If you'd open your copy of God's Word now to the Gospel of John. We'll be in Chapter 3 this morning. I believe you'll find that on page 1055. We're taking a break from Matthew. As I'm hoping that this passage is going to lead us where we need to go just before Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ, as it's recorded in Matthew's Gospel. Let's give attention to God's very word, John chapter 3, beginning at verse 1. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. And that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who's born of the Spirit. Nicodemus said to him, how can these things be? Jesus answered him. Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. Whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned. But whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment. The light has come into the world. And people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." Thus far in the reading of God's word. Amen. Please be seated. Would you pray with me? Father and our God, as we come to this passage this morning in John's Gospel, we pray, Father, that you'd work powerfully in our hearts. Lord God, this is a critical, a critical passage for each one here to grasp, to understand. to know that you must be born again in order to enter the Kingdom of God. Amen. Prior to that passage that we read this morning from Numbers, We read in Numbers chapter 13 about the spies that were sent into the promised land to spy it out and return with a report to the Israelites. The Israelites had been wandering in the desert and now they had finally reached that place, that land, that God was giving to them. This was the land where they were to live with God, to dwell with God, so that they could be those who would be worshiping God, finely and firmly planted in a land flowing with milk and honey. And even as the spies come back, carrying on a pole between two of them a single cluster of grapes, along with pomegranates and figs, and describing the land which flows with milk and honey. They then describe the people, the occupants of the land, that they're strong, that the cities are fortified. And then they tell the people that we can't go up against them. They are stronger than we are. They had been in the land 40 days. And they had seen much. And they brought back much to the Israelites to show them what was in the land. And then, they failed to combine their sight with the very word of God. And thus, they would not truly see that which God had given them to see. So if we know the rest of the account, the people rebel against God. They would not go into the land. And he sends them back to wander for another 40 years. The people refuse to listen to the truth. They refuse to see that which was good set right before their very eyes. their hearts were corrupt and they were blind, blind to the very kingdom of God. That brings us to our passage today in John chapter 3. This passage, I'm hoping, is going to provide us a foundation, a foothold, so that we can better understand what we have been studying in Matthew, especially in Matthew chapter 16, where Peter confesses Christ as the Son of the living God. Before we get there, So I want us to see that you must be born again. I believe this passage teaches us that to live forever with the God of creation, one must first be spiritually reborn to see Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. To live forever with the God of creation, one must first be spiritually reborn to see Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We'll see that in two heads this morning, two points. First, the darkness of the first birth. And secondly, the brightness of the second birth. Well, first, the darkness of the first birth. You see the scene this morning, it was with Nicodemus, as we listened to it this morning, the scene was at night. We read in verse 1, now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. Now, to understand what was happening, we have to understand who the Pharisees were. They were a pious group, those who sought to keep the law, or more accurately, the traditions that had been established by their teachers. And they separated themselves. They separated themselves from other Israelites. They separated themselves from the Gentiles because they wanted to keep the law. They wanted to be pure. They began their existence about 70 years before Jesus Christ was born. And they, as one commentator puts it, they multiplied minute precepts and distinctions within the law to such an extent that the whole life of the Israelite was burdened and hemmed in on every side by their instruction. They sought mainly to attract attention to themselves, again, as this commentator continues, and excite the admiration of the people. They were powerful. They were politically powerful, and they were religiously powerful of the day, powerful in Palestine that day. That was Nicodemus. But he was also a ruler of the Jews, not just a Pharisee, but also a ruler, one with significant leadership, one with significant power amongst the Jews. And so it's this man that came to Jesus. That's the intrigue, that's the strangeness of this record recorded by John. He's a Pharisee and the