1. Be Alive Matter of Life and Death John 3

2. 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)

3. 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)

4. 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)

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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