truth.
    Jesus validates his testimony. This is why Nicodemus should listen to him
    John 3:12–13 NIV
    I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
    You won’t even listen to me if I speak of earthly things.
    You need to know, I come from Heaven. You already acknowledged this when you said, “No one could do the things you do if they were not sent by God.”
    If I come from heaven, you should listen to what I say.
    But you do not listen, so we have a problem.
    Do you see the word “believe” enter the conversation here?
    Believe- Greek- Pistas- Faith
    Nicodemus had already said he believed Jesus came from God.
    But if Nicodemus truly had faith that Jesus came from God, there would be a corresponding alignment and desire to hear what Jesus had to say.
    Jesus says, “You say you believe, but you do not believe. I can see your heart. There is no heart of God. There is only a heart of stone.”
    Then Jesus paints another picture to tell Nicodemus exactly where he is.
    John 3:14–15 NIV
    Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
    ​
    In Numbers 21:4-9, the Israelites were in the wilderness and they had sinned against God.
    God allowed venomous snakes to invade the camp.
    These snakes began biting people and many were killed.
    The people cried out to Moses and said, “Pray to God for us so He will take the snakes away.”
    God instructed Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole and raise it up so the people could see it
    Anyone who looked at the serpent on the pole would live.
    This is an obscure story in the OT. Very few people likely thought it would ever be a Messianic story, until Jesus used it with Nicodemus.
    In the story, all of the people had sinned
    There was a consequence to their sin. That consequence was death.
    The wages of their sin was death. All of them had sinned.
    Some had already died. But everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before the wages of sin had caught up to the rest of them.
    Jesus said that he would be lifted up, similar to the serpent in the story.
    The similarity is that we live in a world where everyone is a sinner. There are wages to sin and those wages are death.
    As people had to look upon the serpent, we are called to look upon the cross and place our faith in Jesus Christ.
    In the OT, the serpent was the symbol of what they were being delivered from
    In the NT, Jesus became sin on the cross. He bore the shame and penalty of sin on the cross.
    This is not a glamorous scene. It is the results of my sin that raised Jesus up on the cross.
    God provided this because:
    ​
    John 3:16 NIV
    For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
    Now we bring a word into discipleship that we intentionally left out last week.
    Intentionally, not because it isn’t important, but because I was wanting to bring a heavy reality that we need to contend with.
    Here is the hope.
    In our approach to God, we must know that He is not a Lord (master) that is disconnected from His people.
    Rather, He loves us.
    This is the difference between masters. He loves us. The master of sin does not.
    In this, I want you to see the phrase, “the world”.
    This isn’t His followers. This is the world. All of His people
    We have already seen that all the world has sinned. All the world needs Jesus as Savior
    God is a master who loves His people (doulos) enough to pay the penalty for their sin.
    The key word here is believe. The word in this verse is “Pistas” again.
    As we see the context here with Nicodemus, the problem was that Nicodemus believed, in the sense that he thought it likely that Jesus came from God.
    Jesus said, “This is not enough”. You must not simply believe, rather, you must have faith.
    Believe in my testimony. Believe to the point of being born again.
    Knowing that it is not by your effort that you have favor with God.
    It is by the Spirit that we are born of the Spirit.
    It is by His water that we are purified.
    It is by His heart that we live, not our actions.
    In faith we see action tied to faith
    He wants us to be His Lord.
    This requires an absolute trust in Him as Lord
    This requires us to lay down ourselves as Lord
    Faith requires trust enough to follow Him.
    ​
    John 3:17 NIV
    For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
    Condemnation was the method Nicodemus had used
    This is the difference between Lords.
    One Lord (God) doesn’t bring condemnation.
    One master brings condemnation.
    ​
    John 3:18 NIV
    Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
    Belief- faith- Following Jesus- Making Him our Lord- does not bring condemnation.
    Jesus takes our condemnation
    However those who do not follow Jesus already stand condemned.
    You’ve chosen your master.
    Salvation is not available to you, because you have not Pistas’ Jesus.
    ​
    ​
    ​
    Conclusion
    What does this bring to the perspective of true discipleship that Jesus calls us to?
    He is Curios, we are doulos
    But our approach to Him is through love and faith
    He does not condemn
    This is written to the religious.
    Not to the lost.
    ​
    ​
    This is a passage we use
    ​
  • My Redeemer Lives
  • God So Loved
  • Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me

