Born Again (36)
John 3:16 (B)
The verse says that God loves "the world," and this refers to the object and the scope of his love. As it is, this expression adds to the beautiful picture that John is painting for us about God's plan of redemption. However, at this point many people begin to twist the text to serve their own theological prejudice and humanistic bias. The distortion has been so emphasized and promoted that it has become the majority view. Therefore, we will devote part of this chapter to deal with it.
There are those who insist that "the world" here must refer to every human person in the entire history of mankind, that is, every individual in all of time. Those who, like me, disagree with this interpretation, but who point out that there is a context to John's usage of the term that narrows its scope, are sometimes accused of refusing to accept the plain teaching of the verse.
Now, if "the world" indeed refers to every human person in history, then the verse would be saying that God loves everyone, and that he loves everyone with a saving love that sends Jesus Christ to die for each human person. Therefore, from God's perspective, he has done all that he could do to secure potential salvation for every person. Salvation now depends on the person, on his own freedom of choice, and no longer on God. If this is what the text states and implies, then we ought to submit to it. But as I will explain, this interpretation is not only false, but it is also irreverent.
When we object to the above understanding of the word "world," we are told that if the text says "world," then we must accept that it means "world." I have no problem with this, but my question is what "world" means. Our opponents make a similar point in places where the Bible uses words such as, "anyone," "everyone," "all," and so on. They ignore the fact that these words appear in specific contexts that define their meaning and restrict their scope. I will first illustrate this point from general language usage, and then from several biblical passages.
First, it is true that we must accept what is written just as it is written. But what is written is always written within a context. When we accept "what is written," we must accept all that is written, that is, along with the context of the specific words and phrases that we are focusing on.
If I were to write, "I deny that I am a woman," then for you to take only "I am a woman" and say that we must accept just "what is written" is in fact to reject what is written. In this case, your representation of "what is written" would be the exact opposite of what is actually written.
This is so simple that it appears I am insulting my readers, but it is precisely this very simple principle that our opponents refuse to implement when they read the Bible. Of course we should accept the plain statements of Scripture, but what are these plain statements? Our opponents would say that I plainly wrote, "I am a woman," and of course I did. But it is something that "I deny."
As for these seemingly universal terms like "anyone," "everyone," "all," and so on, they are indeed universal in the contexts in which they are used, but they are not always absolutely universal. If you were to tell me, apart from any stated or assumed context, that anyone can learn to cha-cha, I would reply, "Yes, and I would like you to teach a panda how to do it." You would come back and tell me that you mean any human person can do it. But then I would ask, "What about someone who is in a coma? How about a crippled person? And can a newborn baby learn to cha-cha?"
The point is that the context defines and restricts a seemingly universal term. Surely our opponents realize that the words "God so loved the world" are surrounded by other words, and that the entire passage appears in the much larger text of the Gospel of John? What then is this context? And why does this context support their interpretation? What is the theology of John? And how does it imply their understanding of the word "world" as it is used in John 3:16?
(to be continued)
Born Again (35)
John 3:16 (A)
John 3:16 is one of the most famous verses in the Bible. It is so familiar that many people have no idea what it says, what it means, and what it implies. Thus it is also one of the most frequently distorted verses in Scripture. These interpretations are dangerous not only because they assert false ideas, but also because they obscure what the verse intends to convey, neutralizing its original force. Great crimes have been committed against John 3:16, and so it would be appropriate for us to take some time to dissect it. But first, let us read it again, even if we have read it many times before: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
The atonement is already alluded to in verse 15 when it is said that "the Son of Man must be lifted up." When verse 16 says, "For God so loved the world," it is a revelation of the very mind of God, telling us why he sends Jesus Christ to die for sinners. He sends Jesus to suffer the pain and humiliation of incarnation, persecution, and crucifixion because of love – because he loves those whom he wishes to save from everlasting destruction and punishment.
It is common for people to impose their own human, and even sinful, ideas about love into places where Scripture refers to the love of God. The resulting heresies and licentiousness have proved devastating to true religion. Several central biblical doctrines are subverted and a confused message about the nature of God, his requirements, and his solution has been announced to the world.
God's love is not a feeling, but it is a policy of benevolence that results in actions performed for the benefit of those who are the objects of this love. This love is not promiscuous, but specific and effective. It consciously targets chosen individuals and it successfully accomplishes the acts of benevolence that it sets out to do. As God says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion" (Romans 9:15), and Paul affirms, "Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden" (v. 18). And it is also written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated" (v. 13).
