Object Lesson John 3 Born Again
James J. Tissot, detail of 'The Interview betwixt Jesus and Nicodemus' (1886-94), gouache on newspaper, 9-ane/8 ten 7", Brooklyn Museum, New York.
Celebrities often concenter people for the wrong reasons. People want to be close to glamour and fame, hoping that some of it will rub off. People want to exist able to say they saw then-and-so, since information technology adds to their ain condition. And if the person is a performer, people are attracted by the act. In Jesus' case, many were attracted by his actions, his miracles, and, sadly, many went no deeper. This account is of one human who did go deeper.
Nicodemus the Pharisee (3:i)
Jesus is still in Jerusalem during the Passover. While there, he receives a nocturnal visit from a very important human being.
"At present there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council." (3:ane)
"Nicodemus" is a Greek name (Nikodēmos, from nikos, "victorious" + dēmos, "public, people") that means "conquistador of the people." The proper noun was plant among both Jews and Greeks. Maybe he was a member of the Greek-speaking synagogue that met in Jerusalem (Acts vi:ix; 9:29). We just don't know.[85]
Nevertheless, we acquire several things about Nicodemus here and in the ii other passages where he is mentioned. Commencement, he was a minor celebrity in his ain right equally one of the 70 Jewish rulers[86] who served on Jerusalem's Great Sanhedrin, the body that made decisions for the land -- under Roman rule, of course.[87]
He was also a Pharisee, that is, a strict observer of the law (vii:50-51). What's more than, he was an expert in Jewish constabulary, a scribe, since Jesus calls him "Israel's teacher" (3:10). He was probably wealthy, both to be considered to be a fellow member of the Sanhedrin and considering he assisted Joseph of Arimathea in Jesus' burying, both physically and financially (nineteen:39).
Nicodemus the Seeker (3:2)
But there is something different nigh Nicodemus from the other members of the Sanhedrin: he is spiritually hungry.
"He came to Jesus at nighttime and said, 'Rabbi, we know yous are a teacher who has come up from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.'" (3:2)
Twice, the Gospel of John tells us that he came to Jesus at night (3:ii; 19:39). Why the nocturnal visit? There are several possibilities:
- Fear. Nosotros're told that fellow Sanhedrin fellow member Joseph of Arimathea hadn't publicly identified himself with Jesus "because he feared the Jews[88]" (19:38). Was Nicodemus afraid besides? Perhaps, simply he seemed bolder, since he stood up for Jesus in a coming together of the Sanhedrin (vii:51).
- Circumspection. Probably caution fits Nicodemus. He doesn't want to be seen endorsing the teachings of this new Galilean teacher until he is certain. That'southward wise, it seems to me.
- Accessibility. Perhaps the best reason for seeking out Jesus at dark is the ability to engage him in a longer conversation and ask earnest questions without interruption.[89] Dark was probably a proficient option for an hostage seeker.
Notice what this esteemed Bible scholar acknowledges when he meets Jesus.
i. Rabbi, which means in Hebrew, "bully one." Nicodemus acknowledges the legitimacy of Jesus' education role, though Jesus hasn't been educated in the finest schools under the best rabbis, as had Paul, for case (Acts 22:3). Jesus had, of class, impressed the temple teachers as a boy of twelve (Luke ii:46-47), and had, no doubt, studied Hebrew and the Holy Scriptures under a local rabbi at his own synagogue when growing upwardly. Nicodemus is impressed by him as a teacher, which is high praise coming from a well-known teacher like Nicodemus.
ii. A instructor come from God. Different some of his young man Pharisees who claimed that Jesus cast out demons by the devil himself (Mark 3:22), Nicodemus recognizes the divine origin of Jesus' miracles.
I used to think that Nicodemus was just existence polite when he said: "Rabbi, nosotros know you are a instructor who has come from God" (3:2a). Just I recollect I was wrong. Nicodemus is only being honest. It is these miracles that make Nicodemus so curious.
Lots of people had seen Jesus' miracles and been attracted to him.
"While [Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name." (2:23)
Nicodemus is one of these. He isn't a total laic still, only the miracles cause him to recognize that God is behind Jesus' miracles. I know that the start time I saw a miracle first-manus, it exploded my world-view. Different most of his fellow Pharisees, instead of rejecting Jesus' miracles or signs, he sees them as an indication of God's hand. Now he has come to learn more.
Discerning the Kingdom of God (3:3-v)
Now Jesus begins to teach well-nigh the spiritual nature of the Kingdom of God.
"3 In reply Jesus alleged, 'I tell you lot the truth, no one can meet[xc] the kingdom of God unless he is born again.'
iv 'How can a homo be born when he is quondam?' Nicodemus asked. 'Surely he cannot enter a second fourth dimension into his mother's womb to be born!'
5 Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, no 1 can enter the kingdom of God unless he is built-in of h2o and the Spirit.'" (3:three-five)
I've always thought that Jesus' respond to Nicodemus' statement seems rather abrupt and off-topic. Nicodemus is talking well-nigh miracles and Jesus is discussing the Kingdom of God. So I realized that Nicodemus' own presence that night with the miracle-worker is powerful testimony that he is seeking the Kingdom of God to which the miracles attest.[91] Nicodemus is hungry to see and understand the Kingdom.
