Q & A with the Messiah Part Three

The Context of Nicodemus and the New Birth

Your Bibles to the Gospel of John. Today we'll be continuing. Our discussion in our preaching series really from this conversation between Jesus and the Pharisee Nicodemus. This is Q &A with the Messiah Part 3.

We'll be looking at John Chapter 3, verses one through 21. Let's read those verses now. Please stand with me for the reading of God's word. Q &A with the Messiah. John Chapter 3, starting in verse one.

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 have come from God as a teacher for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.

Jesus answered and said to him, truly, truly, 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's old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?

Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh and that which has been 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 its sound, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who has been born of the spirit.

Nicodemus answered and said to him, how can these things be? Jesus answered and said to him, are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness of what we have seen and you do not accept our witness.

If I had told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? And no one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended from heaven, the son of man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up so that whoever believes will in him have eternal life.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

He who believes in him is not judged. He who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. And this is the judgment that the light has come into the world and men loved the darkness rather than the light for their deeds were evil.

For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the light so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God.

The False Convert in John 2 and the Setting for True Conversion

You may be seated. I think before we look at our next set of verses, it's a helpful thing to just do sort of a recap of the original context leading up to this conversation. So in the account here in the Gospel of John, just the things that had happened right before in chapter two, we saw Jesus perform his first sign wonder.

He turned water into wine. And then directly after that, he went and cleansed the temple. And then John gives a little insert there saying that the people that had believed in the signs that Jesus was not entrusting himself to them.

And so there's an implication that they were not recognized by him as being true followers or disciples. So even though he performs this amazing miracle that they can witness, and John says they believe, Jesus does not entrust himself to them.

So then the next scene is this conversation between this Pharisee, Nicodemus, and Jesus explaining conversion. So we have the sign miracles, we have an implication of a false convert, not a true convert, and then a conversation about salvation and true conversion.

And that is the context in which we read this passage. Really that whole first part of chapter three. The topic of the conversation is false conversion versus true conversion. In today's scripture, the apostle John records the Q and A between Nicodemus and Jesus on the topic of conversion so that you can understand salvation and true conversion.

But not in some incorrect personal way or the world's understanding, but so that you can understand it according to God's understanding. And so this whole passage here, verses one through 21, is really three truly, truly, I say to you statements.

We looked at it like this, the introduction, verses one through three, the inquiry, verses four through 15, and today the explanation, verses 16 through 21. In the introduction of verses one through three, we saw the start of the Q and A exchange and the matter of discussion.

It's the first truly, truly statement. The man, Nicodemus, despite a heavy religious background, demonstrated a genuine and humble desire to seek answers from the questions he had and he went to Jesus for those answers.

The meeting demonstrates the correct posture toward Jesus in genuinely seeking answers from him and humbly approaching him as the source of true understanding. The matter of true conversion is explained by Jesus as the loving savior who desires for none to perish, but for all to repent and believe in the gospel.

The first truly, truly answer demonstrated that a spiritual rebirth from the fallen sinful nature is required to enter the kingdom of God. In the inquiry of verses four through 15, we saw the follow-up questions and answers.

The Q and A was underway, the next two truly, truly statements. The second truly, truly answer explained that the spiritual purification of the soul is required for belonging to God's kingdom, which is accomplished by the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation.

The third truly, truly answer showed that despite clearly telling sinners the truth about himself, there was an unwillingness to believe and that unbelief is the cause of their ignorance of the spiritual matters that are being discussed.

Today in the explanation of verses 16 through 21, we will see the wrapping up of the Q and A on the topic of true conversion and salvation, Jesus thoroughly explaining the three truly, truly statements.

Salvation: God's Love, Belief, and Eternal Life

So today we have the explanation, the explanation, and we can probably just chop the verses up in a real easy way, six verses, looking at two on each topic. And if you look at verses 16 through 21 in the explanation, you'll see this.

Salvation, verses 16 and 17. Sentencing, or the sentence, verses 18 and 19. And secrecy, incisority or secrecy, verses 20 and 21. So the explanation, salvation, sentencing, secrecy. Here in verses 16 through 21, we have undoubtedly, if not the number one, easily in the top three, probably the most well-known verse in the entire Bible.

I don't think there's one person that I've tried to evangelize that didn't know this verse. Unbelievers know this verse. Whether that's in a door-to-door ministry, local park outreach, a prayer table, you name it.

I don't think there's one person I've ever met that I've tried to reach the gospel with that didn't already know this verse. That's here in the States, at least. Unbelievers know this verse. This is a very well-known bit of scripture.

Jesus begins to explain to the Pharisee Nicodemus the three truly, truly statements that he has made at this point. Explaining conversion and salvation. The Q &A is really the what, why, and how of true conversion.

He now gives the religious Pharisee the why and the how. And I think more clearly the why is seen in the conversation in the Q &A exchange as Nicodemus asks the questions and Jesus gives the answers. The topic is salvation.

