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Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to John chapter 3. John chapter 3. Last week, we 
considered the meeting with Nicodemus. We had attempted to get from 
verse 1 to verse 10. We finished at verse 3. So we'll 
take up the rest of that section this morning, the meeting with 
Nicodemus. So we'll look at John 3, verses 
4 to 10, but I want to read beginning in verse 1 to verse 21. So essentially what you have 
is this discourse, or rather, dialogue with Nicodemus in the 
first 10 verses, and then you have Jesus' discourse on God's 
salvation in verses 11 to 21. So I'll begin reading in verse 
1. 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. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, thank You for the written Word of the living and true God. 
Thank You for the Holy Spirit who gave us this Word. We pray 
now that He would guide us in our understanding. Again, forgive 
us for all sin and everything that darkens our minds and hearts, 
and give us grace to again appreciate what You do in the new birth. 
Cause us to reflect upon the graciousness and the power and 
the majesty of God. cause us as well to reflect upon 
who God is, even Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And Lord, be 
merciful to save sinners. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, as we saw last time, Jesus 
has embarked on his public ministry. So he's gone from changing water 
into wine in Cana of Galilee to going to cleanse the temple. 
And there he had prophesied, or rather declared, concerning 
the temple itself. Destroy this temple and in three 
days I will raise it up. John the Apostle tells us he 
was talking about the temple of his body. And so now he moves 
from this public setting to a private encounter with a leader from 
the temple. Remember that Nicodemus is a 
man of notoriety. He comes from a very wealthy 
family. He is termed as a ruler of the Jews. Later on in John's 
gospel, we see that he was closely associated with the Sanhedrin. 
And much to contrast with popular opinion, he didn't come by night 
because he had pangs of conscience and he's really concerned about 
Jesus. Later on, it does seem that he's 
on the right side when we get to the crucifixion and then the 
burial of Jesus in John 19. But at this particular instance, 
he's a spokesman for the Sanhedrin. And we see that in two ways. 
In the first place, we notice his words to Jesus in verse two. 
Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God. He says, for no 
one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. We 
know. It's not just Nicodemus. And then notice in verse 7, Jesus 
says, do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. 
That's not a singular use of you. It's a plural form. So Jesus 
is saying, you, not just Nicodemus, but the entirety of the Sanhedrin, 
you must be born again, which underscores the great necessity 
in terms of what we'll call regeneration or the new birth or being born 
from above. If the righteous and holy men 
who made up the Sanhedrin need to be born again before they 
can enter into the kingdom of God, what does that say for the 
rest of us? In other words, these men were 
notorious for their piety. We know that, in contrast with 
that, they were actually wretches. But in terms of Israel's religion 
at that particular time, they were the accomplished ones. They 
were the holy ones. They were the good ones. And 
yet Jesus says, you must be born again. So we noticed last week 
the question posed by Nicodemus. He never actually asked the question. 
Jesus knows specifically what he wants to know or what he wants 
to ask, as we see in verse 3. Most assuredly, I say to you, 
unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 
Again, Nicodemus didn't ask, hey, how can we see the kingdom 
of God? But notice that is precisely the crux of the issue between 
Jesus and Nicodemus. This illustrates what we see 
back in chapter 2 at verse 25. And Jesus had no need that anyone 
should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. He knew 
what was in Nicodemus. He'll see or know what's in the 
Samaritan woman in John's gospel at chapter 4. He knows what's 
in that lame man at Bethesda in John chapter 5. So this last 
statement in chapter two tells us concerning the omniscience 
of Jesus Christ, that one identified as the word who became flesh 
and dwelt among us. So let's look now at the issue 
addressed by the Lord Jesus by way of review. Secondly, the 
misunderstanding of Nicodemus in verse four, and then the explanation 
given by the Lord Jesus in verses five to eight. So just fleshing 
out the second of our main points. So you have the question posed 
by Nicodemus in verses 1 and 2, the response given by the 
Lord Jesus in verses 3 to 8, and then the confusion of Nicodemus 
in verses 9 to 10. So remember, Jesus says, unless 
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. That 
particular term does double duty. It not only means born again 
a second time, which is how Nicodemus understands it in verse 4, but 
it also means to be born from above. And we looked at many 
New Testament passages that deal with that particular reality. 
It's not circumcision or uncircumcision, Paul tells us in Galatians 6.15, 
but rather a new creation. As we see there in Ephesians 
chapter two that we read at the outset of worship, man by nature 
is lifeless, he's helpless, and he's hopeless. But God, who is 
rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ Jesus. So the new birth is God's work. This is not a command for a man, 
a woman, a boy or girl to go out and make themselves born 
again. In fact, the actual word that is used here in terms of 
being born, it's a passive. In other words, Jesus says to 
Nicodemus, this must happen to you. You must be born from above. 
You must be born again by the power and the grace of God Almighty. And then that will issue forth 
in faith. You'll look on to the Lord Jesus 
Christ, you'll believe the gospel for that justification, that 
forgiveness of sins and the imputation of the righteousness of Jesus 
Christ our Lord. And one of the ways that we know 
or why we understand that this is absolutely crucial, notice 
what Jesus says, it'd be a good idea if you were born again. 
