Down From His Glory

Q: What does the Bible say about being born again?

The Bible teaches that to see the kingdom of God, one must be born again by the Spirit. In John 3:3, Jesus tells Nicodemus, 'Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' This highlights that the new birth is an essential work of the Holy Spirit that transforms a person’s spiritual condition from blindness to sight. The need for a new birth underscores human inability to achieve righteousness on our own; rather, it emphasizes the sovereign grace of God in initiating and executing this transformation. Apart from this divine operation, one remains outside the kingdom of God, ignorant of spiritual truths that God reveals through Christ.

Q: How do we know salvation is a work of God and not of ourselves?

Salvation is entirely a work of God, demonstrated by the need for spiritual rebirth and the inability of the flesh to please God. The necessity of being born again as stated in John 3:3 indicates that salvation is not within our control or capability. Jesus explains to Nicodemus that 'that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit' (John 3:6). This shows that our natural state cannot achieve what is spiritually required for salvation. Furthermore, Romans 8:8 states, 'So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God,' confirming that only through a divine work, specifically the work of the Holy Spirit, can we be transformed. Therefore, our assurance of salvation finds its foundation in Christ's redemptive work and the efficacious call of the Spirit, rather than in our efforts.

Q: Why is the concept of God's sovereignty important for Christians?

God's sovereignty emphasizes His ultimate authority and control over salvation, ensuring all glory belongs to Him. The sovereignty of God is a foundational truth in Reformed theology, which asserts that God is in complete control of all things, including salvation. This is vividly illustrated in John 3:8, where Jesus compares the work of the Spirit to the wind, 'The wind bloweth where it listeth,' indicating that we cannot dictate or control God's actions. Understanding this sovereignty reassures Christians that their salvation does not depend on their own merit or efforts, but solely on God’s will and purpose. This doctrine fosters humility and gratitude, as believers recognize that they are entirely dependent on God’s grace to bring them to Himself and grant them faith.

Q: What is the significance of faith in Christ for salvation?

Faith in Christ is the means by which we receive salvation and eternal life, rooted in His redemptive work on the cross. Faith in Christ is central to salvation, as it is the sole means through which believers receive the benefits of Christ’s atoning sacrifice. As John 3:14-15 states, '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 should not perish, but have eternal life.' This illustrates how belief in Christ's completed work is crucial for escaping condemnation and receiving eternal life. The act of looking to Christ for salvation is akin to the Israelites looking to the serpent for healing; it signifies reliance on His sacrificial death for cleansing from sin. Thus, faith is not merely an intellectual agreement; it is a deep trust in Christ as the only Savior, grounding our assurance in God’s promise of salvation.

