You Must Be Born Again — John 2-3

0:00 Good morning. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for our precious savior, the Lord Jesus. We wanna give thanks especially for this portion of scripture, John three, and the clarity of the gospel in it and just ask, Lord Jesus, that as we ponder it today, we would be moved in our hearts, both those of us that are already saved, to realize the wonder of what we've been given, but also, if there are any here, Lord, that have not trusted in you as savior, that today would be the day that they would say, yes, this is the one for me. I'll trust in Jesus Christ.

0:33 So we just pray that you would bless the message today. In Jesus' name, Amen. As you might have guessed, we're going to have John three, perhaps the clearest teaching on salvation that we have in Scripture, at least many would consider that to be true. John three, we'll read the first eight verses. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

1:04 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 could do these signs which you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 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? Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

1:39 That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes. 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.

2:01 Now, before I actually get into this, I wanted to make a note that probably the last three verses of the previous chapter are a pretty good introduction to the story of Nicodemus and probably intended that way. I know one of the commentators said that the verse 24 of chapter, verse 23 of chapter two is the beginning of a new section. So I thought, oh, that's pretty good. So chapter two, verse 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 Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men.

2:47 He had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what was in man. So it starts off with the statement that many believed in his name and yet it follows up with the statement, but Jesus did not commit himself to them. It's as though there was something in the character of this belief that they had that was lacking something. I suppose it was kind of like what we have in the sixth chapter of John where they were so excited about the feeding of the 5,000, they're gonna make him king. They're just gonna do it, but the Lord Jesus would not permit them to do it.

3:31 And afterwards, when they found him and asked him, started to ask him about it, he said, You don't seek for me because you saw the miracle. You seek for me because you ate the food. In other words, in this story, the Lord Jesus was saying, You're not recognizing what the significance of these miracles is. The significance of the miracles is that this one who could do these miracles was so wonderful and the real wonder should be in the person who accomplished them. But all they really wanted was the food they could eat.

4:10 Probably it was something like that. But notice when it's talking about Jesus here, it says, but Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men. Kind of the omniscience of the Lord Jesus. So, dear friends, here today, as we ponder the Lord Jesus, we are pondering someone who knows our very thoughts. He knows all about us.

4:38 He knows our very thoughts. And it says this about him that he didn't need that any should testify of man for he knew what was in man. And this is going to be the introduction to Nicodemus. So as Nicodemus shows up at the Lord Jesus' door, the Lord Jesus knew totally what his condition was, his spiritual condition. And the way the Lord Jesus dealt with him showed that he knew his condition.

5:09 And this precious man, Jesus Christ, who knew Nicodemus' situation, he knows my situation and he knows your situation. He knows what our condition is within our souls. So it says that he didn't commit himself to them, but I understand, I've noticed, I think, at least three different translations. Add the word but at the beginning of verse one as though to contrast Nicodemus with these men to whom the Lord did not commit himself. And so then it introduces Nicodemus and says he was a ruler of the Jews.

6:10 And I think that the answer would be this, that Nicodemus was a sincere seeker. And so the Lord Jesus contrasts him with these men that he was not willing to commit himself to because he didn't sense a reality in them. But he sensed in Nicodemus not saving faith yet. And I think as the chapter proceeds, you'd see that that's true. Not saving faith yet but a sincere desire to know.

6:36 And how important that is in the very process of salvation, that there would be in us a sincerity of desire to know the Lord. And so the conversation starts. Nicodemus, in the second verse says, Rabbi, we know that you're a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. And so Nicodemus, he starts off by acknowledging that the per... Something at least of the person of Jesus Christ, Recognition at least that he was from God.

7:13 And interestingly, the Lord Jesus doesn't give him a pat on the back, but he rather talks to him of the necessity for new birth. Now, I think one of the reasons why we could look at the end of the second chapter as being an introduction to this is the second chapter ends with this statement that the Lord Jesus had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what was in man. And so as Nicodemus comes to the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus in his divinity, he's the son of God, he understands completely what Nicodemus' state of soul is and he understands that he's stopped short, he's come short of a criterion that is necessary for a relationship with God. And this criterion is called being born again. So the Lord Jesus says, Most assuredly I say unto you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

8:20 Now that's perception. You can't really understand the kingdom of God at all unless you're born again, Jesus was saying. Nicodemus is confused. This is something that he's not acquainted with. He doesn't quite understand what Jesus is saying.