You know, it might really go a long way to help your cause 
if you're born again. No, he speaks in very stark language. Unless one is born again, he 
cannot enter, he cannot see, he cannot participate in the 
Kingdom of God. Why? Well, the Bible tells us 
we're sinners. We're totally depraved. John 
6, 44. He says, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent 
me draws him. And the only way that we'll ever 
close with our Lord Jesus Christ is if God makes us alive together 
with Him and grants us the graces of faith and repentance. Calvin 
says, summarizing this whole discourse at this point, for 
the sum of Christ's discourse is that in order that we may 
be His true disciples, we must become new men. That's why you'll 
meet people who'll say, oh yeah, I'm a Christian, but they're 
okay with abortion. Or they say, I'm a Christian, 
but they're okay with euthanasia. Or they'll say, I'm a Christian 
and I'm okay with all manner of sexual perversion. They're 
not born again. They may identify as Christians 
because they're not Muslims. They may identify as Christians 
because they live in the West. They may identify as Christians 
because they're not Buddhists, but they are not Christians. 
The moniker born-again Christian is absolutely redundant. It is 
a tautology. One who is a Christian is one 
who's been born again by the power of God Most High. And if 
you have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, it is because you have 
been born of God. That's John's emphasis in 1 John 
5 at verse 1. We're not believers in Christ 
because we're wiser. We're not believers in Christ 
because we're smarter. We're not believers in Christ 
because we're more noble. We're believers in Christ because 
God put us in him. Because God Most High made us 
alive. Because God Most High gave us 
the graces of faith and repentance. So that is Jesus' insistence 
with reference to Nicodemus at verse three. Now notice the misunderstanding 
of Nicodemus in verse four. 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? He's incredulous. And so he asks 
this outlandish question. He's thinking carnally. He's 
thinking physically. Jesus is obviously speaking in 
terms of an analogy. What happens in terms of the 
physical birth must transpire in terms of the spiritual as 
well, which he'll flesh out in just a moment. But notice specifically 
that Nicodemus is just, he's puzzled. It doesn't make sense 
to him. And so he asked the question, 
can a man who's old go back into his mother's womb and then be 
born again? Again, brethren, this isn't the 
noble searcher after truth. This man is proud, he's arrogant, 
and he's trying to best Jesus at this point. So when we get 
to John's gospel in chapter 19, and he, along with Joseph of 
Arimathea, want to bury the body of Jesus, we'll notice that something 
of God's grace has overtaken him by the end. But in this instance, 
he's full of pride and arrogance. He's trying to catch Jesus up. And what he does here is he actually 
illustrates, think about this, he illustrates the necessity 
of the new birth. Think about it. Well, what do 
you mean, Jesus? How is this possible? Can a man, 
when he's old, go back into his mother's womb and be born a second 
time? It's for that very thought process 
that the new birth is absolutely crucial. It's because you're 
thinking in those categories and you're not thinking accurately 
concerning the Old Testament, This is why Jesus will upbraid 
him in verse 10 and say, are you the teacher of Israel and 
do not know these things? Jesus isn't picking on him. Nicodemus 
should have known these things. Nicodemus should have been savvy 
with these things. As a ruler of the Jews, as a 
participant in the Sanhedrin, as a man skilled in Pharisaic 
religion, he should have known the necessity of the new birth. 
But this man illustrates the reason for the new birth. Paul 
in 1 Corinthians 2 says, Isn't that Nicodemus? He doesn't know. 
He cannot know. As far as Nicodemus is concerned, 
this is a foolish statement. Can a man who's old climb back 
into his mother's womb and then be born again, born a second 
time? He is misunderstanding because 
at this point he's a goat. He's misunderstanding because 
at this point he is dead in his trespasses and sins. He is misunderstanding 
at this point because he is the reason why men must be born again. Now notice, Jesus explains to 
him the contours of what he is speaking about. Notice in verses 
5 to 8. He speaks first concerning the 
birth of water and the Spirit, verses 5 and 6. He then underscores 
the consistency of the Bible in verse 7. And then Jesus teaches 
us a bit of Trinitarian theology in verse 8 by giving us this 
analogy with the wind. But let's look first at the birth 
of water and the spirit in verses five and six. Notice that the 
Lord Jesus does not say to him, oh, men are regenerated, men 
are born again because of their good works. He doesn't say to 
him, well, once you first cast your faith upon me, then you'll 
be born again. There is a famous man who preached 
a lot of sermons that all of us know that I'm not gonna mention 
his name, but he has a very popular and a famous book called How 
to be Born Again. Brethren, he understands it this 
way, that when I believe the gospel, then God makes me alive. Well, you can't have it that 
way. That is the exact opposite way to read the passage. We need 
to be made alive. We need to be born again. We 
need to be born from above. We need to be dealt with by God 
and granted the graces of faith and repentance so that we may 
look to Jesus and live. There's no accident in the passage. Jesus is talking about the necessity 
of regeneration before he gets to God so loved the world that 
he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him 
should not perish but have eternal life. This is the exact order. This is the precise order. So 
Jesus doesn't say to him, oh, Nicodemus, once you believe, 
or once you do more works, or once you give more money, or 
once you're a better fellow, then you'll be born again. That's 
not what he says. The Lord does answer that men 
are regenerated by the power of God Almighty. Look at verse 
five. Jesus answered, most assuredly 
I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot 
enter the kingdom of God. In other words, something must 
happen to you. God in his grace, God in his 
sovereignty, God in his power must make you alive. We'll deal 
with the water in just a moment, but notice the connection with 
the prologue at this particular point. Jesus answered in verse 
five, most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water 
and the spirit. Go back to the prologue in John 
1. Notice in John 1 at verse 11. He came to His own, and His 
own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, 
to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those 
who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor 
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." 
