The immeasurable
power of the new birth in Christ
John 3:1–21;
7:50–52; 19:39.
The subject of regeneration
or rebirth is not taught enough. Yet, everything a believer needs from God was
given in the new birth. Also, how the new birth is obtained is how the
Christian life is lived. Without
understanding the new birth, it is impossible to live the Christian life in its fullness. Colossians 2:6 says, ‘So then, just as you
received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him.’ What you
understood, your attitude, and what you did to be saved provide what is necessary
to grow and enjoy the fullness of life in Christ. You humbled yourself, repented, believed, and
surrendered to God’s grace in Christ. This is necessary; continue in it. Do not
take over and try to live by your merit.
Nicodemus had a
one-on-one conversation with Jesus Christ (Yeshua Hamashiach). Jesus took the
opportunity to explain to him the importance and power of the new birth to
kingdom living. Nicodemus had remarkable
religious credentials, but had an unanswered question about entering and
experiencing the kingdom of God. As a Pharisee,
he was among the most devout and strictest jews. He was a member of the Jewish ruling council (Sanhedrin).
He was, therefore, a high-status person who was wealthy and powerful.
Nicodemus heard
about good deeds and miracles Jesus performed, such as the turning of water into
wine (John 2). Unlike his fellow Pharisees, who saw Jesus as a threat to be
stopped, he was open-minded and wondered who Jesus could be. He was curious to talk
to Jesus and hear his teachings for himself. Privately, in his heart, he was searching
for something more real than his religious experience had given him. He was
struggling with failure to uphold the standard of behaviour he taught. In Matthew 23:4, Jesus said of Pharisees, ‘For
they bind heavy burdens — pressing the observation of them with more strictness
and severity than God himself did; They press upon the people a strictness in
religion which they will not be bound by, and secretly transgress their
traditions, which they publicly enforce.’
Nicodemus'
experience is typical of the human experience without Christ. As Blaise Pascal
noted in the 1600s, a God shaped vacuum exists in every human heart. A vacuum
only filled by God himself, not by religious rules and good works. The search leads to Christ, and it drives
spiritual growth. It made Paul confess ‘that I might know him’ (Philippians
3:10-17). The heart is a seeking instrument. Without divine intervention, the human
heart is desperately wicked and seeks wickedness (Jeremiah 17:9). In Christ, as
in Paul’s example, it desperately seeks to know Christ.
Nicodemus had a
lot to lose by being associated with Jesus. He went to Jesus anyway. He did so
at night. It could be because he did not want to be seen, or he wanted the most
ideal time for meaningful attention from Jesus, outside his busy daytime
schedule. It could be for other reasons – the bible does not disclose the
reason. What is clear is that, given his high status, this was a big move. He went
from the centre of Power to the margins of society. He humbled himself by being
willing to learn from someone younger than him, unknown until recently, and had
not come through the ranks of the Jewish theological training. He even called Jesus Rabbi.
Nicodemus risked
everything and did something extraordinary to get to Jesus. Something similar
to what the woman with an issue of blood did to receive healing, what Zachaeus did
to see Jesus, how Jacob wrestled with an angel, and how the three Jewish friends
ended up being cast into a furnace of fire. God responds spectacularly to those
eager to take extraordinary measures in search of him.
He started well
by allaying concerns one would have in a conversation with a Pharisee. He
opened by clarifying that he was not there to cause trouble. ‘Rabbi, we know
that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that you
do, except God be with him (John 3:3)’
Jesus, however, read his heart’s quest. The Pharisees were waiting for
the kingdom that the messiah would bring. God responds to the heart’s hunger and thirst.
Jesus said, come to me, all you that are thirsty (John 37). The Psalmist said
God grants the heart’s desires to those who delight in him (Psalm 37:4). He, therefore, answered before Nicodemus made a specific
request. God knows what we need and want before we ask (Ephesians 3:20; Isaiah 65:24). He is the answer to
the deepest questions that cannot be expressed with words, and those we are not
even aware of. … we all have them. He reaches the deepest needs. Before the
name of Jesus was exalted to the highest place, he had reached the lowest (Philippians
2:9).
Lessons on
the rebirth from Jesus’ response to Nicodemus.
1. You must be born again. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).’ He didn’t give additional rituals Nicodemus
needed to do and creeds to recite. He did not ask him to increase the frequency
of going to the temple or fasting. He did not say, If only you had more money
or education. He didn’t tell him to resign from the ruling council. He did not suggest
that he master singing and dancing to religious songs. He did not give him an
improvement formula. He did
not say you have 30% remaining, keep trying your best. To Jesus, there was no supplementary solution
to a godless situation. A hopeless situation could not be improved, reformed, renovated,
or rearranged – it needs a rebirth. Without a rebirth, it could not be helped.
It was beyond cure. Without rebirth, people are dead spiritually (Ephesians 2).
Like
Nicodemus, no matter how respected and good you are, think you or others say
you are - you must be reborn. The human condition
without God requires starting all over. Rebirth is a must. Without being born
again - No one can see (v. 3 (experience/sense it) or enter (v.
