John 3:1-15 - The New Covenant - The Covenant of Grace - Part 6

Introduction

If I began telling you about what life on Mars was like and how you could get there, more than likely, you would look at me like I was from Mars with three heads and 40 eyes. Now, if I was born on Mars, or had been there and back, then you might trust me to tell you what life there was like and how to get there.

So, my question is this: “What makes what someone says about something trustworthy? How can we be sure of the trustworthiness of what someone says?”

Last time we saw from Jeremiah 31:31-37 that Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Covenant of Grace through the New Covenant to grant God’s people the promised blessings in all the previous covenants. We saw in the Old Covenant the necessity of the New Covenant and the nature of the New Covenant. We saw that God would directly communicate himself to us and that we would be united to him.

Today we will look at John 3:1-15 and see how Jesus gives us the benefits of the New Covenant through the cleansing of his blood and the regeneration of his Spirit. We will also see that he is alone is trustworthy to tell us how to receive these benefits.

Background

John chapter 3 finds us near the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. He has called his disciples, performed his first miracle, cleansed the temple, and performed other signs that show he is from God.

Now, as word gets out about his powerful miracles or signs, John sets up this story with Jesus and Nicodemus by using a little wordplay. Though many people believed in Jesus' name, that he was "a teacher come from God," Jesus did not believe or trust in them. As God, Jesus knew what was in people’s hearts. He did not need their support or approval because, without the Spirit, they were not really for him.

Exposition

How does someone receive the benefits of the Gospel? How does one know for sure that they will get into heaven? We will answer this question by looking at three points from John 3:1-15. First, the Necessity of the Spirit (vv. 1-4). Second, the Working of the Spirit (vv. 5-8). Third, the Working of Jesus (vv. 9-15). Through this we will see that Jesus not only applies to us the benefits of the New Covenant through the cleansing of his blood and the regeneration of his Spirit, but he is the only one who is trustworthy to do this.

Let's first at the Necessity of the Spirit from verses 1-4. We will see this in the believing unbelief of Nicodemus. Nicodemus, the man in this story is shown to be just like the crowds at the end of chapter 2. He believes in Jesus, but Jesus doesn't believe or trust in him because his belief, like the crowds, is not in his person and work but something else.

So, when Nicodemus compliments Jesus on his teaching and Divine empowerment, Jesus immediately pursues his unbelief. Jesus does so by driving directly at Nicodemus’s real problem…his heart.

Jesus knows Nicodemus' greatest need. He doesn't need his questions answered or some sort of new knowledge or teaching from Jesus; he needs to trust in Jesus himself. And so, Jesus cuts directly into the heart of the matter for Nicodemus. Jesus tells him that he needs a new heart given by the Spirit of God, which was promised in the New Covenant.

Let me frame this entire sermon by reading what God said in Ezekiel, "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 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. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God."

This passage of Scripture is tied to the most fundamental promise to Israel, their restoration to their covenantal relationship, which they had broken. God would do this great work in them and fulfill the rest of his promises toward them. This passage should have been well known to every teacher of the law because their restoration was tied to God's incredible work on Israel, which would enable them to love him and obey him at the core of their being. Because of all the talk of the possibility of Jesus being the Messiah, they should have been drawn into the thought found in Ezekiel, that God must act on his people in the most fundamental way, giving them new hearts, to fulfill his promises and that God must put his Spirit in them to enable them to obey him.

And so, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, being a teacher and leader among the Jews, should have known the Scriptures backward and forwards and understood that the New Covenant promises were tied to God creating a new heart in his people. There seems to be a connection between chapter 2, Jesus knew what was in a man, and Nicodemus being referred to as "a man." Nicodemus is being put forward as a specific example of those who "believed" because of Jesus' signs as opposed to believing because of the revelation of God through the Spirit.

Though Nicodemus and the crowds believed he was a teacher empowered to do God’s work, they did not trust in him as the One who would usher in the promises of the New Covenant. For them to believe this, they needed the Spirit of God to change their heart. And so, Jesus told Nicodemus that the only way someone can enter the kingdom of God is if they were born again, or as you might see in a footnote or a different translation, “from above.” From the context, we can see that Jesus meant that unless someone is born "of the Spirit" or "born of God", by the work of the Spirit, they cannot have eternal life.

Jesus is saying that God’s work of generating a new heart by the Spirit is required for eternal life. The Spirit must bring true belief into our hearts because, naturally, we cannot comprehend the things of God.

Nicodemus clearly demonstrates this in verse 4. Nicodemus asks Jesus, in a sense, how he will be able to see the kingdom of God since he is an old man and can no longer be rebirthed. He sees no way that a grown man could go back into his mother's womb and be born a second time. Nicodemus is asking what he considers to be a rhetorical question that he thinks Jesus should answer with a “no.” He demonstrates unbelief in the necessity for God to do the work. He thinks that the kingdom of God can be attained by natural means.