See, sometimes people hear the emphasis in the prologue on the 
Word with the Father, and they conclude, well, where's the Spirit? 
John 3 tells us where the Spirit is. I quoted Cyril of Alexandria 
last week. He says, and when he says in 
John 3 at verse 5, when he says in John 3 at verse 6, when he 
says at John 3 verse 8, born of the Spirit, Cyril says, when 
he says that the rebirth by the Holy Spirit is from above, he 
shows clearly that the Spirit is of the substance of God the 
Father. Just as, of course, he says about 
himself somewhere, I am from above. For those who've attended 
the Sunday morning confession studies as we work our way through 
chapter two of God and of the Holy Trinity, or for those of 
you who can remember all the way back to John chapter one, 
we mentioned something called inseparable operations. And what 
inseparable operations means with reference to our triune 
God is that those works outside of God, namely creation, providence, 
and redemption, are done by the one true and living God. It's 
all ascribed to Him. The one God has one will, has 
one power, has one eternity. Now certainly there are three 
persons, and there are times in Scripture that the Scripture 
tells us or appropriates to us specific of those works to one 
of the members of the Trinity so that we'll learn something 
more about the Trinity. In other words, what God does 
in creation and providence and redemption isn't exhaustive of 
who the Trinity is, But what He does in creation and providence 
and redemption is a bit of a window for us to see who the Trinity 
is. And appropriations is utilized 
right here. Born of God, 113. Born of the 
Spirit, chapter 3, 5, 6, and 8. What we have here is the predication 
of deity and that power and majesty to the Holy Spirit of God Most 
High. So while the entire Godhead, 
Father, Son, and Spirit, are responsible for regeneration 
or the new birth because God has one will, it is appropriated 
here specifically to the Spirit so that we can learn good things 
about the Spirit, so that we can see His relation to the Father 
and to the Son. In other words, John's gospel 
doesn't just give us a bit of the Trinity here or there. It 
is thoroughly Trinitarian from beginning to end. What is one 
of the best proves? I think it was Warfield. One 
of the best proves of the doctrine of the Trinity. It's the coming 
of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit. And so John's gospel 
is very active in promoting that so that we'll appreciate not 
only the works of God, but the God of the works. See, brethren, 
this is where I want to encourage us, because it's at this level 
sometimes, because, well, that's up for, you know, seminarians, 
or that's for the doctors in the church. What do we find at 
the end of paragraph 3 in our confession? It is the foundation 
of our dependence and communion with God, to know God, not just 
His works, as if that's bad, we should know His works, but 
we should know Him too. That's how the prologue starts 
off. Before John addresses the economy of salvation, he goes 
behind the scenes to give us the relation between the Father 
and the Son. And now he's given us relation between the Father, 
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now notice, when he speaks of 
water, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of 
water and the Spirit." How do you think many people in the 
history of the church understood this? Baptism. Ding, ding, ding. You'd be right if you said, baptism. That's not what Jesus means. 
The Bible certainly commands baptism for those who believe 
the gospel, but that's not what Jesus is teaching to Nicodemus. 
You have to be baptized and born of the Spirit in order to be 
saved. There are persons that teach that. There are persons 
that teach baptismal regeneration. That in order to be saved, you 
must be baptized. Now, baptism again is commanded 
by Christ and it is most crucial. If you're not baptized and you're 
a believer, you need to get baptized. But the thief on the cross went 
to heaven without water baptism. Mark 16, in terms of the commission, 
whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Whoever does not 
believe will be condemned. So he mentions baptism as a result 
of someone having believed in Christ. But the reason for condemnation 
or cutting off is ultimately a rejection of the Savior. It 
is to not believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus. So he's not 
dealing with baptism in this passage. So if you ask the question, 
what's he dealing with? Turn with me to Ezekiel 36. Ezekiel 
36. And again, you'll see why Jesus 
can condemn or rebuke or chide Nicodemus because the teacher 
of Israel didn't know these things. Notice in Ezekiel chapter 36, 
it's speaking in terms of the new covenant, what God's gonna 
do. Specifically in its context, the reunification of the two 
houses of Israel, Israel and Judah, will be had once again. When we get to the book of Hebrews 
chapters 8 and 10, we learn that that's concerning the church. 