      • Luke 24:1–12NIV2011

  • My Savior My God

      • 1 Corinthians 15:12–22NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:19NIV2011

      • Genesis 1:26–27NIV2011

      • Genesis 1:31NIV2011

      • Isaiah 43:7NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:19NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:19NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:12–13NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:14–16NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:17–18NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:19NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:20NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:21–22NIV2011

      • John 3:16NIV2011

      • John 17:3NIV2011

      • Revelation 21:1–7NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:1–5NIV2011

      • 2 Corinthians 5:14–21NIV2011

  • Introduction

    Last week we talked about our position before God.
    If He is our Lord, there are very real and important implications for what that means for us.
    We discussed the master/slave dynamic and how Jesus’ call to us was to follow Him and for Him to be our Lord
    He becomes our identity
    His will becomes our will
    Our rights are laid aside
    Our lives are His
    Our future is in His hands.
    God is a merciful, forgiving and loving master
    This world is a ruthless and cruel master.
    I wanted to set the tone for this series as we opened up.
    As we open the discussion of the Gospel, we need to have a clear understanding of what that means.
    Our world has presented a gospel that is really no gospel at all.
    It is distorted and diluted.
    In fact, in our world most people would accept anything other than complete and utter rejection as saving faith in Jesus Christ.
    I believe this is a misunderstanding of the Gospel.
    Simply not rejecting is not embracing the Gospel.
    Today’s story should bring with it some deep thought and personal reflection.
    We are going to look at how Jesus presented His Gospel to Nicodemus in John 3.
    ​
    John 3:1–21 NIV
    Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

