How Can These Things Be?
John 3:9
Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?Â
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:(John 3:1)
  In Chapter 3 of the gospel of John we are introduced to Nicodemus by the Spirit of Christ. This name, Nicodemus, means ‘conqueror of the populace,’ or ‘conqueror of the people.’ This is in complete harmony with verse 1 of Chapter 3. There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: (John 3:1) First, he is a man in Adam, then a ruler of the Jews showing his supremacy over the people, and then we see him as a Pharisee, a member of the religious party that was unified with both religious and political motives. His name would fit as ‘conqueror of the populace.’ The Spirit of God wants us to see that the Pharisaical party, as well as the man Nicodemus, were the conquerors over the people.
  As a ruler of the Jews (God is telling us that) Nicodemus had a title before man; therefore, what kind of personality would this man have? The first thing that we see in verse 1 is that Nicodemus was a man in Adam. There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: (John 3:1) He was the reservoir of sin, as in Romans 5:12. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Romans 5:12 fits ALL men, even the rulers of the Jews, and the rulers of the world. Later in the gospel of John, Pilate would do no better, for before both these men stood the majesty of ALL creation: power, holiness, and righteousness. And neither one of these men embraced the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ even though Nicodemus had a victorious name, ‘Conqueror of the Populace.’ Remember that names in Scripture have a light in many directions so that the Spirit of Christ can speak expressly in the circumstances where names appear. This is why there is such a misunderstanding in the man Nicodemus. Men examine him with their own hearts, the heart of Adam; thus, they make concessions for him as a man of curiosity, and not as a man of dominance.
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The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. (John 3:2)
  Nicodemus was not there to lay down his sword. He was there because he was sent by the Pharisees to satisfy them on whom this man (the Lord Jesus Christ) was. This is why Nicodemus used the word ‘we’ to express his purpose for being there. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. (John 3:2) He was sent of the Jews.
  In the latter part of Chapter 2 of the gospel of John, the Lord Jesus cast out the money changers, overthrew the tables, and drove them out of the temple with cords or whip. The Jews, the Pharisaical community, were still reeling from the words that the Lord Jesus spoke, Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. (John 2:19) We understand that He was speaking of His body, which is the temple of God; however, they could only see the forty and six years that it took to build Herod’s temple. Nicodemus, therefore, came to the Lord Jesus to clarify who this Man was.
  The name ‘Nicodemus’ also blends with a group of apostates in the Church known as the Nicolaitans. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. (Revelation 2:6) So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. (Revelation 2:15) These apostates known as the Nicolaitans, which over the centuries developed into what is known as ‘the clergy.’ As the Jews, in the days of the Lord Jesus, these Nicolaitans developed a pseudo religious political hierarchical party to separate themselves from the saints of God in order to be leaders over the people as conquerors of men raised up and taught by man and appointed by man. The name ‘Nicolaitans’ means ‘conquerors of the people,’ and this they have accomplished throughout the course of Church history. Sadly, this division has become an accepted part of Church teaching as a doctrine of ‘laity and clergy.’ In the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ in Chapter 2, verse 6, and verse 15, the saints in Ephesus hated the works and deeds of the wicked Nicolaitans. They also received a strong rebuke from heaven, from the Lord Himself, as the Lord included Himself, that He also hated the works and deeds of the Nicolaitans which had evolved into a doctrine – which I also hate.
  This doctrine of clergy above laity grew not from Scriptural truths, but from actions and deeds of men seeking spiritual and religious control and powers over others by corruptly copying the priesthood for a particular people, for a particular purpose that pointed to a divine priesthood with a divine Priest. (Hebrews 6, 7, and 8) We see the organization of this group of Nicolaitans, they were not individuals acting alone, but they had schemed together to overthrow the things of God and to conquer the people: the people being the saints of God. Jude describes these Nicolaitans in a very accurate manner beginning in Jude verse 4, For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. In this verse we see the organization and the character of the Nicolaitans that they were, and are to this very day, the ministers of Satan, and not of God. Jude tells us that they were certain men, this shows us organization, and a multiple of men IN organization. It also shows their deceptiveness, for they crept in unawares masking themselves as the ministers of light, however, God in His foreknowledge knew them before they knew themselves.
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:13)
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14)
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11:15)
  These ministers of Satan were ordained to the very condemnation of their own wickedness, and they will stand before the great white throne and be judged as ungodly men who turned the grace of our God into lasciviousness. This includes the love of themselves, and not the love for God of God, but by the actions and works of the Nicolaitans, they deny the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
  The Nicolaitans have a lot in common with the Pharisees and Sadducees of the days of the Lord, as they denied the Lord’s rightful position as Messiah and King, that He (the Lord Jesus Christ) should have preeminence in all things. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18)
  Under the rule of the Nicolaitans today, they deny the Lord’s rightful place among His saints, and pervert the word of God to build their pseudo religious kingdom for the glory of themselves, and not for the glory of God. They use the most divisive and deceptive ways in changing the grace of God into lasciviousness and greed in the error Balaam. All these marks of the Nicolaitans of today create a common bond with the Pharisees and Sadducees of old for both the Pharisees and the Sadducees had different doctrinal stands, and among these diverse doctrines, the biggest division was the doctrine of resurrection. Again, we refer back to the Lord’s cleansing the temple in Chapter 2 of the gospel of John that He was speaking of raising His own body on the third day; thus, proving that He WAS/IS the power of resurrection, and had the power of an endless life. Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. (Hebrews 7:16)
  In the day of the Lord Jesus the two religious political parties, as well as the Herodians, were in charge of the spiritual welfare of Israel, in which they had failed most miserably because they had denied the Lord who had bought them. And lastly, when the Son of God entered into the vineyard to claim His inheritance, they denied Him, and crucified Him. On this one point, all the groups of men (whether they are Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, or denominations) ALL agree in denying the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in denying His proper place among His beloved saints. Continually throughout history, since the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Nicolaitans have been more concerned about their own power, and not about the power of God.
