Born of the Spirit

Nicodemus’ Story

Spiritual truth was difficult for him to see.

Nicodemus clearly believed in Jesus Christ because he stated as much when he said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” John 3:2

Nevertheless, Nicodemus struggled with understanding spiritual truths.

He came to Jesus by night, I believe because of the pressure he would have received from his peers among the Pharisees.

 Born Again

Jesus responded to Nicodemus’ first statement of faith by telling him a simple truth.  Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

Nicodemus replied to Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” John 3:4

Nicodemus couldn’t see what was most obvious.  Jesus was speaking of the spirit within each of us, but Nicodemus could only interpret Jesus’ words in the physical sense.  There is no one on earth who would believe that once born, he could enter his mother’s womb again.  Nicodemus knew the idea was nonsense when he asked the question.  His response to Jesus might as well had an exclamation mark after the question mark.

 The Flesh and the Spirit

Nicodemus first spiritual lesson from Jesus reflected that he spent too much time thinking about his physical life and not enough time thinking about his spiritual life.

Jesus defined what Nicodemus struggled with by telling him, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:6

Like each of us, Nicodemus had to learn the difference between the flesh and the spirit.  Until this point, Nicodemus lived his life like everyone else.  He got up each day, put on his pants and went to work.  On the weekend he did his chores, spent time with his family and even went to church.  Perhaps he even had afternoon BBQs with his friends.

 That Spiritual World

Nicodemus was a man with his eyes so firmly focused on his own life and the world he could see that he could not understand the spiritual world, even though he was a teacher of spiritual things!

The spiritual world is the world we cannot see.  It is a world that will become evident on the day the light of this world closes.  When each of us takes our final breath here, it is then we will see that spiritual world.

 Evidence of the Next Life

There are testimonies of that world now.  Things like miracles are a witness of the world we don’t see.  Miracles happen but are we paying attention to them or just slow to believe?

Two weeks before my aunt passed, she was being carried into the shower by her caregivers when she looked up and exclaimed, “There’s my daddy!  That’s my daddy!”  The caregivers couldn’t see anything but my aunt had seen her father who had been dead for almost 30 years.

End-of-life experiences like these are common and obviously a sign of the world we don’t see.  Perhaps like Nicodemus, we are too focused on our physical lives and not enough on our spiritual lives to believe the evidence of the next life.

 God So Loved the World

Even though Nicodemus said he believed in God and spiritual life, he was blind to the true nature of that spiritual life.  Jesus said to Nicodemus, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”

What will it take for us to believe in Jesus Christ and what He has done on the cross?

Jesus took the time to teach Nicodemus the spiritual truth he lacked and it builds up to possibly the most quoted bible verse of all time, John 3:16.

"No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  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 3:13-16

 Men Loved Darkness

Jesus went on to tell Nicodemus that, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17 Jesus was telling Nicodemus that He came into the world to save Mankind.

How many people will accept that salvation?  All we need to do, as it says in John 3:16 is to believe in Jesus Christ.

This is our defining moment and I say that urgently.  We are in the now of life.  This is the time we have, right now, to make a decision for Jesus Christ.

No one wants to talk about judgment day, but unfortunately it is going to happen.  Jesus shared the judgment to come with Nicodemus.

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” John 3:18-21

 Share Your Faith

It is an imperative that we share our life in Christ with those around us!  We must let Jesus Christ out of the box of our lives to reveal Himself to others through us.

Nicodemus wasn’t allowed, in a way, to talk about faith in Jesus Christ in his workplace.  Like Nicodemus, you may not be allowed to share your faith in the workplace.  But you can still be a witness by praying incessantly for your coworkers and letting your light shine in a dark place using the fruit of the Spirit.

 Nicodemus Believed

After Jesus was crucified, Nicodemus came with Joseph, another disciple who could not share his faith in the workplace.  The two of them prepared Jesus’ body for burial using about one hundred pounds of myrrh and aloe.  Then they laid Him in a tomb that Joseph had purchased.

Nicodemus went through a transformation.  Being supposedly a teacher for his nation of spiritual things, through his interaction with Jesus Christ, Nicodemus believed the light from heaven, Jesus Christ.  He came to understand the true nature of our spiritual life.

Are you still not sure where to start?  It all starts with prayer and your relationship with Jesus Christ.  Let Jesus Christ be at the front of your mind every day, all day.  Learn to interpret life through Him and as you grow, your faith will shine brighter and brighter.

What the Bible Says

 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  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.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” John 3:1-21

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.  And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.  Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.  Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.  So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby. John 19:38-42