spiritual regeneration

If

Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the house of God revealed his “great familiarity with and reverence for the warnings of God, which were given to all Israel through Moses (see Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28)” (note on 2 Chronicles 6:14-42). Solomon’s primary petition in this prayer was that God would listen and forgive them when his people cried out to him for help. Solomon mentioned specific circumstances that would require God’s forgiveness: if a man sins against his neighbor (2 Chronicles 6:22); if the people were defeated by their enemy (2 Chronicles 6:24); if there was famine in the land (2 Chronicles 6:26); if they sinned against God (2 Chronicles 6:36). Each time, Solomon asked that God would hear from heaven and forgive his people who had sinned against him (2 Chronicles 6:39). Afterward, “the LORD appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven so that there is no rain, or command locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:12-14). “This is a key Old Testament passage that presents the conditions of true repentance: humbling oneself, praying, seeking God’s face, and turning from evil” (note on 2 Chronicles 7:12-14). God said if his people truly repented, then he would hear from heaven and forgive their sin.

Humbling ourselves means that we are bringing ourselves into subjection to God. This has to do with being submitted to God’s will, allowing God to have control of our situation and circumstances. An example of humbling oneself is shown in 1 Kings 21:27 where the wicked king Ahab repented of his sin after being confronted by Elijah the prophet. It says in 1 Kings 21:17-29:

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.”’”

Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.’ Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.”

(There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.)

And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”

It says that “there was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab” (1 Kings 21:25), and yet, because he had humbled himself, God said he would not bring disaster in Ahab’s days (1 Kings 21:29). The Hebrew words that are translated dejectedly in 1 Kings 21:27 are translated went softly in the King James Version of the Bible. Another way of describing Ahab’s response to God’s condemnation of his behavior might be that Ahab treaded lightly or exhibited a gentle spirit toward God as a result of God holding him accountable for his sin.

Even though Ahab humbled himself before God, he did not truly repent of his sin. Ahab stopped short of asking God for forgiveness. The second condition of true repentance is praying, or more specifically, asking God to intervene in your situation so that your sin can be forgiven. Psalm 51 is a prayer that King David prayed when Nathan the prophet confronted him about his sin with Bathsheba. David began by asking God to have mercy on him. David prayed, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” (Psalm 51:1-2). David asked that God would blot out his transgressions and wash him thoroughly from his iniquity. The Hebrew word that is translated wash, kabas (kaw-basˊ) “refers to God’s internal cleansing of the heart, making it white as snow. Jeremiah 4:14, however, showed that God’s people must work to cleanse their hearts and avoid temporal destruction” (H3526). David’s genuine sorrow wasn’t all that was needed for true repentance, David needed his relationship with the LORD to be restored.

Another condition of true repentance is seeking God’s face. This aspect of true repentance has to do with restoring intimacy with God. Moses’ relationship with God is one of the best examples of what it means to have intimacy with God in the Bible. It says in Exodus 33:11, “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” The place where Moses went to speak to the LORD was called the tent of meeting. “Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door” (Exodus 33:7-10). It says in Exodus 33:7 that everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Seeking the LORD requires us to get away from other people and to focus our attention only on God. All the people watched Moses go into the tent of meeting and worshipped God from afar, but only Moses experienced intimacy with God.

The final condition for true repentance may be why so few people actually do it. God told Solomon that he would hear from heaven and forgive the people’s sin if they humbled themselves and prayed, and sought his face, and turned from their wicked ways (2 Chronicles 7:14). The Hebrew word that is translated turned, shuwb (shoob) “is used to describe divine and human reactions, attitudes, and feelings” (H7725). Jeremiah described this kind of turning as washing your heart from evil. Jeremiah stated, “O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved. How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?” (Jeremiah 4:14). Jeremiah indicated that wicked thoughts can lodge within us, but we are able to dislodge them through an intentional effort of washing our hearts from evil. The Apostle Paul described this process as putting off your old self and putting on the new self. Paul told the Ephesians:

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self,which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:17-24)

Paul said our old self belongs to our former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires (Ephesians 4:22). In order to get rid of the old self, we must put on the new self, which Paul indicated was “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). The key to being able to do this is what Paul referred to as being “renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Ephesians 4:23). This means that we are under the controlling power of the indwelling Holy Spirit who is directing our energies toward the enjoyment of fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. Spiritual regeneration involves more than the free act of God’s mercy and power by which he removes the sinner from the kingdom of darkness and places him in the kingdom of light, it is “the gradual conforming of the person to the new spiritual world in which he now lives, the restoration of the divine image. In this process the person is not passive but is a fellow worker with God” (G3824).

God told Solomon that he would hear from heaven and would forgive their sin, if his people would humble themselves, and pray and seek his face and turn from their wicked ways. God contrasted this promise with an alternative that actually did take place. God said, “’But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, “Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?” Then they will say, “Because they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshipped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.”’” The prophet Jeremiah foretold that Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Jerusalem would result in God fighting against his own people (Jeremiah 21:5) and in his message to the house of David, Jeremiah gave the people a final opportunity to repent of their sin against God. Jeremiah concluded his message to the house of David by stating, “’”And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, “Why has the LORD dealt thus with this great city?” And they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and worshipped other gods and served them.”’” Weep not for him who is dead, nor grieve for him, but weep bitterly for him who goes away, for he shall return no more to see his native land’” (Jeremiah 22:8-10).

Lost and Found

Jesus used the concepts of being lost and found to describe the spiritual regeneration that takes place when a person is born again. Jesus said in his parable of the lost sheep:

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:4-7)

Jesus made it clear in this parable that a person who is lost cannot be expected to find himself. Someone had to go after the sheep that was lost (Luke 15:4). Jesus identified the owner of the sheep as the person responsible for the sheep’s well-being, and indicated that the owner had to leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the open country in order to go after the one that was lost.

Matthew’s rendition of the parable of the lost sheep focused on the owner’s motive for leaving his other ninety-nine sheep in order to save the one that was lost. Matthew concluded with Jesus’ statement, “So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:14). The fact that God is not willing for even one person to perish and was willing to send his Son into the world to save the lost is evident in John 3:16-17 where it says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Jesus indicated that God’s plan of salvation was directed at the entire world. The Greek word that is translated world, kosmos (kosˊ-mos) refers to “The earth, this lower world as the abode of man: The then-known world and particularly the people who lived in it” (G2889). Peter clarified God’s intention of saving everyone and explained why the process of salvation seems to be taking so long to us compared to God’s perspective of things when he said, “But do not overlook this one fact beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:8-9).

Jesus continued his discussion of those who are lost and found in his parable of the lost coin. Jesus asked:

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10)

Jesus’ emphasis of the joy in heaven over one sinner who repents was meant to encourage his listeners who thought that admitting their guilt would result in God punishing them. Jesus made it clear that God’s goal for people was to experience spiritual regeneration so that they could celebrate their triumph over sin.

Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son brought the concepts of being lost and found down to a level that everyone could relate to. The idea of being lost is not about extinction, “but ruin, loss, not of being, but of well-being” (G622). Jesus said:

“There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.”

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:11-24)

In the parable of the prodigal son, the father did not search for his lost son, and yet he concluded, “Your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:32). We are told in Luke 15:17 that the lost son, “came to himself.” The Greek word erchomai (erˊ-khom-ahee), which is translated came, implies motion to or toward any person or place” (G2064). Since there was no external movement, it seems that the coming to himself that took place was internal, perhaps having to do with an inward turning of the lost son’s heart.

Luke 15:17-19 records the internal dialog that took place in the prodigal son’s heart when he decided to go back and ask his father for help. It says of the lost son, “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’” The lost son acknowledged his sin and guilt before God, the initial step of repentance that is required for a person to be saved. Rather than rejecting his son or punishing him for his irreverent behavior, the father of the lost son called for a celebration. He told his servants, “Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:22-24). The lost son’s father said that he was alive again. The Greek word anazao (an-ad-zahˊ-o) means “to live again, to revive” (G326). When the prodigal son came to himself and made his decision to return to his father, he said, “I will arise and go to my father…And he arose” (Luke 15:18, 20). The Greek word that is translated arise and arose, anistemi (an-isˊ-tay-mee) was used by Jesus when he spoke of his resurrection, saying, “that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise” (Luke 24:7). Jesus intended the lost son’s action of rising to his feet, or perhaps standing up again after having wallowed in the mud with the pigs, to represent a type of resurrection in which he was regenerated and given eternal life. Jesus wanted his listeners to understand that when a person goes from lost to found, he is experiencing a life transforming event.

Matthew’s account of the parable of the lost sheep includes an introductory statement by Jesus that identifies his purpose for coming into this world. Matthew 18:10-14 states:

“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Jesus used the phrase go astray to describe how someone becomes lost. The Greek word planao (plan-ahˊ-o) is derived from the feminine form of the word planos (planˊ-os), which means “roving (as a tramp), i.e. (by implication) an imposter or misleader” (G4108).

Jesus specified which sheep he was looking for when he said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the household of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). Jesus’ disciples initially thought that this meant only the household of Israel could be saved, but in the book of Acts we read about Peter’s discovery that salvation was intended for everyone (Acts 10:9-33). It says in Acts 10:34-35, “So Peter opened his mouth and said, ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Peter went on to say, “And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:42-43). Peter said that Jesus was appointed to be judge of the living and the dead, those who are in a state of being lost or have been found and received salvation. This is a reference to the final judgment that Paul talked about in his second letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Paul said of himself that he had kept the faith, meaning that Paul was no longer lost at the end of his life. Revelation 20:12 tells us that the lost, those who have died without receiving salvation, will be judged according to what they have done. Afterward, “if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” where the lost will experience weeping and gnashing of teeth throughout eternity (Revelation 20:15; Matthew 13:42).

You must be born again

Jesus’ conversation with a ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus revealed important information about how to get to heaven. Nicodemus approached Jesus with the intent of discovering the secret to his success. John’s gospel tells us, “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.’” (John 3:2). Nicodemus knew there was a spiritual component to Jesus’ ministry that couldn’t be overlooked, but he didn’t realize that Jesus was more than just a teacher and that he had the ability to do things that were beyond the scope of normal human comprehension. Nicodemus’ recognition that Jesus had come from God was a step in the right direction, but Nicodemus missed the mark when he admitted “No one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him” (John 3:2). God was not with Jesus, Jesus was God in human flesh. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The Greek word that Jesus used that is translated see, eido (iˊ-do) has to do with experience and suggests that Jesus wanted Nicodemus to connect the kingdom of God with something beyond the perception of his physical senses. The phrase that Jesus used, born again isn’t related to a person’s physical birth, but has the connotation of spiritual regeneration.

You might say that Jesus’ comment about being born again went right over Nicodemus’ head because he responded, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4). Jesus likely used the term born, or gennaō (ghen-nahˊ-o) in the Greek, because birth signified a definite event that occurred at a specific point in time. We all know that being born is something that is necessary for us to be alive and can relate to birth as a significant event in everyone’s life. If you have been born, you are clearly aware of it. The part that was probably confusing to Nicodemus was the part about being born again. The Greek word that is translated again in John 3:3, anothen (anˊ-o then) means “from above” (G509). Anothen is derived from the word ano (anˊ-o) which means “upward or on the top” (G507). In Acts 2:9 ano is used to signify being “in a higher place” and also refers to heavenly things in the sense that they are above or more important than other things. Nicodemus may have misunderstood Jesus’ use of the term anothen in the phrase born again because he knew that all life originates with God, but Jesus wasn’t talking about a second physical birth. Jesus was talking about an actual event, a second birth that superseded the first one because it was of a spiritual rather than a physical nature.

John said about Jesus, “He who comes from above is above all” (John 3:31). In this statement, John used the same Greek word anothen, which is translated again in John 3:3, to convey Jesus’ superiority over everything else. When we are born again, our spiritual life begins to take precedence over our physical life and we are able to live on a higher plane, the spiritual plane which is associated with heaven. Matthew referred to the kingdom of heaven on numerous occasions and his gospel contains many parables that Jesus used to describe what this realm is like. After telling his followers the parable of the sower, Jesus’ disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” (Matthew 13:10). Jesus answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:11-13).

Jesus connected being able to understand what he was saying to being born again and said that you cannot see or hear things associated with heaven unless you have access to that realm. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and of 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 its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:5-8). Jesus equated being born again with entering the kingdom of God. The Greek word that is translated enter, eiserchomai (ice-erˊ-khom-ahee) is derived from the words eis (ice) which signifies the primary idea of motion into any place or thing (G1519) and erchomai (erˊ-khom-ahee) which represents movement in a particular direction (G2064). Essentially, what Jesus was saying was that there was a passage way that one had to travel through in order to reach the kingdom of God. Somewhat like the birth canal that must be passed through when a child is born, there is a particular way for a person to get into the kingdom of heaven and Jesus equated that with being “born of water and of the Spirit” (John 3:5).

Jesus noted the Holy Spirit’s prominent role in the process of spiritual birth when he said that “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). It seems that Jesus’ indication that both water and the Spirit were involved in spiritual birth means that both are required for it to happen. In the same way that it takes both an egg and a sperm to make a child, the Holy Spirit and water or perhaps water baptism make it possible for spiritual regeneration to take place. It could be that Jesus’ comment about entering the kingdom of God was not about spiritual birth, but about spiritual life. As we all know, conception takes place inside the mother’s womb, but the child’s birth doesn’t happen until later. Birth makes is possible for a new stage of the child’s development to begin. It’s possible that being born again happens in two stages. First the conception, when the Holy Spirit comes in and regenerates a person and then, the birth, when a person is baptized and makes a public profession of faith.

Jesus associated the human spirit with the wind and said, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). A unique characteristic of the wind that differentiates it from other natural forces is that you can’t see it, but you know that it’s present because of its effect on the things that it comes in contact with. The Greek word pneuma (pnyooˊ-mah) is translated as both wind and Spirit in John 3:8. Pneuma is “the vital spirit of life, the principle of life residing in man. The breath breathed by God into man and again returning to God, the spiritual entity in man (Matthew 27:50; Luke 8:55; 23:46; John 19:30; Acts 7:59; 1 Corinthians 15:45; Revelation 13:15)” (G4151). Pneuma is derived from the word pneo (pnehˊ-o) which means “to breathe hard, i.e. breeze” (G4154). This might make it seem as if the spiritual aspect of man is uncontrollable, but it could be that God causes us to be born again so that like the wind he can get us moving and so that his power will have a channel to flow through.

Psalm 135 focuses on the greatness of God and his ability to accomplish things. Psalm 135:5-7 states:

For I know that the Lord is great,
    and that our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
    in heaven and on earth,
    in the seas and all deeps.
He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
    who makes lightnings for the rain
    and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

The Hebrew word that is translated wind in Psalm 135:7, rûwach (rooˊ-akh) is similar to the Greek word pneuma. Ruwach also describes the breath of a human being or the natural wind that blows. “The human spirit is sometimes depicted as the seat of emotion, the mind, and the will. The human spirit and the Spirit of God are closely linked with moral character and moral attributes” (H7307) It says in Ezekiel 11:19 and 36:26 that God will give his His people a new spirit so they will follow His decrees and laws.

Psalm 135:7 emphasizes God’s control of the natural forces. The psalmist said that God “makes the clouds rise…makes lightnings for the rain…and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.” It could be that when we are born again, we become more like that natural forces that are under God’s control. Jesus eluded to this in his final words to Peter who had previously denied his relationship with Jesus three times (John 18:17, 25-27). Jesus told Peter, “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18).

Following Jesus comment that “the wind blows where it wishes…but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8), Nicodemus openly acknowledged his lack of spiritual perception by asking, “How can these things be?” (John 3:9). Rather than explaining things to Nicodemus, Jesus took the conversation in whole new direction. He stated:

Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but youdo not receive our testimony.If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:11-15)

Jesus referred to an experience that the Israelites had while they were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. The incident is recorded in Numbers 21:6-9. It states:

Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronzeserpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Moses’ account of what happened included three important steps that the Israelites had to take in order to avoid death after being bitten by the fiery serpents. The first step they took was to admit that they had sinned (Numbers 21:7). The Hebrew word that is translated sinned, chata (khaw-tawˊ) is a verb meaning to miss the mark…It indicates failure to do what is expected; the one who fails to find God in this life destroys himself (Proverbs 8:36)” (H2398). Second, the Israelites asked Moses to intercede with God on their behalf (Numbers 21:7). It says in Numbers 21:7, “So Moses prayed for the people.” The last thing that the Israelites had to do was to look at the bronze serpent (Numbers 21:9). The Israelites didn’t just glance at the bronze serpent and live, they had to consider its ability to save them and make a conscious decision to rely on it as a cure for their sin.

Jesus said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Jesus emphasized the requirement of belief in order to have eternal life. Believing in something or someone means that you have faith in him with the idea of hope and certain expectation (G4100). One of the keys to having faith is trust. When you believe in someone, you trust that he will do what he says he’s going to, that he won’t disappoint you. The Greek word that is translated believes in John 3:15, pisteuo (pist-yooˊ-o) is derived from the word pistis (pisˊ-tis). Pistis is “a technical term indicative of the means of appropriating what God in Christ has for man, resulting in the transformation of man’s character and way of life. Such can be termed gospel faith or Christian faith (Romans 3:22ff.)” (G4102). Pistis means “persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation.” The Greek word pistis comes from the word peitho (piˊ-tho) which means “to convince…meaning to let oneself be persuaded…to assent to, obey, follow” (G3982).

The argument that Jesus presented to Nicodemus was that God loved the world and wanted to save it. Jesus said:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)

Jesus’ explanation of why God sent him into the world to save it made it clear that condemnation was the thing that needed to be avoided. Condemnation is the result of sin and will be the outcome of everyone’s lives that does not put their trust in Jesus Christ.

Jesus went on to say, “And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (John 3:19-21). Jesus used the contrast of light and darkness to show Nicodemus that the Pharisees criticism of his ministry was motivated by guilt. Jesus said, “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed” (John 3:20). Jesus was likely prompting Nicodemus to search his own soul and see if there was anything that needed to be forgiven. It seems that Nicodemus left without making a decision one way or the other to follow Christ because their conversation ended abruptly after Jesus’ comment about those who do wicked things hating the light.

John the Baptist echoed Jesus’ sentiment when he said, “He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all…Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:31-36). The Greek word that John used that is translated does not obey is apeitheo (ap-i-thehˊ-o) which means “to disbelieve (willfully and perversely)” (G544). Apeitheo speaks of a conscious decision being made to not believe what one knows to be true. It’s not clear in John 3 if Nicodemus accepted or rejected Jesus’ message the night that he spoke to him or went away and gave it some more thought before making his final decision. John recorded in his gospel that Nicodemus later defended Jesus when the Pharisees spoke against his ministry (John 7:49-52) and was present when Joseph of Arimathea prepared Jesus’ body for burial (John 19:38-40).