  The Jews in the time frame of the manifestation of Christ were undoubtedly the most corrupt religious political party in their entire history. As those Jews in that time span, so also today, the Nicolaitans, under the mask of love and unity raise havoc over what is called Christianity. As the Jews bear the burden of crucifying the Prince of Life so also the Nicolaitans bear the burden of denying the Lord Jesus Christ and His rightful place among the saints.
  These following verses show and reveal the wicked heart of man. They also show the wickedness of a system of political religion formed and upheld by the spirit of Adam, and not of the Spirit of God.
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: (Acts 2:23)
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:36)
For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, (Acts 4:27)
Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: (Acts 7:52)
  The Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians was the ecumenical movement of the Jews gathered together under the banner of unity and love for the Law with their own perverted doctrines to kill the Prince of Life; and the Nicolaitans of today are no better. The Nicolaitans also have a historical record throughout the history of the Church, they have crucified, burned, frozen, torn asunder, murdered, and conspired to over throw the true Church of God and to deny the true head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ. The most notable body ever formed to persecute the saints of God was the organization of the Jesuits to rid this world of the true saints of God as they used force and murder to overthrow the saints through violent vicious acts. Today, the weapon of denominationalism is to assassinate the Spirit of Christ within their midst by denying Christ, and denying His saints their rightful place in the Church of God. Even though the body of Christ has been given as a spiritual element that cannot be conquered the Nicolaitans of today with their divisive ways and deceptions deny the work of God, and establish their own works: the works of men over the work of God. In the day of much learning we live in the depth of the deepest darkness and spiritual ignorance of the word of God and of the Word of God.
  The Lord is still rebuking the works of the Nicolaitans as He did in the Revelation Chapter 2, verse 15. He hates their doctrine which brings in the doctrine of Balaam, who cast a stumbling block before the children of God. It was a doctrine of financial reward and gain, of prominence and wealth without the trial of faith. All this goes back to John Chapter 3. Nicodemus was a man of the Pharisees. His very name spoke of conquering the people, and we see the Spirit’s voice in exposing Nicodemus, for Nicodemus came by night – The same came to Jesus by night. This was not because of fear of the Pharisees, for remember that he was a ruler of the Jews. This was a reflection of the condition of his soul that Nicodemus was in the darkness of death and sin. What did the Lord of glory do? He met Nicodemus in that very darkness and brought the light of God to bear on the heart of Nicodemus. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. In verse 2, Nicodemus acknowledged the Lord by using the title Rabbi, which by interpretation is ‘Master.’ (John 1:38) Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? Nicodemus reveals something special to us, prior to this there had been a discussion among the Pharisees on the authority and on the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nicodemus stated we know that thou art a teacher come from God. And their discussion was based on the miracles that were performed by the Lord Jesus Christ. for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Nicodemus proclaimed that God was with the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 2 opens the heart of man only in the knowledge of his surroundings, and happenings. To know One who is sent by God does not mean Nicodemus agreed with God. Once again, we must see what the Spirit of God is declaring to us.
  In further examination of verse 2, we see the absence of the profound question, Art thou the Messiah, or the King of Israel, or the Son of God? The absence of these questions reveals a lot for the miracles that the Lord had performed were of divine origin. Although the Jews saw the Lord Jesus as a teacher come from God, they were not about to surrender the kingdom that THEY had built on their false doctrines and their perversion of the holy Scriptures. Remember that Chapter 2 ended with the statement that the Lord KNEW the heart of every man, and what was IN man. Chapter 2:22, and 25.　
Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? (John 2:20)
But he spake of the temple of his body. (John 2:21)
When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. (John 2:22)
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. (John 2:23)
But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,(John 2:24)
And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. (John 2:25)
  The seed of murder was already planted in the hearts of the Jews. At the very time of the visit by Nicodemus, the bodies of political religion were counseling together on how they might overthrow the Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God declared the name of Nicodemus as ‘ruler of the people,’ I would think that there was a profound reason for this. By the position of Nicodemus, he belonged to the heresy of Judaism as a Pharisee. I do not believe that Nicodemus came to turn to God, but rather to seek out evidence against the Son of God. For he showed his hidden motives by not declaring or asking if Christ was the Messiah. This was on the minds of a lot of the populace. And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; (Luke 3:15) For this One who had come from God was the Messiah. In fact, in John Chapter 1, John the Baptist told the priests and the Levites that Christ WAS the anointed One by his declaration to the Pharisees.
And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? (John 1:25)
John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; (John 1:26)
He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. (John 1:27)
  Even though the Church today might not understand the words of John here in Chapter 1, the priests and the Levites understood and knew what and who John was referring to since they were already searching for the One who was sent to be their Messiah. They had full understanding and knowledge that Christ was among them. This is why Nicodemus used the words ‘ Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God. WE know, but did they believe? Think of the environment of Judaism at this particular time in history. They had the books of Moses. They had the Law and the prophets and the Psalms, all testifying of a coming Messiah who would be the Redeemer and the King of Israel. Since their fathers had killed the prophets, there was a gradual development and acceptance of unbelief which permeated religious thought and overcame the knowledge of God; therefore, they had a knowledge without understanding. This very same hedonic adaptation can be seen in the downward spiritual plunge of Christianity from the church of Ephesus to the church of the Laodicieans. (Revelation 2 and 3) Again, verse 2 of Chapter 3 reveals an absence of belief in the heart of Nicodemus. In Chapter 4 of the gospel of John, the Samaritan woman had less to believe on, and yet, she recognized that THIS was God’s Messiah, and she went forth, and proclaimed it without reservation, without her own personal guilt that THIS was the Messiah that God had promised. Yet, Nicodemus did not seem to see the same truth. Today, throughout professing Christianity we hear the same words, ‘We know.’ And I ask the same question, ‘But do they believe?’ This was not a pleasant meeting for Nicodemus. He was in between a rock and a hard place. The Rock being the Lord Jesus Christ, and the hard place was the unbelieving system of the Jews. Again, we refer to the voice of the Spirit and not to the voice of man. The last two verses of Chapter 2 set the stage for the first two verses of Chapter 3. The Lord was quite aware of the heart of Nicodemus, and Nicodemus was no different in his condition than any sinner, even though he was a master of Israel as documented in verse 10, Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? This position did not commend him, but condemned him for he should have known the things that were set before him out of the Old Testament Scriptures.
