Good Question Nicodemus!

The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus is one of the most famous in the Bible.  It takes place in John 3:1-21 and includes two of the most famous verses in the Bible, John 3:3 and John 3:16.  Nicodemus was a high ranking Pharisee and one night he went to visit Jesus.  What they talked about that night is incredible because the answer Jesus gives Nicodemus leads to eternal life!  I am aware that not everyone who reads my blog has a Bible, so I will be posting all 21 verses of their conversation.  To everyone around the world, God bless you all in the Name of Jesus!  I pray the truth of God’s Word refreshes your souls and those of you who don’t know Jesus yet will receive His amazing offer of grace to be born again!

“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.  He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher from God.  For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked.  “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “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.”

“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?  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.  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.

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.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

John 3:1-21

The Spirit Jesus is talking about is the Holy Spirit.  To be born again means to believe in Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul and receive the Holy Spirit!  We must be born of the Spirit to see God’s Kingdom.  We receive the Holy Spirit the very moment we confess our faith in Jesus and we receive power as we are filled with the Spirit just like Jesus said!

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus speaking in Acts 1:8

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:13-14

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9

Once you believe in Jesus, you are filled with the Holy Spirit who is a deposit from God inside you that guarantees your redeemed position before God to receive the inheritance of Heaven!  It is by God’s grace through faith in Jesus that we are saved, and the Holy Spirit is God’s seal upon every person who believes in Jesus!  Once you belong to Jesus, you will always belong to Jesus and nothing can snatch you out of His hand!

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”

Jesus speaking in John 10:28

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

Romans 8:1-2

How does the Holy Spirit empower us and for what purpose?  Before Jesus was crucified, He promised that He would send the Holy Spirit.  He also told us what the Holy Spirit would do on earth and how the Spirit helps believers.

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever–the Spirit of truth.  The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

John 14:15-17

“All this I have spoken while still with you.  But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

John 14:25-27

“Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’  Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief.  But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away.   Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.  When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.  But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.  He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.  He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.  All that belongs to the Father is mine.  That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

John 16:5-16

The Holy Spirit empowers us by guiding us into all truth and giving us conviction of sin in order to live righteously!  The Holy Spirit also reminds us of everything Jesus has said and teaches us all things!  We literally have the peace and power of Jesus inside of us through the Holy Spirit, and it is awesome!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

Those are beautiful holy virtues from God that He gives us by the power of the Holy Spirit!  We cannot live righteously on our own.  We need the power of God’s Spirit!  We cannot save ourselves.  We must be born again!

Jesus also promised the Holy Spirit at the beginning of His ministry.

“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.  Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

John 7:37-39

The living water flowing within me is beautiful!  Jesus called the Holy Spirit “streams of living water” because of all of those amazing fruits of the Spirit!  Every believer in Jesus Christ is promised this refreshment of the soul and power to live righteously!

After Jesus died and rose again on the third day, he spent forty days hanging out with His followers teaching them about God’s Kingdom.  Moments before He ascended into Heaven, He reminded them one more time to wait for the Holy Spirit He promised.

“After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.  He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.  On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 1:3-5

So, what was it like when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to earth for the first time after He ascended into Heaven?

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

Acts 2:1-4

That is just awesome!  Hallelujah!  Now I am not saying that when you believe in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit will fill you like that.  When I accepted Jesus back in October of 1996 and received the Holy Spirit, I was filled with a great joy and peace that I had never known before.  I rebuked a demon in the Name of Jesus a couple months after that.  I was given the gift of evangelism through the Spirit and the Lord cleaned me up and had me out spreading the Gospel pretty quick.  Yes, we receive spiritual gifts that the Lord gives us through the Holy Spirit too!

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Ephesians 4:11-13

The Holy Spirit most definitely could still fill a person up in wind and fire though!  My wife and I heard the blowing wind of the Holy Spirit in our bedroom when I stopped breathing on 4-28-12 (Read “My Lazarus Moment” to learn about that)!  Nothing is impossible for God and the Holy Spirit inside me is the same Holy Spirit that came down on those brothers at Pentecost!  Amen!

Now you know what it means to be born again.  We must be born of the Holy Spirit and for that to happen we must believe in Jesus Christ for the salvation of our souls.  It all starts with the simple and powerful answer Jesus gave to Nicodemus that night:

“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.”

Jesus speaking in John 3:16

If you have never accepted Jesus, I pray you accept that free gift of God’s grace today!  Believe in Jesus and be filled with the Holy Spirit!  Have eternal life and be at peace!  We must be born again to enter Heaven!

Grace and peace to you all!

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

2 Corinthians 13:14