8:37 What do you mean? You can't get back in your mother's womb and be born again. What do you mean? And so the Lord Jesus proceeds to give him a little bit more information about this thing called being born again. Jesus said, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

9:05 So notice we're talking about the kingdom of God here. You can't perceive what's happening in the kingdom of God. You can't enter into the kingdom of God without being born again. Born again, as we'll see, is a spiritual thing. We'll get into that in just a moment.

9:22 It's a spiritual thing. And entering into the kingdom of God in sort of its hidden form today involves a spiritual rebirth and without that spiritual rebirth, we're not fit for the kingdom of God. We haven't been prepared for the kingdom of God. We cannot really understand it nor can we enter into it. We can't be participators in it.

9:51 And so the Lord Jesus is bringing this truth before Nicodemus. The Lord Jesus gives him a little bit more detail for a better understanding and let's try to see if we can enter into what the Lord Jesus is saying here. The Lord Jesus says, unless one is born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Born of water and of the spirit. Now, would understand in some measure this idea of the spirit of God.

10:27 He comes down into this world and he's working in men and he's doing something. And so we can understand, well, born of the spirit, what is this water, born of water in the spirit? Well, I know there's a lot of different thoughts. So for the sake of time, I'm just gonna give you what I believe the scripture teaches on this. I believe that the water here would be a reference to the word of God.

10:53 I know there's other thoughts on it but I just think this is the most straightforward one. The water refers to the word of God which is used to lead us into salvation. Now, there are several pretty good verses to indicate this. One of them is found in Ephesians chapter five. I'm gonna try to quote it for you.

11:16 Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify it and cleanse it through the washing of water by the word. And we get that little phrase, sanctify and cleanse it through washing of water by the word. And the word seems to be implying there that the word is a sort of a spiritual water with a cleansing power that's capable not only of cleansing us but of also sanctifying us, which probably is a reference to being born again. So he's able to... The word of God is living and powerful.

12:02 It's able to accomplish God's purposes in our hearts and in our lives. The next verse, I think, is even more dramatic and I'll have you turn to it with me. It's one Peter one twenty three, referring to those that have trusted in the Lord, that believe. Since you have been purified since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit in sincere love for the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible through the word of God, which lives and abides forever. Now that clearly states to us that we're born again through the word of God.

12:56 We'll try to understand how that works as we continue in this discussion. But let's see, first of all, that the word of God does actually say that. We're born again through the word of God that lives and abides forever. Oh, the power of the word of God to work in conviction in the souls of men. Okay, there's another verse that's quite good.

13:20 It's the first chapter of James in verse 18. It says, Of his, that is, God's, of God's own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Brought us forth by the word of truth. It speaks of it as being a birth process. He brought us forth by the word of truth.

13:46 The word of God is living and powerful. Now, one of the verses that I think that helps me to understand it even a little bit better is John five twenty four. Maybe we could just switch over there and read it quickly. John five twenty four. This is Jesus speaking in this verse.

14:05 Now listen to this. Most assuredly, I say to you... Jesus talking, it's like, you gotta listen to this, Jesus is saying. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him that sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment but has passed from death into life. How do we get this new spiritual life?

14:30 Well, it's through the word of God. I kind of like the twenty fifth verse, too. Most assuredly, again, you've got to listen to this. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those that hear will live. Now, that's implying, because it says that now is, that's implying a process that's occurring in our lives today.

14:57 So the dead shall hear, now is the time, the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. I believe that that is through the work of the spirit of God and that actually gives us some insight as to how this actually works, this being born again. That the spirit of God brings the word of God to bear on our souls with convicting power until we're convinced in our souls of both of our own spiritual state and also of God's ability through Jesus Christ to deliver us and to give us everlasting life. Let me say that over one more time. The spirit of God takes the word of God and he applies it with convicting power to our souls until we're convinced and we move into the area of faith.

15:49 God working in the souls of man to bring them into faith. Okay, so I like that. Now, we have to understand and we do understand how the idea of being born again is a difficult concept. It's a difficult concept. And so the Lord Jesus proceeds to give a little bit more information because the Lord wants us to understand what this is all about.

