THE LOVE OF GOD SEALED WITH BLOOD
John 3:1-16
MESSED UP; KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT WISDOM
V:1-2. \’ Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, \”Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.\”
A. Even in the worst crowd there may be some good people.
1. Nicodemus was a member of the ruling Jews who hated Jesus.
2. He was rich in money and knowledge of the law, but poor when
it came to the righteousness of God.
3. He had observed the miracles of Jesus and concluded that
God was working through Him.
4. Nicodemus had heard the teachings of Jesus and concluded
that He was teaching God\’s Word.
B. The Word of God drew Nicodemus to Jesus.
1. Nicodemus was either afraid or ashamed to be seen with
Jesus, because he approached Him at night. (His name
means conqueror of the people)
2. Unlike the other 69 members of the Sanhedrin council,
Nicodemus came to Jesus to discuss the Word of God.
3. He gave up his position of righteous influence by
approaching Jesus in secret.
4. Apparently Nicodemus was going along to get along.
5. There is power in the Word of God that will separate you
from the crowd.
DIE ONCE, TO BE BORN AGAIN
V:3-4. \” Jesus answered and said to him, \”Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.\” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, \”How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother\’s womb and be born, can he?\”
A. God will give you the opportunity to preach Jesus to your enemies.
1. Jesus used His encounter with Nicodemus to teach the
salvation of God.
2. Jesus knows what we need when we need it.
3. Any study of the Word will expose our ignorance of the
Word.
4. Perhaps Nicodemus thought that his knowledge of the Law,
his position in the Sanhedrin and his Jewish heritage, had
secured him a place in heaven.
B. Jesus preached the basic condition for salvation.
1. One must be born again to enter the kingdom of God.
2. By human thinking, rebirth is impossible and cause for
further discussion.
3. According to Jewish thinking, a relationship with God was
secured by keeping the Law and a Jewish heritage.
4. Nicodemus responded in the flesh to a spiritual doctrine.
5. Nicodemus knowledge of the Law was void of any spiritual
enlightenment.
6. The good thing was Nicodemus came to the Word to get an
understanding of the Word.
THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
V: 5-6. \” Jesus answered, \”Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 \”That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.\”
A. Basic Christian doctrine is an outward confession (water) and inward change (spirit).
1. Baptism by the Holy Spirit is through faith in the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2. The rebirth takes place at the moment of confession and
belief.
B. Jesus was alive at the point of His discussion with Nicodemus.
1. Therefore, Nicodemus redemption would be based on faith in
the Word of Jesus.
2. Since Jesus was the Word in the flesh in presence of
Nicodemus, his redemption would have been based on
accepting Jesus as the truth.
C. Christians are born twice and die once.
1. We are born in the flesh and die in the flesh when we
accept Jesus as our personal savior.
2. We are born in the Spirit with our confession of faith in
Jesus.
3. Jesus is our living water empowered by the Holy Spirit.
BORN AGAIN; A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST
V: 7-8 \”Do not be amazed that I said to you, \’You must be born again.\’ 8 \”The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.\”
A. Nicodemus was confused by Jesus statement.
1. We cannot understand the Word of God without the Holy
Spirit enlightenment.
2. The Word of God is foolish to the world.
B. There are some things we cannot proved with human reasoning.
1. The Word of God has to be accepted by faith.
2. We can measure the force of the wind and we can determine
it\’s direction.
3. We cannot see the wind, but we know it exist.
4. We cannot see the Holy Spirit.
5. We know the Spirit exist because it give us an
understanding of the Word of God.
DON\’T WORRY ABOUT HOW, JUST ACCEPT BY FAITH
V:9-10. \” Nicodemus said to Him, \”How can these things be?\” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, \”Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?\”
A. Nicodemus was full of knowledge, but he lack Godly wisdom.
1. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, wisdom
and instruction. Prob 2:7
2. Nicodemus had been trained in the Law as a tool for crowd
control and personal gain rather than the promotion of
the righteousness of God and love. Matt 23:2-12
3. In fact, the ruling Jews developed their own traditions
which they used to over rule the authority of the Word of
God. Mark 7:9
B. Jesus question to Nicodemus was an indictment of his selfish
ambition and desire for prestige and power. Matt 23:13-15
1. Nicodemus like the rest of the ruling Jews were blinded to
the Word of God by there own self righteousness and sins
against God\’s people. Matt 23:16
2. It is the power of the Word of God that convicts our hearts
of our sins.