I want to thank you all at the
Rescue Church for your kindness and your love to us, both my
wife and I and my brother and his wife, and to Brett, our friend,
who comes with us to the Bible studies. We really enjoy coming
here and we've grown very fond of you all and has given me some
comfort with all the nerves that come with preaching, to be amongst
friends. Turn with me in your Bibles to
John chapter 3, John the Gospel of John chapter 3. Tonight I want to bring a message
from the most familiar text of Scripture that seems to be prevalent
at least in the U.S. and I pray that God would bless
you from His Word in this text of Scripture. I want to start reading in John
chapter 2, in verse 23, and we're going to read, and I will comment
as we go through this, the first thing I want to show you tonight
is how far the Lord has to bring us down in order to save us. That's the first thing. And you
see that in a man whose name is Nicodemus. And the next thing
we're going to see tonight is the absolute and utter impossibility
that we could ever save ourselves, that it's a work of God. And
then the third thing, which is laid out so clearly in our text
for us, is how God does that. So if you can hold those three
things as we go through this, Maybe that will add organization
to what, as I read this chapter, and my wife and I were reading
it this last few weeks, knowing that I was going to preach on
this, I have to admit that John chapter 3 is one of the more
difficult passages of scripture to understand. Because of, as
you can see through this as we read it, but let's just read
through it and I'll give you what I understand these texts
of scripture to be. Look at John chapter 2, verse
23. Now, when he was in Jerusalem
at the Passover, this was Jesus, in the feast day, many believed
in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus
did not commit himself to them because he knew all men. And
he needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what
was in man." That sets up the context for John chapter 3. And
when I read those two verses, and I'm honest with the text,
and usually that's easier to do when you're in your private
reading, but I don't know about you, but when I read those words,
many believed in his name. And yet, the Lord Jesus Christ
did not commit Himself to them. I don't know about you, but that
gives me a solemn and sobering pause in my soul. That I would
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Is that possible? And He would
not commit Himself to me? When these people believed on
the Lord Jesus Christ, it says they believed in Him, in His
name, when they saw the miracles which He did. Do you see that
in the latter part of verse 23? He didn't stay with them. He
didn't commit himself to them. He didn't, as with his disciples,
stay with them and open his heart to them and reveal to them eternal
truth about himself and his work and the salvation that God sent
him to accomplish. He didn't do that with them.
He merely left them. And then we see in verse one
of chapter three, and when I say that, think about the grace of
God. Think about the mercy of God
to us. Oh, the privilege of hearing
the gospel over and over again, that God would come to your soul
and to my soul and speak the most tender thoughts of His heart,
that He's held in His heart from eternity, and now has sent His
Son into the world, and the operations of His Spirit in our lives, working
out every detail in our lives to bring us to glory. The most
tender. God places Himself not only as
a Father, but as a Mother, and in the Lord Jesus Christ as a
Brother. In the most tenderest positions
with us, That is a mercy. In Psalm 27, 4, he says, One
thing have I desired of the Lord, and that will I seek after, that
I may dwell in the house of the Lord and behold His beauty. And
the words mean to have His delight towards me. There's one thing
I want, to know the approval, the acceptance and the favor
of God. in the Lord Jesus Christ. These people were satisfied with
the mere miracles. And then in verse 1 it says,
there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the
Jews. Obviously a man of intense spiritual
or religious zeal. Religious zeal, a Pharisee, a
ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night
and said to him, now listen to his words, Rabbi, we know that
thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these
miracles that thou doest except God be with him. Do you see that?
Nicodemus must surely have been one of those who were in this
crowd, who saw his miracles and believed on him as the Messiah. in his name as the Messiah, but
he did not have any understanding of what the Messiah would do
and who he really was. Here he was a master of Israel,
a ruler of the Jews, a rabbi, considered among men the greatest
epitome of an example of what good men could be, of what a
man could achieve by his own efforts in keeping the law. This
man had it all. And he was a ruler, a teacher.
And yet, he was absolutely blind, absolutely in the dark. In fact,
notice, he comes to Jesus at night. That pictures for us what
condition was in his heart and his whole understanding of the
truths of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He was
completely in the dark. And yet he comes speaking about
knowing that Christ came from God because of the miracles.
How many today look for some kind of miracle? It's evident
in the superficial religions of Pentecostalism and Catholicism. But how often do we ourselves
look for some kind of a spiritual religious experience in order
to solidify and give us assurance? Nicodemus understood the miracles
as the message, but the miracle is never the message. Christ
is the message of his miracles. And so when the Lord Jesus Christ
opened the eyes of a blind man or enabled a lame man to walk
or even raised someone from the dead, how could he do that? Simply
this. He himself bore our iniquities
and carried our sorrows. He carried our griefs, our diseases. That's what sin is. It's a disease.