But in this context, not but, and in this context, he's speaking 
in the language of the day to highlight various things that 
we'll obtain when Messiah comes. And in the New Covenant, there 
is this emphasis on the new birth. But again, it's there in the 
Old Covenant and we'll see that in a few moments. But notice 
in Ezekiel 36 at verse 22. Therefore say to the house of 
Israel, thus says the Lord God, I do not do this for your sake, 
O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which you have 
profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify 
my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which 
you have profaned in their midst. And the nation shall know that 
I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I am hallowed in you 
before their eyes. Do you hear what God is saying? 
Your salvation, first and foremost, is for God's glory. We don't 
think that way. Oh, my salvation is about me. 
I'm a great guy. God loved me so much that he 
brought me into his blessed plan. No, it is to magnify the glory 
of his name. We need to be God-centered in 
our approach to all things. We need to understand that the 
Bible through and through is God-centered. man-centered. Now our happiness is a corollary 
for which we bless God, but the primary emphasis in this section 
of Scripture in terms of the renewal of Israel is for the 
name of God Almighty. Notice verse 24, for I will take 
you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries and 
bring you into your own land. Now notice in verse 25, then 
I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I 
will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your 
idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within 
you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give 
you a heart of flesh. What is Ezekiel talking about? 
Regeneration. He's talking about the new birth. 
He's talking about being born from above. This is why in verse 
10, Jesus can say to Nicodemus, are you the teacher of Israel 
and you don't know these things? Did you miss Sunday school? Well, 
Sabbath school, when they were covering Ezekiel 36. Were you 
sick that day? Did you not show up? Or how about 
Deuteronomy 10 or Deuteronomy 30? Where were you, Nicodemus, 
when God emphasized, not just in the New Testament, but in 
the Old Testament as well, the necessity of a new heart? Because 
man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, or his 
heart is, and therefore he must be born again. And so the sprinkling 
of clean water here isn't a reference to baptism, it's a reference 
to purification, which interestingly is a way that it's used in John's 
gospel in several instances. The idea is, is that you need 
to be born of the water and spirit. In other words, when the Spirit 
comes upon you, there's this cleansing that transpires. And 
in the language of Ezekiel 36, it's used in a metaphorical or 
analogical way. I will take their old stony heart 
out, and I will put in a new fleshly heart. there must be 
a radical reformation that takes place in the hearts of God's 
people. Matthew Poole says, by water, 
then we are to understand the grace of the Holy Spirit in purifying 
the soul, which is fitly represented by the efficacy of water. That's 
the emphasis, not water baptism. Water baptism comes after the 
fact. Water baptism testifies that God has saved us. Water 
baptism is ultimately an external presentation of what God has 
done internally in terms of the new birth. So back to John 3, 
the Lord Jesus says to him, verse 5, Now notice in verse 6, Again, I think the connection 
is what you are in Adam versus what you need to be in Christ. In other words, you need to be 
born again. The Apostle Paul and some commentators said, well, 
we can't see flesh here in the Pauline sense of depravity. Why 
not? Is not God the one author of 
all of Scripture? Of course, Scripture is its best 
interpreter. So that which is born of flesh 
is flesh. What does Paul the Apostle tell 
us in 1 Corinthians 15? at verse 21a. For since by man came death. 1 Corinthians 15, 22a. For as in Adam all die. Same emphasis that you see in 
Romans 5, 18, and 19. For by the one man's transgression, 
the many were counted as unrighteous. But by the one man's obedience, 
The many are counted as righteous. So that's what Jesus is talking 
about. That which is born of the flesh 
is flesh. It is dead. It is in Adam. It 
is deserving of God's wrath and curse, both in this life and 
that which is to come. So unless something happens, 
that's gonna be the lot for everyone who remains in the flesh. If 
you are not born again, the end of your days is not filled with 
joy and happiness and rest. If you are not born again by 
the power of the Holy Spirit, you will go where all sons of 
Adam, who are in the flesh, that are strangers and aliens from 
the covenants of promise, will go. They'll go to hell forever. 
That's why this teaching is so absolutely important. You must 
get this right. You must understand. You must 
see the necessity that you have in terms of dependence upon God. 
And that objection I mentioned last week, well, if you preach 
it that way, then it'll take from the sinner any ground of 
hope. Now the sinner wants nothing 
to do with God, but the God of John free has purpose to save 
a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe, 
tongue, people, and nation. There's hope to be had in this 
God and in his sovereignty. That's the ground and basis for 
our hope. So that which is born of the 
flesh is flesh. It will ultimately be cut off 
and cast out into hell. But that which is born of the 
Spirit is spirit. Now notice his testimony to the 
consistency of the Bible. Verse 7, do not marvel that I 
said to you, you must be born again. Brethren, if, again, you 
understand this as Nicodemus is just a jealous soul searching 
for truth, you're not gonna get the way that Jesus sort of comes 
down on him. But when you understand that 
Nicodemus, in the name of the Sanhedrin, is trying to trip 
him up, trying to upbraid him, trying to shame him, trying to 
show him as some charlatan. You'll understand why Jesus says, 
don't marvel about this. You plural, not just you Nicodemus, 
but the entirety of the Sanhedrin. And not just the Sanhedrin, but 
the entirety of mankind. For an Adam all died. And apart 
from birth by the power of the Holy Spirit, they will remain 
dead in their trespasses and sins and pass off into hell. 