Side Note: Verily, Verily; Truly, Truly; Amen and Amen: As the Lord began His reply to Nicodemus, we should see in verse 3 something very important. Whenever the Lord Jesus referred to Scripture, many times He used the double words of ‘Verily, verily,’ which can also be seen as, ‘Truly, truly’ or ‘Amen, Amen.’ We learn this from the Psalms. (You look it up.)
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Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (John 3:7)
  The Lord began His discourse with the removal of the natural man, that a man MUST be born again. It is emphasized by the very expression, ‘Verily, verily.’ And without a man being born again, he cannot see, neither can he enter into the kingdom of God. A master of Israel should have understood this from the Old Testament writings. At this time, the Greek Septuagint was also available to the Gentile world, and many of the Gentiles including the Greeks came seeking the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, some had the evidence in Scripture of desiring a meeting with the Lord Jesus through the phrase, ‘Sir, we would see Jesus.’ Not only did the Hebrews have the knowledge of God in their own writing, but the Gentiles were without excuse, for they also had the Septuagint. In verse 4 of Chapter 3, Nicodemus, the man of Adam, continued his questioning on how can a man be born again when he is old?
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Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? (John 3:4)
  This has confused many throughout history. God, through the Holy Spirit, moved through faith in the heart of Abel. The very first recorded in Scripture as having faith. Not Adam, nor Cain (the first born of Adam) but it was Abel who walked by faith in the knowledge and will of God. Was Abel transformed by the new birth? Did Abel enter into the kingdom of God? These questions are answered by Abel’s faith. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (Hebrews 11:4) He being dead, yet speaketh, shows his eternal life in Jesus Christ.
  Is Abraham a member of the kingdom of God? Is Isaac a member of the kingdom of God? Is Jacob a member of the kingdom of God? ALL these walked by faith, ALL these have the evidence of being changed by faith by the Spirit of God recorded in the Scriptures. These three (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) they were all called at different ages in time, and in different places. How can a man be born when he is old? Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob answered that question for us. For not only did they walk by faith, but they endured their life here on earth as seeing Him who is invisible, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Himself proclaimed in John Chapter 8, verse 56 that Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. In verse 4 of Chapter 3 of the gospel of John, the second part of the question by Nicodemus seems irrational, almost as a jest. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? For what man could enter again into his mother’s womb? The Scriptures have no record of such an event, and as a master or teacher in Israel Nicodemus should not have considered such an irrational thought. Was this master of Israel ignorant of Psalm 139? Or was he ignorant of Jeremiah Chapter 1? Birth in the natural sense (in Adam) is a one time birth; however, to be born AGAIN, one must be removed from Adam’s physical race to a spiritual man; God bringing forth by His Spirit a NEW creation NOT made of the dust of the ground, nor of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God by the Holy Spirit.
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Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6)
　Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (John 3:7)
  In verse 5 of Chapter 3, the Lord Jesus AGAIN in His answer to Nicodemus stated, ‘Verily, verily,’ — ‘Truly, truly,’ — ‘Amen and Amen’ except a man (this included Nicodemus) be BORN of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Side Note: Verily, verily is mentioned 3 times in the 3rd Chapter of the book of John:
1st Mention: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
2nd Mention: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)
3rd Mention: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. (John 3:11)
  Just to bring out two points: this is the second time that the Lord Jesus used ‘Verily, verily in the gospel of John, and it is the first time that it is mentioned in the third Chapter of John.’ — Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3) It is also the first time that He mentioned the kingdom of God in the 3rd Chapter of John, it is SEE the kingdom of God.
  The second mention in the 3rd Chapter of John it is ENTER into the kingdom of God. In the first mention: the Spirit of God must give us sight in the darkness around us to see the Living Light in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ through faith. The second mention, is our walk INTO the kingdom of God WITH the Lord Jesus as His divine position by faith in Him. For we are transformed from Adam into a new life and into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (Colossians 1:13) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5) A man must be born of water and of the Spirit: two elements and yet both are used of God to bring forth the NEW birth. Where in Scripture is this water? We would have a better understanding if we understood the Laver in the Old Testament. Consider my two messages on the Laver in Reflections of Christ in the Tabernacle. The water here is the Word, and it encompasses both the Living Word (John Chapter 1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the written word in Ephesians Chapter 6, verse 17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. In Ephesians we have the union of the Spirit of God with the Word of God in the phrase, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
  In Chapter 4 of the gospel of John, the Lord Jesus referred to Himself as the living water or the living word in verse 10. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. Again, water refers to the Word of God. The Lord Jesus proclaimed when He was tempted by Satan in Matthew Chapter 4 that man does not live by bread alone, But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4) Thus, clarifying that there is life in the Living Word (the Lord Jesus Christ) and there is continued life and sustenance in the written Word which is the sword of the Spirit as He (through the written word) ministers to our heart, soul, and spirit. This is why a new born babe (born of the Spirit of God) desires the sincere milk of the written word of God. Since the Living Word (the Lord Jesus Christ) is of divine origin, and comes from God, so too the written word of God is of divine origin and is SENT by the Spirit of God through the Living Word of God (the Lord Jesus Christ).