A loathsome disease has taken hold of him. And it was our disease. And that's the message of the
miracle. Nicodemus didn't see that. He came to the Lord as
a peer and spoke to Him as an equal, even maybe calling Him
rabbi to give Him that esteem that we give one another when
we want to be accepted or we want to not offend. That's what he did. Notice what
the Lord Jesus Christ does. Here a man comes standing before
the Lord of glory Enfleshed before him and the Lord answers him
this way. He says to his claim that to
his understanding He answers him this way Two verilys. You can put this so solidly in
the side of truth. He says, verily, verily, I say
unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God. Do you see that? You cannot see. What was Nicodemus' condition
by that statement? The man was blind to the kingdom
of God. But when I first read this, I
asked myself the question, what is the kingdom of God? And why
did Jesus talk about the kingdom of God? Nicodemus wasn't talking
about that. But the Lord always brings in
the true subject matter. He always brings us to face the
truth when we're blind to it. How else could we? We don't even
know the right questions to ask. In His mercy, the Lord has to
bring us along the way Now, this man was so elevated amongst his
peers and in his own mind, but he has to bring us down. It says
in James, chapter 1, verse 9 and 10, let the rich man rejoice
in that he is brought low. And before honor comes humility. In Ezekiel 16.2, God says to
the prophet Ezekiel, show unto Israel their abominations. This is the first principle.
The Lord first has to wound before he heals and kill before he makes
alive. And that's what he's doing here.
First, Nicodemus, you're blind. You do not see the kingdom of
God. Now, Nicodemus understood the
kingdom of God as being the nation of Israel. Weren't they, after
all, the people of God? Didn't God say, I dwell amongst
you? Didn't God give them the promised
land and bring them out of Egypt, working miracles? Aren't they
the kingdom of God? No, not at all. Not even close.
The nation of Israel, the physical nation of Israel, is not the
kingdom of God. And this was the first thing
he said. You're blind to that. But here, he opens to him something
about the kingdom of God that we need to understand. In order
to see it, you have to be born. You have to be born again. Nicodemus
had been born to Abraham. He thought, I'm a child of Abraham. But the Lord said, God is able
of these stones to raise up children to Abraham. And what are you? A man who is a son of Abraham?
That's nothing. He that is circumcised physically
is not circumcision. The kingdom of God has to do
with the inward man. Spiritual things, not physical
things. Eternal things, not temporal.
The Kingdom of God, it says in Romans 14, 17, is righteousness,
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. It has nothing to do with the
outward things that Nicodemus was bringing. The Kingdom of
God, if you were to condense it down, and really get it down, you would
have to say this, the Kingdom of God is where Christ rules
in the hearts of His people by His Spirit in His grace. That's
the Kingdom of God. God ruling in and amongst His
people by His Spirit in grace. We heard it last night from Romans
5.21. Grace reigns, how? Through righteousness. Grace
reigns through righteousness by the Lord Jesus Christ. That
has to do with the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is real. It's not a superficial thing.
It's not pastions that we put on. It's real righteousness. It's real atonement. Remember
what the high priest did in Leviticus 16 on the day of atonement? The
scriptures say that on that day, the priest will make an atonement
for you, cleansing you from all your sin before the Lord. That
the Lord Jesus Christ actually and really did. He really made
atonement. He really worked out a righteousness. He really gave His people eternal
life. That's the Kingdom of God. It's
substantial and real. And Nicodemus couldn't see it. Verse 4, Nicodemus said to him,
How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second
time into his mother's womb and be born? I put a little bit of
sarcasm in my voice to indicate I think Nicodemus was being sarcastic. He was a very proud man, obviously. He was a kind of man described
in Romans chapter 10, ignorant. of God's righteousness. He thought
that righteousness would be established by himself in keeping the law. That was his entire hope and
his association with Abraham. And so he asks this question,
almost to like push back the obvious opening up as a skilled
surgeon, the Lord Jesus Christ searches the hearts and tries
the reins, and he opens his heart, lays him bare before the all-seeing
eye of the Lord of glory, and he says to him in verse 5, Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say to thee, except the man be born
of water and of the Spirit, He cannot enter into the kingdom
of God. Now, at this point, Nicodemus
was completely outside of the kingdom of God, because unless
you're born of water and the Spirit, you can't enter. Obviously,
he knew nothing of that. So he was both blind and outside
of the kingdom of God. But Jesus uses this description
of how a man is born. He says, you have to be born
of water and of the spirit." Water and of the spirit. Now, I don't know how long I've
been looking at those two words, water and spirit. I think around
the age of 17, I began to read commentaries on what that means.
And I've read lots of them. And I've had different opinions
about it throughout my life. But let me help you out. I'll
try to condense it down into just a few words here. When the
Bible talks about water, it talks about it in many ways. But first
of all, think of these verses of scripture. In Ezekiel chapter
36, he says, I will sprinkle clean water upon you. That's
in verse 25. And then he says in Zechariah
13.1, that there's going to be a fountain open for sin and for
uncleanness. And then in 1 John 1.7, he says
that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. So the something to do with sprinkling