That God sends his Son out of love reminds us of the harmony within the Godhead. The Son does not come from heaven either against or apart from the Father's will, but it is the Father's love that sends him in the first place. Therefore, in the atonement, Christ does not offer himself as a sacrifice to appease the wrath of a reluctant God. Rather, the atonement is God's way to save those he loves, but at the same time to appease his own wrath and satisfy his own justice.
The foundation of our salvation is God's love for us. Another implication of this fact is that God is not moved by any faith or merit that he foresees in us. Neither is there anything deserving in us that makes him love us. His love is never separated from his will, so that he loves us not because he is overwhelmed by our goodness or potential, but he loves us because he chooses to love us.
(to be continued)
Born Again (34)
John 3:14-15 (C)
The Greek original does not contain devices like quotation marks to indicate when a person begins speaking and when he ceases to speak, and so they are added to the translations. In many of them, the quotation marks suggest that Jesus' speech extends all the way to verse 21, and red-letter Bibles would highlight all of verses 10-21 as the Lord's words. But it appears certain that Jesus has stopped speaking way before the end of verse 21, and that what we have instead is the commentary and reflection of the apostle John.
However, the precise point of transition is an issue of dispute. Some would suggest that Jesus finishes speaking at the end of verse 10. This would make verses 11-21 into a neat parallel to verses 31-36, as this latter passage is also considered the apostle John's words rather than that of John the Baptist. But this is unlikely because, everywhere else, "the Son of Man" seems to be an expression used exclusively by Jesus as a self-designation. Thus it seems safe to conclude that the words of Jesus extend at least to the end of verse 15.
Then, there are several indications that John's commentary begins from verse 16, and that from this point on Jesus is no longer the one speaking. First, at this point the text switches to the past tense, and this is what we would expect if we are reading John's reflection about something that had happened, rather than a quotation from Jesus. Second, verse 16 refers to Jesus as God's "one and only Son" or "only begotten Son" (also v. 18). John is accustomed to using this expression. For example, he uses it in John 1:14, 18 and 1 John 4:9, where we are certain that we are reading John's words instead of quotations of Jesus. Third, verse 19 uses similar expressions to echo something that John has already stated in 1:9-11. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that Jesus finishes speaking at the end of verse 15, and that verses 16-21 consist of the commentary and reflection of John the apostle.
That said, nothing can be more important than to remember that we are noting this merely because we would like to know as much as possible about the text, and as accurately as we can – it is not because we are trying to distinguish between words that carry divine authority and words that do not.
The whole Bible is inspired and infallible, and both the words of Jesus and the words of John come from God, and are therefore equally authoritative. Of course, in themselves, Jesus (who is God) is infinitely more authoritative than John, but when we are comparing the words of Jesus and the inspired words of John, we are comparing inspiration with inspiration, or God with God, so that there is no difference. We are not comparing the divine Jesus with the merely human John, since the entire Bible is a product of the Holy Spirit.
So, even if we cannot discover the precise point of transition with complete certainty, it makes no difference where the authority of the text is concerned. And therefore, we must approach verses 16-21 with total reverence and confidence, just as we do the rest of the Bible.
(to be continued)
Born Again (33)
John 3:14-15 (B)
The verse also stresses the necessity of the crucifixion, saying, "the Son of Man must be lifted up." The aim is to make it possible for man to have eternal life (v. 15). Apart from the crucifixion of Christ, or the atonement of Christ, eternal life would be unavailable to mankind. And apart from looking upon the crucified Son of Man – apart from faith – there would be no way for a person to have eternal life.
In other words, the only way to have eternal life is to become a Christian. We will return to this thought later, but even at this point, this "must" alone has doomed all non-Christians to an everlasting hell. The "must" might also have reference to the immutable decree of God on the matter, as foretold through the prophets, and thus "must" be fulfilled.
Verse 15 explains the significance or the purpose of Christ's crucifixion. It is so that "everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." A better translation is "everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." The NASB preserves the word order and translates, "that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life."
The words "in him" should modify "eternal life" because John uses a different expression when he wishes to say "believe in him." Here the verb "to believe" is used absolutely, without reference to an object. Another instance is John 6:47, which says, "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life."
Although the verb does not refer to an object for believing, it is not difficult to ascertain from the context what one is to believe. Jesus complains in verse 11 that the people "do not accept our testimony," and in verse 12, that they "do not believe" him when he speaks about "earthly things," which include what he has just explained about the nature and necessity of a spiritual birth. Still less, he surmises, would they believe him were he to speak about "heavenly things."