    Pray

    ​

    Main Topic

    John 3 is usually communicated as the primary verse that we would share with non-believers about how simple it is to come to faith in Jesus.
    In it is the Hall of Fame verse, John 3:16.
    It carries with it the brilliant illustration of being Born Again.
    This metaphor that Jesus used has become part of the vernacular of Christians around the world.
    Even in reading statistics, we used a stat last week that stated that 1/3 of Americans consider themselves to be Born Again Christians.
    Today, we are going to look at this story and break down what it says about being Born Again.
    It is my goal to share what I believe Jesus tells about the Gospel, both through this story, and through the phrase, ‘Born Again’.
    ​
    John 3:1 NIV
    Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.
    I want to set the stage for this story.
    This story takes place very early in Jesus teaching ministry.
    To this point, Jesus had been baptized, he had started to call a few of his disciples, he had done his first miracle (turning water into wine) and he had cleared the temple.
    Jesus was starting to make waves in the religious world.
    His miracles, his teaching and clearing the temple had many people likely wondering who this Jesus guy was.
    In this story, a guy named Nicodemus approaches Jesus at night to find out about him
    Now, we don’t know if he was sent by the ruling council. Or maybe, he was simply trying to find out information for himself.
    I want to build some of the background on Nicodemus, because I feel it is very important for this story.
    First, we see that Nicodemus is a Pharisee.
    A Pharisee was a group of people who studied and knew the law of God.
    They scoured the OT and had built a list of rules that the people needed to maintain in order to be righteous before God.
    These rules became the law of the Jewish people
    Now we often look at the Pharisees as these Jerks who were always opposing Jesus. As an insult, we call people who live by a strong set of rules a Pharisee.
    But to those people at that time, the Pharisees were very highly revered.
    These people had a passion in their hearts for obedience to God.
    Is this a bad thing?
    God had given His law, and the Pharisees were put in place to ensure people followed that law.
    In a way, they had become the police officers of Biblical law.
    The people respected them because they were keeping the country aligned with God’s law.
    Nicodemus was also a member of the Jewish Ruling Council.
    The Jewish Ruling Council was also called the Sanhedrin.
    It was the court system for the Jewish people.
    Nicodemus loved the law of God
    Nicodemus taught the law of God
    Nicodemus was a righteous man in the eyes of God’s law
    Nicodemus was a respected leader.
    So when we see Nicodemus coming to Jesus, he likely had many questions for Jesus about who he was, what his teachings were, and what his path forward was.
    Was Jesus following the law?
    On the list of followers of God in that culture, there were the priests and Levites, then there was the Pharisees.
    Did he believe in God? Yes.
    Did he read the Bible? Yes.
    Did he pray? Yes.
    Did he go to church (Temple and Synagogue)? Yes.
    Did he make sacrifices for his sin? Yes.
    In fact, all of the actions, thoughts and feelings of Nicodemus would lead us to believe, “He’s certainly a follower of God.”
    There would certainly be many more people who we would consider to need greater Spiritual help from Jesus than Nicodemus.
    ​
    John 3:2 NIV
    He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
    This respected, religious leader came to Jesus and made a statement.
    I don’t know if this statement was flattery, or if this statement was made from a truly genuine heart.
    Rabbi means teacher
    A leader, and teacher is addressing Jesus as “teacher”.
    He approached Jesus as peer to peer.
    Leader to leader.
    He recognizes that Jesus comes from God
    And he states why he believes Jesus came from God
    Miracles
    This is something I believe we miss about the miracles Jesus performed and I believe it is something we miss as we pray for miracles today.
    Miracles validated the message of the person performing the miracles.
    How would people know to listen to Jesus.
    He would perform a miracle and the people would see that what this person has to say is validated by God
    You couldn’t misunderstand the miracle. It was plain for all to see.
    Miracles were never for convenience. They were never to make life more comfortable.
    They were always a validation from God to engage them to His message and draw them to Himself.
    Nicodemus had seen the miracles and rightly looked beyond them to their purpose
    The purpose of the miracle was to validate that Jesus carried God’s authority.
    So we have a religious person approaching Jesus and acknowledging correctly (to a point) who he is.
    Now Jesus could have really used an ally like Nicodemus.
    If he has Nicodemus in his circle, he will have a voice in the Jewish Ruling Council.
    He will have a Pharisee validated message.
    The implications for Jesus ministry would be enormous!
    We would think that Jesus would recognize this possibility and embrace it.
    He certainly wouldn’t want to do anything to blow it.
    Here is how Jesus responds.
    John 3:3 NIV
    Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
    Nicodemus didn’t ask any questions about the Kingdom of God.
    Nicodemus wasn’t here to get a sermon.
    But Jesus’ statement was authoritative and profound.
    Jesus is speaking as if He knows who will see the Kingdom of God and who will not.
    He speaks with authority as if he knows the path.
    He speaks exclusively.
    NO ONE can see the Kingdom of God.
    The only way someone can see the Kingdom of God is if they are Born Again!
    Nicodemus was a teacher. He was familiar with the OT texts. He knew of all of the rabbis in Israel.
    He had never heard this metaphor used in this way.