James J. Tissot, 'Nicodemus' (1886-94), Watercolor, The Brooklyn Museum, New York.
Nosotros're often then eager to sympathize what it means to be "born again" that we miss what Jesus is saying about the Kingdom. The prevailing Jewish expectation was that the Messiah would come every bit a military leader to deliver them from Roman oppression, mayhap in the way that Judas Maccabeus and his family had led a rebellion to deliver Israel from the control of the pagan Greek male monarch Antiochus Epiphanes less than two centuries before.
Jesus tells us ii things about the Kingdom:
- The Kingdom is spiritually discerned, that is, you lot can't run across information technology or grasp it spiritually unless you are "born from above," unless God enables you to see it.
- The Kingdom is spiritually entered, that is, you can't enter into the Kingdom, which is a synonym for inheriting eternal life, unless y'all are changed spiritually.
Call up with me a couple of verses. Jesus has this dialog with Pontius Pilate:
"Pilate ... summoned Jesus and asked him, 'Are yous the king of the Jews?'
... Jesus said, 'My kingdom is not of this globe. If it were, my servants would fight to forestall my abort by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.'
'You lot are a king, then!' said Pilate.
Jesus answered, 'Y'all are correct in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the earth, to testify to the truth....'" (18:33, 36-37)
And another education, this fourth dimension nigh the hiddenness of the Kingdom.
"No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (Matthew 11:27)
"No one can come to me unless the Male parent who sent me draws him." (John 6:44)
The parables of the Kingdom are subconscious from the unbelievers, too.
"The disciples came to him and asked, 'Why do you lot speak to the people in parables?'
He replied, 'The cognition of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, simply not to them. Whoever has will be given more than, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has volition be taken from him.'" (Matthew 13:10-12)
The Kingdom of God is hidden from unbelievers.
"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot run across the low-cal of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the epitome of God." (two Corinthians 4:four)
Unbelievers can run into that the Kingdom might be present from the signs or miracles that result, and this may cause them, like Nicodemus, to search further. Simply unaided, they can't run across or discern the Kingdom, much less enter it. It is God's prerogative to reveal.
At one level, this may not seem quite off-white. Later all, seeing spiritual things is a right, isn't it? No! We are blind, unless God graciously rescues the states, saves us. There is a spiritual war going on. Salvation is costly. And so costly that it tin just be a gift.
Does this sound like the sovereignty of God and predestination? Yep, that is what it is. But as nosotros'll see shortly, there is something that man tin and must practise to set up himself to receive the gift.
Q1. (John 3:3, five) What does Jesus teach hither about the nature of the Kingdom of God? Exercise you retrieve Nicodemus understands him? Why or why not?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1409-q1-seeing-the-kingdom/
Begotten or Born? (3:3-5)
At present let's explore this heavenly birth that Jesus teaches:
"3 In reply Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no one tin see the kingdom of God unless he is built-in again.'
4 'How can a human be built-in when he is old?' Nicodemus asked. 'Surely he cannot enter a second time into his female parent's womb to be born!'
5 Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, no i can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.'" (three:3-5)
The word "built-in" is gennaō, "become the parent of, beget" past procreation.[92] The passive can mean either, "born," as by a mother, or "begotten," as by a father.[93] Nicodemus takes the give-and-take in its feminine sense of being in one'due south female parent's womb. Just elsewhere, the idea seems to be "beget" in the masculine sense:[94]
Await at places where this concept of being built-in/begotten is used elsewhere in the New Testament.
"Even so to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to get children of God -- children born not of natural descent, nor of man conclusion or a husband'due south will, but built-in of God." (1:12-13)
"No one who is born of God will keep to sin, because God's seed (sperma [95]) remains in him; he cannot go along sinning, because he has been born of God." (1 John 3:ix)
"Anybody who believes that Jesus is the Christ is built-in of God, and everyone who loves the begetter loves his child as well." (1 John 5:1)
"For you have been born again, not of perishable seed (spora [96]), but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." (1 Peter 1:23)
"Again" or "from Above" (3:iii, five, 7)
There'southward another issue to examine as we try to sympathise Jesus' teaching equally accurately as possible. The adverb modifying "born/beget" in verses 3 and v is anōthen. The Greek give-and-take tin can accept both the meaning "from above" (which is nigh common) as well as "once more, anew" (less common).[97]
i. Argument for "from above"
Most modernistic commentators[98] take the primary meaning here as "from above," since that is how the adverb is used three other times in this gospel (iii:31; 19:11, 23). In improver, John's writings contain the idea of "born of God" in several verses, which is the same idea equally "born from above" (as seen in the previous paragraph -- one John 3:9; 4:7; 5:i, 4; 5:eighteen). A.T. Robertson observes that though Nicodemus took the word in the sense of "again," "the misapprehension of Nicodemus does not prove the meaning of Jesus."[99] The translation "from in a higher place" is contained in the NRSV and NJB.
two. Argument for "again, anew"
I believe a strong example can be made for the translation "again, anew." First, the possibility of two meanings of the word is possible in Greek merely, not in the Aramaic that Jesus would have spoken.[100] Second, Nicodemus conspicuously took information technology in the sense of "again" when he pictured a person crawling back into his mother's womb "a second fourth dimension"[101] to be born. Third, Jesus seems to accept taught something similar in Matthew:
"I tell you the truth, unless you alter[102] and become similar trivial children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew xviii:3)
We also clearly see the idea of being "born anew" elsewhere in the New Testament:
"He saved us, not because of righteous things we had washed, but considering of his mercy. He saved u.s. through the washing of rebirth (palingenesia [103]) and renewal (anakainōsis [104]) by the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:v)
"In his great mercy he has given us new birth (anagennaō [105]) into a living promise...."
