Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? John 3:11-12
I continue my study of John, and today, I start to unpack John 3:1-21 using the Sword Bible Study Method, looking at vv1-15, and tomorrow I will look at vv16-21.
- What do we learn from the passage about God?: As Nicodemus questions Him, Jesus prefaces His response with "truly, truly" (3x - vv3,5,11). He does this to emphasize that what He is saying is absolutely true because He is the King of Kings and source of God's Word (see John 1:1). Jesus then focuses on the important doctrine of regeneration - that believers must be born again to have faith. See also Ezekiel 36:26 where God alone gives His people a new heart, replacing the heart of stone with a heart of flesh. There should be no mystery about how one comes to faith - although it works like the wind (v8) in the sense that the timing or circumstances are not known, faith comes from God alone via the Spirit living in our hearts (Ephesians 2:8). God wants us to have faith - even when we cannot see or comprehend everything. It is true that many aspects of faith are hard to understand (more accurately not fully understood on this side of Heaven) but there are aspects of faith that should be absolutely clear from both the OT and NT - we all sin, need a Savior, and Jesus is that Savior (see also Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8, Romans 3:10, Psalms 14:2-3, 53:2-3).
- What do we learn from the passage about people?: People want answers for everything yet people will find it futile because we cannot understand all there is to understand - see Ecclesiastes 1:1-10. Israel (and any other non believer) did not believe even with both earthly and heavenly signs - see also Romans 1:20.
- Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid leaning on own understanding (Proverbs 3:5); but instead acknowledge, trust and follow God; belief in Jesus will give new/transformed life and eternal life; we should follow Nicodemus' example and earnestly seek Him and Truth because God promises that if seek Him with all of our heart we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).
My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves! Thank You Jesus! I am not deserving of how You love and save. My sin is great and it continues...daily. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