  This separates man from Adam. As we see in verse 6 of John Chapter 3. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. That which is born of flesh is flesh. That which is born of Adam cannot see, neither enter into the kingdom of God except there is a transformation, a new creation, a new creature divinely born of the Spirit of God in Jesus Christ. That which is born of the Spirit IS Spirit, and ONLY those who have the Spirit of Christ in their hearts can understand and possess the glorious presence of Jesus Christ through His own Spirit. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. (Romans 8:9)
  I’m sure that today those who have the mind of Nicodemus must be told through the gospel, ‘Verily, verily,’ ‘Truly, truly,’ ‘Amen and Amen’ — Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3) I say unto you that except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5) Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
  The frailty of birth (in the realm of Adam) is delicate at best; yet, even to the lost soul giving birth and seeing new life is a miracle that no one but God can explain. Can you see the very moment of conception of life? Do you know the complete action of the hormones and the D.N.A? Can you feel the first heart beat? Can you see the first color of the eyes, or the exact moment of cognitive thought, or the first element or particle of blood, or the first electrical pulse, or the first sound that registers in the swell of water surrounding the spark of life? Can you understand that you have been chosen of God to carry that life and to protect that life until God breathes His breath into that infant soul, and fills its lungs with the air of the world completely foreign to him or her? As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. (Ecclesiastes 11:5)
  In all the choices in life, can anyone choose a mother and father before they are born? No one can pick nationality, or race, or time of birth. No one can pick color of hair or eyes. No one picks stature or looks. No one can pick intelligence. ALL is left up to God from your very conception, and onward, and onward to birth. You have no choice, nor will in your conception, neither in your birth process, only God’s divine will, and God’s desire will come forth. When God will say, I will receive life, at that moment I will receive life according to God’s will. Consider the whole of Psalm 139, especially verse 13. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13) I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. (Psalm 139:14) Also consider Jeremiah 1:5, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
  We are considering the beginning of life and the sanctity of that life. In thy book all my members were written, which in countenance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them. There are so many mysteries in the natural birth from Adam overseen by God. We are finite beings, we do not have omniscience, we do not have omnipresence, we are not omnipotent beings, so therefore, we must rely on the revelation from that eternal Being to explain to us the working of natural birth and the working of a supernatural birth.
  We have established that our natural birth is from God, and we have no say in the matter nor in the design. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. (Ecclesiastes 11:5) The only thing that we can do is receive life from above, and whimper our first cry in the strange land of Adam. A man must be born again: what is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Therefore, Chapter 3, verse 5, 6 and 7, takes us beyond the reason of mankind. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6) Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (John 3:7) Even to receive the new birth one must receive the divine action of the Spirit of God. We have to go beyond our thoughts, and seek the mind of Christ.
  We all know the two main religious thoughts: the first thought is, it is up to ME to will myself to be saved. The second thought is God’s will and purpose is to save me. And to those who are saved, to those who are born again, it is the Spirit of God within. It is the divine nature given that witnesses within by God’s Spirit that we are a child of God. Did you write in your appointment book or i-phone the time, the place, the weather condition, or the continent, or the country, town or city, day or night, the surroundings or whether you were alone, with friends or foes, or did you call what you heard from another, who converted you from death to life? Did you convert yourself, or did God? All these questions can be answered without the will of man. This and this alone can be determined only by the will of God. Consequently, for now the most important verse in John Chapter 3, verse 8. It is NOT John 3:16.
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The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)
  There is no control over the wind. You can have a breeze, a dust, a tremendous blow, a hurricane, a tornado, or you can have an updraft or a downdraft, and the only way to tell the difference is the sound thereof. Yet, even hearing the sound, one cannot tell where it is coming from, or where it is going. Sometimes, the trees can give you its direction, but not its final destination. God has given His circuit of the wind that He has revealed in the His word. He has shown us that all the wind circuits are all in subjection to the word of His power, God’s power. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Hebrews 1:3)
  Now let us compare the wind to the Spirit of God. Did you plan that on your thirtieth birthday at 6:30 p.m. while in the rain (at a bus stop) soaking wet, your hair knotted and gnarled, make up running, your eye shadow dripping on your white blouse that then and there you would meet the Prince of life, the Lord Jesus Christ? Who caused this to pass on the day of your salvation? It was the breeze of the Holy Spirit of God. It was His will and purpose, it was His time and place, it was His knowledge of the state of your soul and spirit. He brought life from death. He surrounded you with the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Or was it when you were driving home on that bridge, no one around, and the Spirit of God took your heart, soul, and spirit, and you were born again not by blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but by God, and ONLY by God. Adam put you in darkness. God put you in His light in Jesus Christ His Son. Or was it on that night while reading a book, only one thought came to your mind, ‘Is my heart hardened yet?’ And as a wind from your lungs, you cried out, ‘What must I do to be saved?’ It was the Spirit of God who whispered His grace to you heart, soul, and spirit, and He revealed that it is God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ that He is the way, He is the truth, He is the Life, He is the way to the Father’s bosom. So now, therefore, the question, Between my will and God’s will, who do you suppose will always win? When the Prince of life has declared that ALL power in heaven and in earth has been given unto Him, the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Should I turn to God and raise my voice, and share MY thoughts with the holy and righteous thoughts of God that it is NOT His will, but MY will that I should be saved? This sounds like another lie from the serpent.
  In Genesis Chapter 1, the Spirit of God brooded over the deep. The deep had nothing to say. In Genesis 1:3 God said, Let there be light. Now both the light and the darkness had nothing to say. All creation was spoken into existence without a word of contradiction. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Hebrews 11:3) Consider these thoughts that the stars were set in their places by the word of God; yet, which one of these luminaries designed the brightness of its own light? Which of the stars possessed light before it was given of God? Every one of the stars was placed by the work of the Creator’s hand. And as we consider creation, let us not forget the angels that in their moment of creation did they have a choice of their countenance? Did they have a say in their moment of time? All creation was brought into being by the will of God without a choice or reasoning, or apprehension of any molecule or atom; therefore, God has stated that we who are born again have been created by the same divine Creator, and it is His will that has created all things. If these thoughts are correct then the natural man had and has no opinion or choice of its own creation. Should not the spiritual (which is everlasting and which is of greater value) be the desire of the divine Being, should it not be the Creator’s choice and will and not mine? Let God, therefore, create a new life in you. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (John 3:7) A man MUST be born again. If everyone could see their complete future, their Adamic nature would not change their hearts. Only in some cases would their direction change for good or bad. Man does not have a choice, he is a sinner, and he is flawed with sin. This affects his total being. This affects all his thoughts. Sin has alienated mankind from God, and mankind is at enmity with God’s thoughts and will including the new birth. Listen again to Nicodemus through verse 4 in John Chapter 3. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? This is the reasoning of Adam. Adam has left us in this condition so that we cannot understand the divine action in the new birth. After listening to Nicodemus, can you say that man is capable of carrying on a reasonable, coherent argument with the divine Being that has created him. It is God who has provided salvation through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. To say that man was or is in charge denies the Almighty and takes us back to the tree of good and evil to the lie of the serpent, Ye shall be as gods. I am convinced since watching mankind every day, watching him in his flesh, that man is driven by sin, and not by free will. Man will sin and cannot keep from sinning because he is a slave to sin. Consequently, sin becomes his path, and not free will.