So he says, do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born 
again. Look back at Deuteronomy chapter 10. Again, this isn't 
Pauline categories in terms of, you know, He made us alive together 
with Christ, seated us in the heavenly places, but it's the 
same emphasis. You've got big problems, is what 
God through Moses is saying to the nation of Israel. Unless 
something happens to your heart, you're gonna go off to hell. 
That's the basic gist in Deuteronomy 10, and then again in Deuteronomy 
30. But notice at 10.16. 10.16. Therefore, circumcise the foreskin 
of your heart and be stiff-necked no longer." What's he saying? You've got a problem with your 
heart. See, we look at the sins of Israel and we say, wow, they're 
just a thankless group of people that had ingratitude. Yeah, those 
were symptoms, but the problem was, is the problem that still 
is. They're in Adam. They're dead 
in their trespasses and sins. Unless their hearts are circumcised, 
unless they're made alive together with Christ, they will perish 
in their sins. Notice Deuteronomy 30. Deuteronomy 
30 ought to be taken in conjunction with Ezekiel 36 and Jeremiah 
31. Because what Moses is doing on 
the plains of Moab in Deuteronomy 30 is pointing to new covenant 
realities in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. And in Deuteronomy 
chapter 30, notice at verse six, and the Lord your God will circumcise 
your heart and the heart of your descendants to love the Lord 
your God with all your heart and with all your soul that you 
may live. See, on the plains of Moab, after 
having just spoken concerning the blessings and the curses 
associated with the covenant in chapters 28 and 29, God knew 
exactly what was gonna happen when they took tenure in the 
land. He wasn't sitting up in heaven kind of wringing his hands 
saying, boy, I sure hope they fulfill the obligation and do 
what they're supposed to do in the land and thus not reap the 
curses of the covenant. And if you want to see something 
in terms of the curses of the covenant, read Deuteronomy chapter 
28 sometime. It was no cakewalk. It was a 
house of horrors. If they go into the land and 
they live the way that they did. So God already on the plains 
of Moab is pointing them to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is pointing 
them to the necessity of the new birth. That's why Jesus says 
to him in verse 7, do not marvel that I said to you, you must 
be born again. Now notice finally in this section in terms of the 
explanation given by Jesus with reference to the analogy of the 
wind. Look at verse 8 in John 3. 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. Now the word spirit and wind are the same Greek word, 
just like in the Old Testament. The word spirit and wind, same 
Hebrew word. So Jesus is using an analogy 
to underscore something concerning the third person of the Holy 
Trinity. Notice in the first place, the analogy with the wind 
is given by Christ in order to highlight the efficacy of the 
wind. the efficacy of the wind. That 
means the effective power of the wind, right? If you look 
at verse eight, the wind blows where it wishes and you hear 
the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where 
it goes, right? Wind's invisible. We see the 
effects of wind. We feel the wind. We don't see 
the wind. You see your clothes blowing 
in the wind. It's not done as much anymore. 
When I was a kid, that's what I, well, I guess we're in the 
rainiest part of the world, so people aren't hanging their laundry 
out as much, but you see the effects of it, but you don't 
see it particularly. What as well is Jesus showing 
by way of analogy? The wind blows where, what? It 
wishes. Now, when he likens this to the 
Spirit, what is he underscoring? God's sovereignty in the matter 
of salvation. Again, for the person out there 
that says, well, that strips away hope from the sinner. This 
is the foundation of hope for the sinner. that God Most High 
does this, that God Most High blows like the wind, that God 
Most High is a sovereign agent, that you don't know where it 
comes from and you don't know where it's going, but you see 
and know the effect of its having been present. That's the point 
that Jesus makes relative to the power of the Holy Spirit 
in this particular instance. The wind is beyond man's control, 
man's regulation, but as well man's resistance. It's that fourth 
point of Calvinism. We call it irresistible grace. 
A point that's very often misunderstood. That means that God is going 
to bring or drag sinners to himself that are kicking and screaming 
and want nothing to do with him. No, he changes their heart. He affects their will. He makes 
them willing in the day of his power, such that when he drags 
them, they come most happily and joyfully to close with our 
Lord Jesus Christ. So the spirit is sovereign in 
the matter of salvation. The spirit is sovereign in the 
matter of regeneration. And that's how Jesus ends, verse 
eight. So is everyone who is born of 
the spirit, right? You know that. You look in the 
mirror every morning when you shave, or when you brush your 
teeth, or whatever your process is, that you're a believer in 
Christ right now. It's not owing to your goodness. 
It's not owing to your wisdom. It's not owing to your power. 
It's owing to the power of the Spirit. Because at one time you 
were dead in your trespasses and sins. That which is born 
of the flesh is flesh. You reveled in it. You delighted 
in it. You despised God, even if you 
said otherwise. Will I really love Him? And yet 
all the while your heart was far from Him. The fact that you're 
here this morning confessing or professing faith in Christ, 
the fact that this is actually the case means that the Spirit 
of God Most High has caused you to be born again. And that is 
the reason why we show gratitude, why we worship, why we praise, 
why we adore. But as I mentioned earlier, he's 
teaching us something as well about the Spirit. In the beginning 
was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. We 
have the Word's relation to the Father. As I said, you move all 
the way through verses 1 to 18 in John 1, and you might have 
a binity, is that it? A two-person sort of a view? 
