John Chapter 3: New Birth, Bronze Serpents, and the Kingdom of God

Nicodemus. New birth. Bronze serpents on a pole. Evil men who hate the light and love darkness. John the Baptizer. The wrath of God abiding on non-believers. That's John chapter three, and we're going to do an overview.

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Why This Chapter Matters

John chapter three is perhaps one of the most controversial chapters in Christendom right now. There are a lot of highly debated subjects in John chapter three. We're not gonna dive into them in a deep way because this is meant to be that 10,000-foot overview of the gospel of John chapter three, which is very, very pivotal to what John is communicating.

If you need a refresher as to why John wrote his gospel, I have other videos (they'll be in the description), but here it is—John 20:30-31:

"Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name."

Boom. You wanna know why John wrote his gospel and everything in it? Here it is: so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

So everything in John chapter three we are about to discuss has that threefold purpose. And John is the only gospel author that recorded this conversation because it is pivotal to his mission: eternal life.

Nicodemus Comes by Night

Now, it begins with Nicodemus coming to him in secret.

John 3:1-2 - "Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, and this man came to Jesus by night."

As a religious leader of the Jews at that time, to be associated with Jesus would cost them their ministry and it could have cost them their life with the Romans. Nicodemus, unsure about Jesus, comes to him at night—not during the daytime when it could be seen, but at night when he could slip away in the shadows.

And that's where we see Nicodemus really living out the rest of his time, as far as the scriptures record during the life of Jesus, all the way up until the end when he publicly identifies with his Lord and Savior. But for the most part in the beginning, he's skeptical and he is trying to discern.

And I think that's a wise thing. There's no shame on Nicodemus here. He is being wise, and it's taking him time to understand: is Jesus truly the sent one of God? Is he truly the long-expected one? And I don't want to give Nicodemus a bad rap at all.

He diligently sought and went to the source himself—unlike some of those Pharisees that are whispering in the shadows saying things that aren't true, or hearing testimonies and not following up with them and just receiving them.

Going to the Source

How many times have you done something like that where you heard something and never actually went to the source?

I remember one time a couple years ago when we were having our seventh child. My wife was choosing a midwife because we moved down to Southern West Virginia. So we were researching a midwife, and on the testimony of a friend who heard something from someone else, we said we're not gonna choose this midwife—which we wish we did choose her. In fact, the next time around (because that baby was a miscarriage), the next time around we ended up going with her because we clarified the issue with her. So we heard something and we're like, "Ah, we're not gonna do that," instead of going to her and clarifying those things. Well, guess what? We kind of just assumed that to be correct. It wasn't.

So there's just a personal example of how I respect a man like Nicodemus, who even though it was in the night, went to the source.

You Must Be Born Again

So Nicodemus goes to Jesus by night and he says, "Rabbi, which means teacher, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do the signs that you do."

Now at this point in time, the only sign that John records is the sign of the new wine—the water into wine—which I have a video on that (I'll pop it in the description for you). There were other things that Jesus did, but remember, John only recorded certain ones to prove his threefold purpose: Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing we would have life in His name.

So they're seeing these signs, which are all a testament that Jesus is the sent one of God. They see these signs and he acknowledges: no sinner can do these things unless God is with him. He can't do those things.

And in a similar sense, unless God is with us, we cannot do the things of God. Hmm. That's gonna be pivotal to this chapter, so stay tuned.

Jesus says something fascinating to me here in John 3:3:

"Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'"

Another video in the description below about the new birth—check that out. But unless one is born again, he cannot—what does it say?—see. Let me highlight that: he cannot see the kingdom of God.

The idea here is paying attention to or concerning oneself with understanding as a result of perception, experience of an event, to visit, go, see, learn about.

The idea that's being spoken of here is unless one is given new life, they cannot concern themselves with the things of God, the kingdom of God, the purpose of God, the advancements of God.

Flesh vs. Spirit

Because in the flesh, in Adam (which all men are born), and that's exactly what he's talking about here in verse six: "That which is born of flesh is flesh." Those who are born of flesh do fleshly things. Those who are born of the spirit do spiritual things. The flesh cannot do the things of the spirit. The spirit cannot do the things of the flesh.

They are in opposition to one another, like a magnet that is same-sided—they repel each other.

The one who has not been born again cannot do the things of the kingdom of God. He cannot participate in it. He cannot even comprehend it. It doesn't make sense to him.

