Sermon
An Explanation Of The New Birth
June 17-18, 2000
Pastor Donald Sheley

Would you take your Bibles and join with me in the Gospel of John, and if you're using the pew Bible it's page 715. I know that we have been here for a long time in this particular passage, and we'll be here for a long time further because this conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus I think is probably the most important conversation. We're just taking our time, almost word for word, phrase for phrase, so that in the years to come if someone were to ask you what this conversation is all about, you'll remember some of the lessons we learned together as a congregation.

John chapter 3: There was a man of the Pharisees. We have learned that the Pharisee was that rigid religionist who was the man committed to fulfill every requirement of his religion. And every part of his life was dictated by religious direction. He was religious to the core. That's a Pharisee. And it says that he was a ruler of the Jews. And in the Scripture where that clause is used, it defines a man who was part of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was 70 men, of the aristocracy of Palestine who served as the controlling body, of course, they were under Rome yet Rome gave the Sanhedrin, these 70 men, a great amount of power. They ruled in the everyday affairs of the nation, but when a came to major issues, Rome made the final decision. So here's what it says, this man was religious to the core and powerful above most men.

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 and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Let's stop there because time in short today. I want you to go quickly to your notes. And I have the unique opportunity of preaching to five different congregations on a weekend, and what happens is I'll get started in one particular point and end in one spot in one congregation, and I'll go a little farther with the next, and sometimes. Because with each congregation I feel lead in my heart to emphasize certain points, so I decided that today I'll just come back to point one because I was working with a number of different notes and so we put them all in one, and there will be a little repetition when I begin, but let's lay the groundwork because we have a lot of folks that join us today for the first time.

In our notes, down about to the last third part of the page on page 1, I want to start there. And it has to do with that word 'again'. Jesus said, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And the word, just above it I have printed for us the text from the Amplified; Jesus answered him, "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (which means born anew, or born from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with or experience) the kingdom of God. And the word 'again' which Jesus used is an interesting word. It is one of two Greek words that are often translated 'again' in our Bibles. One is palin which refers quite simply to the repetition of an act. In other words, if we were speaking Greek today and you're telling me of something you did over, and over, and over, and over again you would use that word palin. The next word, the other word, the one used here in our text is anothen which refers to the repetition of an act, but implies more, such as - it can be translated 'from above'. It's an act of almighty God which starts in His heart in which He takes the action and commences the event. So what Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, Nicodemus, unless you've experienced that marvelous work of God that was birthed in His heart where He touched you with His grace, and with His love, and with His mercy, and transformed you and made you a new creature, you're not alive. You don't understand the kingdom, unless you've experienced that wonderful event that God started in your heart and life.

Most of us sitting here today remember precisely the moment when something of a divine work commenced in our hearts and we, for the first time, felt so much God's wonderful presences. So at the bottom of the page it says, so when the Bible uses anothen instead of palin, it is suggesting that the new birth is supernatural and has its origin in the heart of God. And so page 2, I've written down a number of verses, and there are so many more that suggest that our salvation commenced in the heart of God in the ages in the past. But I moved down to the middle or the third of the page and we come across that verse in Peter, 1 Peter 1:23, and Peter now is going to discuss the same subject, being born again, but he's going to take it from a different point of view. Look at what he says, you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. And I referenced Dr. Boice last week, and I wrote these down because so many asked concerning the points that he made. He said first of all, in chapter 1 of Peter, Peter has been talking about the means by which a person enters the family of God. First, he has discussed his theme objectively in terms of Christ's death, writing that "it was not with perishable things like silver or gold that we were redeemed, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish or defect". We talked about that at communion.

Secondly, he has discussed the basis of the new birth subjectively, pointing out that it occurs through faith: verse 21, Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Finally, having mentioned these truths, Peter goes on to discuss the new birth in terms of God's sovereign grace in divine election. This time, however, he emphasizes that God is the Father of His children and that we are born again spiritually, by means of the Word of God, which Peter likens to the male life germ. Now the Latin Vulgate, that's one of the ancient texts of Scripture. If we were reading the Latin Vulgate this morning it makes this image of Peter's even clearer than our English versions, because in that particular translation it uses the word for seed - semen. It's interesting.

When we take these passages together and then add to them all that the Bible has to say about faith and about the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation, we find that we are able to grasp the essential nature of the new birth in terms of human conception. Here's what I'm suggesting, sometimes divine truth is abstract and some of us can grasp abstract ideas, and others of us it's very, very difficult. Something's out there - I've got to have a picture - I've got to have a structure - I've got to have something that I can compare with it, and so here's what Peter is saying. Let's take the subject of the new birth, and I'm going to use a human illustration. You'll catch the truth. On with our notes.