Verse 13 refers to the fact that the Son of Man has come from heaven, something that cannot be said about any other man. Then, verse 14 says that he must be "lifted up" as typified by Moses and the bronze snake in the desert, so that those who look to him might have life. Thus, even though the verb for believing is used absolutely, even from this passage we can derive much information about the things that we are to believe. Briefly, we must believe the whole testimony of Jesus, about where he comes from, what he teaches, and what he has come to accomplish.
As for "eternal life," this is the first time the term appears in this Gospel, although John has already referred to "life" at the very beginning, saying, "In him was life, and that life was the light of men" (1:4). It is true that eternal life is life that will never end, but the term does not refer to duration, or the quantity of life, but its quality. It is the life that is found in Christ, the life that is found in God. It is resurrection life, the life that is proper to the age of come, but that is possessed and experienced in the present by those who believe in the Son of God.
Flesh is flesh, spirit is spirit – this is the kind of life that comes from God, and not by natural human birth. This is a different kind of life than flesh-life. As Morris writes, "Eternal life is life in Christ, that life which removes a person from the merely earthly. As we see from the earlier part of this chapter, it originates in a divine action, the action wherein one is born anew. It is the gift of God, and not a human achievement."
(to be continued)
Born Again (32)
John 3:14-15 (A)
Verse 13 says that the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, has come to us from heaven. Because of this, his testimony about spiritual things is authoritative and reliable, and this is true whether he is speaking about the earthly or the heavenly works of God. Then, verses 14 and 15 proceed to teach us about the heart of his mission, the central purpose for which he came to fulfill: "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
The beginning of verse 14 refers to a time when "Moses lifted up the snake in the desert." This is a reference to Numbers 21:4-9. The passage reads as follows:
They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"
Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.
The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.
The verse says that in like manner "the Son of Man must be lifted up." As is typical with John, the key term "lifted up" carries a double meaning in this Gospel. To illustrate, Jesus says in John 8:28, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am [the one I claim to be] and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me." The NIV has added, "the one I claim to be," but he literally says, "then you will know that I am." This is a bold claim to deity that few Jews would miss. But he says that this would happen as he is "lifted up," that is, on the cross. Therefore, the term "lifted up" refers to both the physical lifting up of Jesus on the cross, and at the same time his exaltation on the cross.
But the point that one must not miss in John 3:14 is that Jesus must be crucified. He must be lifted up just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. And just as those who looked upon the snake were healed, those who "look" upon the crucified Son of Man in faith will receive eternal life.
This aspect of Jesus' ministry is crucial in the preaching of the gospel. Paul writes to his converts, "Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified" (Galatians 3:1). This tells us about at least part of what this apostle aims to do as he preaches the gospel – he tries to portray the crucified Christ to his hearers. Otherwise, they would not be able to look upon the Son of Man as he was lifted up, so as to believe and have life in him.
(to be continued)
Born Again (31)
John 3:9-13 (B)
In any case, if we become engrossed with the plurals, we will fail to understand the rest of the unit, since Jesus switches back from the plural in verse 12. He says, "I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?" This implies that what Jesus has been saying thus far belongs to the category of "earthly things." Of course the new birth, being a birth "from above," is heavenly in its nature and its source, but it is "earthly" in the sense that it is something that happens to people on the earth. Now if Nicodemus and his company cannot believe Jesus when he tells them about what God does on the earth, they would find it still harder to believe what he says about what happens in heaven.
Verse 13 is what makes sense of both verses 11 and 12. It says, "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven – the Son of Man." We cannot take time to unravel the technical issues involved, and so I will just offer you a paraphrase of the verse: "No one has ever ascended to heaven (and come back) to tell you about heavenly matters, except for the Son of Man, who has come from heaven to speak to you about these things." The "Son of Man" is a term taken from Daniel 7:13-14, and refers to the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Verse 13 makes sense of verses 11 and 12 because it explains who it is that knows, why he knows, and why people should believe him. Nicodemus and his company (v. 2, 7) ought to believe what Jesus says about heavenly matters because Jesus came from heaven! The phrase "what we have seen" in verse 11 thus cannot refer to empirical observation – Nicodemus and his friends have also been observing Jesus (v. 2), and yet they neither understand spiritual things nor believe the testimony of truth. No, "what we have seen" mainly refers to the direct knowledge of Jesus about heavenly matters, and it is this that he testifies about in his ministry.