of water and the fountain open and the cleansing of sin has
to do with this water. Remember in the Old Testament,
Moses took when he had when he had read all the book of the
law, he took the blood of goats. With with water, and sprinkled
both the blood with the book and all the people. He sprinkled
the blood with the water. They were both joined together
in 1st John 5. The Lord tells us that there's
three that bear record on earth. I better read that before I get
it incorrect. Let me read that to you because
I don't want to mess those critical words up. 1st John chapter 5,
he says this. I'll read verse 6. This is he
that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ. Not by water
only, but by water and blood. Remember when he died? The soldier
pierced his side? And after the spear entered into
his side, what came out? Water and blood. That's what
he's speaking about here. And it is the Spirit that bears
witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that
bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost.
These three are one, that's in heaven. And there are three that
bear witness in the earth. Listen, the Spirit, and the water,
and the blood, and these three agree in one. So this all has
to do with the water here. And then we read these other
passages like in 1 Peter 1. And we should look at that. Let's
look at that. 1 Peter 1. This one I think is
probably the most clear and helpful in understanding this. He says
1 Peter 1 in verse 22. Seeing you have purified your
souls. Do you see that? Purified your
souls. That sounds like something to
do with water. In obeying the truth. What is obeying the truth?
It's believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the obedience
of faith. Through the Spirit. Ah, there
we go. You see there's an obedience
of faith. through the spirit, the two are joined together unto
unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another
with a pure heart fervently. And then in verse 23, being born
again, not of corruptible seed, in other words, not of your father,
not of your father's natural generation, but of incorruptible
What is the seed of God here? It's the Word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and
all the glory of man is the flower of grass. The grass withereth,
and the flower thereof falleth away. But the Word of the Lord
endureth forever, and this is the Word. which by the gospel
is preached to you. So, I just take you to those
few instances to point out what I believe the water and the spirit
to be pointing to, which is really going to be revealed in the verses
that follow, and I'll tell you now so we can see it. The water
has to do with the cleansing. that is applied to us when the
Spirit of God, when He comes to us in the grace of taking
His sovereign work and opening our hearts and washing us with
the blood of Christ, applying Christ's work to us by faith. The Spirit of God does that.
Only He can do that. And if you're here tonight and
you see Christ and Him crucified, and He is all your hope, That's
the work of the Spirit of God. That's the evidence that God
has birthed you into his kingdom. But let's go on in verse number
six. Jesus goes on, not only is Nicodemus
not in the kingdom of God and is blind to it, but he says to
him in his conundrum, how can these things be? Can a man be
born when he's old through his mother? And he says, that which
is born of the flesh is flesh. And that which is born of the
spirit is spirit. You see, something has to occur. When I was born, when you were
born, We have all of this in common in our experience. We
didn't seek to be born. We didn't ask to be born. We
didn't deserve to be born. We weren't even in the equation.
It was an operation entirely outside of us, which our parents
were involved in. It was their activity, not ours,
that caused us to be born. That natural generation. And
so he says, if you're born of flesh, if you're born of natural
generation, do you know what you have? Nothing but flesh. You never get better by what
you're born of man. You see, if you're born of the
flesh, the best you can do is bring to God what you think will
please Him from yourself. That's what the flesh does. Abraham
in Romans 4, it says, What shall we say that Abraham, our father,
as pertaining to the flesh, has found? You know what he found?
My flesh does no good. I tried it, Agar, Ishmael, it
was a mess. God had to do it. It was a miraculous
birth. Isaac came by the miracle of
grace, the resurrection of the dead from the womb of Sarah and
Abraham together, typifying that Christ had to be raised from
the dead. And that was our justification. And here the Lord Jesus Christ
tells Nicodemus, that which is born of the flesh, it rises no
higher than flesh. The flesh cannot please God. Isn't that what it says in Romans
8? The flesh cannot please God. You know why? Because the flesh
is natural. It's of man. God will not give
His glory to another. Whatever God does to save you,
one thing you can take to the bank, He's going to save you
in such a way that He gets all of the glory. If you think that
something in your salvation depends on you, then God isn't getting
all of the glory. And God is jealous of His glory.
He will not share it. He will not give it to anyone.
Christ is the brightness of God's glory because Christ is the only
one who can save you. And so He says, That which is
born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the spirit is
spirit. Nicodemus obviously had not been born of the spirit.
He had no knowledge of this, yet he's a master in Israel.
This had to set him back quite a ways, but look at verse 7.
Jesus said to him, look at the patience. And yet the direct
forthrightness of Christ in speaking to Nicodemus. He doesn't beat
around the bush. He's very economical in his sermons. What a model of a sermon to be
able to give him so much in a few verses like this. And Jesus says,
Marvel not that I said unto thee, you must be born again. You see
that must there. And notice the word ye. He takes the knife and he sticks