5 be positioned in it) the kingdom of God. No one receives special treatment. There
is no room for negotiations or a back door.
Rebirth
is what marks the difference between a believer and a nonbeliever. And religion and a relationship with God. To be born is when something emerges for the
first time. It can be the emergence of an
entity, an idea, or an experience. In childbirth, it is the beginning of a life
outside the mother’s womb.
Being
born again is not an intellectual thing. It is not embracing a belief
system or religion. It refers to God's work of spiritual transformation by
which a person becomes new and no longer what they used to be, but instead reflects
God’s glory. ‘But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he
saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his
mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior (Titus
3:4-6).’ The word regeneration appears twice in the New Testament (Titus 3:3-4;
Matthew 19:28) but is implied throughout references to salvation (2 Corinthians
5:17; John 1:12; Ephesians 4: 22-24; 2 Peter 1:4; Romans 6:1, 2, 22; Galatians 2:20).
2. 2. How
the new birth happens.
It
is an act of God out of his love through the atoning work of Christ (Romans 3:22 - 26; John 3:16), by the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus
3:5) and the imperishable seed of the word (1 Peter 1:23). Nicodemus asked how it could be, just as Mary
had asked. They wanted a biological explanation for the work of the Holy
Spirit. But as the angel told Mary, with God nothing shall be impossible (Luke
1:37). To Nicodemus, Jesus also explained that it was birth by the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8). The
new birth is an act of God. It is an act of grace. The spiritual newborn contributes nothing to
the birth, just as in physical birth. A baby contributes nothing except to
demand milk upon being born. Rest and trust
in God as babies at birth and throughout life (Matthew 18:3; 1 Peter 2:2-4; Romans 1:17; Hebrews 10:38).
3.
How the new birth is accessed and lived.
The
new birth is available to anyone who believes in Jesus (John 3:16). In John 3,
believing is mentioned five times. Believing is not contributing to one’s salvation,
but acknowledging a lack of contribution to the work of grace. Peter preached repentance (Acts 3:19). Jesus preached that his audience needed to
repent and believe to be saved (Mark 1:15). The two
are sides of the same coin. It is not possible to repent without believing,
and to believe without repenting. Claiming to believe without repenting is
deception (Galatians 6:7-9). An attempt to repent without believing is setting oneself up
for relapses (Mark 11:24: Romans 7:15).
Jesus
explained to Nicodemus that believing was looking to the work Jesus finished on
the cross, just as they looked at the brazen serpent lifted by Moses and lived
(Numbers 21: 8-9). The LORD said
to Moses, 'Make a bronze snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten
can look at it and live.' Believing and
repenting are, therefore, turning from wherever you looked to Jesus. The turning
to Jesus is repentance, which happens together with trusting in him. Looking to Jesus exposes the bad things and
the good done for bad reasons. 'Look unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is no one else (Isaiah 45:22),' Don’t look
anywhere else, there is no hope except in Christ (refer to Charles Spurgeon's
salvation testimony). You cannot find
hope in yourself, your pastor, education, religion, skills, a friend, a spouse,
bank balance, etc. Jesus Christ in you
is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27; Hebrews 12:2; Colossians 3:1-3).
4.
The
new birth implications.
The
result of the new birth includes that you are a new kind of person (Kainos-2
Corinthians 5:17). It’s a done deal; the old has passed away. You are in the kingdom,
and it is in you. You are in Him, and He in you. You are forgiven. You are
free. You have the righteousness of Jesus. You are just as if you never sinned.
All at no price, sweat, effort...But his
expense, sweat, blood, pain, and effort. You are blessed, healed, etc. The
legal declaration of these truths based on faith in the atoning sacrifice of
Christ is called Justification. You cannot fully appreciate justification without
understanding regeneration (new birth) and how it happened. The declaration is
like that of marriage officers, for which couples receive marriage
certificates. If the couple falls in
love with the certificate and what was declared without living out the married
life, their marriage will not be enjoyable and may not last. Beyond justification comes the reality and responsibility
of a new life to be lived out. The new birth is the best argument and powerful basis
for changed behaviour in Christ. The
work the Holy Spirit began, he will continue in the spiritual growth process, also
known as sanctification (Philippians 1:6).
Know
and live out your new identity in Christ
As
a believer, prioritise growing in the knowledge of God. And of who you are in Christ, to live it out. Know the privileges, authority, and rights
that come with the new birth. Refuse to be ignorant (Hosea 4:6). Do not be like
the man who travelled hungry on a voyage because he did not know that the
ticket included meals.
Exercise
your authority and reign through Christ (Romans 5:17, 8:37; 1 John 4:17). Take a stand of faith and push back against life's
obstacles, threats, and challenges. Refer to the counter-decree by which the king
empowered Mordecai and the Jews to defend themselves against the previous
decree to kill them (Esther 8). Believers
are under a new law of life and the Holy Spirit that overcomes that of sin and
death. YOU have the authority of God’s word and the name of Jesus (like an access code to God's resources) to push back against temptation and evil.
By Dr. Kurai Chitima. Shared at the FMSA
Easter conference 2025