(1 Peter 1:iii)
"For you take been born again (anagennaō), not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring discussion of God." (1 Peter 1:23)
For these reasons, I think that the translation "born anew" reflects Jesus' meaning here.[106] Indeed, a number of commentators support this view.[107] The NIV and ESV translations employ "born anew/over again." Jesus intends this to be understood equally non a repetition of a previous nativity, but conspicuously a "new" kind of nativity brought most by the Spirit.
Having said that, commentators agree that John deliberately used the ambiguous adverb anōthen so that both ideas of "afresh" and "from above" would be considered, since the spiritual birth is both "anew" and "from above."
Q2. (John 3:3-v) What does "entering the Kingdom" have to exercise with beingness "born afresh"? Which practise y'all think is the best translation here: "born over again," "born afresh," or "born from in a higher place"? Defend your reasoning.
http://world wide web.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1410-q2-born-afresh-again-from-in a higher place/
Born of Water and Spirit (three:5-seven)
Jesus has explained the concept of being "born anew." Nicodemus responds with a repetition of one'due south physical birth. It'due south not clear whether Nicodemus is making fun of the thought or just struggling to grasp it. But Jesus continues on instructing the earnest man.
"5 Jesus answered, 'I tell y'all the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, just the Spirit gives nativity to spirit. seven Y'all should non be surprised at my saying, "Y'all must be born again."'" (3:five-7)
Information technology's pretty clear that Jesus is differentiating this as a spiritual nativity in distinction from a physical birth (as Nicodemus had understood it). What isn't so articulate is what he means past "built-in of water and the Spirit." We understand the thought of being built-in of the Spirit in the sense of Jesus' conception (Matthew 1:20). Just it's the reference to the h2o that is confusing to the states.
Morris recites the various interpretations of water in the passage.
- Christian Baptism. John must have known that water would exist associated by his readers with Christian baptism. Indeed, some groups have used this passage to teach a doctrine of baptismal regeneration, that a person cannot be saved without being baptized. However, Nicodemus could not have understood such a reference to a not-withal-existent sacrament. This explanation doesn't make sense to me.
- Procreation. Since Jesus contrasts physical birth with spiritual birth, some encounter the water every bit a reference to either semen or the bag of waters in the womb. Though such ideas may seem offensive to modern ears, there are many references in Rabbinic, Mandaean, and Hermetic sources that use terms similar "water," "rain," "dew," and "drop" in the sense of male semen. Moreover, Hellenistic mystery religions made utilise of the terminology of rebirth.[108] I see water equally referring to procreation as a possibility.
- Repentance and Purification. Dipping in water naturally suggests washing and cleansing. If nosotros look at the context of John's Gospel equally far as chapter three, the only h2o nosotros've seen is the water of John'southward baptism and the h2o that Jesus turned to vino in Cana. Therefore, I think the most natural interpretation is to take "water and Spirit" to refer to the ministry of John the Baptist who preached "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Marker i:iv). His baptism with water was also assorted with the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Marking 1:viii; John 1:33).
As we saw earlier, since John'southward baptism was probably viewed in the light of a baptism required of Jewish proselytes in the first century, it would take a real heart of humility for a Jew to submit to it, especially those who already considered themselves religiously pure, such as the Pharisees. Many of Nicodemus' colleagues bristled at the thought of them being baptized. Luke reports,
"The Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God'southward purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John." (Luke 7:30)
We don't need to exist apple-pie like some new proselyte, they would assert proudly. We are Abraham'due south direct descendants! John the Baptist's response was sharp. He chosen them a breed of vipers:
"Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And practice not recollect yous can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham every bit our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham." (Matthew three:8-9)
So, in this context, I believe Jesus is saying to Nicodemus: You must be born afresh by your own repentance and humbling yourself before God and the Holy Spirit's divine regenerative work within you. You can't enter the Kingdom of God past your ain endeavour. Yous must surrender yourself to God! But God can bring nearly this new creation in you.
Q3. (John 3:v-7) What does information technology hateful to exist "built-in of water and the Spirit"? What do y'all remember "h2o" refers to? Why accept yous come to this conclusion? How, then, would you paraphrase "born of h2o and the Spirit" to best bring out the full significant?
http://world wide web.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1411-q3-water-and-the-spirit/
The Wind of the Spirit (3:8)
Jesus reinforces this by emphasizing that the Holy Spirit cannot be manipulated. He is out of man'southward control and entirely directed past God:
"The wind (pneuma) blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit (pneuma)." (iii:8)
"Wind" is pneuma, the breath of God, the same word that is translated "Spirit" at the finish of the verse. People who accept been born of the Spirit, Jesus is saying, are motivated and moved by an unseen but powerful force across themselves. The life of the Spirit is a new level of spiritual existence, a dissimilar aeroplane entirely. Simply people who have been born of the Spirit tin perceive and enter the Kingdom of God.