 Man makes his choices in life based on sin. Every day man is surrounded by sin outwardly and possessed by sin inwardly. Sin is man’s driving force. And mankind desires to call his sin ‘his will.’ Sin is man’s driving force. And mankind desires to call his sin ‘his will.’
Side Note: The ‘I Will’’ of Satan: Let me remind you of Isaiah Chapter 14 that five times Lucifer used these words, ‘I will.’
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: (Isaiah 14:13)
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isaiah 14:14)
1. I will ascend into heaven, and yet he has been cast down to the ground.
2. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: how has this worked out for Lucifer.
3. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:The only congregation that Lucifer is going to have is in the lake of fire. Then we have:
4. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. And yet, he has been cast down to the ground, and roams upon the earth.
5. Lastly, we are brought back to the tree of good and evil. His own being has been the father of lies. For in Isaiah 14:14, declared, “I will be like the most high.’And when he could not be like the most high, he deceived Adam and Eve, that they could be like the most high.
  Now if Lucifer could not and will not accomplish his goal, and according to Scripture, Adam didn’t accomplish his goal to be as god, would you not believe that God’s will is preeminent and predominant over all His created creation, including mankind. In the heart of mankind, as in Lucifer, there is a wall of enmity against God. Mankind became an enemy of God at the tree of good and evil. Remember, once again, that God DROVE Adam from the garden, and this created a war of sin against the goodness of God. Man loved sin so that sin became the dominant force in his life. When the Lord Jesus came and was manifested before man, it is recorded that man loved darkness rather than the light, which was in Jesus Christ. Darkness has no affinity with light. It is either light or darkness. Just as sin has no affinity with God.
  GOD hates sin. God HATES sin. God hates SIN, and He HATES the sinner while the sinner is living in sin. The cross was the divine measure of God’s hatred of sin as it was the measure of His love for the sinner. God’s love overcame sin by bearing the sin of the world upon Himself on the cross of Calvary. Christ was the perfect sacrifice. Christ did no commit sin in anyway, neither was the seed of sin within Him. He came as the purity of heaven to redeem mankind to that purity. There was no Adam within Him. He was completely free from Adam’s sin. As Adam became foreign to God in his sin, Christ without sin was foreign to Adam. As Adam became foreign to God in his sin, Christ without sin was foreign to Adam.
  Those who have humanized the gospel have no understanding of their complete depravity. Man MUST be born again. This is not a used car freshened, but a brand-new car, a NEW creation. I know that this weird but there are many different minds out there. A gear head might get it, where a scholar might not. When the Lord was speaking to a scholar named Nicodemus, he did not get it. Nicodemus said, ‘How can these things be? ’ Man cannot understand that Adam has to be taken out of the way, gone forever, and the new Man Jesus Christ MUST replace Adam completely. When we use the phrase ‘born again’ we do not see the whole picture of our own redemption. If Nicodemus had considered Isaiah 53, he might have seen the section that Christ saw, ‘the travail’ of His own soul, and ‘was satisfied.’ In the New Testament, we could consider the Scripture that ‘he is the first born from the dead,’ that He is the forerunner of our beings, the travail of His soul. God uses this word ‘travail’ in relationship to birth.
  When the Lord Jesus proclaimed, ‘It is finished,’ there was still the deepest darkness of death yet to overcome. A divine Being with the power of an endless life wills himself through the darkness of death to come forth as a glorified Being of a new race, as the ‘first born from the dead,’ This is what entails ‘the travail’ of His own soul, and when He came forth He was satisfied, and God was satisfied in Him. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:11)
  Even though the Lord Jesus expressed the wind symbolically in the moving actions of the Holy Spirit of God, Nicodemus still did not understand, nor comprehend the working of the Spirit; therefore, he asked the Lord Jesus ‘How can these things be? ’ And yet, this is not an unusual question. For even Agrippa, after Paul had declared the gospel, said to Paul, Almost thy hast persuaded me to be a Christian. How close and yet an eternity away. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. (Acts 26:28) And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. (Acts 26:29) Every true servant of Christ wants to share, wants to give what is within him; the servant desires to see the fruit of the Spirit in the new birth. The true servant rejoices with the angels over one sinner who has repented, over one who has received the Spirit of grace within their heart and has new life in Jesus Christ.
  Yes, the question by Nicodemus was not unusual from the world of Adam, for they know not the things of God, neither the Spirit of God. At the time of Nicodemus, Judaism was called ‘the religion of the Jews’ the Jews had put aside the word of God for the fantasies of their own hearts. Sinners in charge of the word of God can only pervert it since they do not understand the words written on the divine parchment of truth. As we mentioned previously, the Pharisees believed in resurrection, the Sadducees did not believed in resurrection, and the Herodians believed in the political bulletin of the week (we know this as ‘the truth of the day’) and whatever was in the bulletin controlled their hearts. They would rather be popular with the world then to understand divine truth. Do not forget that it was Herod who built the temple that took forty and six years to build. The Herodians were a group of Jews who held to a mixture of Roman political thought, Greek culture, and Jewish theocracy centered in Herod himself as being godlike. It was in this age of complete religious corruption and confusion that God brought forth His Son into this world.