What happens when a man or a woman is born again, or born from above? The answer is that God first of all plants within the heart of the person what we might call the ovum of saving faith, for we are told that even faith is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. Second, God sends forth the seed of His Word so that the seed of the Word, which contains the divine life within it, pierces the ovum of faith that God has already placed within the heart. The result is divine conception or the New Birth. Now here's what happens, when we become the object of God's grace and His mercy, He allows the heart to begin to be prepared in which he puts within us the gift of faith. Now He does that in many ways. The Bible says faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Sometimes people are exposed to the Bible in various ways, and as they hear the Bible their heart begins, by the work of the Holy Spirit, begins to open up to divine things. Other times, God allows us to be surrounded with people whose lives have been dramatically and marvelously and wonderfully changed, and we look at those people and say, they're different people. What happened? Well they tell us that Jesus Christ has come into their lives and they're a Christian now. We observe their lives and day after day, week after week, we see a changed life being lived out. What's happening is in our own heart, even though we may have a surface rebellion, God is planting the seed of the ability to believe. Then, as He's prepared the hearts, then comes the moment when the Word of God is dropped in to the heart, and as soon as the Word of God hits that ovum of faith, you have divine conception and a life is born into the kingdom. Isn't that amazing?

Last Sunday at a number of our services, but at the 10:00 service, we were talking about this being, this matter of faith and the Word of God, and as I'm talking there is a lady sitting back there and she's listening. I don't know her background, but I know that her heart is open. She is here in church and she's looking for God, and the Word of God falls into her heart as I have the joy of preaching, and all of a sudden she came forward at the close of service, just weeping. She said, Pastor, I want to be born again today, and we prayed, and that moment, because God had already prepared the heart with faith, I had the joy of planting the seed and as the result a new life in Christ starts. So Peter said it's that divine seed, the Word of God, coming into a heart that's open to believe that God has already started to work on, and it happened. Isn't that great?

On with our notes, page 3. The result of this divine conception produces a new spiritual life, that has its origin in God and that therefore has no connection whatever to the sinful life that surrounds it. Do you hear what he's saying? Nicodemus, unless you've experienced that marvelous touch of God where He's brought faith to your heart and you've been changed and made a new creature, Nicodemus, you're not living yet because that's life. We only exist outside of Christ. Life begins when we come to Christ.

On with our notes. So Christ ignored Nicodemus' address and with startling abruptness He says, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again or born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Now after preparing all of these notes and having them printed, and the ladies put them in the bulletin on Friday, I'm studying late Friday night and I thought, look at those notes, I've only given one paragraph to the whole subject of the kingdom. And Jesus made it such an important thing to Nicodemus maybe I'd better write some more notes, and so I wrote the one page. Do you want to pull it out? The one page I did yesterday because I wanted you, I realize here's a subject very seldom ever talked about from the pulpit, the kingdom of God. And yet, do you know folks that if we had the opportunity to read through the four gospels this morning, which we wouldn't have time to do, but we would find the phrase 'the kingdom of God' or 'the kingdom of heaven' mentioned over 130 times. Now that must have been heavy on the heart of God in those brief four gospels to mention the subject of the kingdom over 100 times, but more fascinating is in the gospels He never gives us a definition of what the kingdom is. Isn't that amazing? He brings up the subject over 100 times, but never gives us a definition, because everybody who heard it knew what He was talking about.

So Paul picks up his pen in Romans 14:17 and he says the kingdom of God is not meat or drink. So immediately he says, what's the kingdom of God all about? It has nothing to do with the material. It has nothing to do with that which we put our hands to. The kingdom of God is joy, and righteousness, and peace in the Holy Spirit. That's our definition. Now here's the matter, if somebody says to most Christians, could you explain to me what the kingdom of God is? Do you know most of us couldn't do it? Because we preachers haven't explained it. It is such a massive subject it's hard to tackle in such a brief time. Before I left my office this morning I just quickly pulled, because I have all kinds of books on the subject, John Wesley wrote 250 pages on the nature of the kingdom, a massive text. Here's one by Capon who wrote on the parables of the kingdom. Here's Watchman Nee who wrote 400 pages on the King and the kingdom of heaven. Here's another one, 'The Mysteries Of The Kingdom', and here's another one, 'Jesus And The Kingdom Of God' then they took 400 pages to write about it. That's why most preachers don't try to tackle it in one sermon. So I'm going to take all those five books together and I'm going to compress them for the next ten minutes, and I'm going to try to give you the concept of the kingdom of God. It is absolutely masses.

