Those responsible for assigning
the various topics have asked that I would address you tonight
on the subject of regeneration. And I'm sure, as most if not
all of you know, the term regeneration is basically a theological term
as opposed to a strictly biblical term, though we will find the
term in our English Bibles. But it's a good term used in
theology to describe that mighty work of God by which he imparts
life to dead sinners and enables them, savingly, to embrace his
Son in true and living faith. This is a vast subject, bringing
us into the compass of the whole biblical teaching concerning
the application of salvation to the hearts and minds of God's
elect, and if this were a group of preachers I would handle the
subject primarily perhaps in a topical and theological lecture
form, but since a number of you here tonight are not preachers,
I want to handle it in a way that perhaps will be a little
bit more to your liking and in a way in which I feel much safer—namely,
seeking to expound the doctrine as it is found in a pivotal passage
of the word of God. And perhaps in the minds of many
of you, I need not even announce what our text will be. For what
1 Corinthians 15 is to the doctrine of the bodily, physical resurrection
of the dead, what Isaiah 53 is to the sufferings of the servant
of Jehovah, so John 3 is to the doctrine of regeneration. I would
ask you to listen as I read John 3, verses 1-14. I want to ask you to do something
that is impossible to do to perfection But at least attempting is a
good spiritual discipline. Try to listen to this portion
as though you were hearing it for the first time. Now there was a man of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came unto him
by night and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher
come from God, for no one can do these signs that thou doest
except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto
him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto 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, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee,
Ye must be born anew. The wind bloweth where it will,
and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh
and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born
of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto
him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto
him, Art thou the teacher in Israel, and understandest not
these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
We speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which
we have seen, and ye receive not our witness. If I told you
earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if
I tell you heavenly things? And no one hath ascended into
heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even 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 whosoever believeth in him may have eternal life. Let us
once again unite our hearts in prayer before God. Our Father, we are very conscious
as we come to take your written word into our hands and to set
its words before our eyes and before our minds and to have
them spoken in our ears, that we stand in present need of the
gracious and powerful assistance of the Holy Spirit. For we remember
your own words, a man can receive nothing except it be given him
from heaven. O Lord, may it please you to
give us this night a measure of the Spirit's grace and power
as the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of yourself,
the spirit whose delightful work it is to magnify Christ, to take
the things of Christ and to reveal them unto us. And, O Father,
we pray that for the one who speaks and all who listen there
may be the consciousness of that gracious assistance of the person
and ministry of the Holy Spirit in our midst. Hear us as we are
emboldened to ask this, not because of anything in us, but because
of your favor to that one who sits at your right hand, even
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. In attempting to open up this
portion of the Word of God, at least in A cursory manner, for
time will not permit an exhaustive exposition of the section that
I have read before you and in your hearing. We shall consider,
first of all, what our Lord has to say concerning the necessity
of regeneration or the new birth, and then, in the second place,
what our Lord says in this passage concerning the essential elements
of the new birth, and so we have but two divisions under which
to gather the various aspects of our Lord's teaching in this
dialogue with Nicodemus. First of all, the necessity of
the new birth, and secondly, the essential elements of the
new birth. And as we look at our Lord's
words, we note that in underscoring the necessity of the new birth,
He tells us, first of all, in very emphatic terms, that this
is a necessity. And we shall see that it is an
emphatic necessity, first of all, because of the One who speaks
these words. At the very outset, our Lord
gives the assurance of His authority in these words, verse 3, Jesus
answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, And
in this portion, as in so many passages, our Lord underscores
himself as the speaker. He does not simply use the form
which would include the eye, but he underscores it with an
extra word of emphasis so that at the very outset Nicodemus
would understand that he was not talking with just another
teacher who happened to make his appearance in Israel. He was talking to the one who
dared say, I am the way, the truth, the life. The one who
was the fulfillment of that promise spoken by Moses, the Lord your
God shall raise up a prophet like unto me, to him shall ye
hearken in all things. The one speaking is the one described
by the writer to the Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 1 in verse
1. the final message of God to men, for God spoke in times past
unto the fathers by the prophets, but He has in these last days
spoken unto us in His Son. And so for Nicodemus, as with
us, it is essential at the outset of our study concerning this
subject of the new birth or regeneration that this teaching comes to us
from the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ. the one in whom all authority
is to be found, the one who speaks as God's final spokesman, the
one who said in John 12, 48 and 49, the words that I speak unto
you, they shall judge you in the last day. We do not come
tonight merely to be onlookers of the word of Christ. The moment
we come within the orbit of the word of Christ, we are coming
within the orbit of that which binds us with all the authority
of heaven itself. And so the necessity of the new
birth in this passage is first of all an emphatic necessity,
emphatic because of the one who states it. Secondly, the way
in which he states it also underscores the emphatic nature of this matter
of the new birth, the necessity of it. Everything our Lord says
is true and authoritative, but when Jesus adds to his own words
these verily, verilies, these amen, amens, it's as though the
Lord himself were taking a red pencil and underscoring his own
words. And twice in this passage we
find the Lord Jesus saying, with reference to the necessity of
the new birth, verily, verily, I say unto thee, verse 5, And then again in verse three,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of heaven. And it is those aspects of God's
truth which demand the most careful attention, which our Lord Himself
has underscored with these words found particularly in some of
the accounts of John concerning the discourses of our Lord. And so it is an emphatic necessity,
not only because of the one who speaks it, I say unto you, But
because of the way in which he states it, verily, verily, I
say unto you, and then it is an emphatic necessity because
of the issues that are at stake. Notice what those issues are.
