In our main text for today, we have Jesus following up on His response to Nicodemus in v.3. I can imagine Nicodemus looking at Jesus, remember he had just acknowledged/exalted Him as a great teacher (Rabbi), with a confused (human) intellect. Jesus completely disregards Nicodemus’s salutation and immediately addresses the “heart” of the matter. Nicodemus was seeking wisdom from this great teacher and Jesus let him know the only lesson/wisdom that mattered was one of a Spiritual Rebirth.
.
CONTEXT
CHAP. 3 – Christ, in a conference with Nicodemus, teacheth him the necessity of regeneration, 1–13; the efficacy of faith in his death, 14, 15; God’s great love to mankind in sending his Son for their salvation, 16, 17; and the condemnation for unbelief, 18–21. Jesus baptizeth in Judea, 22, as doth John in Ænon, 23, 24. John’s doctrine concerning Christ, 25–36.
Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible, vol. 3 (New York: Robert Carter and Brothers, 1853), 289.
.
A.W. Pink comments on John 3:1-8 (vs.9-21 in a link below)
.
Ver. 7. Marvel not that I said unto thee, &c.] For Nicodemus was quite astonished, at this doctrine of the new birth; it was altogether new to him, and unheard of by him; nor could he understand, nor conceive in what manner it could be: ye must be born again; in four of Beza’s copies, it is read we; but as Christ was not begotten in a carnal way, or descended not from Adam in the ordinary way of generation, he was not carnal and corrupt, nor in the least tainted with sin; and so stood in no need of regeneration; wherefore such a reading must be rejected. There is a necessity of the regeneration of those, who are the chosen of God, and the redeemed of the Lamb; and of them only can the words be understood; for as for others, they neither can, nor will, nor must be born again: but the people of God must; partly because it is the will of God; it is his purpose and resolution, that they shall be regenerated; he has chosen them, through sanctification of the spirit, unto salvation by Christ: this is the way and method of saving sinners he has fixed upon, namely, not to save them by works of righteousness, but by grace, and according to abundant mercy, through the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost: and partly, because of the case and condition of men, which requires it; for whereas the chosen people of God, are predestinated to the adoption of children, and are taken into the family of God, and are heirs to an inheritance, it is necessary they should have a nature, temper, and disposition of mind, suitable to the inheritance they are to enjoy; which they have not in their natural estate, and which is conveyed to them in regeneration: besides, their carnal minds are enmity to God, and it is necessary that they should be friendly to him, which can’t be without regeneration; nor can they, till they are born again, please God, or do those things which are pleasing to him: to which may be added, which Christ has before suggested, and which shews the necessity of it, that without it, no man can either see, or enter into the kingdom of God. To take off the surprise of Nicodemus, our Lord instances in a common natural case, and to which this affair of regeneration may be compared, and by it illustrated.
John Gill, An Exposition of the New Testament, vol. 1, The Baptist Commentary Series (London: Mathews and Leigh, 1809), 769.
DEVOTIONAL
“Ye must be born again.” —John 3:7
Regeneration is a subject which lies at the very basis of salvation, and we should be very diligent to take heed that we really are “born again,” for there are many who fancy they are, who are not. Be assured that the name of a Christian is not the nature of a Christian; and that being born in a Christian land, and being recognized as professing the Christian religion is of no avail whatever, unless there be something more added to it—the being “born again,” is a matter so mysterious, that human words cannot describe it. “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.” Nevertheless, it is a change which is known and felt: known by works of holiness, and felt by a gracious experience. This great work is supernatural. It is not an operation which a man performs for himself: a new principle is infused, which works in the heart, renews the soul, and affects the entire man. It is not a change of my name, but a renewal of my nature, so that I am not the man I used to be, but a new man in Christ Jesus. To wash and dress a corpse is a far different thing from making it alive: man can do the one, God alone can do the other. If you have then, been “born again,” your acknowledgment will be, “O Lord Jesus, the everlasting Father, thou art my spiritual Parent; unless thy Spirit had breathed into me the breath of a new, holy, and spiritual life, I had been to this day ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’ My heavenly life is wholly derived from thee, to thee I ascribe it. ‘My life is hid with Christ in God.’ It is no longer I who live, but Christ who liveth in me.” May the Lord enable us to be well assured on this vital point, for to be unregenerate is to be unsaved, unpardoned, without God, and without hope.
C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896).
RELATED
What is the Ordo Salutis / order of salvation?
Regeneration; What does it mean to be born again? by Wayne Grudem
The Blueprint for Being Born Again; by John MacArthur
Are You Born Again? by J.C. Ryle
Easy Like Friday Afternoon: A Manifesto on Hard-Believism; by Jarod Wilson
Does John 3:5 teach that baptism is necessary for salvation?
What does it mean to be born of the Spirit?
Discover more from Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach 