A Johaninne Study (John 3:9-10)

^3:9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?

God’s ways confound the greatest scholars. In seminary, I took a class that involved group discussions between students and professors. The topics ranged from very practical issues, like teaching adolescents, to conceptual ones, like theological understandings. I expected students to be diverse in their thoughts and perspectives. I did not, however, expect the professors to be so divided amongst themselves. They differed in their opinions about how to be a church. They differed in their convictions about the sovereignty of God in salvation. They even differed on some aspects of the gospel. One thing was clear, even teachers of Christianity do not understand everything about God.

Nicodemus was shocked at Jesus’ teaching. How can a man be born again? Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit’s work in regenerating people’s hearts, causing them to have faith and love God. In other words, in order to be saved, one needs the Holy Spirit to transform them. We need a spiritual birth. And only the Spirit can beget spirit.

Nicodemus was not confused because Jesus was telling him something new. He was probably acquainted with Ezekiel 36:26-27, which mirrors Jesus’ teaching on regeneration: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” Nicodemus already knew that people needed spiritual renewal. It was not new teaching that shocked him, but old knowledge.

Knowledge does not equal understanding. One could possess all the knowledge in the world and yet still not understand God’s ways. In a special episode of Jeopardy, a computer named Watson challenged two of the most successful Jeopardy contestants, Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings. In the past, Rutter and Jennings played as though they had encyclopedic knowledge. Not surprisingly, however, they were outmatched by this computer that was specially designed for this game. Interestingly, one of the Jeopardy questions described an American city. Though the answer should have been “What is Chicago?” but Watson answered, “What is Toronto?????”

Computers, like Watson, can extrapolate data at an incredible rate. Despite this, computers are limited by their programming. As it stands, computers can recognize data, but they cannot understand it. In the case of Watson, the computer probably had the answer correctly installed in its database, but its programming prevented it from retrieving that information. This computer did not have the understanding needed to make connections beyond its written parameters.

Similarly, our knowledge base does not necessarily mean we have understanding. We need revelation. A new code is needed to rewrite our parameters so that we can make new connections with the knowledge we already possess. Nicodemus, through Jesus, was faced with the reality that what he knew did not really make sense to him. Not without Jesus.

Jesus is the revelation that Nicodemus needed to understand regeneration. God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son to die on the cross for us. In our place, he died for our sins. In exchange, we receive the Holy Spirit and get new birth. Everything written about in Ezekiel is demonstrated on the cross.

On the other hand, we have modern scholars that are confused about other doctrines. In these cases, we need to look back to the cross to gain understanding. The cross guides us in how to be a church and know God. The cross helps us understand the gospel. Because what Jesus did is the revelation we need.

A Johaninne Study (John 3:6-8)

^3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ 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 Calvin writes, “a man is born only carnal from the womb of his mother; he must be formed anew by the Spirit, that he may begin to be spiritual”.

As the colloquialism goes, “like begets like.” Man does not give birth to beast, nor does beast give birth to man. Kangaroos beget joeys. Bears beget cubs. Rabbits beget bunnies. Cats beget kittens. Mice beget pinkies. Pigs beget piglets. Dogs beget puppies. Humans beget humans. In the same way, only God’s Spirit can give life to the human spirit.

Jesus articulates, here, the doctrine of regeneration. John Hannah, in To God be the Glory, writes, “If salvation is the implantation of a new, infinite life in the soul, it must be a work of God. Self-caused effects can never rise above the character or qualities of their cause. ‘Flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit,’ Jesus told Nicodemus. This saving grace cannot be caused by the creature, it can only come from God.” In other words, God is mighty to save us from our sins by changing even the intangibles of our being.

How does regeneration fit within the narratives of our lives? When God saves us from sin, he does not save us superficially. He does not simply remodel our psychological processes, physical appearance or physiological operations. In regenerating us, God is exercising an operation on our spiritual hearts. That part of us needs an entire overhaul. Rebirth. The taint of sin is at the core of our being. God changes that.

What makes the Spirit the perfect person for this job? It is because the Spirit knows how to help us, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). Also, since the Spirit is God, that help comes directly from God himself, “And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27).

Jesus further encourages us with the nature of the Spirit, “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.” If the Spirit is in control of regeneration and intercession, then nothing can fail us when he is on our side. Humans can manipulate the wind. We have created massive windmills to draw on its energy. Humans can intercept audio frequencies through modern technology. Radios were invented for this. That means that humans can also use these things for harm. The Spirit, on the other hand, cannot be exploited. He is free and sovereign.

In God the Spirit, we have spiritual life and an invincible communicator.

A Johaninne Study (John 3:1-5)

3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 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.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 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?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

What does it mean to be born again? Nicodemus is understandably perplexed. The sarcasm is evident in his reply, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” That would be physically and biologically impossible. An adult person is proportionally too large to fit inside his mother’s womb. Even if it were possible to shrink a person, or enlarge a mother, there are other factors that make this kind of inquiry ridiculous. But Jesus isn’t talking about physical rebirth. He is talking about the doctrine called regeneration.

Wayne Grudem defines regeneration as: “A secret act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life to us; sometimes called ‘being born again’”1. In other words, it is the work of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, in creating a new heart and a new spirit within an individual. A proper description is found in Ezekiel 36:26-27:

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

The exact process in which the Holy Spirit renews us is a mystery. We do, however, know that when Jesus saves us from our sins, justifying us from the wrath of God, the Holy Spirit also regenerates our hearts. This is why Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit.” “Water” represents the cleansing power of God in salvation, while “Spirit” is indicative of the work of God in new birth. We need both to enter the kingdom of God.

Regeneration is entirely the work of God in changing our hearts, essentially rebirthing our spirit. As sinners, our hearts were hard, recalcitrant to God and his Word. Through regeneration, our hearts are softened. That means we have a new desire - God. Regeneration empowers us so that we can put our hope in him:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3)

New birth gives us a love for him. That is the wonder of regeneration! Jesus not only saves us from sin, but through the Holy Spirit, he saves us to God!

Paraphrasing, Jesus tells Nicodemus: “You think you know who God is with through signs and wonders, but you do not truly see God’s kingdom unless radical transformation happens.” Fortunately for us, radical transformation is not our burden to bear. For how could we give ourselves a second birth! But God, who is gracious, does that work for us. Radical transformation. New birth. Regeneration.