The Witness of the Son of Man (3:9-13)
Nicodemus is mystified. He hasn't heard anything like this before. He asks a somewhat arrogant question: How can this be true if I don't know nearly it?
"9 'How can this be?' Nicodemus asked.
10 'You are Israel's instructor,' said Jesus, 'and practise you not empathize these things? 11 I tell you the truth, nosotros speak of what nosotros know, and we testify to what nosotros take seen, merely withal you people do non accept our testimony.'" (three:9-11)
Jesus responds to Nicodemus with a gentle rebuke. In his answer you see a couple of cardinal words that announced over again and over again in John's Gospel -- prove/testimony and truth. Jesus is claiming to be an eyewitness to heavenly things. At present he makes an amazing claim:
"12 I have spoken to y'all of earthly things and you exercise not believe; how then will you lot believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has always gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven -- the Son of Man.'" (3:12-thirteen)
Equally nosotros discussed previously, Jesus' cocky-descriptive title of "Son of Man" is taken from a passage in Daniel that discusses the heavenly nature of this effigy:
"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of sky at that place came one like a son of human, and he came to the Aboriginal of Days and was presented earlier him. And to him was given dominion and celebrity and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his rule is an everlasting dominion, which shall non pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14)
When Jesus made claim to be the Son of Man quoting this passage at his trial (Mark xiv:61-64), the High Priest declared the statement irreverence. Nicodemus, the strict Pharisee, the "teacher of Israel," must have pondered these words securely.
The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up (three:xiv-15)
James J. Tissot, detail of 'The Brazen Serpent' (1896-1904), watercolor, The Jewish Museum, New York City, NY.
Now Jesus now refers to a curious image from the Quondam Testament.
"14 Just as Moses lifted upward the snake in the desert, then the Son of Man must exist lifted upwards, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." (3:14-15)
Jesus is teaching Nicodemus virtually the relationship of faith and life. Jesus calls attention to an incident that took place during the Israelite's sojourn in the desert after the exodus from Egypt. Many of them had been bitten past poisonous snakes, and Moses asked God what to do.
"The LORD said to Moses, 'Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten tin can look at it and live.' So Moses fabricated a statuary snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze ophidian, he lived." (Numbers 21:8-nine)
A bronze snake was lifted up on a pole[109] for people to await at in organized religion, and in looking they were healed.
Jesus is saying that in the same mode that people looked with belief upon the bronze serpent that was lifted up, so must they look with belief upon the Son of Human, who will be lifted up. Nicodemus can't know what this ways fully, only in hindsight we meet that Jesus was lifted upwards on the cross, raised from the dead, and finally ascended to celebrity.
This phrase "lifted up" is found iii times in John.
"Merely as Moses lifted upward the snake in the desert, and so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." (three:14-xv)
"When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you volition know that I am [the one I claim to be]...." (8:28a)
"'But I, when I am lifted up from the globe, volition draw all men to myself.' He said this to testify the kind of death he was going to dice." (12:32-33)
Even early in his ministry, Jesus knew that it would end on the cantankerous, the precursor to the resurrection.
For God So Loved the World that He Gave (3:sixteen)
What nosotros've been discussing is the context for the near famous verse in the Bible:
"For God and so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but accept eternal life." (3:16)
Allow'south examine the poesy phrase by phrase and so we can understand it fully. The speaker[110] attributes ii actions to God: God loved and God gave. Both are in the Aorist indicative tense, which indicates a particular point in by fourth dimension that God so loved and therefore gave (presumably, gave on the cross):
"Loved" is agapaō, the word used in the New Testament for the highest form of dear, "to have a warm regard for and involvement in some other, cherish, have affection for, beloved."[111] "Loved" is modified by the adverb "and then," which indicates an intense degree of love.[112]
The object of love is "the world," the kosmos, a broad word that here refers to "humanity in full general, the world."[113] This verse doesn't limit God's love just to the Jewish people or to believers, but to all of humanity.[114] Thus he loved u.s. while were still his enemies (Romans v:viii). In his first letter, John writes:
"He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours only likewise for the sins of the whole world (kosmos)." (1 John 2:2)
"God was reconciling the world (kosmos) to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them." (2 Corinthians 5:xix)
"We have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe." (1 Timothy iv:10)[115]
Gave in John 3:xvi is the mutual verb didōmi, "to give." It echoes the related verb paradidomai in Isaiah 53:12 (Septuagint), "He was given upward for their sins." The verb in three:16 isn't "sent," just "gave," emphasizing the idea of sacrifice.[116]
Jesus, God's Unique Son (monogenēs)
Let's pause here to consider how the speaker describes Jesus as God's "one and only Son" (NIV), "only Son" (NRSV, NJB), "only begotten Son" (KJV, NASB). The word modifying Son is monogenēs (which we saw in one:14, 18), "pertaining to beingness the simply one of its kind or class, unique (in kind) of something that is the simply example of its category."[117] This compound give-and-take is formed from monos, "sole, single" + genos, "kind." Brown comments, "Although genos is distantly related to gennaō, 'to beget,' there is little Greek justification for the translation of monogenēs as 'only begotten.'"[118]
This poesy points clearly to Jesus every bit God'south unique Son, one of a kind. We become sons and daughters of God by spiritual birth or adoption (depending upon which analogy yous cull). Praise God! What a privilege this is! Even so, though we resemble Jesus, he is unique in his relationship to God, since he is the Son from eternity, the 2nd Person of the Trinity.