This is not a matter of temporal importance, such as wealth or
poverty, nor is it even a matter of the greater or lesser rewards
that will be allotted to the people of God when they stand
before their Lord in that last day. But the issues at stake,
Jesus said, are seeing the kingdom of God and entering the kingdom
of God. Verse 3, I say unto thee, except
one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And in verse
5, except one be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot
enter the kingdom of God. Now what is the kingdom of God?
Well, there are but two kingdoms. There is the kingdom of darkness,
of sin, and of Satan. And there is the kingdom of God,
the kingdom of light, the kingdom of grace. And there is no salvation
outside of the kingdom of God. To be outside of the kingdom
of God is to be in bondage to the devil, is to be under condemnation,
is to be held in the grip of spiritual darkness and of spiritual
death. And so our Lord underscores the
emphatic necessity of the new birth by laying before us the
tremendous issues that are at stake. What did he mean when
he said to Nicodemus, I say unto thee, except a man be born again
or born from above or born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of
God. The word see here means to have
an intelligent appreciation and understanding of the kingdom
of God. You often in conversation will
say to someone, I hear your words, but I don't see what you're driving
at. Or we may say to someone, do you see what I mean? What
we mean by the use of the word see is this, do you have an intelligent
perception of that which I'm seeking to convey? A toad may
be placed in front of a great work of art. And he may see an
object in front of him, so that if he starts to hop, he'll hop
around the object as opposed to hopping into it or attempting
to hop through it. He sees the work of art, but
he doesn't see it. The toad could be placed in front
of the Mona Lisa. The toad could be placed in front
of many valuable and astounding works of art, but he cannot see
that work of art. Oh yes, he sees it, but he doesn't
see it. He has no intelligent perception, no ability to perceive
what is truly there as reflective of the genius of the artist.
And so it is in the words of our Lord Jesus. He said this
matter of the new birth is a necessity, for without it men cannot see,
they cannot intelligently perceive, they cannot enter in with spiritual
perception to the nature of the kingdom of God. And then he says
he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That is, he cannot be admitted
to that kingdom and all of its privileges and blessings and
responsibilities, apart from the new birth, there is no perception
of nor entrance into the kingdom of God. And so this matter of
the new birth is an emphatic necessity because of the one
who speaks of it. I say unto you, because of the
manner in which he states it, verily, verily, I say to you,
and because of the great issues that are at stake, seeing and
entering the kingdom of God. And lest you come to this study
as a mere academic or intellectual exercise, may I remind you that
the only alternative to the kingdom of God now is the kingdom of
darkness, and the only future for those in the kingdom of darkness
is hell itself. And unless you would look into
the yawning mouth of that place of utter darkness, where God's
righteous anger shall be poured upon the head of the wicked through
all eternity, unless you can face that awful sight, surrounded
with those words of Christ, weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth, the
smoke of their torment descending up forever and ever, unless you
can listen to all of that and look at all of that and just
sweep it aside with a wave of a hand of indifference. My friend,
we're not trafficking tonight in mere Christian theology. We
are dealing with Christian theology, with Christian doctrine, with
the truth of the Bible. We are, I trust, having our minds
exercised in the truth of God, but we're dealing with that which
is the difference between heaven and hell. That's why our Lord
speaks with such emphasis when he underscores to Nicodemus the
necessity of the new birth. But not only is the necessity
seen as an emphatic necessity, but it is seen as a universal
necessity. Although speaking to one individual,
you will notice, reading from the 1901 edition as I did, verse
3 reads this way. Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Nicodemus, except one be born again, or anew, or from above,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. Verse 5. Verily, verily,
I say unto thee, except one be born of water and of the Spirit. Although addressing himself to
a given individual, All of the statements of this passage are
true of Nicodemus, not because he was some peculiar individual
with special needs, but simply because he was one of the fallen
race of Adam, and what Jesus says to Nicodemus is true of
all of the sons of Adam. Our Lord states the necessity
of the new birth in the broadest terms of universality possible. Except one man, woman, boy, girl,
black, white, no matter what he be, except one be born, he
cannot enter. Except one be born anew, he cannot
see the kingdom of God. In other words, our Lord let
Nicodemus know. that whatever he said to him
in this personal dialogue that night, Nicodemus' case was no
different from the rest of the sons of Adam. But this was an
absolutely universal necessity, for as we shall see as we come
to the reason for this statement, The things that set us apart
as individuals and the things that mark us off as races, the
things that mark us off with different cultural backgrounds
and provincialisms are all very, very circus. But mankind at heart
is basically one as an image-bearer of God, basically one in his
fallen state, basically one in his desperate need of that which
Jesus calls the new birth. So in terms that are universal
and inescapable, our Lord says, except one, that is, except you,
mom, dad, fellow girl in this place, except you are born again,
you cannot see, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. John Owen,
that great master theologian of the Puritan period, observing
as a pastor the great delusions with which men destroyed their
souls, said that the two greatest errors by which men damn themselves
are these. One, they think they may attain
to heaven without the new birth, which is contrary to John 3,
3, 3, 5, and 3, 7. Or, they think they have experienced
the new birth, though they still live in sin, which is a contradiction
of 1 John 3, 9. And he said, those are the two
greatest errors by which men undo their souls, to think they
may attain heaven while they are strangers to the new birth,
which is to contradict the words of Jesus, or to think they have
experienced the new birth while they live in a course of willful,
deliberate violation of God's standards and are not pursuing
a course of universal holiness and obedience. And this is to
contradict 1 John 3.9, Whosoever is born of God doth not make
a practice of sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot
practice sin because he is born of God. Oh, my friend, mark it
down as something that will never be altered until he who is truth
incarnate ceases to be, that except you are born of the Spirit,
you cannot see. except you are born of water
and of the spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. And so it is an emphatic necessity.
