Savior, He Who Delivers
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December 17, 2006)
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December 17, 2006 - John 3:16-17
Open It
When have you felt like you wanted to start life all over again?
Why do people like to get new things (such as clothes, cars, or gadgets)?
What is the best gift you have ever received?
Explore It
To what group did Nicodemus belong? (3:1)
At what time did Nicodemus visit Jesus? (3:2)
Why did Nicodemus believe Jesus was from God? (3:2)
What is the qualification for seeing the kingdom of God? (3:3)
What did Nicodemus think Jesus meant when He said that a person must be born again? (3:4)
What is required to enter the kingdom of God? (3:5-6)
How did Jesus compare the wind to the Spirit? (3:8)
What is the result of believing in the Son of Man? (3:15, 18)
How did God demonstrate His love for the world? (3:16)
Why did God send His Son into the world? (3:17)
Get It
How would you describe what it means to be born again to someone?
What were some of the things that caused you to believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
Why are spiritual truths often hard to understand?
What are a few spiritual truths that you struggle to understand?
How does God's gift of his Son affect our lives?
How can a person live by the light?
Apply It
How will you change your daily routine to better appreciate and enjoy God's gift of his Son?
For what specific spiritual truths will you seek answers this week?
Notes
3:1ff Nicodemus came to Jesus personally, although he could have sent one of his assistants. He wanted to examine Jesus for himself to separate fact from rumor. Perhaps Nicodemus was afraid of what his peers, the Pharisees, would say about his visit, so he came after dark. Later, when he understood that Jesus was truly the Messiah, he spoke up boldly in his defense (John 7:50-51). Like Nicodemus, we must examine Jesus for ourselves-others cannot do it for us. Then, if we believe he is who he says, we will want to speak up for him.
John 3:3: What did Nicodemus know about the kingdom? From the Bible he knew it would be ruled by God, it would be restored on earth, and it would incorporate God's people. Jesus revealed to this devout Pharisee that the kingdom would come to the whole world (John 3:16), not just the Jews, and that Nicodemus wouldn't be a part of it unless he was personally born again (John 3:5). This was a revolutionary concept: the kingdom is personal, not national or ethnic, and its entrance requirements are repentance and spiritual rebirth. Jesus later taught that God's kingdom has already begun in the hearts of believers (Luke 17:21). It will be fully realized when Jesus returns again to judge the world and abolish evil forever (Rev. 21; Rev. 22).
John 3:5-6:"Of water and the Spirit" could refer to (1) the contrast between physical birth (water) and spiritual birth (Spirit), or (2) being regenerated by the Spirit and signifying that rebirth by Christian baptism. The water may also represent the cleansing action of God's Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). Nicodemus undoubtedly would have been familiar with God's promise in Ezekiel 36:25-26. Jesus was explaining the importance of a spiritual rebirth, saying that people don't enter the kingdom by living a better life, but by being spiritually reborn.
John 3:8: Jesus explained that we cannot control the work of the Holy Spirit. He works in ways we cannot predict or understand. Just as you did not control your physical birth, so you cannot control your spiritual birth. It is a gift from God through the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16; 1 Cor. 2:10-12; 1 Thes. 1:5-6).
John 3:10-11: This Jewish teacher of the Bible knew the Old Testament thoroughly, but he didn't understand what it said about the Messiah. Knowledge is not salvation. You should know the Bible, but even more important, you should understand the God whom the Bible reveals and the salvation that God offers.
John 3:16: The entire gospel comes to a focus in this verse. God's love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in. Here God sets the pattern of true love, the basis for all love relationships-when you love someone dearly, you are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. God paid dearly with the life of his Son, the highest price he could pay. Jesus accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life that he had bought for us. When we share the gospel with others, our love must be like Jesus'-willingly giving up our own comfort and security so that others might join us in receiving God's love.
3:16 Some people are repulsed by the idea of eternal life because their lives are miserable. But eternal life is not an extension of a person's miserable, mortal life; eternal life is God's life embodied in Christ given to all believers now as a guarantee that they will live forever. In eternal life there is no death, sickness, enemy, evil, or sin. When we don't know Christ, we make choices as though this life is all we have. In reality, this life is just the introduction to eternity. Receive this new life by faith and begin to evaluate all that happens from an eternal perspective.
3:16 To "believe" is more than intellectual agreement that Jesus is God. It means to put our trust and confidence in him that he alone can save us. It is to put Christ in charge of our present plans and eternal destiny. Believing is both trusting his words as reliable, and relying on him for the power to change. If you have never trusted Christ, let this promise of everlasting life be yours-and believe.
John 3:18: People often try to protect themselves from their fears by putting their faith in something they do or have: good deeds, skill or intelligence, money or possessions. But only God can save us from the one thing that we really need to fear-eternal condemnation. We believe in God by recognizing the insufficiency of our own efforts to find salvation and by asking him to do his work in us. When Jesus talks about unbelievers, he means those who reject or ignore him completely, not those who have momentary doubts.
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