No, there's a Trinity, and here is the third person of the Holy 
Trinity, specifically the Holy Spirit. So is everyone who is 
born of the Spirit. Now, when the Bible appropriates 
to one of the persons, it's for a particular reason, so that 
we understand something concerning the relations between the persons. 
And this shows us how the Spirit relates to the Father and the 
Son. The mission of the Spirit is 
to proceed. Think about Genesis chapter 2 
for just a moment and verse 7 in the realm of creation. The Lord 
God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into 
his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being. 
See analogy between the created order and the redemptive order 
in terms of the third person of the Holy Spirit? As well, 
Job or rather Psalm 33 commenting on this particular passage says, 
by the word of the Lord, that's Jesus, the heavens were made 
and all the host of them by what? By the breath of his mouth. There's 
no accident here when Jesus is using this language that evokes 
the Old Testament concept of the spirit of God as being the 
life giving spirit to the inanimate creature. Job speaks this way, 
Job 33.4, the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the 
Almighty gives me life. Again, you see the analogy. Now 
let's look at how the Father, we describe that work of the 
Spirit proceeding from the Father in that Old Testament sort of 
creational way. But notice that the Spirit proceeds 
from Jesus as well. This divided the church in one 
time, the East from the West, in terms of the procession of 
the Spirit. Did He proceed only from the Father, or did He proceed 
from the Father and the Son? Well, look at John 15. John 15, 
Jesus again teaching us not just the good things that God does 
in terms of saving us, but He teaches us who God is. It is 
most important as the people of God that we not only appreciate 
the gift, but we admire and praise and adore the giver. And there's 
enough data in John's gospel to provide for us who Father, 
Son, and Spirit is. Notice in John 15 at verse 26, 
But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the 
Father, I think that's a reference to Pentecost. The Spirit of truth 
who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of me. And you 
also will bear witness because you have been with me from the 
beginning. See, for Jesus, He doesn't shy 
away from the doctrine of the Trinity. He doesn't say, well, 
I don't want to confuse you with this highfalutin theology. No, He wants to invite us in 
to behold our God, to gaze in wonder at the glory of God. Look 
over at John 20. John 20 is an intriguing statement 
in light of these realities. Notice in John 20 at verse 21, 
So Jesus said to them again, Peace to you, as the Father has 
sent me, I also send you. And when He had said this, He 
breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. 
You see, what John is doing, he's not only telling us the 
good things God does, he causes you to be born again, he gives 
you faith so that you can believe on Jesus, he gives you everlasting 
or eternal life, but he wants us to ponder who this God is 
as well. Son and Spirit. The Father is 
unbegotten. The Son is begotten by the Father 
and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. So going 
back to John chapter three, you have to appreciate that what 
Jesus does here is not only underscore for him what God does, but who 
God is. Now brethren, just please give 
me just five more minutes down this path, because we are in 
need of some Trinitarian theology in our generation. Consider Ezekiel 
36. What happens in Ezekiel 36? Don't 
say, well, I don't know, because I just read it. Remember, for 
God's glory, he's gonna sprinkle clean water on you. He's gonna 
take out the old stony heart. He's gonna put in a new fleshly 
heart. What follows Ezekiel 36? This isn't a math lesson. So if you say Ezekiel 37, you're 
right, but it's this valley of dry bones. Again, God through 
the prophet is speaking of the renewal or restoration of Israel. And Ezekiel says these bones 
are dry, bones are dead. These bones have no life in them 
whatsoever. Guess who gives life to the bones? If you think the Holy Spirit, 
you're right. Specifically verse 10 in Ezekiel 
37. So I prophesied as he commanded 
me and breath came into them and they lived and stood upon 
their feet and exceedingly great army. And then in Ezekiel 37 
at verse 14, I will put my spirit in you and you shall live and 
I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that 
I, the Lord have spoken it and performed it says the Lord. So 
you've got this Ezekiel 36 connection in terms of water. You've got 
an Ezekiel 37 connection in terms of the power of the Spirit to 
make alive dead bones. But think about what we just 
witnessed back in chapter 2. Jesus says, destroy this temple 
and in three days I will raise it up. And they said it's taken 
46 years to build this temple and are you able to raise it 
up in three days? John the Apostle says he was 
speaking about the temple of his body. Curiously, you know 
what the prophet Ezekiel goes on to deal with? Some problems 
with the enemies of God in chapters 38 and 39, but then chapters 
40 to 48, and the prophet Ezekiel is taken up with the new temple. The new temple. Okay, she didn't 
hear that. So you see all this connection, overt. This isn't 
strained, brethren. New birth, chapter 36. Power 
of the spirit to make dead men live, chapter 37. New temple 
in Christ Jesus, chapters 40 to 48 in the prophet Ezekiel. You know what one of Jesus' favorite 
identifiers is throughout the gospel narrative? Son of man. 
