SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/18/2016
10:01 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 The Insight
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: John 3:4-8
Message of
the verses: “4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man
be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb
and be born, can he?" 5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of
God. 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. 7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ’You must be born
again.’ 8 "The wind blows where it
wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and
where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.’”
Now we looked at a sermon from John MacArthur given
in the early 1970’s to help us understand what Jesus was saying in verse five
and I just want to add a comment that he makes in his commentary as he
concludes this subject there: “Without
the spiritual washing of the soul, a cleansing accomplished only by the Holy
Spirit (Titus 3:5) through the Word of God (Eph. 5:26), no one can enter God’s
kingdom.” Titus 3:5 says “He saved us,
not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to
His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 5:26 says “so that He might
sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.”
Now we want to look at what Jesus says to Nicodemus
in verse six “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit.” MacArthur
writes “Just as only human nature can beget human nature, so also only the Holy
Spirit can effect spiritual transformation.
The term ‘flesh’ (sarx) here
refers merely to human nature (as is does in 1:13-14); in this context, it does
not have the negative moral connotation that it frequently does in Paul’s
writings (d. g. , Rom. 8:1-8, 12-13).
Even if a physical rebirth were possible, it would produce only
flesh. Thus, only the Spirit can produce
the spiritual birth required for entrance into God’s kingdom. Regeneration is entirely His work, unaided by
any human effort (cf. Rom. 3:25).”
Romans 3:25 says “whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His
blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the
forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed.”
The words
that Jesus is saying to Nicodemus were based on Old Testament revelation,
however they ran contrary to all that Nicodemus had been taught. Now here is the situation we have here as far
as Nicodemus is concerned, and the one that Jesus faced throughout His life on
earth, and that is false teachings were coming from the Pharisees, especially
when it came from the teaching on how to enter into the kingdom of heaven. “Mt 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness
surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of
heaven.”
Jesus tells Nicodemus in verse seven “Do not be
amazed that I said to you, ’You must be born again.” Perhaps Nicodemus had amazement on his face
and this is why Jesus tells him not to be amazed that one must be born
again. Now I have mentioned that what
Jesus was teaching Nicodemus was found in the OT and so let me go back to how
it was that Abraham became a believer in the Lord which is something that Paul
speaks of along with James in their letters.
Paul writes the following in Romans 4:1-3 “What then shall we say that
Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was
justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does the Scripture say?
"Abraham believed
God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” Salvation came the same way in the OT as it
does in the NT and Jesus is telling Nicodemus that in this section of John’s
Gospel.
Now as we conclude this section we see that Jesus
used a familiar illustration from nature when He says to Nicodemus “"The
wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where
it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.’” MacArthur concludes “The wind cannot be
controlled; it blows where it wishes.
And though its general direction can be known, where it comes from and
where it is going cannot be precisely determined. Nevertheless, the wind’s effects can be
observed. The same is true of the work
of the Spirit. His sovereign work of
regeneration in the human heart can neither be controlled nor predicted. Yet its effects can be seen in the
transformed lives of those who are born of the Spirit.”
Our next SD will be a lot shorter than what we have
seen in the verses we have just concluded, which took three Spiritual Diaries
to finish, as we will look at “The Indictment” from John 3:9-10.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I am thankful for going over in more detail
what salvation is and how one becomes born into the family of God as Jesus was
telling Nicodemus in this section of Scripture.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Praise the Lord for the wonderful gift of
salvation.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “The Shepherds” (Luke 2:8-10).
Today’s Bible question: “Who said ‘"Pick me up and throw me into
the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of
me this great storm has come upon you."”
Answer in our Next SD.
1/18/2016 11:00 AM
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