Nicodemus, unless God has done something of a supernatural dimension in your heart and life, you'll never see. Now that's an interesting word 'see'. But what it means is you will never know, or experience, or be a part of, or become involved in the kingdom. We often use it - do you see what I'm trying to say? - how we use it that way. We use the word 'see'. You can't 'see' what I'm saying. You can hear what I'm saying, but what I'm trying to say is you see what I mean, or you understand what I mean. So Jesus is saying Nicodemus, you will not understand, you cannot comprehend, you'll never be a part of, and you will never experience the things in the kingdom if you're not born again. What is the kingdom? What's the nature of the kingdom?

To our notes. The Kingdom of God - it's the unifying theme of the Bible. It's the motivating force of the living Church. The Gospel - it is the message of the Kingdom of God, the Gospel of salvation, which was preached in the early Church and continues to be the message of the Church until the end of the age. It's the theme of the Bible, the Kingdom of God. Now to do that I've got to go clear back to the first two or three pages of the Bible. God creates man, says Adam you cannot partake of the tree, if you do you'll die, Adam does, and God had every right to (claps hands) strike him dead. But God didn't do that. God started an alternative plan. He went out into the garden, took an animal, slew him, and covered Adam's nakedness now with the skins of an animal.

Just an inserted. I've always wondered for years what he was clothed with before he recognized he was naked. That's interesting, isn't it? Do you know what I believe it was? Adam was clothed with the glory of God. He and Eve, because they enjoyed the presence of God, but as soon as they sinned God's presence departed (claps hands) from them and they saw themselves and all of their ugliness of sin. So God in Genesis 3:15 starts the program rolling, that is the program of bringing men back into fellowship with Him. Because the first thing that sin did was break the fellowship with almighty God. Broke it - Adam, Eve, get out of the garden. You sinned. God then starts the process of bringing men back into fellowship with Him. The first thing He does is establish the sacrificial system. I've sinned. I must do something about it. I go to my flock, find the animal that's as perfect as possible, bring it, offer it to God; that pays, that animal dies so I can live and not have to die for my sin. That's why the Old Testament is filled with all those sacrifices.

Now I come to Genesis chapter 12 and God now is going to start a missionary process. He's going to select a man. He's going to make a nation out of that man, and He's going to give them a divine assignment, the nation of Israel. You're to be the missionaries to the world and you're to show forth the glory of Jehovah God. Abraham's seed was under divine assignment. God wanted to reveal Himself and all of His power, and He did that. He takes them across the sea in dry land. He sends food from heaven. God did everything He could to shower that nation with His blessings because their divine assignment was to so live their life that every other nation on the face of the earth would want to believe in Jehovah God. One assignment, but they failed. Time and time again they go off into sin and to idolatry, and God's got to bring them back. He takes them into captivity. He has to deal with them, but He's in the process. His plan is to ultimately bring man back into fellowship with Him, and so the prophets start telling of the Messiah who will come, when God will intrude into this world in the person of the Messiah and the spiritual kingdom then will take on it's bodily presence in the people of the Church. So all the prophets start talking about the coming of the Messiah.

Two thousand years ago (claps hands) God comes to this earth in the person of Jesus Christ at Bethlehem, and the King of the Kingdom is born. Because what you find in all of those Old Testament prophecies, it talks about the Kingdom, and always it's associated with the Messiah, so when the Messiah comes His Kingdom starts. Jesus comes to this earth 2000 years ago - divine assignment - redeem the fallen race. Satan now knows that the Kingdom of God has invaded his kingdom, the kingdom of this world, and he doesn't like it. So he says to Herod, find out where that Jesus is and go kill Him. And Herod tells the wise men you tell us where He is, come back and tell us, so I can go worship Him. He had no idea of worshiping Him, he wanted to kill Him because it was his kingdom that was going to be threatened by the King from heaven. The wise men are warned by God to go in a different direction, Herod gets angry and kills all the children in Bethlehem, but the King is already here. King Jesus has arrived and He's commencing His kingdom. He comes to his days of public ministry and the devil's not going to let up. At the temptation he said, Jesus, if you'll just fall down and worship me, you can have at all. Jesus said, no, you don't tempt Me that way. It Satan backs away. The King continues to start His ministry preaching the gospel. Jesus when He started preaching, he preached repent for the Kingdom of Heaven has come, it's here, it's at hand, it's here. God has invaded this old world and now the Messiah is here, the Redeemer has come, and redemption's plan will be complete. And Jesus begins to cast out demons. The devil doesn't like it. People start hating Him, and the devil decides we're going to get this guy once and for all, and he creates enough hatred in the hearts of people that after a few years they nail the King to a cross. Satan (claps hands) I won. No you didn't Satan. Because in three days the King came out of that tomb (laughs) and His Kingdom, Jesus said My Kingdom is not of this world, My Kingdom is in the hearts of men and women. And when we accept King Jesus as our Lord and our Savior, He sets up His Kingdom right here. That's what He said, My Kingdom it is not meat and drink, but joy and righteousness and peace in the Holy Ghost. So His Kingdom is within the hearts, and the messages of the King is; He's risen, salvation has been procured, man has been offered the offer of redemption and forgiveness.