Do you know how God refers to Ezekiel more often than not? 
Son of man. Do you think we're actually seeing 
the fulfillment of the Old Testament in the coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ? Absolutely, positively. And the take-home lesson for 
Nicodemus is that you must be born again or you cannot see 
the Kingdom of God. And that brings us finally to 
see his confusion. Notice in verse 9, Nicodemus 
answered and said to him, How can these things be? How can 
these things be? Why? Why does he ask that question? Because the nature of Jesus' 
response. If Jesus would have said, try 
harder, Nicodemus, and be a better you, and then God will accept 
you, Nicodemus wouldn't have been perplexed. If Jesus said, 
add a bit of works to your faith, Nicodemus wouldn't have been 
perplexed. But when Jesus calls for a wholesale revolution in 
the heart of a man, that's what perplexes modern man and ancient 
man. See, if God is just telling us, 
try harder and I'll receive you to myself, nobody's gonna be 
surprised at that. What causes the offense of the 
gospel? It is the reality that God is 
holy, that you are absolutely positively sinful, and that apart 
from God's grace, you're gonna go to hell. See again, brethren, 
back to Philippians 3, this isn't good advice, this is good news. So the fact that Nicodemus is 
perplexed or puzzled tells us something concerning man's response 
to the gospel. If we're just out there saying, 
do better, try harder, live every day as if it's a Friday, then 
nobody has issues with that. It's when you preach the necessity 
of the new birth. It's when you preach blood atonement. It's when you highlight the absolute 
depravity or the total depravity of a man and his need for the 
righteousness of Jesus. That's what evokes the charges 
and the cavils and the hatred and the enmity toward the church 
today, or it should. See, if we're preaching wokeism 
or we're just preaching social justice warriorism, nobody's 
going to have a problem with that. We'll just find our way 
right alongside of this culture. But when we preach a thrice holy 
God, when we preach the necessity of blood atonement, when we declare 
to men, you must be born again or you will not, cannot see the 
kingdom of God. Those are the sorts of churches 
they don't like. Those are the sorts of churches that they oppose. And Paul speaks to this in Galatians 
as well. If I still preached circumcision, 
why am I being opposed? He was preaching grace. Grace 
is a sweet sound to those conquered by it, but it's a horrible thing 
to those who are strangers to it. I guess on the one hand they 
might admire it until you get to the level of the chief of 
sinners himself. A man who wanted to exterminate 
the church itself is one of the chief apostles of our blessed 
Lord. What's the usual response to 
things like that? You've probably heard of horrible 
notorious people in the past that got saved. Yeah, I don't 
know if they're true. I don't know if they're real 
in terms of the actual person, but conceptually, Doctrinally, 
practically, it is real. Think about you again. Why are 
you saved? Because you're great? No, because 
God is. It is an underscoring of the 
grace of God, and at a certain fundamental level, men think, 
well, that's not fair. Praise God, brethren, that he 
has not dealt with us according to what's fair, but he has dealt 
with us according to grace. He has dealt with us according 
to mercy. He has dealt with us according 
to kindness and his love. So Jesus then rebukes him. Jesus then says to him in verse 
10, are you the teacher of Israel and do not know these things? 
Again, he should have. because of Deuteronomy 10, Deuteronomy 
30, and Ezekiel chapter 36. But this also underscores or 
confirms for us why Jesus cleansed the temple. If a ruler of the 
Jews, a teacher in Israel, didn't know this basic and fundamental 
truth in terms of entrance into the kingdom of God, If ever there 
was a time to cleanse the temple, that was the time. So what Jesus 
does in this rebuke of Nicodemus is to call him to consider the 
bankruptcy, not only of Nicodemus, not only of the Sanhedrin, but 
of the entirety of Israel. Christ came in the fullness of 
the time, sent by God most high to redeem those who were under 
the law. He came to his own, as the prologue says, and his 
own received him not. But to those who did receive 
them, He gave them the right to become children of God. Why? Because they were born, 
not of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, not because 
of their own ability, but of God. And here we see appropriated 
specifically to God the Holy Spirit. In conclusion, this passage 
underscores chapter 2, verse 25. He knew what was in man. 
He knew what was in man, and that's why he addresses man. 
See, Jesus doesn't shrink back. Jesus doesn't say, well, you 
know, Nicodemus, I don't want to talk to you. I'm a bit afraid. 
I don't want to go down that path. Jesus knew precisely what 
Nicodemus would think. Jesus knew precisely what the 
Sanhedrin would think. Jesus is the word who became 
flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is the one who came to 
his own and his own received him not. Jesus has all knowledge 
according to John 2.25. And he demonstrates that here 
in John 3 verses 1 to 10. Secondly, the ignorance and pride 
of Nicodemus. The ignorance and pride of Nicodemus. 
This is Matthew Poole. I'll hide behind the 17th century 
Puritan to mock Nicodemus. That's real coward or real brave, 
isn't it? But I think Poole nails it. He says, his carnal stupidity 
hindered his understanding the first lesson of Christianity, 
though explained by the son of righteousness, and his pride 
hindered him from confessing his ignorance. He rather judges 
the doctrine to be absurd and impossible, though like darkness 
is in every unrenewed mind. He says, regeneration being like 
that new name, Revelation 2.17, which none understand but those 
that have it. Think about this. Have you ever 
tried to explain regeneration to somebody who's unregenerate? 