it in a little further. I was speaking about a man. A
man can't see. A man has to be born again. And
now I'm talking about you. You must be born again. You see what Nicodemus had done?
He'd already fallen about 14 rungs. Can't see. I'm not part of this kingdom.
I don't understand. I'm talking to this man. He's
talking about something I don't even understand. Born again?
Birth? Spirit? Water? What is he talking
about? I probably know the Old Testament better than anyone
around and I know nothing about what he's talking about. And
he says, you must be born again. You know what he did right there?
He put salvation entirely out of the reach of His ability. He made it so that He was entirely
dependent upon the operation of the Spirit of God. You must
be born again. And He says that in verse 8.
The wind blows where it pleases. That's what the word listeth
means. It blows where it pleases. You know that. Have you ever
tried to stop the wind? Hold your hand up. The wind just
goes right on by. And you don't know which way
it's coming from or where it's going to go. At the end of the
day, the wind does what it wants to do. It's uninfluenced by men. It's unimpeded by men. It's absolutely
out of your control. That's what the wind is like.
He's drawing this physical analogy to spiritual truth. He did it
all the time. The wind blows wherever it pleases
and you hear the sound of it. But you cannot tell whence it
cometh or whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of
the Spirit of God." You see that? You know what he said right there?
Salvation is not only of God, but God operates in a way that
is absolutely outside of your control. You are entirely dependent
upon His initiative. His purpose, His end goal, His
doing the work, everything comes from God. It surprises me when
I read Acts 17, when the Apostle Paul is speaking to these people
who are total heathen, don't know God from a goat. And they're
worshiping this idol that says, to the unknown God. And Paul
says to them, the God you worship is the God I'm going to declare
to you. He made the world. He made everything in it. He
made you. And He doesn't need your worship. You know why? He made you. Everything that
you have, He gave to you. What would He need from you?
Nothing. What does it say in the psalm?
If I were hungry, I wouldn't tell you. And so everyone that's
born of the spirit is of this is born of this way by the absolute
sovereign operation and work of the spirit of God. Now, that
puts it way out of our reach, doesn't it? It puts it outside
of our ability to manipulate. I'm always trying to manipulate
God. I don't know if you ever noticed
that about yourself. Have you ever? I want to get
close to God. I want to attract His attention
to me. Whatever that means, I've got
to do it. I've got to put myself in the right frame of mind or
I've got to bring something. He says I need to repent. I better
get that going. He says I need to be sincere
or whatever it is. And I try to work it up. That
will not help. That will not help. That will
leave you outside, blind of the Kingdom of God. God has to do
something. And until we come to that position
where we understand, not only are we blind and outside and
totally ignorant, but we are entirely dependent upon the sovereign
activity of the Spirit of God, we will never come to God for
mercy. We won't do it. We'll still think
I've got some little thing I can bring, but we will not come that
way. Look at verse nine. Nicodemus
answered and said to him, How can these things be? And I think that's the last question
he asked. How can these things be? What
was he asking? You're talking about wind and
the spirit and being born and the water and all this stuff.
I don't understand. What are you talking about? How
can it happen? How does a person get from here
to there? I think that one of the things
that Nicodemus does very well for us here. And I'm glad in
a lot of ways that I wasn't laid on the operating table of the
New Testament and exposed to the view of millennium of people
looking at my life. But God does that, doesn't He?
Sometimes He doesn't even name them. The woman who had seven
devils. Or the woman who was caught in
adultery. And here He gives them a name, Nicodemus. And here he
asks this question. The master, the ruler of Israel,
he says, how can these things be? He's left in a total conundrum. And yet, he's got to go lower. He still isn't low enough. Remember,
here's the thing. Let's read on. Chapter, verse
10. Jesus answered unto him, Jesus answered and said to him,
Art thou a master of Israel and knowest not these things? Jesus
was accusing him of total ignorance and blamed worthiness for it.
You claim to be a master. You claim to teach people. Don't
steal. But do you steal? Don't commit
adultery. Do you commit adultery? Don't
sacrifice to idols. But do you commit sacrilege?
Remember that Romans 2? All these things. He's heaping
up on Nicodemus. You are a master and you don't
know these things. And verse 11. He brings to him
another accusation. Notice, verily, verily, I say
to you, we speak that we do know. In other words, we're speaking
about what we do know. And testify that we have seen. In other words, the things we
have seen. And you receive not our witness. What did he just
say to him? He said, you're not listening.
You haven't heard our witness. And yet I'm telling you about
things that I know. And you're asking me, how can
these things be? You're a master of Israel. You
don't know. You know what the problem is here? You've ignored
what I've told you. You're disobedient in unbelief
and you're ignorant and blind. In verse 12, he says, if I have
told you earthly things and you believe not, how shall you believe
if I tell you of heavenly things? What earthly things? When you
read this, have you ever asked that question? What's he talking
about? We speak to you what we know
and testify what we have seen. And if I told you earthly things,
you believe not. How shall you believe if I tell
you heavenly things? Don't forget the context. Who is Nicodemus? A master of