Well we notice immediately though you've got now two kingdoms in struggle. You've got the kingdom of darkness and you've got the kingdom of righteousness. And you sense that, that tremendous tension is always there. It's been there since the King arrived, even before, but even more so as Christ came. Satan has been bound and determined to destroy the work of King Jesus, and we feel that tension, that's what we call the great spiritual struggle. It's always there. It's within our own hearts. We at times as children of the King, we want to do one thing, we know that's right but our old selfish nature and our old sinful nature it pulls us in another direction. We're caught in the spiritual tension. We know we shouldn't do it. We say, God, help me. Inside of us is that crying out to be like our wonderful Savior, but that tension, that spiritual tension, we all live with it. I live with it. You live with it. And I sense that in the ministry of our church there are times when this battle really gets tough. Satan has always, since the King came and set up His Kingdom, it's always been a spiritual battle. And you know what? It will go on until the end of time. I've often said, Jesus, it ought to get easier to be a Christian the older you get, (congregation laughs) but folks, it isn't that way. I'm still living in a world. There are still two kingdoms in collision. They're fighting, but do you know what? One of these days King Jesus is going to win. Well, He's already won. I have to back up. He won when He came out of that tomb! And old Satan knows he's been defeated, and as a result we'll live our lives as Christians, as people of His Kingdom, we've been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of His Son. We've been made citizens of heaven. The enmity that was in our heart against God has been taken out, and now His love shed abroad by His precious Holy Spirit fills us. We understand what it means to be a part of His Kingdom because the King lives right here (pats his chest).

One of these days the battle will be over, and the King will say it's time to join Me. and so I know how this spiritual battle is going to end. I read the last page of the book. Do you want to join me there? It's fascinating. It's going to show you how God's Kingdom will ultimately conquer all. It will. Go with me to Revelation chapter 19, page 832 in your red Bible. Here's how it's all going to end. Now there's a lot of symbolism, and a lot I don't understand, but I'll tell you one thing, one something very obvious, the King wins. That's all I want to know. Look at what it says: After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belonged to the Lord our God! "For true and righteous our His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her." Again they said, "Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!" And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, "Amen! Alleluia!" Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!" And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! (Congregation claps) Amen!

Verse 11 says: Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Skipping down to chapter 20 verse 7: Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of this sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the Saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Satan who rules his kingdom is conquered, and King Jesus will rule.

You say, what's the kingdom of God? It's the magnificent glorious plan of redemption of the ages that culminates in heaven. And here's what Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, Nicodemus, until you're born again you'll never understand the majestic plan of God for the ages. You'll never comprehended, Nicodemus, God's great redemption plan. You'll never, Nicodemus, experience God's mighty work within you. Nicodemus, if you're not born again you'll never know what it is to have the joy of forgiveness. Nicodemus, you'll never see heaven and rejoice with King Jesus forever unless you've been born again. It's a big phrase, isn't it? Nicodemus, thank you for being so gracious in your words of introduction, but Nicodemus, I want to talk to you about something so far more important - a birth that starts in the heart of God that transforms you and makes you a new creature in Christ Jesus, that makes you a citizen of heaven, that ultimately one day will give us the joyous privilege to spend eternity in the presence of the King. Face to face with Christ my Savior. Face to face when shall it be, when in glory I shall behold Him, Jesus Christ the King who died for me. What's the kingdom? It's God's marvelous plan to enfold you into the His eternal fellowship and make you a child of the King. I know there's much more to it then that, but that's all the time we've got.

Let's bow our hearts, shall we? Jesus, those were words that Nicodemus wrestled with. He said, how can these things be? And we recognize that the natural man, the man who has not been born again, does not grasp all of these great eternal wonders and marvelous truths. But Jesus, we sit here today and most of us remember that moment when You in Your wonderful love and grace touched our hearts and we sensed Your presence. You opened our blind eyes and You took away the hardness from our heart, and You gave us the ability to believe and to receive, and now King Jesus, You've brought us into Your Kingdom and You have our hearts. You rule there dear Jesus. We bow before You and we recognize Your authority in our lives, and one of these days King Jesus, we look forward to that moment when the spiritual battle is finished, and the victory is announced, and heaven bursts forth with all of Your glory, and we're with You to for all of eternity. Thank you King Jesus, and everybody said, amen. God bless you. (congregation claps)