So he's explaining the what. The topic is conversion. Verses 16 and 17, as he explains salvation, he's really giving the how. Verses 18 through 21, he explains the why. In this whole section, it's how salvation works.

Why God saves us and then why people don't respond. Ultimately, it's up to God. But Jesus walks Nicodemus through it so he knows clearly how this works. How does it work that a person is born again? In other words, why does the Holy Spirit cause a person to be born again so that they can enter the kingdom of God?

Throughout this Q &A with the Messiah, we've seen Nicodemus respond with bewilderment and confusion, but also a willingness to continue the conversation, to genuinely seek the truth. Up to this point, Jesus has made it clear in three very straightforward indicative truth statements.

Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. We speak of what we know and bear witness of what we have seen and you do not accept our witness.

In the immediate context, we see that verses 16 through 21 really are attached to answering that final question and then Jesus' answer. Nicodemus, how can these things be? Jesus, we speak of what we know and bear witness of what we have seen and you do not accept our witness.

Now, starting in verse 16, Jesus will continue to answer that question and he'll explain how these things can be. Verses 16 and 17, the salvation, the salvation. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. We can literally read verse 16 like this. For God loved the world in this way that he gave his only unique, only one of a kind Son.

That's a sacrificial love, a sacrificial giving that we can't hardly comprehend outside of the Spirit's enablement in illuminating our minds as we read this verse in God's word. The adverb to describe the loving is an intensive.

It's translated here as so. It conveys an explanation of the kind of loving because it describes the verb of loving. And this little word, translated so, pertains to what follows in discourse material, in this way, as follows.

The verb to love can mean to have a warm regard for an interest in another. This is cherish, have affection for, to love. And this usage is the most common. It's often used for human love, but also for God's love for Jesus, the Father's love for the Son, and the Son's love for the Father.

It can also relate to have high esteem, high esteem for someone or satisfaction with something, to take pleasure in, to practice or express love, to prove one's love. And this is the word agape. And there's a different word for love in the Greek that relays more of a liking someone or something, phileo, almost more of a friendship, but agape love is the superlative form.

Often in our discourse, we may refer to it as an unconditional love. I don't think that really is the correct way to think about it. This is love at the highest degree, and that's the point that Jesus is making.

How can these things be? Because of God's love. What kind of love are we talking about? The kind of love that gives everything. Revelation chapter one, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth, to him who loves us and released us from our sins by his blood.

The kind of love that sacrifices what it most cherishes for the benefit of someone else. Ephesians chapter two, but God being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us. The kind of love that sacrifices what it most cherishes, even if that someone else isn't a friend.

First John four, in this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins, the legal down payment for our sins. The kind of love, what it most cherishes, it sacrifices, even if that someone else is an enemy.

Romans five, but God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The kind of love that results in everlasting life if you put your faith in it. Second Thessalonians chapter two, now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God, our father who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace.

This isn't human love. This isn't hallmark card, unconditional love, warm and fuzzy. This is God love. A love that transcends human emotion or human feeling or human love. A love that gives without holding back.

Romans eight, he who indeed did not spare his own son but delivered him over for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? A love that gives with purpose at great cost, an amazing cost.

Again, first John four, by this, the love of God was manifested in us that God has sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. And the heart of verse 16, we see the overwhelming theme of the entire passage, belief, believing.

Whoever believes in what God has given will not perish but have everlasting life. And the word believe is used seven times in the passage, seven times just in verses 11 through 21. The lexical meaning is to entrust oneself to an entity in complete competence, to believe in or to trust in with implication of total commitment to the one who is trusted.

God and Christ are objects of this type of faith that relies on their power and nearness to help. In addition to being convinced that their revelations or disclosures are true, the heart of faith is belief.

The theme of believing is saturated in the greater passage and we see it show up here in these verses as well. Whoever believes has life. Whoever does not believe does not have life. Whoever believes has life.

Whoever believes is not judged. Whoever does not believe has been judged because he has not believed in the son that God gave. And they don't believe because they love darkness rather than the light. They want to keep their evil deeds secret.

They love sin more than God. Sin more than Jesus. And this is more than intellectual agreement. This is trust and competence, not intellectually agreeing with Jesus but trusting that Jesus alone can save you.

And if Jesus alone can save you, then you believe in Jesus to the point that he's in charge, not you. His way, not your way. He's the master of our present lives, our current plans, and our future eternal destiny.

Believing is not only trusting that every word he says is true and reliable, but believing is relying on him in every facet of your life for his power to change you from unclean to clean, from dead to life, that you believe and trust that he can make you a sinner redeemed by his power.

And there is no other way. Truly trusting him and believing in him that the promise of everlasting life can be yours to believe, to believe. The first part of verse 16 is the why of salvation. And the second part of verse 16 is the how of salvation.

