Born Again (11)
John 3:3 (D)
We will say more about this when we come to verses 5-8, but right now it is clear that both "again" and "from above" are intended. This should not surprise or puzzle us, for as Leon Morris observes, John is fond of using words that can mean several different things when he intends to convey all those meanings at the same time. The difficulty for us, then, is that in the context of our passage the word cannot be translated with a single English word. Thus some translations employ marginal notes, and others like William Barclay and Leon Morris choose to translate "born again" into something like "reborn from above," so as to pack both meanings into one expression.
If my impression of the professor was correct, then although we will say more about what it means to be "born again" and "born from above," right away we can say that his use of the term differed from the way Jesus uses it. This is disastrous because Jesus insists that a man must be born again. And if the professor was "born again" in a different sense, then it means that he never had what Jesus insists to be necessary for everyone.
To be "born again," to be "born from above," is much more than to have a moral crisis and to reform one's habit and lifestyle. Above all – and this is the point that even many professing Christians fail to grasp – it is not initiated or performed by the person's own decision. The very idea of being "born" precludes this. Even with natural birth, one cannot give birth to himself, but someone else gives birth to him completely apart from his decision. In fact, that this person has any opportunity to decide anything at all is because someone has previously given birth to him.
That a person needs to be born "again" means that the first birth by which a person enters the world is insufficient for the purpose that Jesus has in mind. And that a person needs to be born "from above" further clarifies this in that now we see he is referring to a different kind of birth altogether. Also, that the person is to be born "from above" again emphasizes the fact that this birth cannot be performed by another human person, and still less by the person himself. It is neither initiated nor accomplished by human relation or human volition. A person reborn from above is "born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13, NASB).
Jesus says that unless a person is born again or born from above, he cannot "see the kingdom of God." An equivalent expression appears in verse 5, and says that without being born thus, a person cannot "enter the kingdom of God." To someone with a background like Nicodemus, this means that no one can participate in the messianic kingdom that every Jew expects to come, and that unless otherwise enlightened by Scripture, every Jew expects to enter just by virtue of his natural descent. In conjunction with this kingdom, they expect to inherit eternal, resurrected, glorified life from God. John also addresses this in our passage.
The pivotal question here is how one may inherit life and escape death and condemnation, how one may receive life and not perish (v. 16-18). The message of Jesus comes as a shock and an offense, saying to them, "God can raise for himself children of Abraham even from a pile of rocks, and you are deceived if you think you can rely solely on your natural heritage. I tell you the truth, and that is you must be born again, and unless you are born again, you will not see or enter the kingdom of God, but you will perish like the rest."
Of course, John is not addressing only Jews here, nor does he use language that only Jews could understand. Rather, he says that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will be saved and receive eternal life, but whoever rejects him is condemned already. To enter the kingdom is to find life, and to be shut out is to perish. But you will never see or enter into this glorious kingdom unless you are born again – that is, born from above – not by human decision, but by God's decree and power.
(to be continued)
January 20 2006 | Expositions