17:00 So we have fleshly parents and they're the source of that fleshly life that we have. And by the way, their parents were the source of their fleshly life and their parents were the source of their fleshly life. And you can take that all the way back to Adam. And we'll make an application of that in a minute. You can take that all the way back to Adam.

17:25 Where did this natural fleshly life that we have, where did it come from? And then, so we're talking about sources. But on the other hand, he makes a contrast. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. So the source of this new spiritual life that we're given through being born again is through the Holy Spirit itself.

17:47 And so the contrast would be the source of the flesh, which goes all the way back to Adam, and the source of the Holy Spirit, which is our immediate source. I always thought that saying was kind of clever, that said, God doesn't have any grandchildren. Human beings have grandchildren. We have 14 of them. Just love our grandkids.

18:11 But God doesn't have any grandchildren. He only has children. That's because everyone individually must be born again through the Holy Spirit. Isn't that a neat thought? Okay, so the next contrast that the Lord is gonna make is that that which is born of the flesh is flesh.

18:29 So we're gonna say that by essence, whatever my parents were by essence, that's what I am by essence. What my parents were, that's what I am. Again, you could say what their parents were. So they were, by essence, and that goes all the way back to Adam, too, doesn't it? So we trace back to Adam and not only is that our source but it gives us a sense of what we actually are in the flesh.

19:02 We'll take that another step in a moment. But before we do, let's talk about the contrast to it that says that which is of the spirit is spirit. Okay, so whatever the spirit of God is in essence... Now, I'm going to modify that thought just a little bit in a moment. But whatever the spirit of God is in essence, that is what we are in essence.

19:29 Now, I don't, in any sense, want to give the idea that we have the omniscience or the omnipotence of God. We don't have those divine things. But we do have the character of God in this new creation that he makes in us. And that brings up the subject of character. So let's talk about character.

19:54 So not only are we what our parents were in the flesh, we're not only what our parents are in essence, but we are what our parents are in character. And again, they're what their parents were in character all the way back to Adam and that brings to light this thought that's expressed in Romans five twelve that says, by one man, sin entered into this world and death by sin. And so death passed upon all men because that all have sinned. And the fact that we've sinned is proof of what we really are. Now, when we trace that through, then we find out that each one of us, as we're born into this world, are by character sinners.

20:49 And no doubt that's the reason why the Lord Jesus immediately said to to Nicodemus, Nicodemus, you need to be born again. You must be born again. And he's making this point that what you were in the flesh is not adequate for a relationship with God. And it has to do with our sinfulness before God. Wonderful, isn't it?

21:15 Now, let's go to the other side of it, what we are through the spirit of God. That which is born of the spirit is spirit by character like God. Now I want to turn to a couple verses to make this point. The first verse I'd like to turn to is one Peter chapter one and verse four, maybe we'll read verses three and four. One Peter, Chapter one two Peter, I'm sorry, I'm misleading you.

21:49 Two Peter, Chapter one and verse we'll start with verse three. As his divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceeding great and precious promises that through these, you might be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Now, I want you to notice that expression that you may be partakers of the divine nature. Just what is the nature of this new spiritual birth that you and I have received through the Holy Spirit? Well, it's called a divine nature.

22:41 It's called a divine nature. And though it's not divine in the sense of omnipotence and omniscience and those things, but it is divine in its moral character, that is, it's holy and righteous. And that's actually expressed with great clarity in Ephesians four. So turn to me, turn with me to Ephesians chapter four and just look, what is this thing that we're given through spiritual rebirth? Just what is it?

23:14 And Hebrews chapter four, this is in the place where it talks about the new man. Hebrews four twenty four, that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. What is the nature of this spiritual rebirth that's given to us? Well, number one, it is spiritual. And number two, when we're saved, we're given something that actually new that lives within us that's a spiritual life and it's after the character of God.

24:04 It's called a divine nature. It has true righteousness and holiness. Now, don't misconstrue this because we still do have the flesh and the flesh is still sinful. And so there's always this struggle going on between the flesh and this new life that God has given to us, which is said to be created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. So there's still this struggle going on with this, but we do have a new spark of life in there that we didn't have before.