This also explains why Jesus can use "we" in verse 11. Although the disciples might not yet have a direct knowledge about spiritual things, they have identified themselves with Christ by following him. It is not as if they each have a similar testimony about heavenly matters based on an immediate knowledge of heaven, but that they – as we do now – testify about the revelation of Jesus Christ.
If the second interpretation of verse 11 is unlikely because "at this point in their pilgrimage the disciples could not be described as speaking of what they know and testifying to what they have seen," then they never were able to testify in the sense that Jesus is speaking of here. This is because verse 13 tells us what Jesus means in verse 11, and he means a direct knowledge of heaven. By the time the disciples gained such knowledge, and by the time they attained it in the same sense as what is referred to in verse 13, they were already in heaven, and we never heard from them again! The exception is 2 Corinthians 12, but what was revealed in that experience, "man is not permitted to tell" (v. 4). And if there are other exceptions, certainly they are exceptions. My point is that Carson's reason for rejecting the second interpretation of verse 11 is perhaps too restrictive.
Again, we do not want to get one or two details right but miss the whole point of the passage, so let us review verses 9-13 as a whole. By now Nicodemus has twice wondered at what Jesus tells him about regeneration, the heavenly birth that everyone needs in order to enter God's kingdom. So Jesus' gives his assessment of the situation. As one who has come from heaven, he has true and direct knowledge about heavenly matters. Therefore, his testimony about the works of God is true, and he speaks with authority about spiritual things.
As trained scholars and religious leaders, Nicodemus and his colleagues appear to be in the best position to understand and believe this testimony, but instead they misunderstand and disbelieve it. This in turn underscores the necessity of regeneration, for unless a person is born again, or born from above, he can neither see nor enter the kingdom of God.
When it comes to spiritual things, faith and understanding are connected, but the dictum "I believe so that I may understand" is unscriptural, at least when removed from its original context and used by itself without qualification. The biblical teaching is, "You must be born again, so that you may both believe and understand." Faith and understanding promote and depend on one another, and both are impossible unless one is first born again. This in turn makes faith and understanding dependent on divine sovereignty and not human decision, as Jesus, John, and Paul repeatedly declare to us.
(to be continued)
Born Again (30)
John 3:9-13 (A)
We have seen that unless God sovereignly gives spiritual life to a person, he cannot see or enter the kingdom of heaven. Spiritual things and spiritual persons will remain incomprehensible to him, not because these things are irrational, but because the natural man lacks the faculty to process and understand spiritual propositions. Spiritual things seem foolish to the natural man, because the natural man is foolish when it comes to spiritual things.
As noted, verses 5-8 represent Jesus' answer to the rhetorical question from Nicodemus in verse 4, which in turn indicates the Pharisee's failure to understand what Jesus says about being "born again" in verse 3. In verses 5-8, Jesus corrects the misunderstanding by first making a distinction between flesh and spirit, and then by explaining that he is referring to a spiritual birth when he talks about a person's need to be "born again" or "born from above."
Verse 9 captures the Pharisee's reaction. At this point, he still has not received the Spirit's illumination, so that after hearing the explanation in verses 5-8, he remains perplexed and asks, "How can this be?" One may marvel at his spiritual dullness, but in light of our earlier discussion on verse 4, there is no longer any excuse to find it hard to believe. Nicodemus is indeed as dull as he seems. Hendriksen observes, "It becomes very clear that this religious leader lacked the most elementary knowledge of the way of salvation. At the outset his Pharisaic training seems to have made him immune to spiritual apprehension."
Jesus replies, "You are Israel's teacher, and do you not understand these things?" (v. 10). He literally calls Nicodemus, "the teacher of Israel" (NASB, NKJ, ESV). This does not mean that Nicodemus is the only teacher of the law in Israel, but he is a teacher of high standing, perhaps one of the several most prominent ones. Thus he is to be blamed for being one of the best trained and most prominent scholars in the land, but at the same time failing to understand the most basic spiritual truths. We can hardly expect him to teach his people the biblical gospel of salvation.
We do not hear from Nicodemus anymore. But Jesus continues, "I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven – the Son of Man" (v. 11-13).
After highlighting what he is about to say with "I tell you the truth," Jesus transitions into the plural and refers to what we speak, what we know, what we testify to, and what we have seen. The "we" poses a problem of interpretation for some, but the difficulty has been exaggerated.
First, we must reject the suggestion that John here introduces anachronism into the words of Jesus. Besides implying a denial of the inspiration of Scripture, this is inconsistent with the way that the apostle writes in the rest of the Gospel. As Carson observes, "John is persistently careful to distinguish between what the disciples understood during Jesus' ministry and what they understood only later."