    Nicodemus taught his idea of a path to the Kingdom of God.
    Nicodemus’ path to the Kingdom of God included all sorts of rules to follow.
    It was something that required absolute adherence to the rules.
    The road to the Kingdom of God was a hard road, but a road worth traveling.
    ​
    John 3:4 NIV
    “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
    I don’t believe that Nicodemus thought Jesus was talking about a literal second birth.
    Some people will come to this passage and lump Nicodemus into a very special class of stupid with this response.
    But Nicodemus’ response was his way of saying, “I know you don’t mean a literal second birth, but I am not following your teaching.”
    ​
    John 3:5 NIV
    Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
    Jesus then ties the statement of being born again to an Old Testament concept that Nicodemus would be familiar with.
    He makes another very strong statement exclusively saying, “NO ONE can enter the kingdom of God”
    Only those born of water and Spirit
    This is something else that would have connected, but confused Nicodemus
    NO ONE can enter the Kingdom unless they are born again, and this birth must be of water and the Spirit.
    This is where theologians and opinions spill into this conversation about what does it mean to be born of water and the Spirit?
    I believe Jesus was pointing to the OT when he said this.
    He was speaking of the book where Nicodemus drew his understanding of the law.
    As He read the Scriptures, he saw rules to follow. He saw religious systems that needed to function.
    Jesus pointed to Ezekiel 36:25
    Ezekiel 36:25 NIV
    I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.
    In order to be born again, there must be the purification of sin.
    To the Jewish people, this was symbolized by ceremonial cleansing.
    Jesus is pointing to this passage because this is a prophetic passage. This points to a time that God will cleanse humanity. Not ceremonially through ritual. Rather, He would do this by His own work.
    The second part of this passage is seen two verses later in Ezekiel 36:27
    Ezekiel 36:27 NIV
    And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
    God says that He will put His Spirit within His people and that it would be the work of His Spirit within us that would follow His law.
    To Nicodemus, there was a certain level of pride and accomplishment if you were able to follow the law yourself.
    Nicodemus would have been very familiar with these passages. He was an OT guy!
    He knew Ezekiel had prophesied about one day when God would do this.
    It is what Nicodemus knew was between these two verses that Jesus was making a huge point about
    Ezekiel 36:25–27 NIV
    I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
    The promise God had given through Ezekiel was that one day He would purify them. He would put a new heart within them. He would put His Spirit within them.
    This would not be done in their effort. It would be done by His hand.
    ​
    John 3:6 NIV
    Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
    In this context, Jesus says, “If you are trying to earn favor with God through your flesh, you will not see spiritual results.
    We can only experience being Born Again by the Spirit who gives birth to Spirit.
    I want you to know how this flew in the face of Nicodemus.
    Everything in his life was built around what he did for God. He understood his favor before God by how righteous you had lived.
    His entire job and reputation were centered around this. It was the lens that he viewed the world.
    Now Jesus is saying, “It isn’t by how committed you are to religious practices that will get you into the Kingdom of God. It is by God that you will have favor with God.
    He was likely hoping that Jesus would validate all of his efforts like he was trying to validate Jesus’ efforts.
    But now, Jesus was treating him like he was lost.
    Nicodemus, lost. That thought had not crossed his mind.
    He didn’t know what it meant to be born again.
    Jesus is saying the only people who would see the Kingdom are born again.
    If he didn’t know what it meant to be born again, Jesus was saying that he would not see the Kingdom of God.
    If he would not see the Kingdom of God, Jesus is implying that he, Nicodemus, was a sinner and separated from God.
    This is shocking. This is borderline scandalous!
    Jesus knew the surprise in Nicodemus’ mind
    ​
    John 3:7 NIV
    You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
    You should not be surprised. You should have known the heart of God.
    John 3:8 NIV
    The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
    The law was rigid. It was in print.
    These are the things you must do. These are the things you must not do.
    However, those born of the Spirit.
    These people who are born again
    These people who have been purified by God, they have a heart of flesh and have their hearts of stone removed, and they have His Spirit within them. Yeah, these guys.
    They won’t be walking around by a rigid set of laws.
    They will be guided by the Holy Spirit.
    They will be doing His will whenever and wherever He leads them.
    Nicodemus was not God. This was a leadership he would not be able to wrap his head around.
    At this point, Nicodemus was likely spinning in his mind.
    Had he missed something? Who was Jesus? Is this all true? Am I truly going to miss the Kingdom of God unless I embrace what He says?
    He was likely feeling confused, angry, embarrassed, at a loss for words.
    ​
    John 3:9–10 NIV
    “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?
    How can this be?
    These are the last words Nicodemus spoke in this interchange.
    There was no clarity to his question
    How can I be born again? How can I be lost? How can this be true?
    Nicodemus’ confusion led Jesus to clearly state the condition of God’s people under his leadership.
    You are Israel’s teacher and you do not understand what God desires?
    If the leaders missed the point, all of Israel had missed the point.