Results and Purposes of God's Beloved (3:16)
Nosotros've been moving word by word through John 3:16. At present nosotros're at the second half. Take another look:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his ane and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish merely take eternal life." (3:sixteen)
Notice the two "thats" in the verse:
- Consequence. The offset "that" (hōste [119]) indicates result in poesy 16a. God's intense love resulted in him giving/sacrificing his Son.
- Purpose. The second "that" (hina [120]) indicates purpose in verse 16b. God's love resulted in giving or sacrificing his Son for the purpose of (a) preventing us from perishing, but rather (b) having eternal life.
Non Perish (3:16b)
God'south purpose is for usa who believe to accept eternal life. Merely to analyze this, we are given both the positive purpose, to take eternal life, and the flip side, the negative way of stating the same thing, to avert perishing.
In our 24-hour interval, there's a lot of resistance to the thought of hell. Even Evangelical Christians seem to be moving towards the Jehovah'south Witness position that hell is a sudden extinguishing of life into nothingness, not eternal penalisation in the fires of hell. Later on all, how could a God of love allow people to suffer, even wicked people?
What does information technology mean to perish? The verb is apollymi, "to cause or experience destruction." In the middle vox as here, information technology means, "perish, be ruined." This discussion encompasses dying past storm at sea, by the sword, killed by snakes, and especially of eternal death.[121] This Greek discussion is often used of missing out on eternal life -- both in the Sometime Testament Greek Bible (the Septuagint)[122] as well as in the New Testament.[123] , [124] New Testament scholar Albrecht Oepke concludes, "In view is not only physical destruction but a hopeless destiny of eternal death."[125]
Jesus' Educational activity on Hell
Though in John's Gospel words for "hell" don't appear[126], in the Synoptics, Jesus uses two Greek words that have been translated "hell" in the KJV.
Hadēs , "(originally a name, god of the underworld), then the nether world, Hades as place of the dead."[127] Jesus taught that unbelievers would "go down to the depths" (Matthew 11:23; Luke 10:15), identified the "gates of Hades" (Matthew xvi:18) as the enemy of the church, and the opposite of Abraham's bust, a place where the rich human asks to have Lazarus "dip the tip of his finger in water and absurd my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire" (Luke xvi:23-24).
Gehenna , "Valley of the Sons of Hinnom," a ravine due south of Jerusalem. There, according to afterward Jewish popular conventionalities, God'south concluding judgment was to take place.[128]
In the Gospels, Ghenna is the place of punishment in the side by side life, "hell."[129] Jesus speaks of the "fire of hell" (Matthew v:22: 18:9), beingness "thrown into hell" (Matthew five:29-30), the place "where the burn down never goes out" (Mark nine:43, 45, 47), "condemned to hell" (Matthew 23:33).
Some of the near graphic images of hell are in the terminal book of the Bible, existence "thrown into the lake of called-for sulfur ...tormented day and dark for always and e'er" (Revelation 20:10).
Finally, Jesus also talked about being "cast out into outer darkness" where "in that location shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew eight:12; cf. 13:42, 50; 22:13, 51; 25:xxx).
Of course, these descriptions are all symbolic rather than literal -- aren't they? And if they are symbolic, the reality must be terrible beyond anything we tin imagine.
Why exercise nosotros ruin the give-and-take of such a pretty poetry as John 3:16 by talking well-nigh a literal hell? Considering, if we don't understand what it means non to perish, we don't understand the greatness of the culling -- everlasting life.
But Have Everlasting Life (3:16b)
"Eternal life" (NIV, NRSV, NASB), "everlasting life" (KJV) is fabricated up of two words:
- Zōē (from which nosotros get our words, "zoo" and "zoology") means, "life," peculiarly "transcendent life."[130] In the New Testament, it is the word used for eternal life, rather than the other discussion for life, bios (from which we become our discussion "biological science"). Bios refers specially to life in its advent and manifestations, distinguished from zōē, the condition of being alive.[131]
- Aiōnios , from the substantive aiōn, "an extended period of time, age." Aiōnios means hither, "pertaining to a flow of unending elapsing, without finish."[132]
"Eternal life" was used in the Judaism of Jesus' fourth dimension as a synonym of entering or inheriting the Kingdom of God. Yous can meet these terms used as synonyms in Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler, who asks what he must exercise to "inherit eternal life" (Mark 10:17, cf. verse 30). When the rich young ruler is unwilling to obey the Master, Jesus says to his disciples, "How difficult information technology is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" (verse 23).