Another interpretation is that Jesus is referring to himself and his disciples as a group. Thus the meaning would be that the community of Jesus speaks from knowledge and authority about spiritual matters, while the community of Nicodemus rejects this testimony.
Carson thinks that this is unlikely, because "at this point in their pilgrimage the disciples could not be described as speaking of what they know and testifying to what they have seen." This is true enough, but it cannot rule out this second interpretation, because as long as the disciples are close followers of the one who truly knows and who truly speaks with authority, then there is indeed a sense in which it is appropriate for Jesus to refer to the entire group as a unit, especially in contrast with the community of Nicodemus.
Then, Carson suggests that "The simplest explanation for the plurals in this verse is that Jesus is sardonically aping the plural that Nicodemus affected when he first approached Jesus." The plurals here indeed make the verse correspond to the plurals in the previous verses (v. 2, 7), but it is unnecessary to suggest that Jesus uses them "sardonically," especially if there is any truth to the second interpretation mentioned above. Where plurals are concerned, we should also note that Jesus is not speaking only to "you" in verse 11, but to "you people." That is, his comments are meant for the people identified by the "we" in verse 2 and the plural "you" in verse 7.
(to be continued)
Born Again (29)
John 3:8 (D)
This is not at all a matter of experience, but of birth. To use an analogy, although it is limited and can be misleading if taken out of this immediate context, I am not saying that I am an American who has visited Great Britain, but that I have been born into one country, and then born "again" into the other. Thus I am native to both countries. I understand the things of the flesh because I have been born in the flesh, and I understand the things of the spirit because I have been born in the spirit.
So it is not that a Christian can understand and evaluate the non-Christian because he has been a non-Christian. No, this is not a matter of experience but a matter of faculty. In fact, the reason why a person can understand experience in any realm is because he has the faculty to process it in the first place. You can put a rock through high school and it will still not be able to tell you what it is like to write a term paper or sit through a lecture.
A natural man is spiritually dead so that he can exercise only natural faculties. When he encounters the spiritual man, he uses natural categories to describe him, and so he is always wrong. And even the natural man requires spiritual categories to describe – including, for example, the biblical concept of sin – so that the natural man, the non-Christian, cannot even know himself. But the spiritual man can evaluate the natural man with knowledge and authority.
This is not just mystical nonsense, but it affects all aspects of human interaction and scholarship. For example, once in a while someone will publish a psychological perspective on faith and religion. Our discussion above implies that if the writer is a non-Christian, he will always be wrong. A non-Christian cannot even write an accurate historical account of Christianity. It is impossible, since there are necessary categories of thought that are foreign to him and rejected by him.
The unbeliever cannot even understand and evaluate adherents of non-Christian religions. This is because although all non-Christian religions are false and are therefore natural rather than spiritual, they still require spiritual categories to explain their true nature, such as idolatry, rebellion, unbelief, and deception.
A chicken can try to analyze another chicken who is pretending to be an eagle, but since neither chicken knows anything about eagles, the project is futile. On the other hand, someone who knows about both eagles and chickens can, with knowledge and authority, speak about the eagle, the first chicken, and the other chicken who is pretending to be an eagle. So a non-Christian's opinion about anything is wrong and useless, but this is true especially when it comes to spiritual things and persons.
Although the first interpretation also seems to fit well with the passage, it is more than possible that the above is what Jesus intends to convey at the end of John 3:8. Carson writes, "The person who is 'born of the Spirit' can be neither controlled nor understood by persons of but one birth." Likewise, Morris says, "As is the wind, so is anyone who has been born of the Spirit. The person who lacks spiritual life may have contact with such people, but knows neither the origin of their life nor their final destiny." In any case, both interpretations represent scriptural teachings that must be affirmed.
(to be continued)
Born Again (28)
John 3:8 (C)
Now, just as we turned to 1 Corinthians 2 to inform our understanding of verse 4, when we were considering the spiritual dullness of Nicodemus, we will turn back there to see what else we can gain from it. On the previous occasion, we read from verse 14, which says, "But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" (NASB). The NIV exercises more liberty and translates, "The man without the Spirit." The translation is not literal, but it offers the correct meaning, since it observes the context given in verse 12: "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God." In any case, the natural man is also one who is without the Spirit of God.