  If these groups were here today, each one of them would have a denomination of their own in competition with each other to draw a world of sinners into a united religious group of artificial life. Denominationalism sells and uses the gospel for their own goals of dominion and power over the people. Denominationalism is the beehive of the Nicolaitans: winning the world with the sweet deception of artificial honey dripping from their messages. Denominationalism is not oneness, but confusion and contradiction. Similarly the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Herodians all contradicted each other, and yet, unabashedly proclaimed their obedience to the Scriptures; so today, denominationalism and the Nicolaitans pervert the word of God for their own dominion and wealth over the people while falsely claiming to be the ‘true Church,’ and ‘the way of truth.’ They (denominationalists, Nicolaitans, clergiests [like this new word?] and laity) don’t have a clue! Consequently, they (as Nicodemus) can only respond when hearing of spiritual things ‘How can these things be?’
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Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? (John 3:9)
Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? (John 3:10)
  The Lord did not stop with the wind and the Spirit in His discourse to Nicodemus. Knowing the heart of Nicodemus, He gave a rebuke instead of sweet swelling words to a ‘master of Israel.’ Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? (John 3:10) Consider what the Lord was saying in the phrase ‘of Israel;’ the Lord encompassed the whole Israel of God. This is very important because the Lord knew the claim not only of the Pharisees, but of this particular Pharisee who stood before him —the man Nicodemus. This man was recognized to be a master of Israel. Notice that he never refuted this label by the Lord; in this alone Nicodemus showed his claim of authority over the Israelites. In this claim of entitlement and privilege was also the claim of the knowing the way of truth. Yet, Nicodemus, himself, was empty of the truth. It was the declaration of Judaism, in the day of the Lord Jesus, that they had the truth, and they expounded that they had received the truth through Moses and the prophets. Yet, their hearts contained not the truth of Moses, nor did they believe in the righteousness of Moses and the prophets, neither did they do the works of Abraham.
They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. (John 8:39)
But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. (John 8:40)
  According to Hebrews Chapter 11, Abraham walked by faith. According to the book of Romans, Chapter 4, Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness, and in James Chapter 2, Abraham was called the Friend of God.
For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. (Romans 4:3)
Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. (Galatians 3:6)
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. (James 2:23)
  Let us consider the works of Abraham: a divine factor was all over his works for he walked by faith. Three times in all of Scripture it is recorded that Abraham believed God. In light of the Jews of John Chapter 8, they believed NOT the words of God for God was standing before them and they had shut their eyes and their ears to the glorious thing that the Lord Jesus had proclaimed to them. They believed NOT on the Son of God, and it was counted unto them for damnation. They boasted of having Moses and the Law and the prophets; yet, they believed NOT the very words of Moses, the Law and the prophets.
  Now let us consider faith. In light of the Spirit and the wind, Hebrews 11:1 states to us that faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We have the same evidence spoken by the Spirit of God in Hebrews 11. The things not seen is the evidence of the Spirit within the soul, spirit, and heart of the redeemed. The substance is the possession of the eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The things hoped for is the result of the unseen, and of the substance. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (John 3:7) A man MUST be born again — not of flesh, but of the unseen, the Spirit of God. Faith is not only an element of the new birth, but it is the instrument of trial for it is the trial of our faith that is spoken of as being more precious than gold which perisheth. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:7) Peter in his 1st epistle stretches the meaning of Hebrews 11:1. Remember the four words ‘of things hoped for,’ Peter gives us the things hoped for in the last phrase of 1 Peter 1:7, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. This is our hope, which is a sure hope, according to Paul in Romans. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? (Romans 8:24) But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. (Romans 8:25)
  The walk of the Christian today is no different from the trial of the early saints in the days of Paul, Peter and John. They did not walk a yellow brick road to paradise. At times they walked on a hot bed of sinners scorn and persecution. The action of faith is to reassure the heart, soul, and spirit of the redeemed that their trials are a result of their faith and not the rejection of God. The action of faith is to reassure the heart, soul, and spirit of the redeemed that their trials are a result of their faith and not the rejection of God.
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Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. (John 3:11)
If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? (John 3:12)
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. (John 3:13)
  In verse 11 John Chapter 3, for the third time, the Lord Jesus used ‘Verily, verily’ — ‘truly, truly,’ — ‘Amen, Amen.’ At this point things became much tougher for Nicodemus because the Lord Jesus explained who He was/is and why He had come from heaven’s glory to the world of Adam. The first thing that we see in verse 11 is the word ‘we’ in relationship to the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. To compound this thought the Lord Jesus used the word ‘we’ three times in that one verse. He used the word of union and then used the word ‘our’ in reference to the witness of the Godhead.
The Witnesses
  It is recorded in Scripture that at the mouth or two or three witnesses every word is established. Here the Lord Jesus Christ is drawing together in Himself, Father, Son and Holy Ghost with the same emphasis as He used when He created man and declared, Let us create man in our image after OUR likeness. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26)
OLD TESTAMENT
At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.(Deuteronomy 17:6)
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. (Deuteronomy 19:15)
NEW TESTAMENT
But if he will not hear [thee, then] take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. (Matthew 18:16)　
This [is] the third [time] I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. (2 Corinthians 13:1)
  In Hebrews Chapter 2, verses 1 – 4, we have a comparative with the verses that have gone before concerning the witness of two or three.
Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. (Hebrews 2:1)
For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; (Hebrews 2:2)
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;(Hebrews 2:3)
God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? (Hebrews 2:4)
  In verse 1 of Hebrews Chapter 2, it is stated that we should pay attention to the witness of God through the apostle Paul. That we are to give EARNEST heed to the things which we have heard, then we have another witness: for if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward. Paul gives his account, How shall WE escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Then we have the witness of the Lord Himself, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, then we have the witness of those who heard the Lord, and the Lord’s words were confirmed unto us by them who heard Him. Then we have the witness of God. God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders, and diverse miracles, and gifts of yet another witness, the Holy Ghost according to His will.
