Be Alive Matter of Life and Death John 3

Jesus Christ the Witness (3:1-21) Nicodemus: the teacher of the Jews (3:10) Pharisee A man of high moral character, deep relationship, & yet profound spiritual blindness Basics of salvation Birth (1-7) Born again or from above Spiritual birth To be born of water – to be born physically To be born again – to be born of Spirit Two parents for spiritual birth – Spirit (3:15) and God’s Word (James 1:18, I Peter 1:23-25)

New birth is not through water baptism Emphasis (3:14-21) is on believing for salvation comes through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) The evidence of salvation is the witness of the Spirit Water baptism – obedience to Christ (Rom. 8:9) and our witness for Christ (Matt 28: 18-20) Old Testament saints and Thief were not baptized, only faith Human birth involves travail (16:21) & spiritual birth involves travail as well Christians have to travail in prayer and witness ( I Cor 4:15, Gal 4:19) The child inherits the nature of the parents The child of God inherits the nature of God and the Christians has an appetite for the things of god (I Peter 2:2-3) as well as they are the partakers of divine nature (I Peter 1:3)

Birth involves life Spiritual birth involves God’s life Life – 36 times in the gospel of John The opposite of life is death Those who do not believe in Jesus don’t have God’s life Birth involves a future Born again to a living hope (I Peter 1;3) Even Jews must be born again even though they are God’s chosen or covenant people Wind in Greek and Hebrew means spirit Wind is invisible and powerful as the Spirit New birth is a necessity and mystery Nicodemus knew the facts, but he didn’t understand the truth The religious leaders would not submit to the authority to Christ’s witness (3:11)

The serpent on the pole (14-18) Pharisees were more concerned about the praise of men more than the praise of God (12: 37-50) The serpent on the pole (14-18) Numbers 21:4-9 Story of faith Lifted up: to be crucified (8:28, 12: 32-34) and to be glorified and exalted The Lord’s crucifixion was the way of glorification (12:22ff) The cross leads to His glory (Acts 2:33) Why the Son of God be lifted up on the cross To save us from sin and death God sent His Son to die for the whole world How to be saved from eternal perishing? By believing on Jesus; by looking unto Jesus in faith

Jesus the Bridegroom (3:22-30) Story of Charles Spurgeon in 1850 in England Isaiah 45:2 Difference between perishing and living: Faith in Jesus Christ Light and darkness (19-21) People love darkness rather than light because of their deeds are evil Closer the sinner are to the light, more sins are exposed Nicodemus was in the midnight of confusion, but eventually came out into the sunlight of confession when he identified with Jesus Christ along with Joseph of Arimathea at Calvary (John 19:38-42) Jesus the Bridegroom (3:22-30) Jesus’ and John the Baptist’s ministries overlapped

John the Baptist’s ministry was to point the Lamb of God The matter of purifying Under the Old Testament law it was necessary to keep them clean ceremonially Competition and comparison “All mean come to Him (Jesus)” (3:26) Leadership under Moses, John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul were suffered Leaders often suffer more from zealous disciples more than their critics John the Baptist’s response: all ministry and blessing come from God,…, this is no competition

Jesus the Witness (3:31-36) Witness – testimony 47 times John’s joy was to hear the voice of the Bridegroom and that he had claimed His bride Bridegroom: Jehovah had a marriage covenant with Israel, but Israel had been unfaithful to her vows. God had to put her away temporarily and is calling out a people for His name, the church, the bride of Christ (II Cor 11:1-3, Eph 5: 22-23, Rev. 19:6-9, 21:9ff) Must The must of the sinner (3:7) The must of the savior (3:14) The must of the servant (3:30) Jesus the Witness (3:31-36) Witness – testimony 47 times John the Baptist bore witness of Jesus (1:7, 5:33) Jesus was a witness to the truth

It comes from Him firsthand (32-33) He came from heaven (31) Only Jesus can make that claim for he is God It comes from Him firsthand (32-33) He shared what he had seen and heard from the Father Thos who receive His witness and act on it know it is true The Father had authorized the Son (34-35) God sent Him; gave Him the Word; gave the Spirit; gave Him all things (3:13); God’s love for the lost world (3:16); and Father’s love for the beloved son When we share His witness or Word, we share His wealth and love We might escape the wrath of God (3:36) Wrath: the only place in all of John’s epistles and gospel

The opposite of life is eternal death and wrath No neutrality: accept Him or reject him Everlasting life: it starts when a person believes and has a life of God. It doesn’t mean eternity in heaven The opposite of life is eternal death and wrath “He that believe not is already condemned” (3:18) Yet the sentence is not carried out for God is patient willing that all come to repentance (II Peter 3:9) Personal relationship

He must increase, but I must decrease John 3:30 Living relationship: begins with new birth and we become the children of God Loving relationship: He is the Bridegroom; we desire that Jesus increase and we decrease for He deserves all the honor Learning relationship: we receive his Word, mediate on it and make it part of our lives. He must increase, but I must decrease John 3:30