Our passage in John 3 begins with Jesus' statement that a spiritual birth is necessary to "enter the kingdom of God" (3:5). Here faith is required to receive eternal life (3:16).
Q4. (John 3:16) Why is this poetry and so famous? What does it teach us about God? What does it teach us about salvation? Since "entering eternal life" is a synonym for "entering the Kingdom of God," what does this verse teach us about our destiny?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/topic/1412-q4-john-316/
Not to Condemn, simply to Salve (3:17-19)
Our passage concludes with 2 sayings, the first about condemnation and the second about calorie-free.
"17 For God did not send[133] his Son into the earth to condemn the world, simply to save the globe through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, only whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has non believed in the name of God's one and but Son." (three:17-19)
This passage helps make full out the pregnant of poetry 16:
- "to save the globe" (verse 17) corresponds to "accept eternal life" (verse sixteen)
- "to condemn the world" (poesy 17) corresponds to "perish" (verse 16)
Note that "has not believed" is perfect tense, indicating a continuing disbelief. This is non a momentary lapse, but a determined unbelief.
Drawn to the Calorie-free of the Gospel (three:19-21)
John concludes this department with a teaching about low-cal and darkness:
"nineteen This is the verdict: Calorie-free has come into the world, simply men loved darkness instead of low-cal because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does[134] evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.[135] 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the lite, then that information technology may be seen apparently[136] that what he has done has been done through God." (three:19-21)
Nosotros first saw this conflict between the light and darkness at the kickoff of John's Gospel.
"4 In him was life, and that life was the calorie-free of men. five The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (1:4-5)
Why exercise evil people prefer darkness rather than light? Why practice they try to hide their sinful actions? Because when non-believers encounter degradation and corruption with clarity, they volition likely condemn information technology. No wonder Jesus developed enemies, because he shed a strong light on hypocritical, unethical, and downright wicked practices -- and because of his light, they could no longer hibernate. When nosotros alive good, honest, and righteous lives -- even when nosotros don't loudly criticize others' lifestyles -- our lives ofttimes crusade a negative reaction in those who don't believe, since our righteousness casts a lite on their unrighteousness. Jesus said, "No servant is greater than his principal. If they persecuted me, they will persecute y'all as well" (John 15:twenty).
Lessons for Disciples
This passage tells us some very basic things most the Kingdom of God.
i. Information technology is a spiritual kingdom. The very finest religious person doesn't accept a inkling what the real Kingdom of God is well-nigh unless he has been born by the Spirit of God. Remember your parents saying, "When you're older you'll understand"? You couldn't understand and then because you lacked the bones life experience and understanding that was needed to decipher what you were seeing. The Kingdom is spiritually discerned.
two. Center belief in Jesus is the cardinal to this spiritual kingdom. Sometimes we confuse new birth with a radical conversion experience. Oft conversion is sudden and radical, but sometimes it is gradual. Sometimes we confuse the new nascency with saying the "sinner's prayer." That'south an entry door for many, only many have prayed that prayer from unprepared hearts and come away with hearts even so unlit past the Spirit. It comes dorsum to our attitude towards Jesus. Do we "believe in him"?
3. All men and women are lost and demand rescuing. This truth cuts very clearly beyond a culture that desperately resists absolute truth, absolute right and wrong, and vocally attacks any kind of judgment on its lifestyle. "Man is basically good, and just needs a little moral management." No! To prove this, all you need to practise is await at the environment, economic disparity, the apathetic consciences of the privileged, and the mess that many take fabricated of their lives. Jesus teaches in this passage that homo is basically blind, and lost, and perishing. The Kingdom is essentially God'southward rescue mission to a doomed planet.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his i and merely Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (3:16)
Nicodemus came seeking truth from Jesus 1 nighttime and got more than he bargained for. We accept no tape of a conversion that night. But on reckoning day, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, buried the Male monarch every bit best they could. Out of the fog of Nicodemus' understanding, the shape of Jesus began to sally and then sharpen in focus. One twenty-four hours, Nicodemus would come to believe in Jesus so much, that where a prudent leader would distance himself from an executed criminal, Nicodemus instead cradled Jesus in his arms, washed his body, and tenderly anointed and wrapped it for burial. Did he believe in the end? O yes, he believed. He could now see the Kingdom beyond the grave.
Prayer
Thank you, God, for your patience with us. So oft we have been too busy to mind, too self-captivated to recognize you. Cheers for coming to rescue usa from our blindness. For taking us by the hand, and instruction us, and opening our optics to your Kingdom, and flooding united states of america with your Spirit. Thank you lot, Male monarch Jesus. Amen.
Cardinal Verses
"I tell yous the truth, no 1 can come across the kingdom of God unless he is born once again." (John 3:3, NIV)
"I tell you the truth, no 1 tin can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Mankind gives nascency to mankind, just the Spirit gives birth to spirit. Yous should non exist surprised at my proverb, 'You must be built-in again.'" (John 3:v-7, NIV)
"For God and so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but accept eternal life." (John 3:sixteen, NIV)
Endnotes
[85]TalBab Taanith 20a speaks of a wealthy and generous man in Jerusalem prior to 70 AD named Naqdimon ben Gurion (or Bunai), but he probably isn't the same person (Brownish, John 1:130).