Secondly, a universal necessity. But thirdly, our Lord teaches
it is a consequential necessity. That is, it is a necessity arising
as a consequence of certain conditions in man. Notice how our Lord underscores
this in the face of Nicodemus's question, verse six. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
spirit is spirit. Don't be amazed that I said unto
thee, ye must be born anew. Nicodemus, if you understood
what these words mean, that which is born of flesh is flesh. That
which is born of spirit is spirit. If you understood that truth,
you would not be amazed that I say to you, Nicodemus, leader,
teacher, separated one, religious one, you would not be amazed
that I said, you must be born anew. Because you see, Nicodemus,
the necessity of the new birth is a consequential necessity. It arrives out of, or derives
from, this condition that Jesus called a state of fleshiness. Now, what is the flesh in this
context? And here we must be so careful.
There are certain biblical words that are used in a broad sense
and in a diverse sense in the scriptures, and the word flesh
does not always mean flesh. Sometimes it means this physical,
mortal frame. But here in this context, flesh
obviously means what we are by virtue of our first birth, that
is, the totality of human nature under the dominion and control
of sin. And our Lord says to Nicodemus,
Nicodemus, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which fallen human nature
begets partakes of the nature and qualities of that fallen
human nature which has begotten it. Flesh it is and flesh it
ever will be. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. Now this has tremendous significance
when we remember the one to whom our Lord is speaking. He is saying
to this man, Nicodemus, this man who had all the benefits
of the revealed religion of Israel, he had great knowledge. Our Lord
says, art thou the teacher? Not a teacher, as we have in
the authorized version, but art thou the teacher? If you came
into a section where Nicodemus lived on the weekend and said,
who should we go here to preach? We just have one weekend in Jerusalem.
They'd say, ah, go hear the teacher. Go hear the teacher. He was a
man who had great measures of the knowledge of the things of
God according to the revelation of the Old Testament. He had
the form of knowledge, to use the words of Paul. Not only did
he have the form of knowledge, he apparently had great facility
in conveying that knowledge to others. He was the teacher in
Israel. He had been exposed to the miracles
of Christ, as the preceding context indicates. Jesus was in Jerusalem
at Passover time. And these miracles were seen,
and Nicodemus comes and says, I've come to this conviction.
I've reasoned from this effect back to this cause. Here are
miracles. You must be a God-sent man. Here was a man who was a
Pharisee. He was one of the separated ones.