3. We ought not study God\’s Word and remain in a condition of
sin.
THE TESTIMONY OF GOD\’S WORD
V:11-12 \”Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 12 \”If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?\”
A. The testimony of truth of God\’s Word is all around us.
1. Look to the sky and see the proof of God\’s Word.
2. He created the sun to be light of the day and the moon and
the stars to be light of the night. Genesis Chapter 1.
3. Man in his finite wisdom has concluded that the universe
evolved from a huge explosion rather than an orderly
creation by the almighty God.
4. In fact we don\’t have to look any further than our own
bodies to see a testimony of God\’s creative power.
B. If we cannot believe the glory of God in what we see on earth,
how can we believe in God\’s glory in heaven.
1. If you cannot believe you were made in God\’s image and
likeness, you will not believe that you are predestined to
be in Heaven with Jesus.
2. While Nicodemus came to Jesus blinded, it is believed that
he began to see the Light in Jesus and became a disciple.
John 7:50-51, 19:39
THE DIETY OF JESUS
V:13 \”No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from
heaven: the Son of Man. \”
A. This is the doctrine of the deity of Jesus.
1. He voluntarily left His throne in Heaven to take on human
flesh to be known to us as the Son of Man.
2. Once His work was completed on earth, He returned to the
Father and is seated at His right hand.
B. Jesus had two natures, He was the Son of Man and at the same
time the Son of God.
1. Jesus accomplished what no other human could do.
2. He came from Heaven, voluntarily gave up His life and
returned to heaven.
IF I BE LIFTED UP
V:14-15 \”As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.\”
A. This is the doctrine of our salvation.
1. Jesus said if I be lifted up, I will draw all men to me.
2. Jesus used the example of Moses in the desert to show how
faith in Him produces eternal life.
a. The Israelites had been bitten by poisonous snake and
were condemned to death.
b. But faith in the bronze serpent lifted up before them
saved their lives. Num 21:4-9
B. Jesus pointed to His death on the cross as the atonement of
sins for all men.
1. We exist in the wilderness of sin doomed to the eternal
Hell.
2. But by the Grace of God, His Son was sent to be the
salvation of man.
3. The doctrine of salvation by faith in Jesus is presented.
THE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION
V: 16 \”For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.\”
A. God defines His love for us as the sacrifice of His Son for our eternal life.
1. The first human institution created by God is family.
2. God loves family.
3. In His creative process, God created an environment
suitable for life before He created Adam and Eve.
4. The finishing touch of His creation was marriage.
5. God defined eternal life as a marriage between the Church
and His Son.
B. John 3:16 is a family verse.
1. God does not discriminate between gender, race or
nationality in the make up of His family.
2. The \”whoever\” includes members of the entire population of
the world.
3. The \”whoever\” includes all those He predestined to be in
Christ before the foundation of the world. Eph 1:4
C. God created family to be in His likeness and in His image. Gen
1:27
1. When Adam sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, the
relationship with the Father was broken. Gen 3:6
2. From that point on, man was born in a condemned state.
3. God promised His Son as the redeemer of man from
his condemned state. Gen 3:15
4. Verse 16 is the fulfillment of that promise.
D. Salvation is by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
1. Salvation is not by works because someone would boast.
Eph 2:8-9
2. Salvation is a free gift from the almighty awesome God.
Eph 2:8
3. Jesus fixed man\’s broken relationship with the Father with
His death on the cross.
4. Jesus paid our sin debt in full with His blood shed on the
cross.
THANK YOU JESUS FOR LOVING ME
Rev M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Park Way
Houston, Texas 77041
For more lesson follow me on facebook and my blogs www.revmmitchell.com
and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
