Born Again - Part 3

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. Unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. So this phrase, must be born of water and the spirit.

Verse six, 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 and 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. And look at Nicodemus, his answer, how can these things be? He's like, what? He doesn't know what Jesus is talking about. What does Jesus say? Are you the teacher of Israel?

Some believe that Nicodemus was the preeminent teacher in Israel. If anyone should have known, Nicodemus should have known. Are you the teacher of Israel and do not know these things? This is very significant.

Nicodemus should have known, right? You see that Nicodemus is expected to know this. And as a teacher of Israel, Nicodemus would have known the Old Testament scriptures. So go ahead and turn at this point to Ezekiel chapter 36.

So what is this phrase? You must be born. How do you get born again? You must be born of water and spirit. We need to know what Jesus is talking about. Ezekiel chapter 36. So remember, and I know that you know this, but it helps to be reminded and maybe think of it this way.

The New Testament does not stand alone. Matter of fact, the term New Testament doesn't even make sense unless there's what? An Old Testament. I just don't get it. These preachers who talk about unhitching from the Old Testament.

Oh, never mind.

That's just the Old Testament. Forget that. None of that applies.

I don't get it.

And just to add to that, the apostles, I mean, read the book of Romans. When Paul is explaining the gospel again and again and again, he's quoting from what? The Old Testament. When they want to make an authoritative claim, they refer to Jesus and his words or the Old Testament because it's the word of God.

So Jesus expected Nicodemus to know the Old Testament, which he did in one sense that he knew it up here. Right. He knew it up here. He didn't know it in here. The veil was over his heart. Remember what Paul said to the Corinthians?

When the Jews read Moses, a veil is over their heart. They don't understand what they're reading. You cannot understand the Old Testament. You can't understand the Bible without Jesus. Jesus is the key.

The whole thing's about him. Jesus said in John chapter five, you search the scriptures for in them. He's talking about the Old Testament. You search the scriptures for in them. You think you have eternal life.

But these are they which testify of me. The Old Testament is all about me, Jesus said. So Nicodemus at this moment, he had the veil over his heart. He knew Ezekiel 36, but he didn't know Ezekiel 36. Let's look at it.

Ezekiel 36, starting in verse 25, the Lord is speaking. He says, then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.

Notice that.

The idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. You picking up on this? Sprinkle you with clean water. Put a new spirit within you. And I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

I will put my spirit within you and cause you to do what? Walk in my statutes. And you will keep my judgments and do them. What's he talking about? Obeying the commandments. What's he talking about? The Lord is speaking about spiritual cleansing of the new covenant that would come when Israel was restored in the kingdom age.

Remember what Jesus said to Nicodemus? Unless one is born again, he cannot see what?

The kingdom.

He must be born of water and spirit. This is what Ezekiel is talking about. Ezekiel mentions water, doesn't he? I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. From what? From the sin of idolatry.

Now, listen, can you cleanse someone from the sin of idolatry by going and dripping a few?

Is that going to work?

No, of course not. Now, Israel did have rituals that included water, but the rituals like us with baptism, it's symbolic. It represents the spiritual reality, right? So the water cleanses spiritually speaking.

We're talking about a spiritual cleansing. So it's symbolic. In John chapter three, there are three ways that this statement is interpreted. Did I tell you to go back to John chapter three? All right, we'll go back.

Go back to John three. There's three ways that this statement is interpreted about being born of water and spirit. Some say the water represents baptism. Others say the water represents natural childbirth, right?

The water breaks, the baby comes out. Being born of water is natural childbirth. You need to be born once according to the flesh and born again according to the spirit. Listen, that's a possible interpretation.

And of course, that is what has to happen. But remember, Jesus, he's not speaking in a literal sense. Just as being born again doesn't mean entering a second time into your mother's womb. So the water, I believe, is also symbolic.

Based on the fact that Nicodemus was expected to know this, I believe, based on Ezekiel chapter 36. So the water appears to be symbolic for spiritual cleansing. So I believe being born of water and spirit refers to baptism.

Natural childbirth, I believe it refers to spiritual cleansing. Now, I mentioned a moment ago that there's a lot of people, I would say this, that the majority of professing Christians in the world, the largest institutional churches, they teach, many of the large denominations teach that being born again, that's when you get baptized.

That is probably the majority report. But is that the case?

Let me ask you this.

How could Nicodemus be expected to know about Christian baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, when that didn't even exist yet? It doesn't make sense. And there's a problem with this.

You cannot automatically, here's one problem, you cannot automatically associate water with baptism. Some people, this is what they do, they read water in the Bible and think,.

Oh, that's baptism.

Is that true? You can make a note of these verses, Ephesians 5, 25 through 27. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.

That's not talking about baptism. It's not even talking about literal water. You're washed by what? The word of God. It's a spiritual cleansing. We see this in Titus 3, verse 5, which says what? Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

It's not talking about water. It's talking about spiritual cleansing through the Holy Ghost. So when Jesus says in John 3, verse 5, unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God or cannot enter the kingdom of God, what is Jesus saying?

It's another way of saying you must be cleansed, regenerated, given a new life, born from above, which is a work, Jesus explains, it's a work of the Holy Ghost. Holy Ghost is like the wind. The wind blows.

You don't see it. You don't know where it comes from or where it goes. That's the way the Holy Spirit works. Jesus says in verse 8, let's just read that the wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes.

So is everyone who is born of the spirit. And as far as this working of the spirit, what's the Holy Spirit's job? It's in the name. That's a hint to make one holy. The Holy Spirit imparts spiritual life and sets you apart and works to conform you to the image of the son of God.

Remember when God made man, he did what? He made man in his own image, but that image has been marred by sin. But for the one who has been born of God, the Holy Spirit is in the process of clearing up that image.

And remember, idolatry. That's what was mentioned in Ezekiel 36, the sin of idolatry. Why is idolatry so offensive to God? Because it is an insult. Think about this. A block of wood, carved stone, that is supposed to represent or display the glory of God.

A block of wood, that's the glory of God. That's an insult. That's supposed to be your job. To reflect the image of God. Mankind is made in God's image. We are to reflect that glory. But our nature has to change.

We need to be conformed to the image of Christ. And only the spirit of God can do that. Water can't do it. Only the spirit of God can do that.

Now we're almost done.

But I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. Water baptism is a commandment. Remember. Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. Water baptism is a command. It is very important. But again, it's a symbol.

Well, it's a symbol, it's not important.

Wrong.

But it's a symbol of that spiritual reality. A lot of people, and I said that this is the majority report. A lot of people think being born again. Yeah, I'm born again, I was baptized as a baby. I'm born again, I was baptized.

There's a lot of people who are baptized, but something's missing.

And what is that?

To go back to where we started. A personal encounter with God. Remember that one phrase out of the Wikipedia page? Well, if there's one statement in all of that that was useful, it's that. A personal encounter with God.

That is the key. There must be a personal conversion. You must be converted. Believing in Christ. And now you have spiritual life. Do you have spiritual life? You either know that you have it or you don't.

You have physical life, you know that. Do you have spiritual life? Because as Jesus said, John 3 verse 3. Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Let's close in prayer.

Father, how grateful we are that you sent your only begotten son. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Lord, we all know that as head knowledge. We need to know it as heart knowledge.

We can't just experience religion. Lord, we want to experience you. And Father, if there's someone listening right now who has never given their life to Christ. I pray that the Holy Spirit would regenerate their spirit even this moment.

And they would give their heart to Christ as both Lord and Savior. And I pray it in his name.

Amen.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Moores Cornet Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message. Or if you'd like more information about the ministry. Visit our website, moorescornetchurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.