    Jesus continues
    ​
    John 3:11 NIV
    Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
    Jesus is including Himself with the writers and prophets of the OT.
    They communicated the message of God’s will to the people of Israel.
    The religious leaders never listened to the prophets.
    Every prophet who knew and experienced the nature of God was rejected by the Israelite people.
    Jesus says, “And now I am here and you do not accept my testimony either”
    Testimony is not a “How did I come to Jesus” kind of word
    Testimony is a court phrase. It is telling exactly what you saw and experienced. It is speaking the truth.
    Jesus validates his testimony. This is why Nicodemus should listen to him
    John 3:12–13 NIV
    I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
    You won’t even listen to me if I speak of earthly things.
    You need to know, I come from Heaven. You already acknowledged this when you said, “No one could do the things you do if they were not sent by God.”
    If I come from heaven, you should listen to what I say.
    But you do not listen, so we have a problem.
    Do you see the word “believe” enter the conversation here?
    Believe- Greek- Pistas- Faith
    Nicodemus had already said he believed Jesus came from God.
    But if Nicodemus truly had faith that Jesus came from God, there would be a corresponding alignment and desire to hear what Jesus had to say.
    Jesus says, “You say you believe, but you do not believe. I can see your heart. There is no heart of God. There is only a heart of stone.”
    Then Jesus paints another picture to tell Nicodemus exactly where he is.
    John 3:14–15 NIV
    Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
    ​
    In Numbers 21:4-9, the Israelites were in the wilderness and they had sinned against God.
    God allowed venomous snakes to invade the camp.
    These snakes began biting people and many were killed.
    The people cried out to Moses and said, “Pray to God for us so He will take the snakes away.”
    God instructed Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole and raise it up so the people could see it
    Anyone who looked at the serpent on the pole would live.
    This is an obscure story in the OT. Very few people likely thought it would ever be a Messianic story, until Jesus used it with Nicodemus.
    In the story, all of the people had sinned
    There was a consequence to their sin. That consequence was death.
    The wages of their sin was death. All of them had sinned.
    Some had already died. But everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before the wages of sin had caught up to the rest of them.
    Jesus said that he would be lifted up, similar to the serpent in the story.
    The similarity is that we live in a world where everyone is a sinner. There are wages to sin and those wages are death.
    As people had to look upon the serpent, we are called to look upon the cross and place our faith in Jesus Christ.
    In the OT, the serpent was the symbol of what they were being delivered from
    In the NT, Jesus became sin on the cross. He bore the shame and penalty of sin on the cross.
    This is not a glamorous scene. It is the results of my sin that raised Jesus up on the cross.
    God provided this because:
    ​
    John 3:16 NIV
    For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
    Now we bring a word into discipleship that we intentionally left out last week.
    Intentionally, not because it isn’t important, but because I was wanting to bring a heavy reality that we need to contend with.
    Here is the hope.
    In our approach to God, we must know that He is not a Lord (master) that is disconnected from His people.
    Rather, He loves us.
    This is the difference between masters. He loves us. The master of sin does not.
    In this, I want you to see the phrase, “the world”.
    This isn’t His followers. This is the world. All of His people
    We have already seen that all the world has sinned. All the world needs Jesus as Savior
    God is a master who loves His people (doulos) enough to pay the penalty for their sin.
    The key word here is believe. The word in this verse is “Pistas” again.
    As we see the context here with Nicodemus, the problem was that Nicodemus believed, in the sense that he thought it likely that Jesus came from God.
    Jesus said, “This is not enough”. You must not simply believe, rather, you must have faith.
    Believe in my testimony. Believe to the point of being born again.
    Knowing that it is not by your effort that you have favor with God.
    It is by the Spirit that we are born of the Spirit.
    It is by His water that we are purified.
    It is by His heart that we live, not our actions.
    In faith we see action tied to faith
    He wants us to be His Lord.
    This requires an absolute trust in Him as Lord
    This requires us to lay down ourselves as Lord
    Faith requires trust enough to follow Him.
    ​
    John 3:17 NIV
    For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
    Condemnation was the method Nicodemus had used
    This is the difference between Lords.
    One Lord (God) doesn’t bring condemnation.
    One master brings condemnation.
    ​
    John 3:18 NIV
    Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
    Belief- faith- Following Jesus- Making Him our Lord- does not bring condemnation.
    Jesus takes our condemnation
    However those who do not follow Jesus already stand condemned.
    You’ve chosen your master.
    Salvation is not available to you, because you have not Pistas’ Jesus.
    ​
    ​
    ​
    Conclusion
    What does this bring to the perspective of true discipleship that Jesus calls us to?
    He is Curios, we are doulos
    But our approach to Him is through love and faith
    He does not condemn
    This is written to the religious.
    Not to the lost.
    ​
    ​
    This is a passage we use
    ​
  • Thank You Jesus For The Blood

      • 1 Corinthians 13:7NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 13:7NIV2011

Real Life Ministries Newport
7 members • 2 followers