Well, in the next eight sessions of this John Bible Study, we're going to consider three chapters of John. They're just an amazing presentation of who Jesus is and the work he came to do. And as I was preparing this, I was thinking of Psalm 27, where David is going through a very difficult situation in his life. And he says, "I just want to run to the temple and gaze upon the beauty of the Lord." I want to welcome you to do that with me; gaze upon the beauty of the Lord as we go through these amazing passages of Scripture from John; just let your heart focus on the beauty of your Redeemer.
We're going to start with John 3, verses 1 through 15, and I'm just going to read a selection of this passage because we're now looking at longer passages.
Now 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 him, "Truly, truly, 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, "Truly, truly, I say 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.'"
Now, this is an incredibly familiar passage of Scripture to us. And maybe that's the problem, that we get so familiar with these passages, we quit paying attention. I just want to focus on two words--the two words are "born again." Do you know what it means to be born again? Do you really? You cannot understand the mission of Jesus, you cannot understand the work of his grace without these two words. When Jesus uses the term "born again," pay attention here, he is talking about the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit.
If we are dead in sin, then we cannot move toward God until he first moves toward us. Think of a funeral; this is a macabre example, but the last person you expect to react to anything at a funeral is the corpse. The reason is (shock) "He's dead!" And so, in order to understand this fully, maybe we need Ephesians 2:5, which says this:
...even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved.
You see, God needs to breathe life into us before we can exercise belief because we're dead. Without the regenerating mercy of the Holy Spirit, we cannot understand the gospel, we cannot see our hearts accurately, we cannot grieve our sin, we cannot understand that Jesus is our only hope, we cannot seek his forgiveness, we can't entrust our lives to him, we cannot commit to a brand-new way of living, we cannot continue to rest in his grace.
Now, why is that? Well, you can't grieve what you are unable to see, and you can't confess what you haven't grieved, and you can't repent of what you haven't confessed. And so, Jesus is saying, "Your only hope is that God would breathe life into you by his grace." And once that life is in you, you can see yourself with accuracy. You can understand the gospel. You can experience conviction. You can confess your sin, and you can turn to your savior who is your hope in this life and the life to come.
There is hope for fallen humanity. Even though we are naturally dead people walking, God has the power and the willingness to breathe life into our dead hearts. And that is very, very good news. I'm glad there is such a thing as being born again!
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
1. When did the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit first change you and make you born again? Why did God need to make the first move in order to bring you to himself?
2. When his life came into you, how did the gospel make sense to you in a way that it didn't before? What were you able to see about yourself that you weren't able to see before? What kind of conviction did you experience? How did his grace transform you?
3. How is God's grace currently transforming you? Where are you experiencing hope in ways you never would have before you knew Christ? How does confession of sin bring you closer to God now that you understand more intimately the depths of his grace?
Conversation Prompts to Use with Children
For Younger Children:
• What does it mean for a baby to be born?
• What do you think it means for someone to be born again? How is that possible? Why do you think Jesus said that we need to be born again?
• What might change about someone when they are born again?
For Older Children:
• How can we make sense of the idea that someone needs to be born again in order to be a believer?
• Who does the work in order for a person to be born again? Why is God the initiator and only one responsible for someone becoming born again?
• When do you think you were born again? Can I share with you when I became born again?
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