What we Believe! (St. John 3:1-18)

For those who have been watching the news … we have seen what some have described as the mostly peaceful protests in Los Angeles … and then we see the burning cars … the dozens of stores that have been looted … the destruction of property … 

… and we ask … how can anyone call the protests peaceful?? How can some expect us to believe something different that what our eyes see?

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In my first year at seminary I distinctly remember Bishop Herter … our presiding Bishop r coming in to our class — very distressed —  with the report of the mass suicide and murders of over 900 people in November of 1978. 

This was the story of Jim Jones and the cult called the People’s Temple in Guyana. We ask how can people believe what was taught … and how could they follow their leaders to their death?

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There is a branch of Christianity that teaches that the Temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt and the OT sacrificial system restored … and we ask … how can people believe that when the Scriptures clearly teach that the Old Testament Sacrifices looked forward to the one final and perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

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These are examples of things that happen or that we hear of and we just can’t make sense of it.

As Christians, we see these things partially in fulfilling what our Savior said as to why he spoke in parables.

… and we read:

““He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”” 

Interestingly, these words of our Savior were a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah:

““Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’””

In short … their hearts and minds were not open to the truth … their hearts are dull … they are hard of hearing and their eyes are closed as Isaiah says.

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Today, as you might have noticed, is Trinity Sunday. 

We know that the word “Trinity” is NOT found in the Scriptures … Jehovah’s Witness, Mormons or Muslims will gladly tell you that!

— but we will see that it is an essential and  foundational teaching of the Christian faith …

… One God … three persons … Father, Son and Holy Ghost …

— and this is why those who do not believe in the Trinity are NOT Christians.

No way to get around it!

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The doctrine of the Trinity is also one of the great mysteries of our faith.

As Billy Graham said: “God the Father is fully God. God the Son is fully God. God the Holy Spirit is fully God. The Bible presents this as fact. It does not explain it.”

And as James Boice said: “The important point is not whether we can understand the Trinity, even with the help of illustrations, but whether we will believe what the Bible has to say about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and about their relationship to each other.”

We see the truth of the Trinity at the very beginning of our Savior’s ministry … at his baptism … where we read:

““And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.””

All three persons of the Trinity clearly evident in our Savior’s baptism by John..

We also see the Trinity when we baptize … ““Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.””

Now … what we also see in our Gospel lesson for today is that all THREE persons of the Trinity are active in our salvation.

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This is the familiar story Nicodemus — who came to Jesus by night. 

We see that Nicodemus was a Pharisee. 

When we think of the Pharisees, we usually think of something bad — after all, didn’t Jesus pronounce woe on them a number of times? 

Didn’t he call them hypocrites time and again? 

Just read Matthew 23 where he called them fools, blind guides and whitewashed tombs …

But, they were among the most learned men of their day.

From their ranks came some of the most well known Jewish scholars — Gamaliel, who taught Saul … (who then became Paul), and Josephus, the Jewish historian — brilliant men who were teachers and interpreters of the law. 

As we look at their beliefs we find that they were right on most points of doctrine — such as divine decrees, man’s moral accountability, immortality, the resurrection of the body, the existence of spirits, etc. 

The Pharisees believed that the Old Testament was the revealed word of God, and that the Pentateuch — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy — contained an inspired code of ethics which was to be believed and practiced. 

Hence … the Pharisees were the most ethical people around … at least on the outside! 

They tried to take the law of God literally — and they tried to keep it the best that they could.

So then — what was the problem with the Pharisees? 

They externalized religion — making the outward obedience to the law the goal of their existence. 

It really did not matter what was in the heart … or what was the intent — as long as one made a pretense to observing the law — and this they did down to the smallest detail.

As Jesus said in Matthew 23, they paid tithe on mint, anise and cummin which we the smallest things … but they neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. 

It was a religion of works-righteousness or works-salvation — that is, the more obedience to the law the greater your righteousness and the closer you were to God. 

This is why they had to so much trouble with Jesus — who was supposed to be a teacher of the law …  who did not follow it exactly as they did — and that is why they opposed him. 

But, as anyone who has tried to “earn” there way to God knows — there is a lot of uncertainty… a lot of doubt: 

— “when will I do enough? …  how much do I have to do …? do I have to follow everything? …”

— if you’ve ever heard people express the thought that “on balance” I think that I’ve done enough! … that’s those that think they can either earn their salvation or add to it!

… these people think that they are on their way to heaven … but they are NEVER sure.

And that brings us back to Nicodemus … who deep down he recognized that there was something missing … 

— he didn’t know WHAT was missing — but he recognized this, none the less.

What we see immediately is that Nicodemus recognizes Jesus as someone special … someone who has come from God — because he says to him: 

““Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.””

