We are born again when we listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and accept Jesus as our Savior. This daily devotional begins to look at how Jesus explained this to Nicodemus.
Nuggets
- We need to approach Jesus by acknowledging who He is and seeking to know Him better.
- Nicodemus may have acknowledged that Jesus came from God, but it was not enough for salvation.
Devotions in the Never Alone: The Holy Spirit in Our Lives series
We learn more about the Holy Spirit when we read the story of Nicodemus. First, we have to set the stage and learn who he is and how he came to talk with Jesus.
Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of nuggets for the series.
A Nighttime Visitor
“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said 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’” (Jn. 3: 1-2 ESV)
We need to approach Jesus by acknowledging who He is and seeking to know Him better.
Nicodemus was a ruler because he was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. Whenever we think of Pharisees, we think of the group that resisted Jesus’ teaching the most.
Apparently, the Holy Spirit had been working on Nic. He went to see Jesus sometime during the night.
We may have a tendency to bite on Nicodemus because he came to Jesus in the dark. It is assumed he snuck in so no one would see him coming or going.
But really, we have to give Nic an attaboy because he had the courage to seek Jesus out regardless of what he felt he had to lose.
You know, that might not have been the reason at all. Maybe Nic came at night because he was busy doing Pharisee stuff all day. Maybe he knew the crowd would be too big, and he wouldn’t get any one-on-one time with Jesus.
However, I always read over that one important world. “… ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God …’” (Jn. 3: 2 ESV emphasis added).
Nicodemus wasn’t there on his own. He was there as a representative of the religious rulers.
Did the Holy Spirit lead Nicodemus to Jesus or not? It seems so.
Whether the meeting was arranged or spontaneous, Nic did come at a time where there would be enough time to get all of his questions answered.
Nic greeted Jesus correctly. He not only acknowledged Jesus as a teacher, but he also admitted that He came from God.
I think we can read this passage to mean that Nick wanted to serve God correctly. What Jesus taught would have been a complete 180o from what he had been taught.
We don’t read here that Nic came to entrap Jesus. It doesn’t seem that he was just trying to gauge the threat level that Jesus presented.
Nic didn’t shut down and discount everything Jesus said because of the differences. It was obvious to him that the miracles Jesus performed could only come from someone sent by God.
If a miracle were to happen, would it make us stop and think? Or would we just be overjoyed that the miracle occurred?
For whatever singular or multiple reasons he was there, Nicodemus does seem to have come to learn the truth. Jesus would have had something to say about it if he hadn’t.
But we also need to follow Nic’s example when our beliefs come under fire. We don’t want to be swayed by false teachers. We need to prayerfully consider and search Scriptures to determine how God calls us to worship.
We can’t just be blown along by every fad.
Being Born Again
“Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (Jn. 3: 3 ESV)
Nicodemus may have acknowledged that Jesus came from God, but it was not enough for salvation.
Head knowledge is not enough to gain us salvation. We must respond on the heart level. Salvation is the gift of life through the deliverance from condemnation and sin to acceptance and holiness and changes us from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
- Sin is not believing that Jesus is our Savior to save us from our actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments, goes against a purpose He has for us, or follows Satan’s promptings.
- Holy means to be set apart — because of our devotion to God — to become perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhancing this world.
- Sanctified means to be set free from sin.
- Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral law.
- Pure means not being sinful or having the stain of sin.
- Virtues are standards of moral excellence.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Holy means to be set apart — because of our devotion to God — to become perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues.
- Holiness is the transcendent excellence of His nature that includes elements of purity, dedication, and commitment that lead to being set apart.
- Purity means possessing God’s moral character, having eliminated the stain of sin.
- Spiritual death is the spiritual separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin.
- The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Glossary
It is only when we get it to the heart level that we have a spiritual change. Seeing the kingdom of God is contingent on being born again.
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him” (I Jn. 5: 1 ESV).
After the original sin, Adam and Eve — and all mankind — no longer lived in God’s Will. This meant we cannot enter Heaven because of the sin in our lives.
We only have hope for eternal life when we are born again of God. This hope comes through regeneration. Regeneration is being changed from spiritually dead to spiritually alive and the internal new birth and requickening that God brings about through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Glossary
What we are talking about here is conversion. Conversion is the product of repentance, when we turn away from our sins and return to God, that secures salvation.
- Repentance is acknowledging our separation from God and expressing sorrow for breaking God’s laws and commandments by making the commitment to change our sinful ways to ways of righteousness through obedience.
- Obedience means submitting ourselves to the will of God as it is presented to us and living our lives accordingly.
- Salvation is the gift of life through the deliverance from condemnation and sin to acceptance and holiness and changes us from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
Glossary
Conversion must follow repentance. We only see the need for repentance when we begin to love Jesus.
We do not regenerate ourselves. It is only through the work of the Holy Spirit that we become a new creation and gives us a new character.
We can see ourselves gaining a different character. We can identify the transformation in our minds that happen through regeneration.
Then again, conversion happens only through the work our the Holy Spirit. We listen to His soft prompting for us to accept the Plan of Salvation.
Anderson gave a good description of regeneration. He wrote, “It is a change of heart from a state of carelessness about God, or slavish fear of Him, or enmity against Him, into a state of filial reverence, confidence and obedience; of admiration of Him, gratitude towards Him, dependence on Him, loyalty towards Him.”
Resource
Through regeneration, we learn to rely on the Holy Spirit as He is our Comforter and Counselor.
Making the Connections
We can’t have preconceived notions regarding how people come to Christ. Not everyone will come the way that we came. Not everyone will get a Hollywood splash as Paul got when he was converted.
Wherever we are at spiritually when God comes to us, we each receive his grace. Evans wrote, “But God sends forth His Spirit, the heart is touched, the conscience enlightened, and the effect is that He feels his sin and cries, “God be merciful,” etc. We now find him pleading the atonement and finding mercy.”
Resource
We each must be transformed in our hearts to believe in Jesus as our Savior. Only by doing that can we enjoy the grace Gid gives us.
How Do We Apply This?
- We should find the courage to seek God.
- Regardless of where we begin, God will change us to where he wants us to be.
- Disciples must not continue to hide under the cover of night.
- We have to be independent thinkers and not just follow what others say, because they may be wrong.
- We have to be willing to be taught, even if that means giving up preconceived ideas.
- God calls us to give up everything that takes our focus off of Him and is contrary to His laws and commandments.
- We need it grow in our faith.
- Regeneration is not dependent on good works.
- Live right to think right.
Father God. We praise You that You are willing to work with each of us to regenerate us. We thank You that this is done by the work of the Holy Spirit. Help us to become more like You. Amen.
What do you think?
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