Pharisees we know were not aligned with Jesus. Last week we were in Matthew and we read Jesus telling his disciples, beware of the leaven, meaning the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. And here is now this one Pharisee coming to see Jesus. This may be the only passage in scripture where a named single Pharisee comes to Jesus. Nicodemus was teaching the Israelites traditions which were in contradiction. They opposed that which Jesus was teaching. So why would Nicodemus come? What was going on? How was this in keeping with a group that did not align themselves with Jesus? Well, it's not only the description of Nicodemus as a Pharisee and a ruler that's interesting, but also he comes to Jesus by night, verse 2. We can suppose that this was so that his visit would not be known by others. The Pharisees, the other Pharisees, would not have looked upon this favorably, and yet the picture is also this picture of darkness. Nicodemus comes to Jesus in darkness. It's a picture of how he came, a picture of his heart as he came to Jesus. He was in darkness. And then he makes this statement to Jesus. You can just picture it for a moment, knocking on the door, saying, Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. You'd think this would be a compliment, but Jesus doesn't take it that way. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Seemingly, the passage gets stranger. Why was Jesus responding this way? He was not taking it as a compliment. Indeed, it wasn't a compliment. It was a statement out of blindness. Remember what God tells Job, who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? That's what Nicodemus was spewing forth, words without knowledge. Nicodemus was not seeing Jesus as he truly was and certainly is. He saw Jesus through dark colored lenses as a mere teacher. Indeed, Nicodemus was blind. This is quite an amazing truth that even as Nicodemus knew of the supernatural works being done by Jesus, no one could do these signs that you do. Even though he knew of these supernatural works, Even though he was a scholar, he was a teacher of Israel. He's the one who's been studying the scriptures, which we now have as the Old Testament. He was unable to recognize Jesus as the fulfillment of what he had been studying and reading. Think of Deuteronomy 18. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from among your brothers. Moses writing to the Israelites. As David is told by God himself, I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Nicodemus knew that the throne would be forever and a son would come from David, an eternal son. Or Isaiah, who writes, therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel. And as he later states, his name would also be called Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Nicodemus knew these passages. He knew of the supernatural works of the Lord Jesus Christ. And notwithstanding all this, he identifies Jesus as a mere teacher. He was blind. Jesus says as much as he responds. Unless one is born again, he cannot even see the kingdom of God. Jesus was saying that, Nicodemus, you're not born again. And because you're not born again, you can't even see the kingdom. You have blinders on to the person and the truth of God himself. You don't know God truly. And if Nicodemus did not know God truly, then he could not know the one who was standing right before him, the God-man Jesus Christ. And if he could not know this one as the God-man Jesus Christ, then Nicodemus could not rightly make this profession rabbi. He couldn't even say that rightly. He couldn't say that you're a teacher come from God. He could not say that God is with you. He couldn't rightly say anything about Jesus in his condition of his first birth. He couldn't see the kingdom. He's blind. Now we should all recognize this from the text, that even as Nicodemus went to Jesus that night, he believed that he knew Jesus. He was convinced that he knew Jesus. And he risks his status as a ruler of the Jews, as a Pharisee, one who had separated himself from the rest of the Israelites. He risks his status to confirm his belief. Nicodemus thought that he knew Jesus. Friends, this same thought or this belief is prevalent among us today. As we open the food pantry, as we talk to students in our English class, even here, In this church, in this sanctuary, there are those who will say and believe, I know Jesus. But do you really know Jesus today? This passage tells us that you can speak about believing in Jesus Christ, that you can be convicted, that you can be sincere, just like Nicodemus was, and not really know him. because you can't see the kingdom. The vows for membership in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church ask one coming to join the church, do you believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son come in the flesh? Do you confess that you trust for salvation, not in yourself, but in Jesus Christ alone? Do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your sovereign Lord? Everyone here who is a member of this church has made that confession. Is it possible? that having made that confession, that you still may not be able to see the kingdom of God and not really know Jesus saving you. You can ask the question in a different way. How is it that Nicodemus, who was immersed in the scriptures, how is it that one could come confessing Jesus as the one who was from God and still not know him? How is it that Nicodemus, in his scholarly knowledge, in his humanly pious life, could not see the kingdom and thus not truly know Jesus? See, the simple and most powerful answer is that he was blinded in his first birth. Jesus states as much. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. He's not saying that's a good thing. Paul writes of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit. David knew of this corruption of the heart from his birth. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity in his first birth. That was his condition. He recognized it. Westminster Shorter Catechism 18 asks that question, wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate wherein to man fell? The answer, that the sinfulness of that estate wherein to man fell consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature. That's our first birth. Paul writes of this corruption. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. Those who are in the flesh cannot, cannot please God. The canons of Dort touch upon this subject. Writing of Adam's fall from grace They set this forth. Rebelling against God through the instigation of the devil and through his own free will, he, meaning Adam, deprived himself of these excellent gifts and instead brought upon himself blindness, horrible darkness, futility, and perverseness of judgment in his mind. It describes Nicodemus' heart as he came to see Jesus. He was blinded as a result of his corrupt heart, as a result of his first birth. Nicodemus' whole nature was corrupt. He could not see clearly or rightly. and so he could not see the kingdom. Just like those spies that Moses sent into the promised land. In their corrupt hearts they couldn't rightly see the kingdom, the promised land. They couldn't provide a right report because they couldn't see through the corruptness of their hearts. And Nicodemus could not see the kingdom because of his corruption in Adam and could not identify Jesus as more, much more than a teacher. And so he rejects the thought. He rejects outright the thought of what Jesus was explaining to him. He was unwilling to accept the need for this second or this new birth. How can a man be born when he's old? Nicodemus likely felt that he knew, he believed that he was righteous within himself, that God had already accepted him, that God had already placed his favor upon him because he was a Jew, an Israelite born of the blood of Abraham, a Pharisee, a keeper of the traditions of men, a ruler. So Nicodemus came to Jesus not in need of washing, not in need of cleansing, Because he believed he was already accepted by God. And so Jesus was saying, no. No, you're not. You're a wretched sinner, and you must be born again. You see what lay behind Nicodemus' confusion, if we can put it that way? Maybe you heard this morning, and you're believing that like Nicodemus, you're righteous. Maybe you're here this morning and thinking you've already secured the favor of God in your own being. Maybe you're questioning or even rejecting the second birth. Oh friend, Jesus spoke these words of truth not to lift himself up, not for his own benefit. No, but out of mercy and compassion, he presents this unshakable truth to Nicodemus, you must be born again. It's important to see that this blindness of Nicodemus was complete. He couldn't see anything. As a result of his first birth, he couldn't understand. He wouldn't even accept the truths offered by Jesus Christ. He's blinded by his first birth, and he was not able to grasp the truth for his need for a new birth. How can a man be born when he's old? How can he enter into his mother's womb a second time? How can these things be? How? How? How? Without the second birth, Nicodemus could not see his way into the kingdom. Jesus states that, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.'" This is the extent of Nicodemus' blindness. The path was there. Standing right before him, Jesus the Christ, the Savior of the world, and Nicodemus could not see him as such. His spiritual blindness was complete as he visited Jesus that night. Are you blind? Friends, blindness takes on many forms. It could be deceiving yourself, thinking you can save yourself from the law-keeping, self-righteousness. Or some who would say, they're agnostic. I just don't know. No one can know. Then there's an outright express rejection of Christ Jesus. Some would call themselves atheists. Do you see in this passage the truth that there are those who believe that they are living a good life? that there are those who are knowledgeable of the Word of God, who are esteemed by the community, and yet they're headed to hell and damnation outside of Christ? Make no mistake, that is what Jesus was saying. The kingdom of God is heaven. That's what he refers to. The kingdom of God is eternal life with the living God. He was telling Nicodemus that he would be damned to hell for his sins if he continued without a new birth. That there would be