A Side Note from Ministry

In just a side note, from doing ministry for so many years, when someone who has said they've been a Christian for a long period of time says something like this to me: "Pastor, I try to read the Bible, but I just don't get it. I just can't understand it. It just goes over my head"—I have a real hard time, especially if you're looking at the scope of their life, saying that they are a born again believer.

Because unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. The Bible is an explanation of the King and His kingdom. So if you are not born again, you cannot understand the scriptures.

In fact, what was one of the things that Jesus did? He taught in parables. Why? So that the hearers would hear but not understand because they've hardened themselves, but to those who are spiritual, they would understand. So they cannot see.

Water and Spirit

Nicodemus is really kind of beside himself here. He is like, "Well, born again? I don't understand this concept." As far as he understood, it wasn't taught in the Old Testament, but he's asking, "How does this be? 'Cause I'm an old man, I can't enter into my mother's womb a second time and be born like that." Doesn't make any sense.

So within the context of this, we're talking about a natural birth and a spiritual birth, especially here in verse six: "That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit."

The context is natural birth and spiritual birth. There are certain denominations that want to impose water baptism into this scripture. It's not there. There is baptism in chapter three, but it's not till way later when we're talking about John the Baptizer and his disciples, and what Jesus was doing in practice, or what his disciples were doing in practice. We're not correlating the same things—the context determines the meaning.

So he's talking about natural birth and spiritual birth, and Jesus is addressing this very thing. 'Cause for those who are truly inquiring about these things, He doesn't leave anything on the table.

He says in verse five: "Unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." So entrance and seeing are equated together.

And unless one is born of man, right—'cause that's a prerequisite to being born again. You have to be born to be born again. I hope that makes sense. You can't be born again without being born first. So humans are the only ones that can gain entrance into the kingdom, and humans are born of water.

I've had seven children. I haven't had 'em—my wife's had 'em, she's a champ—but she's had seven children, and each time they are born through water. Guess what? The water breaks. The child comes out, born of water. Simple.

And then the child grows up and as they grow, if you are an intentional parent, you are parenting them according to the way that they should go, giving them a healthy appetite of the things of God, and they will then eventually receive Christ for themselves by believing in His name—grasping Him and identifying themselves with Christ, saying, "It's not the faith of my parents, it's my faith because I understand my sin and my need for the Savior."

And then at that point in time, there is a new birth of the Spirit.

Which John has already talked about in chapter one, verses 12 and 13: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

Same thing. Born of water, born of spirit. It's in the context of chapter one. It's in the context of chapter three. Born of man and then born of Spirit. That's just the natural order of things. John has already discussed this in brevity.

And now because John wants us to understand what life in His name looks like, we are given insight into this beautiful conversation about the new birth.

Two Options: Adam or Christ

So there's this conversation about the new birth. You must be born again, and it has to be of the spirit because there's only two options here: you're in Adam, or you're in Christ. Born of flesh, born of spirit. There's only two options throughout the scripture, and the way that we come out of Adam and into Christ, into the spirit, is through receiving the revelation of who Jesus is, what He has done and is doing, and will do—receiving Him as the scriptures reveal Him to be.

So Nicodemus is having all of these questions back and forth, and Jesus gives a description all the way back to Numbers chapter 21 of how these things are going to play out.

The Bronze Serpent

And He says this: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life."

I want you to understand that Jesus is giving Nicodemus a description of how this is going to happen, how this takes place. And it can only happen because of the substitutionary death of Him—the God-man, Jesus of Nazareth, fully God, fully man.

Jesus tells Nicodemus how He's going to be their Messiah that will provide this new birth, and it's through Him becoming a curse.

So in Numbers 21, the people are rebelling against God and He sends a serpent to bite them and to put them to death. They've set themselves up as God's enemy. God has acted as their enemy, sending serpents to punish the people for their rebellion. And Moses prays for the people and seeks to find a solution as the intercessor.

And the Lord said to Moses in Numbers 21:8: "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he shall live."

Nicodemus would know the context of this. But the question you must be asking is: why a serpent and why a pole?

Two Reasons—Both Involve Curse

Two reasons, and they both involve curse: because the serpent was cursed by God all the way back in Genesis chapter three, and those that are nailed to a tree are a demonstration to all that they are cursed by God.

In Deuteronomy 21:22-23: "And if a man committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God."

We're not talking about a hanging by a noose. We're talking about one that is nailed to a tree. Does that sound familiar?

We see it in Numbers 21—the bronze serpent, which was an object that was cursed by God, was nailed to a tree, demonstrating to the people that the cursed object was cursed by God.