Israel. He was versed in the law. He knew the Old Testament. He
understood the law of Moses. In fact, he thought he trusted
in Moses. But remember what Jesus said
in John 5. He says, if you had believed
Moses, what would they have believed? You would have believed me because
he spoke of me. Nicodemus was blind to that. He was he did not see that Moses
spoke of Christ. He did. The Lord Jesus Christ
is before him and he doesn't understand it. Talk about blind. Have you ever described a scenery
to a blind person? I haven't. I've thought about
that. That's got to be a challenging
thing to do. That's exactly what Jesus is doing here. That's what
the Lord Jesus has to do with me and you. He has to reveal
to us things we cannot see. And that's what He's doing. The
Spirit of God has got to open our eyes and He says this, I've
told you earthly things and you believe not. In the Old Testament
there were all kinds of earthly things. There were hundreds of
years of earthly things. We've got sacrifices, we've got
a tabernacle, we've got priests running around in the stench
of the smell of animal death and smoke and hair being burned
and all this stuff going on. There's a lot of earthly things.
But did you understand what it was speaking about? Sacrifice
and offering thou wouldest not, but a body has thou prepared
me. And remember Melchizedek, how
he spoke of the eternal high priest and all these things.
Did you understand that when God spoke to Isaac as the child
of promise, did you understand that God was speaking about the
promised seed given to Christ? Did you understand any of those
things? Didn't see it. I've told you earthly things
and you believe not. But look at this now in verse
13. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came
down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven. You see that? Now this verse,
it sounds poetic. But you know, you can read it
like a poem. And like when I was in grade school, I don't know
if you ever had the teacher assign poems to you to remember, and
then you recited them and you didn't know what they were talking
about. That's what this verse is like. You can say the words,
you can pronounce them. But I don't understand, what
is the Lord talking about here? And why did he introduce this? Remember the question, how can
these things be? Remember that question? That
was what Nicodemus, and the Lord is opening up. He's got him on
the operating table now. Not only are you blind, not only
are you outside of the kingdom of God, not only are you disobedient
to the revelation I've given you and blind to everything you've
been told throughout the ages. Remember, in these last days,
God has spoken to us in and by his son. And here he hadn't heard
that. And then Jesus takes him to the
very point here. No man has ascended. You see
the word no there? This introduces something I think
is a fundamental principle when I see this. And I just saw this
as I was studying for this sermon. God often times introduces the
truth with the word not. I'm going to tell you what it
is, but I first have to tell you what it's not. Have you ever
noticed that? Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law. Have you ever caught that? I'm
going to tell you how a man is justified, but before I do, I'm
going to tell you how he is not justified. And why does God do
that? Because we won't appreciate,
we won't understand the truth until we first understand our
current belief is not it. The thing we hold to now, that's
not the truth. So he has to disabuse us of our
beliefs. Because what we believe is not
true. So he starts out with this word, no man. And I want to show
you a parallel passage. Again, I didn't see this until
I was studying this. In this verse 13, no man has
ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even
the Son of Man which is in heaven. Look at Romans chapter 10. I
really think this is an overlay of what this verse is saying
here. Romans chapter 10, and I need to introduce these verses
by reading through verses 1 through 5. Look at this, Romans 10, 1
through 5. Paul says, My heart's desire and prayer to God for
Israel, and he means Israel after the flesh, is that they might
be saved. For I bear them record that they
have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Do you see that?
That's what Nicodemus' problem was. Not according to knowledge. The gospel is revealed, but they
don't see it for they being ignorant of God's righteousness. There's the thing. We are not
we don't understand God's righteousness. I had a Jehovah's Witness come
to the door last week or so, and I foolishly took the temptation
of talking to him. But I was instructed because
you know what he said during the conversation? He said, well,
what God is doing now is he's after this is all over, there's
going to be and I don't remember exactly, so I may get it wrong.
There's going to be a thousand years. And then after that, we're
going to have a second chance, a second chance. Wait a minute. Let's see. We fell in Adam. We
fell personally. And this has been going on for
thousands of years. If you want a second chance, why don't you
just start today? Why do you have to wait a thousand
years forward? A second chance. You know what,
that is a, what a confession. That was such a confession of
our natural belief. It's not that. It is not by a
second chance, or a first chance, or a fourteen hundred millionth
chance. It's not of you. The law was
given to shut your mouth, you see. To make you guilty before
God. To shut you up. to Christ. And
so he says here in Romans 10, he says, they were ignorant of
God's righteousness. Another thing he asked me was,
if your son sinned against you, would you kill him forever in
hell? I said, well, I'm not God. I wish I would have said some
more things to him, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway. I thought
about it. I always do that. You'll give an answer and you
go back and you think later, man, I should have said this and that.