We stopped at verse 14 the last time we referred to 1 Corinthians 2, but Paul is not finished. Verse 15 continues, "But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one" (NASB). There is a context to this statement, and Paul is dealing with some specifics issues here. The verse might be mainly referring to Paul as the spiritual man, so that he is not subject to the judgment of his critics. And just as no one can take upon himself to instruct the Lord, neither can anyone contradict those who have the mind of Christ, that is, the inspired apostles (v. 16).
However, the fact remains that verse 15 states a general principle that can be applied to all who are "spiritual," or all who have received the Spirit of God. And just as no one can judge the apostle who receives infallible revelation from the Spirit, and who possesses the very mind of Christ, no unbeliever can judge the Christian who has been born by the Spirit and who now walks in the Spirit. Just as the apostle is not subject to the judgment of his critics, those who believe and preach the apostle's message are not subject to the judgment of those who do not.
Jesus says that flesh is flesh and spirit is spirit, and one who has been born in the flesh must also be born in the spirit to enter the kingdom of heaven. We inherit flesh-life by being born in the flesh, and spirit-life by being born by the Spirit. The difference is not one of degree, but one of category. This means that, whereas the Christian lives in the realm of the spirit, the unbeliever is ignorant of this entire dimension of reality. How then can the unbeliever make an evaluation of the Christian?
On other hand, the Christian is in contact with both flesh and spirit. He is aware of both dimensions of reality – he has been born into both, and he lives in both. Therefore, the Christian, the spiritual man, can judge or appraise "all things." The Christian can understand and evaluate both the Christian and the non-Christian, but the non-Christian cannot understand and evaluate the Christian.
As a Christian, I am able to understand both the Christian and the non-Christian persons and perspectives, and I can address and evaluate both with authority. But the non-Christian must remain silent, especially when it comes to matters of faith and of spirit. Moreover, as we have already mentioned, since the spiritual pervades all things and rules over the realm of the flesh, the unbeliever cannot even talk about the things of the flesh with authority, but only the Christian can do this.
So when I reject unbelief in favor of faith in Christ, it is not because I do not understand unbelief or the reasons and excuses the non-Christian gives for it. I am a Christian not because my judgment has been clouded, but because I have been enlightened by God's sovereign grace. And when I reject wickedness in favor of righteousness, it is not because I do not understand wickedness, but I do understand wickedness and why the unbeliever transgresses. I can criticize and refute unbelief, and I can condemn wickedness, but the unbeliever cannot say anything about faith and righteousness. I know him better than he knows himself, but he does not know me and has no right to evaluate me.
(to be continued)
Born Again (27)
John 3:8 (B)
Then comes the statement, "So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." There seems to be two possible ways of understanding this.
First, it can refer to the manner in which spiritual birth occurs. To paraphrase, Jesus would be saying, "Just like you can detect the effect of the wind but not where it comes from and where it is going, in this manner a man is born by the Spirit." Or we can say, "This is how it is with the spiritual birth." In other words, one can detect the effect of the Spirit's work in a person, but not the work of spiritual birth itself. The spiritual birth is like the wind. This interpretation is consistent with the passage and the rest of the Bible.
Second, the statement can refer to the born again person himself. In this case, Jesus would be saying, "Just like you can detect the effect of the wind but not where it comes from and where it is going, a man born by the Spirit is also like this." Or we can say, "This is how it is with the spiritual man." In other words, just as one can detect the effect of the wind but cannot fathom the activity of the wind itself, a natural man cannot comprehend the person who has been born again, or born by the Spirit. The spiritual man is like the wind. As we will show, this interpretation is also consistent with the passage and the rest of the Bible.
We find something strange when we turn to the commentaries on this verse. Although both interpretations are represented in the thirty or so commentaries I consulted, none of them mention both. Each writer would favor either one interpretation or the other, but without offering reasons for favoring one and not the other. The translations are also divided.
My aim is not to fill this void or compensate for this deficiency, but while acknowledging that the first interpretation fits naturally with the rest of the verse and the previous verses, I would like to discuss the second interpretation for the rest of this chapter. Its relevance and significance will soon become obvious, if it is not already. Even if one considers it a less appropriate interpretation for this verse, it is nevertheless a biblical teaching in the rest of the Bible. Moreover, since it is related to something that we have already mentioned, this is a good place to discuss it.
First, even if the first interpretation follows more naturally from the previous verses, the second interpretation foreshadows an idea expressed in the next several verses. To illustrate, verse 11 says, "I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony." The spiritual man perceives a realm of reality that the natural man knows nothing about. This is consistent with the idea that the born again person is as the "wind" to the natural man.