He was a Jew within Jewry. He was an Israelite within the
nation. He was part of that separated
sect. the Pharisees. Now had our Lord
said to the woman at the well in the presence of Nicodemus,
this Samaritan, this half-breed Jew, had Jesus said to this woman,
who right then was living in a state of adultery, who was
of this half-breed nation, the Samaritans, had he said to her,
you must experience a spiritual renovation so pervasive, so radical,
so all-encompassing as to be called a birth from above, I'm
sure Nicodemus would have been his Amen Connor. Yes, it's true,
half-breeds, Samaritans, they must be born anew. But to say
to the separated one, to the Jew, head full of knowledge,
life externally, blameless, involved in communicating that knowledge
to others, that Jesus says to him, Nicodemus, that which is
born of the flesh, his flesh. and all of your proximity to
the truth of the Old Testament scriptures, all of your external
ablutions and washings and ceremonies, all of your activity in conveying
knowledge to others, Nicodemus, you are flesh still. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh. The necessity of the new birth
is a consequence of this fleshy state. which, when we turn elsewhere
in the word of God, we find described as a state in which man is polluted
by his own native corruption. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother concede me. For from within, out of the
heart proceed, and Jesus describes those manifestations of that
pollution of our nature. That's what the flesh is, polluted
in its native corruption. It's in a state of enmity in
its inbred rebellion. The carnal mind, the fleshy mind,
is enmity against God. It is not subject to the law
of God, neither indeed can it be. And remember, the word can
is a word of ability. The carnal mind, it has a set
of antipathy to God's authority. It is not subject to His law,
neither indeed can it be. To be of the flesh, is to have
nothing but that pollution of native corruption, that enmity
of inbred rebellion, that blindness of spiritual perception. 1 Corinthians
2.14, the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God. Why doesn't he receive them? That is, taken to himself
with relish and delight, because it says, They are spiritually
discerned, and he has no faculty to perceive them, and his non-reception
is due to his non-perception. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto
him, and he cannot know them. Now this condition is the condition
in which Nicodemus found himself, though he was utterly ignorant
of it. And I wonder, as you sit here tonight, if the revelation
of your fleshiness has ever come home to your heart by the power
of the Holy Ghost. Has God the Holy Spirit ever
borne down upon your conscience so that the words of Jesus strike
a note of deep and inward response as I read them? That which is
born of the flesh is flesh. Though you, like Nicodemus, may
have been hedged about with many influences to keep your fleshiness
from finding its natural and full expression in external acts
of uncleanness and vileness, impiety and irreligion, though
through the influence of the truth of God in the home and
in the Christian church God has been pleased, as it were, to
put a stopper on that artesian well of your fleshy heart, If
once the Holy Ghost has shown you what it means, that which
is born of the flesh is flesh, you'll never be found saying,
you know, I wish I'd gone into sin a little bit more, then I'd
be able to appreciate the Lord's salvation a little more. No,
no, my friend. When God gives you eyes and spectacles
to see what this means, that which is born of the flesh is
flesh, you'll know you're a sinner, not because some high-pressured
personal work calmed you into admitting it in an inquiry room
when he came at you with so many verses that you were afraid to
argue with him. It's one thing to admit I'm a
sinner under the pressure of a well-meaning personal worker
who calms me into the admission. It's quite another thing to cry
out my leanness, oh my leanness, because with Job I can say I
have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye
seeth thee, and I abhor myself." The necessity of the new birth,
our Lord underscores it as an emphatic necessity, a universal
necessity, and a consequential necessity. Now we move quickly
to consider, in the second place, some of the essential elements
of the new birth as given by our Lord. You will notice, first
of all, that our Lord gives strong emphasis upon the source of the
new birth. Then, secondly, we shall consider
the character of the new birth. Thirdly, the result. Fourthly,
the pattern. And if we have time, one or two
other things. All right? The source, then, of the new
birth. Now, who is the source, or what is the source of the
new birth? And the answer of this passage is the living God
himself in the person of the Holy Spirit. And our Lord, knowing
our denseness, underscores this in three ways. First of all,
when he speaks of the direction from which this birth comes.
Verse 3. Jesus answered and said unto
him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except one be born anew,
or as the marginal reading has it, born from above. Now when
you come to words that have various meanings, you must let the context
determine how it should be translated in that particular setting. And
throughout the book of John and again in the book of James, the
primary translation or usage of this word, anothen, is from
above. Notice its usage in the very
context of John 3 in verse 31. He that cometh from above is
above all. Same word. John 19 and verse
11. Gospel of John chapter 19 and
verse 11. Jesus answered him, thou wouldst
have no power against me except it were given thee from above. John 19, 23. Again, it speaks
of direction. woven from the top, woven from
above, throughout. And we find a similar use in
James chapter 1 verse 17, every good and every perfect gift is
from above. John James 3 and verse 15. And so unless there is good reason
to translate it another way, I believe it is right to translate
it, except a man be born from above. From above. What is our
Lord saying? When he emphasizes this, he's
telling us that the source of the new birth is not within you,
Nicodemus, in the energy and in the cleverness and in the
so-called ability you have as a rational creature. No, no,
Nicodemus. If you are ever to be the recipient
of this spiritual renovation, the direction will be from above. It's not to come from within
you, nor, Nicodemus, is it to come without in the ceremonies
of religion, ceremonies you have by the dozens. Every time you
come in from the marketplace, lest you pick up some defilement
