John 3: 1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” 5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” 9 “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. 16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Nicodemus came seeking "something," maybe answers, maybe ammunition to get against Jesus. Maybe he was "sincere" in his search. Jesus knew what he needed and why he was coming, and after Nicodemus gave the polite greeting, Jesus cut to the chase and said the following words in verse 3: Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” We can approach Jesus with flowing prayers and even deceptive attitudes, and He knows them all but does not allow any "hedging" when it comes to the most important issue. Salvation. Jesus takes this leader of their religion to the "cleaners" by issuing a heavenly edict. One which Nicodemus could not understand.
Jesus still does this today in our lives as we "play around" using the word love when we don't really love much at all. Oh, we may even say "love ya," but there is more to love than just words. We find out what love is in verse 16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. In light of this love, our love is to be a mirror image of who Jesus is and how Jesus loves, and that kind of love changes things at the core. Paul further expounded this kind of love in 1 Corinthians 13: 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
The above scripture is used again and again in marriage ceremonies to emphasize how the husband and wife are to love each other. As in all scripture, these are more than just words to "know," but words to live. Jesus was "always" loving in everything He said and everything He did because He is God and God is love. When we receive Jesus, we take on this new nature that is led by the Holy Spirit entering our lives and showing us how to love like Jesus from the depths of our souls. This new nature shows God's love more and more as we experience sanctification, which is the result of becoming a new creation in Jesus.
When Jesus answered Nicodemus so pointedly and directly, He was loving a man who should have known better than to come to Jesus and try to "feel" Him out by complementing Him at the outset. Jesus knew his heart, and He knew He needed first to be born again if he was really going to come searching. Nicodemus came with a heart full of spite. Spite (def) - a desire to hurt, annoy, or offend someone. Nicodemus did not come in love because He was not born again and did not have the love of God, which brings to mind. How do we come to Jesus? Then how do we treat others after receiving Jesus? Spite is not part of the new creation God made when we were born again. This worldly attitude is not a fruit of the love of God. Jesus gave His life so that we might be saved, and that kind of love goes beyond trying to "hurt, annoy, or offend" someone as Nicodemus was trying to do
If we come to Jesus and ask Him how to love He will probably say as He did to Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Jesus doesn't beat around the bush with a very compromised love when speaking of a new life in Him. Jesus showed Nicodemus and all the world what true love really is and we must learn to exhibit that love which comes from God. You may say, "How can this happen?" To which God's word says, "you must be born again." End of story. Are you born again? If so, you have experienced this wonderful love of God, and you will mirror that love to all people, not just your spouse. But most assuredly, your spouse. That is the Love of God, and all of this is possible when we experience God's love. Give it a try!!!
Today's Message,
David Warren
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