[86]Nicodemus was an archōn, "one who has administrative authority, leader, official." Archōn, BDAG 140, 2a.
[87]The Jewish Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish governing body in Palestine, was "fabricated up of priests (Sadducees), scribes (Pharisees) and lay elders of the aristocracy. Its lxx members were presided over by the high priest" (Brown, John one:30). Meet more in Appendix 3. "Religious Leaders in Jesus' Day."
[89] Beasley-Murray, John, p. 47.
[90]"Come across" is eidōn, an obsolete grade of the present tense, of horaō, "to catch sight of." Hither it is used figuratively in the sense of "to exist mentally or spiritually perceptive, perceive" (BDAG 719, 4).
[91] Edersheim (Life and Times, i:383) put it this style: "His errand was presently told: one sentence, that which admitted the Divine Teachership of Jesus, unsaid all the questions he could wish to inquire. Nay, his very presence there spoke them."
[92]Gennaō, BDAG 194, 1a.
[93]The same meanings are possible for the Hebrew root yld (Dark-brown John,1:130).
[94]"Despite the fact that the Spirit, mentioned in vs. 5 as the agent of this birth or begetting, is feminine in Hebrew (neuter in Greek), the main meaning seems to exist 'begotten'" (Chocolate-brown, John one:130).
[95]Sperma, "'seed,' male seed or semen" (BDAG 937, 1b).
[96] Spora, "primarily 'the activity of sowing' and figuratively 'procreation,' then past metonymy, 'that which is sown, seed'" (BDAG 939). We get our discussion "spore" from this discussion.
[97]"In extension from a source that is in a higher place, from above" ... "at a subsequent signal of fourth dimension involving repetition, again, anew" (BDAG 92, 1 and iv).
[98]Chocolate-brown, John one:130-131; C.Thousand. Barrett, The Gospel Co-ordinate to St. John (Second Edition; Westminster Press, 1955, 1978), p. 206; Beasley-Murray, John, p. 45.
[99]A.T. Robertson, Discussion Pictures, in loc.
[100]Brown (John ane:130) observes, "Such a misunderstanding is possible only in Greek; we know of no Hebrew or Aramaic word of similar meaning which would have this spatial and temporal ambiguity."
[101]Deuteros, "second" ... "for the 2d time" (BDAG 220, two).
[102]Strephō, "turn around," hither figuratively, "to feel an inwards change, turn, change" (BDAG 948, v), "exist converted" (KJV).
[103]"Rebirth" (NIV, NRSV), "regeneration" (KJV) is palingenesia, from palin, "once more, once more than, afresh" + genesis, "nascence," meaning "experience of a complete change of life, rebirth" of a redeemed person (BDAG 752, two).
[104]Anakainōsis, "renewal" (BDAG 64) is constitute hither and in Romans 12:2, "the renewal of your minds." It is a compound word from ana-, "repetition, renewal" (equivalent to denuo, 'anew, once more," Thayer p. 34) + kainos, "new, fresh."
[105]Anagennaō, " beget over again, cause to be born once again" (BDAG 59).
[106]Edersheim (Life and Times, 1:384) explains that the term "new-born" was used in rabbinical literature to refer to both Gentile proselytes, too equally "the bridegroom on his marriage, the Chief of the university on his promotion, the king on his enthronement.... The expression, therefore, was not only common, but, so to speak, fluid...."
[107]Morris (John, p. 213, fn. 13) cites Edwin A. Abbott, Johannine Grammar (London, 1906); Strack and Billerbeck 2:420f; and Brook Foss Westcott, The Gospel according to St. John (Grand Rapids, 1954) 1:136. Rudolf Bultmann (Das Evangelium des Johannes (Göttigen, 1956), p. 135) also favors this view (as cited past Beasley-Murray, John, p. 45).
[108]H. Odeberg (The Fourth Gospel Interpreted in Its Relation to Contemporaneous Religious Currents in Palestine and the Hellenistic-Oriental World (Uppsala, 1929)) argues that the water stands for the celestial waters, viewed in mystical Judaism as corresponding to the semen of the fleshly being. Thus to exist born of water and the Spirit means a rebirth by ways of spiritual seed equally in 1 John iii:9.
[109]Nēs, "standard, ensign, bespeak, sign," then "standard," every bit pole. (BDB 652, 2). This "standard-bearing pole," is literally the word for "sign" both in the Masoretic text and in the Septuagint (Brownish, John 1:133).
[110]Some scholars see a change of speakers at verse thirteen or verse 16 because the terminal "y'all" is in verse 12 and there is shift to the third person in verses 13 and post-obit. But this is not unusual in John's Gospel and there is no indication that Jesus has stopped speaking. Brown rejects this theory of a alter in speakers. He says: "All Jesus' words come to united states of america through the channels of the evangelist's understanding and rethinking, but the Gospel presents Jesus as speaking and not the evangelist" (Brown, John 1:149).