from the sneeze of a Gentile or from the dust of a Gentile's
foot, you wash yourself, you cleanse yourself. But, Nicodemus,
you need a spiritual renovation that goes where the water of
ceremonial cleansing can never go. The source of the new birth
is the living God, underscored, first of all, by the direction
from which it comes. Secondly, the very term used
to describe it. The word to beget can refer either
to the paternal function in conception or to the maternal function in
bringing forth the child. It is perfectly proper for me,
as a father of three children, to say I have begotten three
children. It is perfectly proper for my
wife to say, I begot or begat three children, if she's going
to talk old Elizabethan English. But in either case, the analogy
is clear. That which is begotten or born
owes its existence to factors totally outside of
itself. The very use of the term born
shows, to use the theological terminology, we're dealing with
a strict monergism as opposed to synergism. The great issue
that Paul fought with the Judaizers, that Augustine fought in his
day with Pelagius, the issue that was thrashed out by the
Reformers, that was thrashed out again in the debate between
Whitefield and Wesley, that was thrashed out between the general
and particular Baptist, that was thrashed out in the division
of Presbyterianism back in the 1800s. This issue was the source
of the new birth. And our Lord says, it is a birth,
and the analogy utterly breaks down unless this concept comes
through with absolute clarity. In birth, that which is begotten
owes its existence totally to factors outside of itself. We are as totally dependent upon
the sovereign activity of the Spirit for our second birth as
we are upon the action of our physical parents in our first
birth. As Professor Murray has so aptly said, we were not begotten
by our father because we decided to be, and we were not born of
our mother because we decided to be. We were simply begotten
and we were born. And then our Lord emphasizes
the source not only by pointing the direction from which it comes,
the very term which he uses, but thirdly, the person to whom
this work is ascribed explicitly. Look at our Lord's words. Verse
5, Jesus answered and said, except one be born of water and of the
Spirit. Here is a birth which derives
from the activity of the Spirit. Verse 6, that which is born of
the flesh, that is, which derives its existence from the activity
of flesh, is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit
is spirit. The person to whom this work
is ascribed is nothing less or no one less than the third person
of the triune Godhead. As the birth out of the flesh
excluded all influence of the spirit, so the birth out of the
spirit excludes all influence of the flesh. It is his work
and his work alone. You see, the key words in Christian
theology are the words only and alone. The fatal number in theology
is two. The key words are only, and alone. And on the use of those words,
precise theological definition and an accurate conveyance of
the scriptures often hangs. Now you say, isn't that squeezing
an awful lot out of those words of our Lord? Well, if what we've
sought to squeeze out of them were contradicted by the rest
of the testimony of Scripture, that conclusion might be warranted.
But when we turn elsewhere with this question, what is the source
of the new birth? Again and again God says, the
source is in me and in me alone. Turn back to the first chapter
of John for an explicit statement to this effect. Verse 11, He came unto his own. and his own received him not. But as many as received him,
to them gave he the right to become the children of God, even
to them that believe on his name who were born." Now, the negatives. Not of blood. This new birth,
the source of it is not that they happen to be born of the
right parents. I say to many of my dear, godly,
pedobaptist friends, who want God's electing grace to be utterly
free with everything and everyone but their own seed. God is under
no obligation to make my children vessels of mercy any more than
he is to make the children of my neighbors vessels of mercy.
Now, I believe there is much to encourage me to believe that
my children may be, since where God puts means, it is often because
he ordains ends. And the scripture teaches us
that great numbers of God's elect are called in family lines. I'm fully aware of that, and
I derive great encouragement. But this text says the new birth
is not rooted in the fact that a man had the right physical
blood flowing in his veins. They were born not of blood.
nor of the will of man. I'm sorry, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Now, how can
John state the thing more simply? The force of this text is so
clear that people have tried to say, well, that's a reference
to Christ in his virgin birth. No, no. Those who receive him
are those who have been born of the Spirit, and the source
of that spiritual birth is not human lineage, nor is it human
effort from without or from within, but it is God who begets them
to spiritual life. James underscores this testimony
with his words in James 1 in verse 18. Of His own will begat
He us by the word of truth, that we should be the firstfruits
of His creatures. Of His own will He begat us. He brought us forth the instrument,
the word of truth, but He brought us forth. Who has begotten us
if we have been born again? God has begotten us. Now if this
be the nature of the new birth as to its source, then the question
I press upon the conscience of everyone present in this building
is this. What is there about you as you
sit there tonight, man, woman, fellow girl, teenager, some of
you younger children here, what is there about you sitting where
you sit tonight that has no explanation, that defies any other explanation
than this? Almighty God, in sovereign grace and in power, has begotten you
to newness of life in His Son. Now, what is there about you?
The way you think, what you desire, what you love, what you hate?
What you choose, what you watch on the TV, what you don't, what
you do with your money, what you don't do with your money,
what you think when you come to church, what you don't think
when you gather with God's people, what is there about you in your
total lifestyle that defies any other explanation than this?
You're the product of the divine beginning. Now remember to whom these words
were spoken. Well, you say, I believe the Bible. So did Nicodemus.
Well, I even memorized Scripture. So did Nicodemus. Well, my outward
life is not like people in the neighborhood. Neither was Nicodemus's.
What is there about you that has no explanation other than
the fact that Almighty God has begotten you to newness of life?