an eternal existence for Nicodemus, but in the flames of hell, outside and far from the living God. Have you evaluated yourself? That's exactly what Jesus was doing for Nicodemus that night. He was probing, he was pushing, he was digging into Nicodemus' heart and revealing to him that he, meaning Nicodemus, was in peril. Jesus was telling Nicodemus that his initial birth, his first birth, was insufficient. That it would never lead to any eternal life with God. That because he had Adam as his first father, who passed along his corrupt heart, that he, Nicodemus, needed a second birth by a heavenly father, that he might then come to faith in Christ. Have you examined yourself this way? or to come to the Lord's table next Sunday morning. And Paul tells the church, he tells the church to examine yourselves. Let a person examine himself and then so eat of the bread and drink of the cup for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. He's saying don't come to the table. Don't come to the table in that condition of not being born again. Don't come to the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and seek to feed on him without knowing him truly and sincerely, trusting in him alone as your Lord and Savior. Examine yourself. Brings us to our second point, the brightness of the second birth. So Jesus now explains the new birth, doesn't he, to Nicodemus who is questioning how, how, how. The blind one, thinking, believing that he knew this one who stood before him was now told by Jesus what he lacked and how it could be gained. Jesus now answers Nicodemus' question. How can a man be born again when he's old? Jesus said, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of the water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Jesus informed Nicodemus that he was not speaking in regard to a natural birth, for that was Nicodemus' problem. He's speaking of a spiritual rebirth, a supernatural surgery of being regenerated. That's what we call it in theological terms. A miraculous transformation from a heart of stone to a new heart of flesh. Ezekiel describes it. In chapter 36, I will give you a new heart and a new spirit, and I will put within you that new spirit. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will deliver you from all your uncleanness. You see, Nicodemus needed to be delivered from his spiritual blindness of his first birth so that he could be delivered from all of his uncleanness. Let's understand what this new birth is, it's not a work of men. It's not more knowledge. It's not more information. It's not more wisdom. It is not more keeping of the law. It is not more good works. It is not more church. It is not more of anything that men can think or say or do. It is the work of the Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that you must be born again. Now Jesus describes it so clearly. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear it sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who's born of the Spirit. Being born again or being born of the second birth or being born from above is the clear and exclusive and powerful work of the Spirit of God. Being born of the water appears to be a reference to being washed clean in the atoning the pure blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross at Calvary. Being born of the Spirit is that supernatural transformation, the replacement of the heart given to each of us in our natural birth or our first birth with a new uncorrupted heart granted and given by grace through the powerful work of the Spirit of Christ. To be born again means that a person's hard, sin-inclined, corrupt heart is replaced, it's ripped out. then a tender, obedience-inclined, Christ-centered heart replaces it. A new heart is wholly opposite of your first heart. The inclinations, your desires, your natural birth are all now cast off and replaced. A new heart transforms a person from being an enemy of God, from being one like Nicodemus who was rejecting Christ, to one with illuminated eyes seeing the kingdom rightly and thus seeing the Lord Jesus Christ. We see this so powerfully in Saul's transformation to becoming Paul. Remember, Saul of Tarsus was the one who was holding the coats of those who were stoning Stephen. He hated the church. He hated Christ. And then Christ brings him to himself. Then Christ removes something like scales from his eyes. He might now see Christ clearly. And Jesus now begins to tell Nicodemus that for which he came. You see, Jesus has seen the kingdom In great contrast to Nicodemus, Jesus has seen the kingdom. Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we have seen. No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. He's speaking of himself. He has seen the glory of the risen of the triune God. And Jesus has now come to bear witness. bearing witness to that which Nicodemus was unable to see. Jesus brings that clear, that righteous, that pure, perfect sight to those who cannot see, like Nicodemus. The light has come into the world. Jesus came to bear witness to what he has seen. And then he speaks of those heavenly things, doesn't he? I've told you earthly things and you do not believe. How can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? It's only by the new birth. It's only by the new birth that one can receive and hear and see the heavenly things that Jesus speaks of. Now notice, Jesus does actually tell Nicodemus of those heavenly things. He does so beginning in verse 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. And he continues in verse 17, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Just think about those for a moment. Think of the wickedness that reigned in the world. Think of the wickedness that has reigned in your own heart. And Jesus was bringing heavenly things, even to Nicodemus. He speaks of the love of God for the world. He speaks of God giving His only Son for a wicked world, for sinful hearts. And that all one has to do is believe upon Jesus Christ to have eternal life. Heavenly things. Nicodemus came to Jesus believing that he had to merit the favor of God. He came to Jesus with a corrupt understanding of the path to eternal life. He came with the impossible task of earning his way into the bosom of the living God, and now Jesus tells him that it's not the path that you imagine, but it's the divine path of salvation that I'm bringing to you. I'm talking to you of heavenly things, of supernaturally bright things. of the way in which Nicodemus could become blindingly white and pure and righteous before the holy God of creation. These are the heavenly things, which can only be seen and known and understood and believed upon after one has been born again. How can you believe? Isn't that the question this morning? Isn't that the question that's being presented by Nicodemus? How, how, how? How can you believe? How can you believe that God loves you? How can you believe that the Father gave His only Son, His only eternally begotten Son, to you? How can you believe that the Son was not sent to condemn you? But the Son was sent to save you from your sins. How can you believe? How can you see and know and believe upon these heavenly things? Jesus gave us the answer. You must be born again. You must be born a second time. The Spirit must perform that supernatural surgery, and you must be given that new heart only then Only then will you believe with a new heart. How do you know? How do you know that you've been born again? You know that you've been born again if, in fact, you do believe. For that's the only way that you can believe. You know that you've been born again if you're truly repenting of your sins, because if you haven't been born again, you will have no desire to repent of your sins. And you know that you've been born again if you're doing those good works that the Lord has prepared for you to do. Not that they save you. But these are all how you know. You've been born again. You're believing, you're repenting, and you're following those works that God has prepared beforehand for you to walk in. Have you been born again? Have you been born from above? Has the Spirit transformed your heart? If you're here this morning, if you're listening this morning, you're saying, no. No, he hasn't. The Lord changed Nicodemus' heart. Nearly the end of John's gospel, he writes that Nicodemus came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes to anoint the body of Jesus Christ and laid him in a tomb. This would not have happened if Nicodemus wasn't ultimately born again. Hearts can and will be changed. If that describes you this morning, plead with the God of creation for a new heart. Plead with the Spirit of God to remove your heart of stone and replace it with a heart, a tender heart of flesh. Plead for regeneration. But if you're saying to yourself, yes, yes, I've been born again, praise the God, what are you doing with it? It should cause us, it should cause you this morning to worship with heart, a heart filled with praise and adoration and thanksgiving and a desire to serve. You've been given a priceless gift. What are you doing with it? Use it. Tell others what's happened. Tell others that you've been transformed, that you've been changed, that your heart is now aligned with Christ's. And that's not because of anything you've done. or because of who you are. Because you're a sinner and God has so loved you that he sent his son for you. Tell others. To live forever with the God of creation, one must be first spiritually reborn to see Jesus Christ as His Savior and Lord. The Israelites couldn't see when they're on the line, when they're ready to enter into that place that God was giving them. They couldn't see. They needed the new birth. And brothers and sisters, so do we. Praise God that He has given it to you this morning. Amen. Heavenly Father, this is such a mystery to us. And in a way, we ask even with Nicodemus, how, Lord God, how could you do this? We were so filthy in our sins, and you set the one who is pure and righteous and beautiful in your sight, to die in our place. Oh, Lord, how could you change the heart of such a sinner as I? Father, our hearts are filled with praise this morning and thankfulness. Help us to be those now who go out and tell others what's happened. what you've done, all so that we could believe upon your Son and be saved. We pray these things in Jesus' name.