Second, this second interpretation complements what we discussed earlier about spiritual dullness in connection with verse 4. Because the natural man cannot understand spiritual things, neither can he understand the spiritual person, the one who is born by the Spirit and walks in the Spirit.
(to be continued)
Born Again (26)
John 3:8 (A)
Jesus finishes his explanation of the new birth in verse 8. We should remind ourselves of its connection with the previous verses. In verse 3, Jesus states that one must be "born again." When Nicodemus wonders about this in verse 4 as if he takes what Jesus says as a repetition of physical birth, Jesus proceeds to explain that flesh and spirit are different categories of reality, and that when he talks about being "born again," he is referring to spiritual birth.
Verse 8 proceeds to reveal even more about the nature of this spiritual birth. It says, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
The word translated "wind" is also the word for "spirit," and previous to this verse, the word has been rightly translated as the latter. If we were to translate the word as "Spirit" here, the verse would be telling us that although one can notice the effect of the Spirit's activity, he cannot directly detect this activity. The Spirit's work is not subject to natural explanation, manipulation, or prediction.
This coheres with the teaching of the passage, and it is indeed what the verse itself intends to teach. But the difficulty with translating the word as "spirit" is that it implies that a person can "hear its sound," or the "voice" of the Spirit. Since it seems clear that Jesus intends to say that a man can detect the effect but not the cause of spiritual birth, it would appear inconsistent to say that the person can nevertheless directly detect the very voice of the Spirit. Such a translation would also make it harder to make sense of the conclusion of this verse, "so it is with everyone born of the Spirit," and how the two expressions relate to each other. Also, it would imply that even an unregenerate man is able to hear the Spirit's voice, but this appears inconsistent with the passage and the rest of Scripture.
Therefore, it is usually agreed that "wind" is the correct translation, and that Jesus is making an analogy between the wind and the Spirit's work in spiritual birth. Moreover, it would not be surprising if this double meaning of wind and spirit is intentional, as we have already mentioned that the Gospel of John uses words that carry multiple meanings to convey theological ideas. The verse makes good sense when we retain "wind" as the translation.
(to be continued)
Born Again (25)
John 3:6-7 (C)
One must first "belong to God" in order to believe the truth, so that regeneration, the new birth, must come before faith. This demolishes the teaching, so common nowadays, that we are born again by faith, that we are born again because we believe. If the condition of your soul is such that you can have faith, why would you need to be born again? Jesus says that these people have the devil as their father, and they do not "belong" to God, so that they cannot have faith. We are born again by a sovereign act of God, completely apart from human decision or human effort, and it is after we are born again that we are able to believe the gospel. This means that we are entirely at God's mercy when it comes to salvation.
Paul teaches the same thing in his letters. He writes, "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God" (Romans 2:28-29).
Again, it means nothing for a person to be a Jew in a merely outward and physical sense. In fact, when it comes to spiritual things, Paul bluntly states that such a person "is not a Jew" at all. What matters, he says, "is circumcision of the heart." This is not something initiated by human decision or performed by human effort, but it is done "by the Spirit." So, Paul is just saying in a different way the same thing that is taught in John's Gospel. Flesh is flesh, spirit is spirit. A man can enter the kingdom of heaven, a man can believe the gospel, only when he is "born again" by the Spirit, and only when the Spirit directly acts within him to perform what Paul calls the "circumcision of the heart."
This should not be new information to Nicodemus, for the teaching is already present in the Old Testament. Thus Jesus says in verse 7, "You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'" Here he does not limit the necessity of regeneration to Nicodemus. The first "you" is in the singular, but the second instance is plural. The NIV indicates this in the marginal notes (also NLT, HCSB, NRSV), while this information is missing from others (KJV, ESV, NASB). Some translations choose to include this in the main text. These include the GNT ("You must all be born again"), NCV, and REB. The significance is that regeneration, to be born again, is a universal necessity. The teaching is already expressed in another way in verse 3, where Jesus says, "No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
To paraphrase, Jesus answers what Nicodemus says in verse 4 by saying, "Flesh gives birth to flesh, and spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying that all of you must be born again, born from above, or born by the Spirit. This is because, unless any of you has been born again already, all of you are still just flesh, and possess only the life of flesh. You need to be born by the Spirit to have the life of the spirit."
Flesh is flesh, and spirit is spirit. The natural man cannot cross over from flesh to spirit, as these are different categories or dimensions of reality. He must be born of the Spirit to have spiritual life. And this is why Jesus tells Nicodemus, "You, all of you, must be born again."