  In Chapter 12 of the book of Hebrews, we have a great cloud of witnesses. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. The multitude of witnesses in Hebrews Chapter 2, verses 1 thru 4 are staggering to the mind of the unredeemed. Just as Nicodemus could find no further questions to ask, nor was he even able to reply when the Lord proclaimed Himself as part of the Godhead, there was (and is) no further discussion from man. Man is in a dilemma. He does not want to believe of heavenly things. Adam will not allow it. For Adam is of the earth, earthy. Sin has darkened his vision and his thoughts; therefore, Adam cannot even believe in his own Creator, or that his Creator is the Creator of ALL things, and possesses ALL power in heaven and in earth. If mankind, therefore, is not willing to believe his own Creator, how is he going to be willing to believe in heavenly things.
  In the book of Psalms there are many witnesses of the supernatural given by God Himself to the psalmists. In Psalm 1 we have the man of righteousness who meditates on God’s law day and night. And he will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that flows from the throne of God bringing his fruit in due season. In Psalm 2 we have the man of rage, Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing. And in this same psalm we are introduced to the supernatural. God presents to our heart, soul and spirit His Son, This day have I begotten thee,’ This of course, was a foretaste of our glorious Redeemer’s work, and Psalm 2 finishes with this Messiah upon His throne. And yet, the world continues to say, ‘How can these things be?’
 We are reminded of the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man cried out to Abraham to send someone to his brethren to tell them of this place called hell that they might repent.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: (Luke 16:27)
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. (Luke 16:28)
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. (Luke 16:29)
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. (Luke 16:30)
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:31)
  The witnesses of the supernatural Creator are overwhelming, and Nicodemus had the witness of Moses, the Law, the prophets and the Psalms, and now he had the witness of God Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ.
  During the ministry of Paul he had to remind the Colossians and the Laodiceans of who they were. The Colossians and the Laodiceans were bogged down in the world with worldly things. So that Paul took their eyes off the world and placed them on heavenly things where the Lord Jesus is sat down at the right hand at the majesty on high. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? (John 3:12)
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2)
For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4)
  In Revelation Chapter 3, verses 17 and 18, the Laodiceans had been overcome by the gold of this world, and could not put their affections of things above. The world, as the world of Nicodemus, had blinded their eyes to the things of heaven. We should remember that in John Chapter 3, we have the Lord Jesus exposing the condition of the heart of Nicodemus. WE should see with eyes wide open that the Lord is introducing Himself as the First and the Last, as the Verily, Verily, the Truly, Truly, and the Amen and Amen, the faithful and true witness of God. The Lord Jesus Himself is the beginning of all things: temporal and spiritual, both seen and unseen, so when He included Himself with the word ‘we,’ it is God in His Spirit, and from His Spirit revealing Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. (John 3:11) In this sense the Lord Jesus is the beginning of the creation of God which IS and WAS manifest through His Son Jesus Christ. Paul told the Colossians, Seek those things which are above, Seek the Man who is at God’s right hand, for in Him is the true Verily, Verily – Truly, Truly – Amen and Amen. Then when you seek those things which are above, and you see the glory of the Person of Christ, God fills your heart with your own salvation through Jesus Christ, then set your affection on things above. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? (John 3:12)
  This leads us back to John Chapter 3, verse 13, And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. (John 3:13) There is one Redeemer, there is one Lord of all, and His title and name is The Lord Jesus Christ. And under His title and name God has given us the redemption of mankind. If one calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and believes in their heart then God is merciful and will save them. In verse 13, we have the connection of the Lord’s omnipresence. As the Son of God, He brought heaven down to us; as the son of man (through His redemptive work) He has taken us to heaven. The Lord in verse 13 declared His omnipresence that while on earth, in the presence of Nicodemus, He was also present in heaven above. The phraseology that the Lord Jesus used was directed at fallen man, for no man had ascended up to heaven (in his own power) but He who came down from heaven, even the Son of man who is in heaven. We have the presence of the Godhead both in heaven above and on earth below. This connects us to Colossians by the omnipresence of our Savior. We can be assured as the apostles: Christ liveth in me. He who filleth all in all is the same Son of man which is in heaven today, and present with every believer on earth. You have been given the divine nature for a purpose. It has been given to keep you not only for a day, but for eternity. You are part of Christ, and Christ is part of you. As you can only see yourself on earth, the Lord Jesus, the Son of man, sees you on earth and also in heaven with Him. This is one of the mysteries of the new birth. Although we are chained by the flesh, we are free in the Spirit. Although we are chained by the flesh, we are free in the Spirit.
  The Lord Jesus spans His own creation, and He permeates the entire creation whether in heaven or on earth with His Godhead fullness. His first witness to mankind was to Adam as His Creator. He revealed Himself to Adam as the Man from heaven. In verse 13 of John Chapter 3, the Lord Jesus revealed Himself to Nicodemus as a Man from heaven in the very phrase that He used concerning the Son of man who is in heaven. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. As the Creator revealed Himself to Adam, and walked with Adam, He also revealed Himself to Nicodemus as that same Creator. The Lord Jesus revealed Himself to Adam as the beginning of the creation of God, and it is very interesting that His last witness to the Church of the Laodiceans is as the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. (Revelation 3:14) We should also notice the word ‘Amen,’ or ‘Truly,’ or ‘Verily.’ He is the beginning of all things as He is also the end of all things. This is a witness of His own Being that before the creation, in Him was the beginning and the end; the Alpha and the Omega. As it was a declaration of omnipresence in John 3:13, it was also a declaration of the fullness of Him who filleth all in all.
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. (1 Corinthians 12:6)
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:28)
Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (Ephesians 1:23)
  In relationship with the Godhead in Colossians the Lord Jesus is described as being the fullness of the Godhead bodily. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9) For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; (Colossians 1:19)
  Three times in the entire Bible the phrase ‘all in all’ is used, and each one of these references is connected to the fullness of God. This was exactly what the Lord Jesus was relating to Nicodemus in John 3, verse 13. That He, the Son of man, is the fullness of God both in heaven and on earth. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. There is no dimension of man that can contain Him. He truly fills all in all.