[111]Agapaō, BDAG 5, 1bα.
[112]"And so" is the adverb houtō, " here a mark of a relative loftier caste, "so." Before a verb, information technology intensifies the verb, "so intensely," here and in i John iv:11, "Dearest friends, since God and then loved us, we also ought to dearest one another" (BDAG 742, 3).
[113]Kosmos, BDAG 562, 6b.
[114]I know that 5-point Calvinism limits Christ'south atonement to the elect only, only John three:sixteen doesn't support such an interpretation.
[115]Strict Calvinists assert a doctrine chosen the "Limited Atonement" (the L in TULIP), which says that Jesus died for only the elect. I notice this doctrine both contrary to the spirit of the verses cited here, and somewhat unnecessary. Of course, Jesus died that the elect might be saved! But his middle is the salvation of "all men," of "whosoever believes," of "the world." As St. Peter put information technology, "He is patient with you lot, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter iii:nine).
[116]Vincent, Word Studies, in loc.
[117]Monogenēs, BDAG 658, 2.
[118]Chocolate-brown, John 1:13. He says, "Monogenēs describes a quality of Jesus, his uniqueness, non what is called in Trinitarian theology his 'procession.'"
[119]"That" is hōste, which introduces a dependent clause of the actual result, "so that" (BDAG 110, 2aα). "The upshot clause is in the indicative.... The classical use of this structure is for the purpose of stressing the reality of the consequence: 'that he actually gave the only Son'" (Brown, John 1:134).
[120]Hina is a marking to denote purpose, aim, or goal, "in order that, that," in the final sense (BDAG 475, one).
[121]Apollymi, BDAG 110, 1bα.
[122]Psalms nine:5-6; 37:20; 68:2; 73:27; 83:17; Isaiah 41:11.
[123]John three:sixteen; x:28; 17:12; Romans 2:12; 1 Corinthians 1:18; eight:xi; 15:eighteen; 2 Corinthians 2:xv; four:3; 2 Thessalonians ii:x.
[124]Apollymi is ofttimes translated "lost" in the New Testament. This word is at the cadre of Jesus' educational activity on his mission to "the lost sheep of the house of State of israel" (Matthew 10:vi; 15:24), besides equally Jesus' Parables of the Lost Sheep (Matthew 18:10-14; Luke 15:3-7), the Lost Money (Luke 15:8-ten), the Lost Son (Luke 15:xi-32).
[125]Albrecht Oepke, apollumi, ktl., TDNT 1:394-397.
[126]Hadēs does appear in Revelation 1:xviii; 6:eight; twenty:13-14, where you also find the concept of "the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:14).
[127]Hadēs, BDAG 19.
[128]Here, in the Valley of the Sons of Hinnom, children had been burned to death as sacrifices to the false god Molech (2 Chronicles 28:three). "The burn down" was identified early with the Valley of Hinnom. It was also a identify where the prophets Jeremiah pronounced terrible curses of God's judgment and slaughter of the wicked (Jeremiah vii:31-32; 19:i-6). Isaiah saw the judgment of the wicked in terms of burning: "And they will exit and wait upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm volition not die, nor volition their burn down exist quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind" (Isaiah 66:24). By the second century B.C., the Valley of Hinnom had come up to be equated with the hell of the last judgment (Joachim Jeremias, gehenna, TDNT 1:657-658). At that place is some testify that the Valley of Hinnom was the refuse dump of Jerusalem. The Prophet Jeremiah identifies the location of the Valley of Hinnom as "about the entrance of the Potsherd Gate" (Jeremiah 19:2), that is, the place where broken pots were discarded. New Testament scholar Joachim Jeremias observes, "Information technology was even so in modern times the place for rubbish, carrion, and all kinds of pass up" (Jerusalem, p. 17). Jeremias likewise cites an aboriginal Jewish certificate that identifies the Dung Gate as leading to the Valley of Hinnom (Jerusalem, p. 310). It is logical, then, that it was a place where garbage burned continually. Both David John Wieand ("Hinnom, Valley of," ISBE 2:717, citing Lightfoot) and Leon Morris (Matthew (Eerdmans, 1992), p. 115) see this equally a possibility.
[129]Gehenna, BDAG 190-191.
[130]Zōē, BDAG 430, 2bβ.
[131]Bios, BDAG 176.
[132]Aiōnios, BDAG 33, 3.
[133]"Sent" (apostellō) is parallel to "gave" in verse 16. Both are in the Aorist tense. Apostellō means, "to dispatch someone for the achievement of some objective, send away/out" (BDAG 120, 1b).
[134]Prassō, "do, accomplish" (BDAG 860, 1a). It carries the idea of "to practise" in the present tense.
[135]Elenchō, "to scrutinize or examine carefully, bring to low-cal, expose, set forth" (BDAG 315, ane).
[136]Phaneroō, "reveal, betrayal publicly," here, "become public knowledge, be disclosed, become known" (BDAG 1048, 2aβ).
Copyright © 2022, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor
Source: http://www.jesuswalk.com/john/06_born_again.htm
0 Response to "Object Lesson John 3 Born Again"
Post a Comment