Huh? So are you saying that this Son of Man who came out of heaven, the Son of God, became the Son of Man, is going to be lifted up and nailed to a tree, demonstrated to all that He is cursed by God for humanity?

Yep. That's what we're saying.

John 3:16

So that is the context out of which the most loved verse in all of scripture is quoted—John 3:16 (which I have another video on, link in the description):

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

How is this possible, God? Because God the Father loved the world enough to send His beloved one—the one whom He loves more than anything, the only begotten, the one-of-a-kind Jesus, who's fully God and took on flesh to live a perfect life and to be nailed to a cursed tree—to demonstrate to all of humanity that He is the object of God's wrath.

Not because of anything that He's done, but because of everything that we've done. For He was made sin so that we, in faith, would be given His righteousness. That's 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Condemned Already

So Jesus continues this thought process of how this all plays together. And He's saying, "Listen, God didn't send Me into the world to condemn the world right away. I'm coming back for that, but that's not why He sent Me into the world. He sent Me into the world to bring about salvation for the world through the works that He is doing and that the Father is edifying and the Spirit is working."

"Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is already condemned because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."

Now, the name here is not a reference just to saying the name Yeshua or Jesus as we pronounce it in English. That's not what's being communicated. The overarching thrust of scripture whenever the name is being used, it's being used in the context of the person and work of the individual.

So we're talking about whoever has not believed in the person and work of Christ, of the only Son of God, is condemned already. It's a present tense thing.

How does this work out? Well, actually, if you jump all the way down to John 3:36: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."

So it's a present tense thing. All of those who are in Adam—because we're all born into Adam and we remain in Adam until we're born again through receiving the Son—whoever does not believe, does not obey.

Remember all the way back up here? He cannot see. He cannot participate. Those who are of flesh do fleshly things. Those who are of spirit do spiritual things. Those who are not in Christ, but in Adam, cannot do the things of Christ. They cannot obey Him.

Those who are in Christ have died to the flesh and are set free from it. And even though we can sell ourselves back into slavery, we're urged to keep our eyes on Christ, abide in the Spirit, and do spiritual things.

Light and Darkness

So Jesus gets into the nature of mankind here, because all—which is the majority of mankind who do not believe—are condemned.

Verse 19: "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world and the people love the darkness rather than the light, because their works are evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his work should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

It goes all the way back to, again, this whole theme of light and darkness, of flesh and spirit, of Adam and Christ, of the kingdom of man and the kingdom of God. Born of flesh, born of spirit.

There is a magnetic repellent against each other. Here, the one who is fleshly does not do the things of the light. In fact, they hate the light, so they recede into the darkness because they don't want to expose the wickedness of their heart.

Whereas the one who is of spirit does spiritual things—steps into the light so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. His works come from the fact that he has received and believed upon the Messiah, producing a new life.

Remember: those who are born of God do godly things. Those who are born of spirit do spiritual things. Those who are given entrance into the kingdom do kingdom things. Those who are fleshly, they do fleshly things.

That's the nature of what's going on here.

John the Baptizer: A Kingdom Man

And the wonderful thing is that we have a shining example in John the Baptizer.

Do you ever wonder, "Hmm, why then did John insert this part about the testimony of John the Baptizer with the Messiah here at the end of John chapter three?" Because he wrote very intentionally. Well, could it have been that he just wants to give a shining example of a kingdom man opposed to a fleshly man?

What does a kingdom man do? What does it look like to be a kingdom man? Well, don't look so far as to John the Baptist.

So after this conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus and His disciples go into the Judean countryside and they remain there with them and were baptizing. John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized, for John had not yet been put in prison.

Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification. So remember, John's baptism was one of repentance, of purification, of a cleansing sense. Jesus' baptism is of spirit and fire, which fire in its nature is cleansing and it's also purifying.

And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who is with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—behold, He is baptizing and all are going to Him."

So He's doing the same thing as you. He's competing against you, John, and people are leaving you and going to Him. What are you gonna do about it, John?

"He Must Increase, I Must Decrease"

John answered, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given to him from heaven."

So the ministry that I received came from Him who came down from heaven. So how am I going to complain? He's going to receive all the glory and I'm totally okay with that. That's my purpose. That's why I'm here—is to give Him the glory and to step into the shadows. Not to stop doing ministry, but to point those who have come to me, whom God has given me in my care, to point them to the one who can actually deliver them, and that's not me.

"You yourselves bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him." And that goes back to Malachi chapter four.

"The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore, this joy of mine is now complete."