25:11 And then the Lord Jesus gives, I'll call it a metaphor or maybe it'd be better to say it's a short parable. And we understand a little bit the idea that this concept of being born again is hard to grasp. It is a hard thing to grasp. And so the Lord Jesus would oftentimes give little parables to try to clarify things to us. And so let's try to understand this little parable that the Lord Jesus gives.

25:41 He says, The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it. You cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the spirit. So as I said, it's a sort of a picture that somehow is going to help us understand a little bit better. And I know there's a lot of different thoughts that come out of this, so I'm just gonna give you the one that seems to make the most sense to me personally.

26:13 So I'll introduce the thought with this, that in the New Testament, the word that's translated spirit is, I believe, pneumos. Now, I'm not a Greek scholar. I looked this up in a book. And pneumos simply means wind. So we have to understand that in all likelihood, the wind up there is actually referring to the spirit of God.

26:46 So the wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but you cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So he's gonna take this illustration. So we see, we all of us understand this illustration of the wind itself that you're looking out the window and the leaves are blowing around in there and the limbs are blowing up and down and maybe you have some wash hanging out there, it's flopping in the wind And you say, woah, it's really windy out there. And yet you can't see the wind, can you? And that's the point he's making.

27:27 It's something that you can't see but you can see the effects of the wind. You can observe the effects of the wind. And so, likewise, when he's gonna make this comparison to the spirit of God, likewise, you cannot see the spirit of God, but you can feel the effects of the spirit of God working in your own life. And you can see the effects of the Holy Spirit of God working in the lives of others, you can see lives that are totally changed. And what he seems to me to be saying here is that the comparison of everyone that is born in the spirit is not actually to the wind itself but rather to the you, what you can see.

28:20 And that the idea is that when you and I are born of the spirit of God, we're actually given spiritual perception that we did not have before we were born of the spirit of God. And we can understand things in a way that we could not understand them before we were born of the spirit of God and that this is what God has granted to believers who have been born again, that they might have such a perception. Again, I think it's a really great illustration that we can just have a sense what God is really talking about. Now, in the ninth verse, the Lord Jesus sort of, I think, he sort of chides Nicodemus. He says, or rather, in the ninth verse, Nicodemus says, How can these things be?

29:10 And then the tenth verse, Jesus kind of chides and says, Are you a teacher in Israel and you don't know these things? These are things that you should have known from reading in the scriptures. Now, then the Lord Jesus jumps into a three verse discourse that I think gives us a sense of who he is and perhaps why we ought to give great, great weight to what he is saying. Eleventh verse, Jesus speaking. Most assuredly, I say to you, we speak what we know and testify what we have seen and you do not receive our witness.

29:56 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but he who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. I don't see how you could read those three verses and not see that the Lord Jesus is presenting himself as the Son of God, the divine one. So first of all, he says, We speak what we know and testify what we have seen and you do not receive our witness. The first question I had when I read this portion is, who is the we here?

30:37 Is that like Jesus and his disciples? And then I looked at it and said, no, it can't be that because they hadn't seen these things that Jesus had seen. So they would not be on an equal level to him for him to say, we've seen it. So I said, well, what does that leave but just God himself, perhaps the trinity of God speaking certainly of the Holy Spirit. So the Lord Jesus is saying, look, when we tell you these things, we're telling you things that we understand and know.

31:14 These are things that we know. Then he adds this statement to them to this. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? So he's saying to them, you know, if I tell you about being born again and you won't believe me when I tell you that, how are you gonna believe when I try to describe all the wonders of heaven to you? You're not gonna be able to receive it.

31:40 You need to receive what I'm saying, Jesus is saying here. You need to receive this. You, Nicodemus, and each one of us might turn around and put the finger to ourselves, you need to be born again. Then the Lord Jesus, in the thirteenth verse, adds something which I believe adds great force to his message. He says, No one has ascended to heaven but he who came down from heaven, even the son of man who is in heaven.

32:14 A remarkable statement. A remarkable statement. I remember years ago talking with a Jehovah's Witness woman. We were having this discussion about Jesus being the son of God and she was denying it. I said, well, what about that verse that talks about Jesus being on earth and in heaven at the same time?