Secondly, let’s look at the Work of the Spirit in verses 5-8. The Spirit’s work in us allows us to truly believe. Jesus teaches that a person must be cleansed by God and have the Spirit in order to have eternal life.

Jesus responds by restating verse 3. He says that the only way a person can have eternal life is if they are born of water and the Spirit. Jesus is showing that God must give belief from above in fulfillment of the promises of the New Covenant found in both Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

Jesus is making it clear that Nicodemus must be born from above, referring to Ezekiel 36:25-27. He must be sprinkled clean by God and be given a new heart and a new spirit, and the Spirit must be put inside him. The idea here is that one must be cleansed by the Spirit of God through the application of the work of Christ, as signified by the tongues of fire upon the believers in Acts 1. This seems to point to the outpouring of the Spirit by Jesus after his death and resurrection.

Jesus makes it clear that everyone born of flesh cannot enter the kingdom of God unless they are born "from above," born of the Holy Spirit. In other words, they must have a new birth. Anyone born of human nature will stay in that nature, born in sin. Anyone born of the Holy Spirit will live in the Holy Spirit, walking by, living in, being led by, and keeping in step with the Spirit because their life is bound to God through the Spirit. Unbelief must be irradicated by the Spirit’s work, giving a new Spiritual nature to enable communion with God.

In verses 7-8, Jesus tells Nicodemus that this shouldn't shock him that a person must be born from above. The reason he gives is that just like the wind cannot be controlled, blowing where it wants, the Spirit gives new birth. You can't physically see it, like the wind, but you can feel its effects. Essentially, Jesus seems to be referring to Ezekiel 37, continuing the same vein as earlier, where God is said to breathe on the dry bones that God put flesh on to give life by the Spirit (Ezek. 37:7-10). You see, without the breath of God, the Holy Spirit, there is no Spiritual life. The work of the Holy Spirit on a person is out of our control and mysterious. Changes happen by God's Spirit. God alone does the work by his Spirit.

Thirdly, verses 9-15 show the Work of Jesus. Jesus is the one who alone can reveal these things and whose work, his death, resurrection, and ascension, provide the Spirit that to fulfill the New Covenant promises.

Nicodemus is completely flabbergasted, showing the inability of humanity to understand and receive the work of Christ. He does not know how someone can be born again of water and Spirit. He cannot see the connection between Jesus' words and Ezekiel 36-37 and the promises found in the New Covenant. The prophets spoke of the basic need for an inner change and the promise of the Holy Spirit to bring this about. Moses hinted at it in the law, the need for circumcised hearts, which only God can do. The prophets made it clear that the Spirit of God would do this and dwell in us. So, Nicodemus should have known because it was both in the law and prophets, and I would argue, in the writings as well, for instance, Psalm 51.

Jesus responds, in a sense, with disbelief. How can you be called the teacher of Israel if you don't know these things? The New Covenant was always about getting a new heart and having God live inside a person, it was about God being his people’s God and them being his people.

Jesus tells Nicodemus that he and the others do not believe his testimony. Jesus uses the plural here as Nicodemus did, more than likely referencing himself and all the other prophets of God. The testimony that Nicodemus and his other friends refuse to believe is what Jesus and all the prophets spoke of the promised Messiah who would pour out the Holy Spirit upon his people, giving them new hearts and breathing life into them, and making his home with them, have said.

Jesus points out to Nicodemus that since he cannot understand earthly things, then he won't be able to believe things concerning heaven. In other words, Jesus is saying that Nicodemus is a teacher in Israel and has missed the most basic point of God's redemptive plan. God's people must be born from above, from his Holy Spirit. The heavenly things probably refer to the kingdom of God, which Jesus was referring to at the beginning of this dialogue. So, Jesus is saying that if you don't get the basics, you won’t get the deeper realities of the kingdom of heaven.

And so, Nicodemus is left outside of the kingdom of heaven by his unbelief. So, a question arises, how is it that these things can be accomplished since Nicodemus doesn’t have the Spirit to give him belief? How can these things be applied to him? Verse 13 shows the necessity of Jesus. Jesus must be trusted because no other source can legitimately tell us how to enter the kingdom of God or heaven.

Jesus tells Nicodemus that the only one who can speak authoritatively about heavenly things, such as how to enter the kingdom of God, is the one who has been in heaven and comes to earth. In other words, Jesus says that nobody who hasn’t been to heaven can authoritatively talk about it. Jesus has the authority to speak of these things because his origin is not from below but from above.