Not getting off the point here. They were ignorant of God's righteousness. It's not a second chance. And
yes, God did not spare his son. That's how holy God is. What
kind of righteousness does God expect? What kind of righteousness
does he demand? What kind of righteousness is
required for us to live before God? Absolutely perfect. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die and unless you keep the whole law. He says in Leviticus 18.5,
I think it is, the man that doeth those things shall live in them.
Unless you do them continually, perfectly, without interruption,
all your life, you're going to be under the curse of the law.
And so they were ignorant of God's righteousness. They did
not comprehend His claims on them. And they didn't understand
Him. They thought low thoughts of
God and high thoughts of themselves. And so they went about to establish
their own right. This isn't just them. It's easy
to talk about them, isn't it? Those stupid Jews. You know what? They're usually a lot smarter
than I am. I found that. Another aside there. But here
the Lord, the Lord says they went about to establish their
own righteousness. And it wasn't just sort of a
total ignorance. They actually arrogantly behave
this way. They did not submit themselves
unto the righteousness of God. And then he says what it is for
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. He fulfilled
it. He brought all of God's will
to a absolute perfect end, and He brought it to the end, and
the law has no place. He did it. It's all finished
in Him. Why would we add to what Christ has done? If righteousness
came by the law, Christ didn't have to die. And would God kill
His Son if there was another way? Now listen, verse 5, For
Moses describes the righteousness which is of the law, that the
man which doeth those things shall live by them. But, listen
to this, the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this
wise, say not, you see there's the not, say not in thine heart,
who shall ascend into heaven. And the apostle Paul, by the
Spirit of God, explains it, that is to bring Christ down. You
see that? Who's going to ascend? Nicodemus
had asked. He said, we know you're a teacher
come from God. And the Lord addresses that statement. You think I'm a teacher come
from God? What do you think? Do you think that I as a man
was down here on earth and God brought me up to heaven to teach
me things to come back and teach you? No. No man has ascended
up to heaven. That's what Jesus said in John
3 verse 13. No man has ascended up to heaven.
And here the Apostle says this is what The righteousness which
is of faith says, it's not this way. Who shall ascend into heaven? It's the same words. That is
to bring Christ down. What is he saying? Well, look
at the next part. Or, who shall descend into the deep? That is
to bring up Christ again from the dead. That's not what faith
says. What does it mean for Christ
to descend from heaven? That is to bring Christ down
and to rise from the dead. It means for Him to do the work
of the mediator, the God-man, to come in the flesh and answer
the requirements of God's holy law for His people, both in justice
and in righteousness, and then be raised again. That's the ascension
back up. To fulfill all righteousness. That's what He was talking about.
That's what faith says, it's not you, it's not a man doing
that, it's only Christ that can do that. And so the next verses
say, but what sayeth faith? It says this, the word is nigh
thee in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is the word of faith
which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus, you see, He's the one who was raised and is
seated on heaven's throne and rules over all because he did
descend and then ascended back up again. Back to John chapter
3. So Nicodemus, the Lord tells
Nicodemus, it's not anything you can do. It's not the knowledge
you have. You obviously are ignorant and
outside the kingdom of God, disobedient and unbelief. But not only that,
but no man can play that role of a mediator. Listen to what
he says. The Son of Man. He says, No man
has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven,
even the Son of Man, which is in heaven. Now, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the Son of Man. It was the most common name He
gave to Himself. And when He gave this name to
Himself here in this verse, He's teaching us something. He's showing
us that He, as the Son of Man, is the anointed and accepted
mediator, the surety, who was appointed by God in eternity.
In that covenant, He was made the Son of Man. In Daniel chapter
7, 13 and 14, it says that the Ancient of Days was there and
they brought the Son of Man near and they gave Him dominion and
power and a kingdom of everlasting. He's speaking about that eternal
decree by God that Christ would be the Son of Man. He would fulfill
the role of mediator. He's the one who would descend.
He's the one who would then ascend. And this is what needed to happen
in order to save men. To save people like Nicodemus
and like me. Christ Himself had to become
the Son of Man. He had to fulfill that ancient
covenant that was made with his father to save his people from
their sins. And so he tells him this. Not
only that, but Nicodemus had something else in his mind. Moses
ascended Sinai. Christ didn't ascend Sinai. He
didn't even ascend a mountain. He was in heaven. Moses went
up and got the covenant from God to give to the people. Christ
is the covenant. Moses brought us a covenant that
we needed to do in order that we might be accepted by God.
And he wrote it on tables of stone, or at least God did. But
the Lord Jesus Christ came with the everlasting covenant and
He fulfilled it. And He declared it to us. And
then He wrote it on our heart, not on stone. And so, Nicodemus
again, he's entirely in the dark to these things. And so, Jesus
tells him now, he's going to take those things that were earthly
declared and not understood, and he's going to explain it.
This one who is so high, this one who is himself God, who sits
in heaven now, as he's speaking to Nicodemus, the son of man