32:36 Her mouth's kinda dropped over and opened and she said, what verse is that? This is when I was just a young man and I have to laugh at myself now because I couldn't remember where the verse was. So my whole argument kind of flopped. What a wonderful verse it is when you stop and think about it. A verse that says he's on earth and he's in heaven at the same time.

32:59 I just praise the Lord for that verse and the implications of it that Jesus is God the son. Now, the Lord Jesus has spent up to this time, he spent a lot of time in trying to describe this idea of being born again to Nicodemus, to try to make it something that would be understandable to Nicodemus. But one of the wonderful things about John three is that the Lord Jesus takes it beyond just a doctrine, like maybe being born again to us is sort of a doctrine. It takes it beyond that. It takes it to the reality of just exactly how it's gonna happen.

34:19 So the Lord Jesus says, 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. So he mentions this story from the Old Testament about Moses lifting up a serpent in the wilderness. Now, that story is in Numbers chapter 21. It's only about six verses long.

34:57 So we'll go to Numbers chapter 21 and we'll just read through it quickly. Romans chapter 21... Or Numbers chapter 21, and we're gonna start with verse four. Then they, the children of Israel, journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea to go around the land of Eden. And the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way.

35:20 That's the beginning. That's the beginning of the story. They became very discouraged. And the people spoke against God and against Moses. Now, that's rebellion, isn't it?

35:31 The people spoke against God and against Moses. It's a rebellion. Also, we could say it's sin. And they said, why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there's no food and no water And our soul loaths this worthless bread.

35:48 And in our minds, we're to relive this story. And what was this worthless bread that their soul loathed? It was the manna. It was God's provision and it had become a worthless, tasteless thing to them. Something was deeply wrong, wasn't it?

36:08 Something was deeply wrong. And furthermore, you can quite well imagine that God would not be very happy about them calling the manna worthless bread. So they had sinned greatly against the Lord here. Now we're told this in the sixth verse. So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people and many of the people of Israel died.

36:34 Now remember, it's the Lord Jesus himself said that this story is like something. So I would suggest to you that that verse is a living out of the verse in Romans six twenty three, for the wages of sin is death. The wages of sin is death. So the Lord sent serpents and they bit many of the people and many of the people of Israel died. The wages of sin is death.

37:04 I thank God that the rest of Romans six twenty three is, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And that's what is illustrated actually in the rest of this story. The seventh verse. Therefore, the people came to Moses and said, we have sinned, we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray the Lord that he take away the serpents from us.

37:28 So Moses prayed for the people. Now I would say, friends, that this is repentance. This is repentance is what is illustrated here. We're going through our lives, we're going in a certain direction and it's not the right direction. Somewhere along the way, we come to the realization that we're doing it wrong, we're going in the wrong direction.

37:51 And we turn around, it's called repentance, it's called a change of mind. We turn around and turn back to God and that's where these people were. They said, we have sinned for we have spoken against the Lord. They asked for mercy. Pray to the Lord that he take the serpents away from us.

38:09 Now, we know the power of God. Couldn't God just zap those serpents and they're gone? He could. But what is interesting is that he didn't. He didn't just zap the serpents.

38:23 Instead of that, he made a provision that those who had been bitten by the serpent might live. And we might say that being bitten by the serpent is like probably equivalent to being bitten by sin. The wages of sin is death. Being bitten by the serpent is... And God has not removed us from the flesh yet.

38:52 And sin is still there. And what we need is a solution, something to deliver us from the consequences of our sin. And that something is provided by God And this is the way he did it with the children of Israel. So God said to Moses, 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. So Moses made a bronze serpent, that's what he interpreted this fiery serpent as, a bronze serpent.

39:28 He put it up on a pole. In my mind, it's like a telephone pole. You know they had telephone poles back in those days. It would have to be so tall that they could see it throughout the camp. So it was way up there.

39:44 So he puts this serpent on a pole so that all in the camp can see it. And then the word goes out, you get bitten by the serpent, you just look at the serpent up on the pole and we're told explicitly that everyone who is, So that it was that if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. Now, it's the Lord Jesus himself who makes the application of this. So we're back in John chapter three and the Lord Jesus says this. He says, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up, which I have no doubt is a reference to the Lord Jesus being lifted up on the cross.