Nicodemus … along with many others … saw something different about Jesus. 

We know from John chapter 2, that people were beginning to turn to Jesus: 2:23:

““Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.”” 

But Nicodemus — in spite of WHO he was … in spite of WHAT he knew — had to check out Jesus for himself — and so he did. 

But the interesting thing that we see, is that after he makes his statement in verse 2 …

— before HE EVEN ASKS a question … Jesus tells him something that is very profound — 3:3: 

““Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”” 

Jesus knew that there must have been a burning question deep in the heart of Nicodemus … 

And that is exactly what Jesus begins to teach Nicodemus and Jesus REPEATS what he is saying to make sure that Nicodemus gets it — that one must be born again.

3:5: ““Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”” and then:

3:7: ““Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.””

Three times … THREE … Jesus makes it clear that something supernatural … something that you don’t completely understand … something from God … needs to happen. 

In verses 3 & 7, this is seen in the word that we translate ““again.”” 

The Greek word has its root in a word that means ““from above”” … with the implication of being born ““anew”” or ““again”” … 

— that is — something else must happen OTHER THAN just a physical birth.

It is interesting that Nicodemus — being who he was — failed to grasp at what Jesus was saying: in 3:4 we read:

 ““Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?””  

Nicodemus … while he didn’t know what Jesus meant … knew that it was inconceivable that someone enter into his mother’s womb a second time. 

But Jesus emphasizes that this is not what he is saying at all: 

— ““Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”” 

— Jesus is saying — Nicodemus — it’s something out of this world that has to happen to you.

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I believe that the point that Jesus is trying to make absolutely clear to Nicodemus AND to us … 

— is that in order to have eternal life … in order to enter the Kingdom of God … in order to be saved … in order to be born again — SOMETHING NEEDS TO HAPPEN … 

— and that something needs to come from above… that the Spirit … which has its origins in heaven … must enter the heart. 

Keeping the law won’t do it … following a moral life won’t do it … being religious won’t do it. 

One needs to be born from above — AND it needs to originate with God. 

In OTHER WORDS an act of God … through the 3^rd person of the Trinity — THE HOLY SPIRIT —  MUST precede any act of man.

This is why testimonies that center on the fact that: “I did this or that … I turned my life over to Jesus … I accepted Christ as Savior” are all well and good … 

—PROVIDED one acknowledges the fact that UNLESS the Spirit of God FIRST regenerates the heart … there can be no acceptance of Christ as Savior and Lord.

As someone has well said … when we talk about our salvation … it should NEVER be in the first person … 

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This is what Nicodemus has so much trouble with … 

— he was used to salvation being an act of man … something that he would do … 

That is why he asks: ““How can these things be?””

And don’t we see the same thing today as we share the good news of Jesus Christ. 

People cannot believe that they don’t have to follow a long list of rules and regulations — that it is what God does in their hearts that matters. 

This why the Apostle Paul would say in Titus 3:4-7: 

““But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.””

We see this as Jesus further explains what happens to Nicodemus: ““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.”” 

Can one direct the wind … tell it where to blow?? — the obvious answer is no — the wind does as it pleases. 

Jesus says the same is true of the Spirit of God as it enters the hearts of those who would believe … those whom God has chosen before the foundation of the world.

We do know that as we compare Scripture with Scripture that Nicodemus became a follower of Jesus Christ — that he truly was born again.

The Spirit had regenerated the heart of Nicodemus.

The Spirit moved in the heart of Nicodemus so that he could respond in faith. 

This is true of EVERY SINGLE PERSON that knows Christ as Savior and Lord — that it begins from above. 

As Jesus emphasized to Nicodemus … prior to his believing — it’s a heavenly thing: 3:12: 

““If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?””

It is here that begin to see the work of the Trinity in our salvation — 3:13-17: 

““No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 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.””

Again … we see in this passage …  that all three persons of the Godhead are at work in our salvation — the Father sends the Son to die for the sins of those whom the Holy Spirit gives life.

And so, while the word Trinity is not used in the Scriptures we see that it is essential in our salvation.

Time does not permit us to look at the other proofs … if you will … of the Trinity.

It truly is one of the mysteries of our faith.  However, as one theologian stated: “A God understood, a God comprehended, is no God.”

We know that God has revealed Himself to us in the Bible … but what we know about Him is a fraction of a fraction.

But what we also know is that God has given us all that we need to know … by His Spirit through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

As Peter tells us in his 2^nd letter: ““Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, …””

God has given us all that we need in this life … and through His Son and the Lord Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit … we have our salvation … the forgiveness of our sins … and a place reserved in heaven for us.

So … by the Spirit through the son … we accept the mystery of the Trinity … and praise be to God … that we can.