It's kind of like trying to describe color to a blind man, isn't it? 
They don't get it. They underscore 1 Corinthians 
2. The spiritual things, the things 
revealed by God are foolishness to man. So what's our recourse? Don't do it? No. Keep doing it. because the Spirit of the living 
God works by and with that truth. And when we tell men the truth, 
that's what they desperately need to hear. It is the Spirit's 
work to change the heart. It is our task, our privilege, 
our blessed responsibility to tell them the data that they 
need to believe. See, ultimately, brethren, it's 
not up to us. It's always up to God. Our task 
is to be faithful. Our task is to proclaim the truth. Our task is to do it incessantly 
and to do it tirelessly until our last breath. It is God the 
Spirit who comes and makes men alive. I will issue the encouragement 
once again to this church every Sunday morning and every Sunday 
afternoon, prior to the morning service, prior to the evening 
service, please pray that the Spirit comes. Please pray that 
the Spirit takes the gospel preached and applies it to hearts. Please 
pray that what was prophesied in Ezekiel 36 and brought home 
here with power to Nicodemus in John 3 would take place at 
the Free Grace Baptist Church, would take place at the Free 
Reform Church, would take place at Valley Heights Church, would 
take place at every church where the gospel is preached throughout 
the world today. Brethren, without the Spirit, 
we enter into the Valley of Elah wearing an armament that we're 
not prepared for. When we do not have what God 
has said is requisite to the faithful preaching of God's gospel, 
we're not gonna see results. Now brethren, we're not in it 
for results, but in the final analysis, we want men saved. We want boys, girls, mothers, 
fathers, grandfathers, grandparents, siblings. We want them saved. 
We can't persuade them into the kingdom of God. We can give them 
the data. We can give them the truth. We 
can rehearse the life, the death, the resurrection of our Lord 
Jesus. We can interpret it for them that God delivered up Jesus 
Christ because of our offenses, and He raised Him for our justification. We can give them that truth, 
but we can't make them believe it. We can't make them receive 
it. We can't grab them by the shoulders or collar, as it were, 
and scream at them to receive it. That's the work of the Spirit. But be encouraged. He undertakes. Be encouraged. You're here. Be encouraged. You're heaven-bound. If that's the case, there is 
hope for every sinner on the face of the earth today. So may 
the church go in the power of the Holy Spirit, preaching the 
gospel of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, praying that God would 
do that work, which is impossible with men, but is possible with 
Him. Remember that when Jesus says it's impossible, or it's 
more possible for a camel to shimmy through the eye of a needle 
than for a rich man to enter into heaven. Now, they like to 
try and say, well, the eye of the needle was a place where 
the camels... He's talking about the eye of a needle. If you've 
not ever seen the eye of a needle, it's really small. You need magnifying 
glasses to see it. Jesus is using an outlandish 
example. It is more possible, it is more likely for a camel 
to chimmy through the eye of a needle than for a rich man 
to enter into heaven. That was an offense to the disciples, 
because as far as they were concerned, riches indicated God's blessing, 
right? Doesn't that make sense? A guy's 
got a lot of money, he must have a lot of God. And so the disciples 
said, well, who then can be saved? Jesus says, with men. It is impossible. But with God, all things are 
possible. The spirit who breathed life 
into man in Genesis 2.7 is the self-same spirit that can breathe 
life into a man in this generation through the proclamation of God's 
holy gospel. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
thank you for your word, and thank you very much for what 
Christ has done in accomplishing the work of redemption. Thank 
you for the power of the Holy Spirit who makes this effectual 
in the lives of your people. And God, we know there is great 
grace with you. We know that you abound in grace 
and in mercy and in loving kindness, so we pray that all over the 
earth today, as this gospel goes forth, the Spirit would be there. 
The Spirit would do that work of taking out the old stony heart, 
putting in a new fleshly heart, giving the graces of faith and 
repentance so that sinners may believe. And God, do that here 
for any that are still in their sins, those who are still dead 
in their trespasses and sins. I pray that you would awaken 
them. I pray that they would be conscious of that reality, 
that they have transgressed the law of a holy God, and as a result, 
they deserve your justice. They deserve your judgment. But God, may they see that which 
they don't deserve, but that has been provided in the gospel, 
even our Lord Jesus Christ. And may they, by grace, believe 
on Him and have everlasting life. And we ask this in Jesus' name. 
Amen. We'll close by standing and by 
singing 568 in praise to our triune God. Praise God from whom all blessings 
flow. Praise Him, all creatures here 
below. Praise Him, our Lord, Praise 
Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you 
all. Amen. Father, thank you for your grace. Thank you for love and mercy. 
And God, we praise you, Father, Son, and Spirit. Go with us now. Cause your face to shine upon 
us. Let us know that peace that does surpass all understanding. 
And may you keep us and protect us. And we ask this in Jesus' 
name. Amen. Well, please be seated 
for a brief time of meditation.