John 3
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:5-8 NKJV
In this passage, Jesus is explaining that we can only enter the Kingdom of God after we are “born again.” Every person on earth is first born physically, which Jesus refers to as being born of the flesh. But for those of us that accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are “born again” when the Holy Spirit enters us. Being born of the Spirit is a transformation of the heart. It happens quickly for some people, and gradually for others. What will you notice once you are born of the Spirit? You will see your priorities, thoughts and actions change. Immoral activities that used to be commonplace in your day to day life will no longer be appealing. You will become focused on God and will desire to follow His commands. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Since we cannot see the Holy Spirit, this transformation is mysterious. Jesus used the wind as an analogy, as it is also something that we know is real, but we cannot see. You can be assured that the Holy Spirit is, in fact, real when you see His effects in someone’s life, especially yours!
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17 NKJV This passage is the key to our Christian faith. If you haven’t yet, this is a powerful and important scripture to commit to memory. It clearly states why God sent Jesus to Earth. He was not sent to judge and condemn. God sent Jesus because of His love for us, and His desire to save each and every one of us. All that is required is to have faith in Him. Why do we need Jesus? Because every one of us lives in this fallen world, a world where every single person is born with a sinful nature: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). Praise God that He loved us enough to sacrifice “His one and only Son!”
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. John 3:19-21 NKJV. Salvation and eternal life with God in paradise are free gifts, available to anyone who will put their faith in Jesus and follow Him as the Lord and Savior of their lives. Why wouldn’t everyone want to take advantage of this amazing, life-changing opportunity? One that brings peace, joy, forgiveness of sins and everlasting life? This passage explains why many people will not accept Jesus’ gift. So many are focused on satisfying short term desires and pleasures, and are not willing to sacrifice any of them, even to have an eternal benefit. It is God’s will that EVERYONE would repent and come to know Him. Keep praying for friends and loved ones who do not accept Jesus, that they will “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him” (Psalm 34:8).
After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. For John had not yet been thrown into prison. Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears Him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.”John 3:22-30 NKJV John the Baptist knew precisely what His role was, and wholeheartedly accepted the role that God had given to him. He knew that his gift as a prophet and his success as a preacher were given to him by God. He acknowledged the fact that he was not the Messiah, and that his mission was to prepare people’s hearts so that they were ready to accept Christ. As is human nature, some of John’s disciples became jealous that people were flocking to Jesus. John responded to this jealousy with true humility, teaching that the way to true greatness is to allow Jesus to become more important, thereby making themselves less important. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him” (Philippians 2:13).
Our main purpose here on Earth is to shine the light of God’s love to other people by allowing Him to work in us and through us. Let us all allow Jesus to become greater in our lives, and make this our prayer today: “…May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).