41:25 It's like when I look to the Lord Jesus in faith, I'm delivered from the consequences of sin in my life. I will not perish. Now, we might have looked at it and said, well, that's good for the children of Israel. I mean, that's a Jewish story. But the Lord Jesus proceeds to enlarge this and give it a scope that includes you and me.

41:51 So it's John three sixteen, 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. It starts with God because that's where salvation starts. It starts with God and then we're given the wonderful truth that God actually loves us. God loves us. God loves us.

42:15 And that love is so great. God so loved us. That love is so great and so broad that first of all, it includes the entire world because it's not just the scope of Judaism, it's the scope of the entire world. And how much does he really love us? He loved us so much that he gave his only begotten son, his unique one and only son was given for us.

42:44 Who could devise such a plan? And yet, it brings out to us the whole concept of sacrifice. The idea that the sacrifice could die in the place of those who were giving the sacrifice. And so the Lord Jesus became the sacrifice for our sins. And the idea is simply that he died in my place so that I wouldn't have to bear the consequences of my sins.

43:19 Because I had sinned, I deserved death. I deserved the worst. I deserved hell itself. But Jesus died in my place and now I've trusted in him and I've been saved. I was just a little child when I trusted in Jesus and I praised the Lord that he heard the voice of a little boy that said, Lord Jesus, I want you to take my sins away.

43:43 And I trusted in Jesus. You can trust in him, too. And that's what the second part of the verse is about. That whoever, and it's brought against, again, in the broadest sense, whoever will, whoever believes in him should not perish. Whoever believes in him.

44:00 What is this concept of belief? Belief. It's not just a head belief. And someone say, do you... I'm trying to think of an example.

44:16 Do you think that such and such is true? Well, I believe so. But here, it's more like a resting on something, trusting in it. And I was noticing one of the expositors said that the word in here could probably better be translated on. And I like the thought believing on the Lord Jesus.

44:40 It's not an intellectual acceptance of a fact. But believing that this person, this son of God, came down into this world and he died on the cross for my sins. And because he died for my sins, I'm saved forever. I praise the Lord for that. I'm saved forever.

45:05 Now, it says, whoever believes in him should not perish. And I enjoy the acronym for perish. P is for past, E is eternally. Past eternally ruined into a sinner's hell, an acronym. Past eternally ruined into a sinner's hell.

45:25 We would have to understand that salvation has no significance whatsoever unless you're being saved from something. You have to be saved from something or there's no reason to be saved. And so the Lord makes it clear to us that we're being saved from something very terrible, the wages of sin. And he took my sin on the cross. And now, I go scot free because Jesus loved me and died for me and I believe in him.

45:57 But have everlasting life. That's where it ends up. And I think you'll have to understand that everlasting life here is presented in the context of being born again. Everlasting life is in the context of being born again. Therefore, it's not just living forever.

46:15 It is that. But it's more than just living forever. It's having a new spiritual life through being born again and that spiritual life is going to go forever, for all eternity in heaven with my precious savior 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. So we understand that the Lord Jesus did not come here for condemnation.

47:06 So first of all, let's understand that not having condemnation, being delivered from the consequences of sin, not having condemnation is dependent upon believing in him. It's only those that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ that trust in him that have condemnation removed from them. And then Jesus goes a step further as we continue in that verse. He says, he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Do we understand this verse?

47:44 You know, this verse makes it quite clear why it was that the Lord Jesus spoke so frankly to Nicodemus. Why he said, You gotta be born again, Nicodemus. Why? Because Nicodemus was a man still in the flesh and under condemnation. He had not yet believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

48:05 And to not have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ is to have condemnation. Now I'm gonna jump to one last verse. The last verse in the chapter is not part of my portion, but it's part of the wonderful gospel. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life. And he who does not believe the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

48:32 Now let's try to understand the logic of this verse. This verse is basically an if and only if verse. If you believe in the son, you have everlasting life. And if you don't believe the son, you'll never see life. You can never have it.

48:50 It's only through him. And a verse to quote from Acts four twelve. It says this. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. And that can end our gospel meeting here.