(to be continued)
Born Again (24)
John 3:6-7 (B)
A central concern in the Gospels, including this one, is to show that the Jewish people must not trust in their natural lineage as their guarantee to salvation. They tend to think that they have special favor with God just because they are the natural descendents of Abraham. But John corrects this by stating that God has chosen people from all over the world (v. 16), and not just the people of Israel.
In addition, elsewhere he shows that the Jews have misunderstood what it means to be the children of Abraham in the first place. We will illustrate from an episode in John 8, although we can take time to quote only a part of it:
"Abraham is our father," they answered.
"If you were Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does."
"We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself."
Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." (v. 39-47).
No doubt we can produce an exposition on these verses almost as long as the one that we are undertaking. But to the one who is given to see and to hear the things of the spirit, what Jesus says here is very plain and obvious. Do you see it? Can you hear it?
They say, "Abraham is our father," and Jesus does not deny this (8:37), but as he says elsewhere, "the flesh counts for nothing" (6:63). Of course they are Abraham's natural descendents, but are they like Abraham? Do they believe the same things, exhibit the same characteristics, and perform the same works? Do they welcome the Son of God with gladness and reverence, as Abraham would? No, they are ready to murder the Son of God. They are nothing like Abraham.
So then they assert, "The only Father we have is God himself." But Jesus brings them back to the same point: Are they anything like God? Do they believe what he tells them? Do they exhibit his characteristics? Do they perform his works?
Now here comes something very interesting, something very straightforward, and ties back to our exposition on John 3:4 about spiritual dullness. Jesus says in verse 43, "Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say." Why are they unable to hear? He says, "You belong to your father, the devil." Then, he continues, "If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."
Can anything be plainer? Jesus tells them the truth, the truth about spiritual things, using simple and direct language. Why do they not understand? Why do they not believe? "The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." Here is the answer. The devil is their father, but the devil is a liar, and this is why they cannot understand or believe the truth. They cannot process something that is not in their spiritual nature to grasp.
For a person to understand and believe the truth, he must first "belong to God," that is, to be the child of God rather than the child of the devil. Just because they are the natural descendents of Abraham does not make them the spiritual descendents of Abraham, nor does it make them the spiritual children of God. So to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, God must give birth to them – they must be "born again."
(to be continued)
Born Again (23)
John 3:6-7 (A)
We have devoted a short chapter to verse 5 to clarify the expression "born of water and the Spirit." But verses 5-8 constitute a unit. It is Jesus' answer to what Nicodemus says in verse 4, and comes before Nicodemus speaks again in verse 9. So let us read these verses again: "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
Since we have dealt with verse 5, now we will turn to verse 6, which is the portion that says, "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." Keep in mind that this continues Jesus' answer to what Nicodemus says in verse 4: "How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" The relevance of what Jesus says here is indeed obvious, as he is explaining what he says in verse 3 in light of the disappointing response by Nicodemus.
Paul regularly uses the word "flesh" in a sense that keeps man's depravity at the forefront, so that the NIV even translates it as "sinful nature." But John often uses it with a different emphasis. Namely, it is not the sinfulness of it that John stresses, but the feebleness of it, especially when it comes to spiritual things.
For example, Jesus says in John 6:63, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." The verse speaks of what the Spirit can do that the flesh cannot do, but the emphasis is not on the sinfulness of the flesh. John 1:13 mentions "the will of the flesh" (KJV, NASB). Again, "flesh" here refers to that which is natural or physical, and not necessarily that which is sinful. Of course man is sinful, and of course John acknowledges this, but we are noting the precise meaning that John has in mind when he uses the word "flesh."
Jesus reminds Nicodemus that there are two basic categories of reality, or two realms of existence. They are the flesh and the spirit, and each gives birth to its own kind, so that the flesh produces flesh and the spirit produces spirit. This being the case, a person who is born by flesh has the life of flesh, but he has no spiritual life. He can improve the flesh, educate the flesh, and dress it up, but it is still flesh, and it remains spiritually lifeless and impotent.
No matter what you do to the flesh, you cannot make it into spirit. In other words, the difference between flesh and spirit is not one of degree, but one of kind or category. Therefore, it will not do, as the rhetorical question in verse 3 suggests, for a man to undergo a second birth of the flesh. He can do that for a thousand times and he will still be flesh. He will still have no spiritual life. For there to be spiritual life, he must be born by the Spirit.
(to be continued)