who is in heaven, he says, and as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, Something Nicodemus understood. Even so,
must the Son of Man be lifted up. Do you see that? What is
he saying here? He's saying the absolute necessity. What was Nicodemus' question?
How can these things be? How can any man be born again? And the Lord Jesus Christ tells
him it's a sovereign work, and this is what the Spirit's, this
testimony of the Spirit of God is. The Lord Jesus Christ himself
descended from heaven. The one who is God humbled himself,
took upon him the form of a servant, was found in fashion as a man,
and then became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross. And not only that, but he was
made a curse. And what was that curse? In Numbers
21, the curse came upon the people because they They despised God
and they despised Moses and they loathed, they hated the manna
that told them of Christ Himself coming and giving His own body
and blood for our meat and drink. They despised those things. And
so Nicodemus now is not only, all the things I've mentioned,
blind outside the kingdom of God, disobedient, ignorant and
unbelief, but now, Christ takes him and he puts him right there
historically with those sin-bitten, cursed people. And he says to
him, the Son of Man has got to be lifted
up. He himself has got to be cursed
from God. And you know what the curse of
God is? Do you understand what the curse of God is? The curse
of God That is the hatred of God, of God's holy hatred and
indignation. What's the worst kind of crime
you can commit? I was thinking about this as
we're driving the curves. Is it murder? Is it adultery?
Is it lying? The worst crime you can commit
is crime against God Almighty. And when the Lord Jesus Christ,
the righteous Lord of Heaven, tells us about this curse, what
is He saying? That the righteousness of God is so high, and that the
salvation of man, the cost of that salvation is so great, that
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself had to take the position and
the blame of those people who despised God, despised His law,
and even thought light of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He
had to be cursed for His people. The Son of God, the Son of Man,
was lifted up. He was made a curse. And that's
the way, that's the testimony of the Spirit of God. And notice,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal
life." What does it mean to be born again? When we try to analyze
it, and we try to write books about it, and we try to take
it apart and get into the, well, it's the Spirit and it's the
waters, all these things. If I can just put all of the
doctrinal things in the right slot, I can figure this out.
You'll never get it that way. You won't get it that way. You
know what God does? He takes and lowers us down. He brings us so low that we're
made no better, the same as, in fact, under the curse of God. And He shows us that Christ Himself
was cursed in order to save His people. And then, when the Spirit
of God opens our eyes so that we can see, He was cursed with
my sin. He was cursed for me, cursed
before God. The sins of his people laid on
him and he bore the wrath of them. That's what the Spirit
of God does. And he whosoever believeth on
him should not perish, but have eternal life. When they were
bitten and they looked, they lived. Here, the Lord Jesus says,
those who look to Christ live. If you're alive, Where are you? You're in the Kingdom of God.
How'd you get there? The Spirit of God lifted Christ
up and showed you Him, showed you yourself. And notice the
next verse, the most controversial verse in the world. For God so
loved the world. And I hate it when the controversy
rips from a verse the nectar and the marrow of it. For God
so loved the world. You see that? God so loved the
world. This was the pinnacle. Or the
nadir, as they say, the lowest place to which Nicodemus had
to go. The world. The Lord God so loved
the world. What's the world? Well, to Nicodemus,
that was the heathen. Those were the Gentiles. Those
were the people who were the worst, the off-scouring. They
were not the Jews. Or maybe they were some of the
vilest among Israel, but they were not the Pharisees. They
were not the righteous. The world. But Christ says, no,
if you're going to be saved, you're going to have to be saved
just like the world, just like them. And Peter said so in Acts
15, 11. We believe that through the Lord
Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they. And now Nicodemus
is as low as he can go. And you know how low he went?
He went so low that God brought him to look up to see the Lord
Jesus Christ. And that's how low we have to
go. We have to go so low that all we see, our hope, our life,
our expiation of sin, everything is Christ and Him crucified.
And we come to God by Him. We believe on Him. What is the
new birth? It's looking to Christ. That's
the evidence of it. That's the work of the Spirit
of God. And God does it. If God does it, what should you
do if it's absolute sovereign in His hand? He says in the Scripture,
Lord, do what you said. Give me this life. What would
you do if you knew that the Lord of heaven held your life in His
hand? What would you say? Lord, save me. You're totally
helpless. You can't do it. You better call
upon the Lord and be saved. Amen.

Down From His Glory

What does the Bible say about being born again?

How do we know salvation is a work of God and not of ourselves?

Why is the concept of God's sovereignty important for Christians?

What is the significance of faith in Christ for salvation?

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Down From His Glory

What does the Bible say about being born again?

How do we know salvation is a work of God and not of ourselves?

Why is the concept of God's sovereignty important for Christians?

What is the significance of faith in Christ for salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Rick Warta

Comments

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