John the Baptizer, even with all the fame he's received—I mean, masses were coming to him—he despised that. And when he saw Jesus, his joy was fulfilled and his life intention has been completed. And now all he wants to do is point everyone to Him.

That's why he's here. And friend, that's why you are here. That's why we are left on this earth as a kingdom people—to point the world that is in the kingdom of the evil one to the one who can deliver them from sin's penalty, power, and eventually presence. And His name is Jesus.

He says, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

True Humility

Humility is laying down our hopes and dreams and desires, putting them to death, laying down our opportunity for fame, counting it as worthless. And that's what Paul does, and he tells us of in Philippians chapter three—laying that down and elevating Christ, magnifying Christ, lifting Him high.

And what I see with the rise of social media is there are so many people that are trying to lift themselves high and keep Christ down here.

At Immersed Disciple, I'm only recording these videos because I believe that's what the Lord wants me to do. After 13 years of study and reading through the scriptures, I'm on my 59th time now in 13 years. I don't say that to boast. I say that because I need Christ. I love Christ. I want Him to be magnified, and that is my whole intention here is to say: I don't care if you know my name at all. I want Christ to be magnified.

That's what John does, and that's what every believer should be doing—is walking in the yoke of humility, which is a yoke of Christ. In fact, when you read the Gospel of John, you have to read it with Jesus's humility in mind. He didn't want any glory for Himself, but He wanted to give all glory to the Father.

In fact, in John 17, in His high priestly prayer, He says in John 17:4-5: "I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed."

So because I did these things and I gave You all the glory, God, My Father, give My glory that I laid down to take upon human flesh—give it to Me once again.

And He did. For He is seated in authority and given the name that is above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord to the glory of who? The Father. Once again. I love it.

He Who Comes from Heaven

So John decreases so that Christ increases.

"He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way." That's John 3:31. "He who comes from heaven is above all."

Why do we have such a high view of ourselves? John didn't. He's literally the kingdom man that we are to follow after. Jesus exalted this man, John, saying he's the greatest. So if you wanna model, follow this: Magnify Christ. Magnify Him. Magnify Him. Magnify Him. Glorify Him. Do everything in your power in your life—have everything point to Him. In your speech, have everything point to Him. In your thoughts, have everything think about Him. In your facial expressions, everything that would bring glory to Christ.

"He bears witness to what He has seen and heard, yet no one receives His testimony. Whoever receives His testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent utters the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure."

Speaking about Christ here. Jesus is speaking of heavenly things 'cause He's seen them firsthand. We can speak of heavenly things 'cause we've now seen and experienced them because of the new birth.

Many people think that Jesus did all of the miracles that He did in His own power. That's not what John communicates here at all. Jesus laid aside His right to act as God when He took upon flesh, and when He took upon flesh, He only came to make known the Father. "For He whom God has sent utters the words of God."

So the eternal Word has come to make known the Father, and the Spirit, which had come upon Jesus in the form of a dove, is given to Him whom God sent to display the character of God without measure.

So the things that we see Jesus done, He's done in the Spirit of God. He's done all things to display the character of God in the power of God, the Spirit of God, and He's done it all under the authority of God and for the glory of God.

Believe and Obey

"The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand."

So what we do with the testimony of Jesus matters. 'Cause the one who receives the Son receives the one who sent the Son, because the one who sent the Son sent Him to make known who He is and what He's about.

So we see in John the Baptizer one who is a kingdom man who magnifies this Christ who is standing before Nicodemus and standing before his disciples. And if we want to know what a kingdom man sees and what a kingdom man does, what someone who is born of the spirit does—he doesn't magnify himself. He magnifies Christ.

He doesn't study about earthly things. He studies about heavenly things. He doesn't do earthly actions. He does heavenly actions. His life is totally polar opposite from the way of the world.

John, again, we've talked about it in this section already: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."

So the one who believes in the Son is born of God to do godly things, and those godly things are living under the authority of the Son. "See that all things are given into His hand."

The one who is born because they believe in the Son lives in obedience to the authority of the Son. But the one who does not believe does not obey, because they who are of flesh do fleshly things. And those who are of flesh that do fleshly things—the wrath of God already remains, and condemnation is already set like a gavel that's ready to come down upon the moment of their last breath.

Come

Thanks be to God that Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to offer it life the first time. And now any and all who draw near to the Father through the Son can have cleansing and atonement for their sins, and He is faithful and just to forgive us of all unrighteousness, if we would just come.

So come.