Friend, if you can say, I have within me, through no cause of
my own, a longing to please the Son of God as is revealed in
Scripture. I have an inner longing to know
Him in greater experimental intimacy and knowledge. My friend, the
flesh never produced that. If you can say, conscious of
my failures and my waywardness, I long to hear the voice of my
shepherd. I long to follow him in what
I think, in what I desire, how I act and react in the midst
of the world and in the most secret places of my own deepest
thoughts. The source of the new birth is
God himself, and my dear preacher friends, if we believe that,
As our brother mentioned this afternoon, what a profound difference
it will make in our preaching. We will be abundantly prayerful,
crying to God to give life to the dead. We'll be brutally honest
with men, setting before them all the privileges of the gospel
in the freeness of the overtures of grace. But setting before
them the stringent demands of discipleship, convinced that
if God begets them, they'll come on His terms, and we'll not need
to alter the terms to suit unregenerate flesh and carnal desires. We'll
be done with clever salesmanship, with personality padding, and
all of the rest, if we believe that the source of the new birth
is God Himself. It will not be held in abstraction
as a theological tenet over which we debate. It'll be that which
becomes the pulsing, throbbing reality in the very ethos and
mood of our ministries. But then I hurry on to note the
character of the new birth. As we look at some of the essential
elements of the new birth, we see not only the source, but
look at the character. Verse 5. Our Lord describes it
as a begetting of water and of the Spirit. except one be born
of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter, he cannot see the
kingdom of God." Now, what is this born of water? You say, you mean you actually
dare to stick your neck out and take a position? Well, I'll be a coward and hide
behind some others, but I'm convinced that our Lord is not speaking
directly or explicitly of baptism. Either a full dunk, or a pour,
or a little sprinkle. And any who have questions about
that, let me refer you, of all people, to an Anglican who says
there's no water of baptism here. Bishop Ryle, in his exposition
of the passage, And also Professor Murray, a godly Peto-Baptist
theologian, in his redemption accomplished and applied in the
chapter on regeneration. Remember, our Lord is talking
to Nicodemus, who knew much about ritual cleansing. The Pharisee
was forever ritually cleansing himself. You remember what Jesus
said? They don't go out to the marketplace, but what they come
home, they wash themselves. They wash their clothing, they
wash their belongings. They were constantly cleansing
pots and pans and their little rolled-up couches. Now what would
this convey to the mind of Nicodemus? Now imagine how shocking this
was. Here he is, the one who probably was freshly washed.
He had gone through some ceremonial washings prior to his coming
to Christ, and Jesus said, Nicodemus, you need to be born of water.
Nicodemus, you need a spiritual birth which will do for you inwardly
what all your washings can only do for you outwardly. Water being
the constant instrument of ritual purification, our Lord is saying
you need a purification that comes from above. And I'm personally
convinced that when our Lord chides him and says, are you
the teacher in Israel and aren't acquainted with these things?
Our Lord had in mind the classic passage in Ezekiel 36 and verse
25, a passage, no doubt, which, which no doubt had often been
read by Nicodemus. Perhaps he had even made efforts
at expounding it to others. In Ezekiel chapter 36, this is
the promise of God, verse 25. And I will sprinkle clean water
upon you, and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness, and
from all your idols will I cleanse you. And in the context of this
is a new covenant promise. Our Lord is speaking of an inward
cleansing. I will sprinkle water that will
cleanse you from your filthiness and from your idolatry. No amount
of external ceremonial washings can cleanse from the pollution
of idols and from the filthiness of sin. And so our Lord is saying
the character of the new birth is first of all, it's a birth.
which effects a spiritual cleansing. Titus 3.5 is the best New Testament
commentary. Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by
the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Nicodemus, though you're the
separated one, you are still flesh. As such, you are defiled
and polluted. You cannot see, you cannot enter
the kingdom, and you'll never see nor be fit for that kingdom
until the Spirit comes to cleanse your heart and make it the fit
dwelling for God. But then the character of the
new birth is seen not only in the phrase, born of water, but
born of the Spirit. A birth not only of spiritual
cleansing, but of spiritual renewal. As the animating, life-giving
spirit, he will come to implant a principle of obedience, faith,
and all the other graces. For God goes on to say in that
Ezekiel 36 passage, A new heart also will I give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony
heart out of your flesh. And I will give you a heart of
flesh, and I will put my spirit within you. Now notice the next
words. and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall
keep mine ordinances and do them." This whole idea that you've got
to convince Christians that they ought to obey the Lord and constantly
be clubbing them over the head, my friend, the Holy Ghost does
that work powerfully and graciously in regeneration. and brings the
rebel sinner to a posture of basic, though not perfect, submission
to Jesus Christ and to the law of God. And so the character
of this new birth is a birth of spiritual renewal, implanting
what John calls the divine seed, moving a man in the way of obedience,
causing him to walk in the statutes of God and to keep the ordinances
of God. So our Lord's words to Nicodemus
concerning the character of the new birth were clear. Nicodemus,
there must be cleansing. Nicodemus, there must be renewal. There must be cleansing from
defilement and pollution. Renewal to break sin's dominion
and to impart a new principle of life. And that's precisely
what our Lord says to us. If we would see and enter, there
must be a birth that comes from God as its source, and in its
character brings with it cleansing of the heart, not just the outside
of the cup and of the platter, but the cleansing of the heart. And then another essential element
of the new birth is the result of the new birth. Look at verse
6. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. in some sense
parallel to the statement, that which is born of the flesh is
flesh. Now let's reason from the one
that's evident to the one that our Lord is expounding. That
which is born of the flesh partakes of the nature of flesh. That
is, unrenewed human nature controlled by sin can only produce what
unrenewed human nature controlled by sin can produce. And so the
works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lasciviousness, but not only gross acts of impurity,
anger, wrath, heresies, drunkenness, blasphemies. Flesh can only produce. flesh. Now, our Lord says the result
of the new birth is this, that which is born of the spirit is
spirit. That is, whatever is born of
the spirit partakes of the nature of the spirit. It becomes now
human nature, controlled and dominated by the spirit. So we have the classic statement
of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8, 7 to 9, and I would ask you
to turn to it for a moment. The result of the new birth,
the Apostle gives us this very clear exposition of this aspect
of our study. Romans 8, 7, the carnal mind
is enmity against God, it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can it be. They that are in the flesh cannot
please God, but ye are not in the flesh. That is, ye are not
in that natural state, born of the flesh, and nothing but flesh,
and controlled by flesh. Ye are not in the flesh, but
in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in
you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none
of his. You see what he say? Every man
in whom the Spirit dwells is a man basically possessed by
the Spirit. whose life will evidence the
presence of the Spirit. The Spirit is never dormant in
the one whom he has begotten to new life. That which is born
of the Spirit is spirit as surely as that which is born of the
flesh. His flesh—was there ever a son of Adam in his fleshy state
who did not express that sonship in Adam by deeds of the flesh? Not a one. Was there ever a Son
of God born of the Spirit who expressed nothing but fleshiness
and carnality and sin? This abominable doctrine of the
carnal Christian says there are not only one or two, but the
majority of Christians are born of the Spirit, but they're still
flesh. Not flesh as remaining corruption,
Not flesh as a principle counteracting and fighting against the new
life, but the teaching is there still pervasively dominated by
the flesh. But since they've accepted Jesus,
we must believe they're born again. It's a teaching that runs
counter to the whole drift of the Word of God from Genesis
to Revelation. The result of the new birth will
always be that the one begotten of the Spirit will characterize
and manifest the fruit of the Spirit. And the book of 1 John
is an excellent commentary on this very point. He that is born
of God, Jesus, John says, does not make a practice of sin. Hereby
do we know that we are born of God if we love those begotten
of God. Hereby do we know that we pass
from death unto life. Hereby do we know that we know
Him if we keep His commandments. And you go through the book of
1 John and you find the birthmarks of every true child of God. The
birthmarks, not just of a consecrated few, a little elite core of the
spirit-filled. John says, whoever is begotten
of God overcomes the world. The result of the new birth will
always be in the language of 2 Corinthians 5.17. Any man be
in Christ a new creation. The old is past. the new has
come. We must hurry on now to say just
a word about the pattern of the new birth in verse 8. We've seen
the source is God, the character, a birth of spiritual cleansing
and of spiritual renewal. The result of the new birth,
there will be the manifestation of the transformed life. Now,
what is the pattern of the new birth? Verse 8. The wind blows
where it wills, and thou hearest the sound thereof. But canst
not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every
one that is born of the Spirit." Jesus said the pattern of the
new birth is like unto that of the operation of the wind. Here's
an analogy, a comparison between the activity of the wind in creation
in the natural world and the work of the Spirit in the spiritual
world. And what are the three things
that form this pattern? First of all, there is unhindered
sovereignty. The wind blows where it wills. Oh, how many times I've wished
the wind were not sovereign. Now I know it's under the control
of God. Yes, but in the figure. Jesus said the wind blows where
it wills. Some of you on a hot night when the air has been so
heavy it sat upon you. How you wish you could have just
gone like this. Come wind. Seven miles an hour, not too
hard, not too slow, blow across my cheek. You have your windows
all the way open. I don't know how many of us will
be using our air conditioners next year with the energy crisis.
You have the windows all the way open. I can remember one
year when I was living in South Carolina, there in Columbia,
and we had some of that very, very heavy, humid weather one
summer. Looking up at a tree that was
about a hundred feet above the ground, at the topmost leaf in
the middle of the night, lying there in the bed trying to get
some sleep, and the leaf wasn't even twitching. I think I'd have
had some consolation. If I just saw a leaf twitch,
I would have known there was a little wind somewhere. The wind blows where it wills.
The sailor who least wants it, who's out trying to make a living,
and suddenly a terrible squall comes crashing down upon him
and threatens life and limb and all he possesses. But no man
has the wind at his control but the Son of God. The wind blows
where it wills. That's the pattern of the new
birth. There is this element of unfettered You don't clap
your hands and call the wind, only God controls it. Behold,
what manner of man is this that even the winds obey his voice? And so James says, of his own
will begat he us. And thank God the work of the
Spirit in regeneration is in his hands. Not to be effected
capriciously, but in conjunction with the Father's own eternal
purpose. and in conjunction with that
which Jesus Christ did upon the cross, but oh, how he surprises
us. If we had taken a roll or a vote, a sort of a straw poll,
one day before Saul's Damascus Road experience, and said to
the Christians in Judea, who do you think is the least likely
candidate to be a Christian in the next year? I know who would
have won that poll. Saul of Tisus, brooding out threatenings
and slaughters against the Church. And the wind blew where it will. Seized upon the man, revealed
Christ, falls at his feet and cries, Lord, what wilt thou have
me to do? There is unfettered sovereignty.