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And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (John 3:14)
  Nicodemus got an ear full, he received more information than his heart, soul and spirit could digest; however, the Lord Jesus was not finished for in John Chapter 3, verse 14, He took Nicodemus to a higher level. Hopefully the heart of Nicodemus was being filled with the presence of Christ. We never see the exit of Nicodemus. This is a good thing. We never, however, hear a cry from his soul; yet, we must leave that with the Lord Jesus.
  In verse 13 the Lord Jesus ends with the presence of the Son of man in heaven. In verse 14, the Lord Jesus comes back to earth in discourse. He now explains why He (as the Son of man) was sent by God to the earth to redeem mankind. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: He related what He is going to accomplish on the cross of Calvary. He took Nicodemus from heavenly things back to earthly things, and then reached further back into the history of Israel, and presents up the brazen serpent to the memory of Nicodemus, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.
  This was one of the most memorable happenings in the history of Israel as they wandered through the wilderness. The brazen serpent was extremely important to the people of Israel that when Joshua took them into the land they somehow managed to take the brazen serpent with them. And in doing so, they worshiped the brazen serpent for approximately seven hundred and twenty five years (725 years). Did you know this? Well, turn to 2nd Kings, Chapter 18, verse 4, and we will read it together.
Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. (2 Kings 18:1)
Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. (2 Kings 18:2)
And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. (2 Kings 18:3)
He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. (2 Kings 18:4)
(Also read Numbers 21:5-9)
  It was approximately 725 years in the days of Hezekiah the children of Israel were still worshiping the brazen serpent that Moses had made. Through the phrase that Moses had made we know it was the original brazen serpent that Hezekiah called it Nehushtan (a piece of brass) and he destroyed it along with the other idols as we read in 1 Chronicles 31:1. The brazen serpent was well known to the children of Israel, and its history for 725 years would continue its saga throughout the nation of Israel, so that Nicodemus, a master of Israel, would be very familiar with the understanding of the brazen serpent. Nicodemus knew that the brazen serpent was an article of deliverance from death to life. In the book of Numbers Chapter 21, verse 9, we have that deliverance, when anyone was bitten by the poisonous serpents and looked to the brazen serpent that Moses had made, the would then live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (Numbers 21:9)
  By using an earthly symbol the Lord Jesus revealed to Nicodemus a heavenly truth. This visit of Nicodemus with the Lord of glory started with a man must be born again, and ended with a Man dying on the cross. Truly, Nicodemus could say again, ‘How can these things be?’ The Lord united His work on the cross with the work of the Spirit of God in a man must be born again. Christ mingled heavenly truths with earthly accomplishments. He took Nicodemus to a place of deliverance and this deliverance would be IN lifting up the Son of God on the cross of Calvary. The Lord Jesus was also giving Nicodemus a word of prophecy of upcoming events at the Lord’s own death upon the cross. And what is more amazing is that the Lord Jesus tied Himself and His death, and His suffering to eternal life.
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That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:15)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:17)
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18)
  The Lord Jesus tied Himself to all eternity and to eternal life. This is the first time that He used the word ‘believe’ in reference to Himself and to His supernatural work of redemption on the cross. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness to cure the physical bite of the serpents that when anyone looked on the brazen serpent they lived. Now we see the spiritual bite of the serpent in the garden that took mankind into sin and death. Christ went into death on the cross to redeem mankind, and by belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, man would be delivered from the bite of that old serpent, the devil. By the Lord Jesus bringing in eternal life, He was also presenting Himself as the power of resurrection, for since He is the way of deliverance, He is also the way of eternal life. In Him was life and the life was the light of man. Even though the word ‘believe’ is mentioned in verse 12 of Johns gospel in Chapter 3, it is in relationship to those who believe not. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? (John 3:12) In verse 18 it appears two more times He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18) In verse 16 we have the word ‘believeth’ in relationship to believing what we have read and what we have digested in our heart, soul, and spirit concerning the Son of God. For it is ‘believeth IN Him’ they should not perish, but have everlasting life. All the focus of John Chapter 3, is now brought out in John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Notice that we have traveled from the Son of man being lifted up to the Son of God with everlasting life. The focus now of the heart, the soul, and the spirit must be on Him who has the power of life within Himself. To give eternal life one must possess the power of an endless life, and power of all life. Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. (Hebrews 7:16)
  When we look on the direction of the Lord through Chapter 3 up to verse 15, we see His testimony of the truth that man must be born again, and the fact that this action depends on the Spirit of God and the work of Christ on the cross of Calvary. Once again, we must remind ourselves that this all took place in what God called ‘the fullness of time.’
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, (Galatians 4:4)
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4:5)
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (Galatians 4:6)
Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Galatians 4:7)
  God sent forth His Son to be the propitiation for sin, to be the mercy seat of God’s love, and to open the life gate of that love in relationship of His Son, and through His Son. For God sent forth the Son of His love to declare His love to mankind. God was manifest in the flesh in that love to take-away sin by our Lord Jesus Christ. He was nailed to the cross to take away the curse and the bite (the venom of sin and death) of the serpent
  In John 3:16 and 17 we have the testimony and the voice from heaven, from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:17) It was God the Holy Spirit who concluded or finalized the testimony of the Son of God with the Spirit’s own testament of what Christ had testified. The Spirit of God united all the words thus far in His final testimony of John 3:16, and 17.
  John 3:16 and 17 shattered the darkness for thousands of years. Every Christian in our time has used or knows these verses. And yet, it is the voice of the Spirit of God finalizing what the Son of God had already said. What a final call to man: that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, the Son of His love, the babe of the manger, the Lamb of God, the Son of man, the Son of God became the sacrifice to cleanse us from ALL sin. The Spirit of God speaks expressly in verse 16. The Son of God laid the foundation from verse 1 to verse 15, and the Spirit of God opens the heart in verses 16 and 17. And every day a new soul is introduced to the beauties of Christ: the beginning of the creation of God.
Verily, Verily— Truly, Truly — Amen and Amen.
© Copyright 2020, Michael Haigh
This article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)