John 3
Birth is, perhaps, the greatest miracle each of us has ever experienced. But John 3 mentions an even greater second birth for those who are born again in Jesus Christ.
In John 3, the Pharisee Nicodemus represents the problem of the sinner’s birth.
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (John 3:3).
Because Nicodemus was born into the natural world, he was bound to the sinful world. Those of us once-born have a sinful nature. There is no “cleaning up” our nature before we get saved.
Our sinful nature also blinds us to the spiritual world. Adrian Rogers says, “I can preach truth, but only the Holy Spirit can impart truth. They may get the words, but they’ll never get the music unless the Holy Spirit of God turns the light on in their soul.”
But this passage also reveals the purpose of the Savior’s birth.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Jesus came, being born of a virgin, to redeem us, to reveal the truth of God to us, and to restore us to be what God made us to be.
Then, we experience the second birth.
God breathes new life into us, and we become completely new creations. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit are the “parents” of our new birth. As a result, our new character mimics that of our spiritual parents. (See John 3:5.)
We love the Lord Jesus Christ and have the witness of the Spirit. We have the nature of our Father and desire to share Jesus with others.
Just like there is a finality in our natural birth, once we are saved, we are always saved; we receive a fresh start and begin to grow with the certainty of our miraculous rebirth.
Adrian Rogers says, “A newborn child has no yesterdays; he’s all tomorrows. So it is with the new birth: we receive a brand new future; our past is in the grave of God’s forgetfulness.”
Life Application
Do you have the markers of a twice-born believer? Do you love Jesus, have the inner witness of the Spirit? Do you have the nature of your Heavenly Father, and a desire to share the Gospel with others?