Finally, in verses 14-15, Jesus shows how these things can happen and how God will provide the Spirit to his people…through his work. Jesus brings everything to the crux of the matter. Now that Nicodemus knows that the Son of Man is the only one with the authority to tell people how they can enter the kingdom of God because he comes from there, he tells him that the way to the kingdom of God is through what the Son of Man will do. The Son of Man must be lifted up and believed in. In other words, the only way for people to enter the kingdom of heaven is to believe in the person and work of the Son of Man.

Jesus brings out the story from Numbers 21:4-9 to show that just like the people in the wilderness were saved by God's miracle as they had faith and did what God said, simply looking on the snake, God miraculously gives the new birth, spiritual life to anyone who believes on Jesus. And so, this clearly holds out the way that the New Covenant is received, by believing on Jesus Christ as the instrument that God uses to bring people into the kingdom of God.

This passage teaches that belief in Jesus does not happen unless the Spirit gives the individual a new heart and enables them to believe or trust in Jesus. But what do they believe concerning the Son of Man? There are two things related to the Son of Man being lifted up.

First, Jesus was lifted up on the cross to pay for our sins. Jesus Christ settled the wrath of God for us by bearing our eternal punishment. God poured out the justice we deserve on Jesus as our substitute. Jesus was lifted up on the cross to drink the wrath of God for us.

Second, Jesus is exalted after he completes his work. Jesus Christ completed his work, died, and was buried. On the third day, as promised by God, he rose from the dead by the power of the Spirit. It was through and in the resurrection that he was gifted the Holy Spirit by the Father and was given the authority to give the Spirit to whoever he and the Father desired. And so, after he taught his disciples for a brief period, he ascended into heaven, being lifted up to glory, seated at the right hand of God, and given all power and authority. Jesus was lifted up to his rightful place as King of kings and Lord of lords in power.

Jesus completed his work to pour out the Holy Spirit on his people, giving them new hearts so they might freely and willingly embrace the free offer of the Gospel. Anyone who believes in Jesus, having been given birth from above by the Holy Spirit, can have eternal life.

So, what is the conclusion? To enter the kingdom of heaven, an individual must undergo a cleansing and spiritual birth. God must send his Spirit and breathe life into them for them to believe in Christ. This is the new birth when the Spirit dwells inside them. This new birth enables them to believe in Jesus, trusting that he is the Son of God and the Son of Man who cleanses them from their sin and is the one who has breathed life into them like God said in Ezekiel 37.

The bottom line is that the New Covenant is received when a person is given a new birth from above. Just like the wind, we don’t see it per say, only its results. Like the wind, the evidence of the new birth is that a person trusts or believes in Jesus. And so, if you truly believe and trust in Jesus that he was lifted up on the cross for your sake and then was lifted up to heaven where he reigns and rules over all, especially you, then you have experienced the new birth. The result of the Spirit in you is that he is causing you to walk in the way of God. You are living out the reality of God being present in and with you. You will submit yourself more and more to Jesus's empowering lordship and presence each day.

Application

So, how do we apply such an incredible teaching to our lives?

The first application point is a question about what you consider to be reliable testimony. Do you believe that humans can truly know what is to come after death or if another testimony is needed? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the only one who can tell you the way to eternal life? Do you believe that the only trustworthy source to know about God and how to get to God is God himself in the person of Jesus Christ, who has made the Father known? If not, what do you consider to be a trustworthy source, and why?

The second application point is for you if you do believe that Jesus is trustworthy but are unsure that you have been born from. A few questions for you today are: Do you know for certain that the Holy Spirit has changed your heart? Do you know that you have been born “from above”? Galatians 4 tells us that the Holy Spirit should be testifying to us that we are truly children of God. Do you know you are a child of God, born from above? Do you know whether or not the Holy Spirit lives in you? Do you believe that Jesus is the one who was lifted up on the cross for sin and, after he died and was buried, was lifted up to heaven and reigns over the whole world? If you do, but you have been sitting on the fence about completely trusting him and submitting your life to him, will you trust in him right now?

The third application has to do with those who know that they are secure in Christ and have the Holy Spirit living in them, certain that they have been born from above. Do you believe that Jesus is the only one who is trustworthy? Do you rest on him alone for your salvation and not in your own works or righteousness? Do you believe that you are truly cleaned from your uncleannesses even though you continue to sin? Do you walk in the reality that you do have a new heart? Do you live as if you have died to your old self and are alive in Christ Jesus? Do you believe that the Holy Spirit lives in you so that you would walk in God’s statutes and be careful to obey his rules? Do you believe that you have been created in Christ Jesus for good works?

The fourth application has to do with repentance and faith if you trust in Jesus. If you have been walking like the reality of having a new heart isn’t true, living in habitual sin, will you turn to Jesus in faith and repentance, asking him to forgive you for thinking that his incredible work and the Holy Spirit he gave you isn’t enough to defeat that habitual sin? Will you simply give him control over that area of your life and see him as more beautiful and wonderful than any other pleasure in this world?