But then the pattern is secondly, absolute certainty. Look, the
wind blows where it wills. The wind blows where it wills. Factuality, certainty, efficacy. You feel it upon the cheek. You
can see it in the trees. And when the Spirit operates
in regeneration, He goes forth with creative power and efficacy
to beget nothing less than new life. He never goes forth to
make people simply feel good, have some kind of subjective
religious experience. No, no. The goings forth of the
Spirit have direct reference to what the Son had in mind when
He died. Why did he die? To redeem a people
from all iniquity and purify them to himself, a peculiar people
zealous of good works. When the Spirit goes forth in
his certainty, he blows to do that in men's hearts, which will
see realized in them what the Son of God died to have in his
people. But then thirdly, the pattern
of the new birth involves the element of mystery. Look at the
words of Jesus. Thou canst not tell whence it
cometh, or whither it goeth. Where is the womb of the wind?
Who can find it, point to it? Don't know where it comes from,
where it goes. The element of inscrutability,
the element of mystery. And so it is with God's work
in regeneration, the element of mystery, not spooky mystery,
that which transcends human reason. And then there is observability.
You hear the sound thereof. And now I must close with sounding
this note so that we may end where Jesus ended. What is the
instrumental means of the new birth? Look at verses 13 to 15.
No one hath ascended into heaven but he that descended out of
heaven, even 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 whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life. Now listen carefully. A man does
not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be born again. He is born again in order that
he may believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He cannot believe upon
an unrevealed Christ. He cannot believe with a faith
that involves the casting of his entire being upon all that
Christ is and all that Christ is presented to be in the gospel.
He cannot see, cannot perceive, he cannot enter unless there
is that divine begetting. But as the divine begetting works
beneath the level of the consciousness, It always operates within the
context of the proclamation of Jesus Christ as the unique God-man
sent from heaven, and that glorious message of his death upon the
cross in the room instead of sinners. For Peter says, We have
been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by
the word of God. James says, Of his own will begat
he us by the word of truth. And whenever you see men regenerate,
as you read through the book of the Acts, it was always in
conjunction with the proclamation of Christ crucified. The uniqueness
of his person, the one sent from heaven who is yet in heaven,
who is God and yet is man, and the one who in the perfection
of his work has secured all that is necessary that sinners might
find full acceptance, and so our great delight as preachers
is to declare what Jesus said in these verses. Unless men are
born again, they'll never enter the kingdom. But then it's our
great joy to preach Christ and to plead with God that as Christ
is preached and men are summoned to repentance and faith in a
way that is mysterious to us, and yet in a way that is an unfolding
before our eyes of God's own eternal purposes. He begets men
to life, and that person who has sat in that church months,
years, has been able to listen to you expound the word of God,
set forth Christ crucified before them, plead, entreat, warn, admonish,
and they've been utterly unmoved. Suddenly one day you see the
tears start out of the eye, and there's a new light upon the
eyes. and a new eagerness as they attend to the word. And
perhaps in a short time or perhaps sometimes in a lengthier time,
they come and appear before the pastor elders. They want to declare
what God has done for their souls. He's begotten them to life. And
suddenly the Christ who was preached in all the beauty of his person
and the perfection of his work, but was despised and rejected
and ignored, is suddenly embraced with spiritual relish and delight. And my friend, One thing you
know, if you have an ounce of sense as a preacher, you didn't
make the difference. Almighty God was pleased to beget
them, but he used the instrument of the gospel. May God be pleased
to take the truth that we've sought to open up from the words
of our Lord and give to us all a new appreciation of this great
work of our God in begetting dead sinners to spiritual life. I would close with pressing upon
your conscience this final question. In the light of our Lord's statement
concerning the necessity of the new birth. Essential elements
of the new birth source of it. These other matters. The question
that perhaps you were offended the first time someone asked
you, but I want to ask it again tonight. Have you. been born from above. I'm not
asking if you made a decision or two or three or twenty. I'm
not asking you, do you believe the truth of the gospel? I'm
not asking any other question than this. Have you been born
from above? Has the wind of God blown upon
you, begetting you to newness of life? You say, how can I tell? You go to the book of First John.
And you read through that book with Judgment Day honesty and
ask yourself, is my life expressive of those birthmarks of the true
Christian? Is there a living faith in the Son of God, genuine
love for his people, an earnest pursuit after a life of universal
holiness and obedience? Is there progressive sanctification?
And my friend, listen, if you're determined to cling to your conviction
that you're born again, While there is no biblical evidence
that you have been born again, you are willfully believing a
lie, and it'll serve you right if God gives you up to that lie,
and you're damned in the belief of it. My friend, don't you dare
answer that question in the affirmative. I have been begotten of God! Unless there is the evidence
of the divine beginning, both in the inward dispositions which
grace alone can produce, primarily of faith in Christ and all the
other graces that flow from it and the evidence without in a
transformed life. Amen.