And then Jesus reinforces the motive of God, the Father. The Father sending the Son into the world, it was not to judge, it was to save. And I think it's helpful for us to think of verse 16 in the big picture of creation, going back even to the fall and how sin entered the world.

The undeniable reality that we live in a sinful, fallen world. We tend not to think about it like that. We can miss the connection to our salvation and the hope of the gospel in the restoration of all creation.

With us as image bearers of God being part of that creation and God's redemptive plan in eternity past for saving us. The thing we tend to forget is that the world was already in a state of condemnation when the Son of God took on human flesh.

The point we can take away from verse 17 is that even though the world was already in a state of judgment or condemnation because of the curse of the fall, the reality then becomes highlighted by the lack of faith in God's Son.

The whole creation is under a curse. God sent his Son to save creation. That the sinner who was suffering in total depravity in their God-hating mind could be redeemed by the grace of God. In God sending his Son to die for the sinner, not coming into creation to judge, but coming into creation to save sinners.

That we might be saved through him by believing in him. The salvation explanation of how and why conversion works should cause the believer to have awe. To have awe and wonder at God's loving kindness to come to rescue us.

In his coming to rescue us. I read an illustration on the topic of believing that I thought was helpful. It says, I believe in a physician when I put my case into that physician's hands and trust him to care for me.

I believe in a lawyer when I leave my case in his hands and trust him to plead for me. I believe in a banker when I put my money into his hands and allow him to keep it on my behalf. I believe in my savior when I take him to be my savior, when I put my helpless case into his hands and trust him to do what I cannot do for myself, save me from sin.

And here's the question, have you done so? You believe there is such a person as Jesus and that he is the sinner's savior, you do well. But that is only a partial and incomplete faith. To believe that a certain doctor exists and has a large practice is not to believe personally in that doctor.

True faith contains a moral as well as intellectual element. And when the former is wanting, the latter can avail but little. Do you repose your moral competence in him as being to you the savior that you need, as one whose character and office are congruous to the wants of your nature?

You are a sinner, he represents himself as a savior. You are a lost one, he has died to find you. You are dead, he presents himself as the resurrection and the life. And the point is, do you take him by faith to be what he reveals himself to be?

That is believing on him, that is believing on him. If you can say in your heart, yes, I believe in him, then the Holy Spirit of God can no longer, will no longer condemn you of sin. All your sins were laid on the Lamb of God who bore the sin of the world.

There is no longer a case against you. The summons is dismissed. There is no condemnation. You are pronounced acquitted and accepted in the beloved. And that's the salvation, the salvation. And then in verses 18 and 19, he talks about the sentence, the sentence.

He who believes in him is not judged. He who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world and men love the darkness rather than the light for their deeds were evil.

While John 3 .16 is one of the most well-known verses on planet Earth, the next couple often get left out. If we went into random Christians' homes, I would say many of them may even have this verse on their fridge, you know, hanging on the wall.

I can almost guarantee that they're not gonna have verses 18 and 19 hanging up. This is the human heart, the pressure to accept what is good, but to ignore what is really what we perceive to be bad. Everybody wants the good news at the same time pretending the bad news doesn't exist.

In verses 18 and 19, Jesus continues to explain salvation, everlasting life, and the concept of believing. Here, specifically, he's dealing with the consequences of unbelief, really a stark contrast from believing, not perishing, having everlasting life, and what is the result of not believing?

Judgment. And Jesus describes the sentence. The sentence connects what we believe or what we trust. Think about it like this. It's human nature for us to try to shield ourselves from things we don't wanna hear or from even our fears.

By putting our faith in something, either that we do or that we have, we can point to something tangible, maybe a good deed that we've done, without even realizing we're being prideful or arrogant. We may hold onto a skill or perceived intelligence, and that gives us comfort.

The unbeliever often will be comforted by worldly things, by even possessions, but when your comfort is in money and then when things don't go your way, you crumble. The reality is that only God can save, so putting your trust in things that are here on Earth is just leads you down a road of destruction.

There's nothing down the end of that road. Accomplishments and possessions are never, never have, never will, they aren't gonna save one person. The unbeliever may put their faith in things that are not eternal as they deal with fear and anxiety.

They miss the idea that those things don't matter, and there's nothing to fear in the loss of wealth or performance. What every person should fear is eternal condemnation, judgment, and this doctrine is teaching that it is widely ignored, both by the unbeliever in society and, sadly, by many professing Christian congregations.

Jesus is helping Nicodemus to understand what it means to believe. As Christians, we believe in God, not because we rely on our own sufficiency, efforts, or things we've attained. The opposite, we believe by acknowledging or realizing that we are insufficient in our efforts to find salvation, we ask him to do his work in us.

Think about how Jesus is talking about unbelievers here. He's relaying to Nicodemus those who reject or do not accept him. This really goes back to the beginning of the gospel account given to us by the apostle John.

John can write what he wrote earlier in the gospel because he was witness to what Jesus said later in this conversation. John chapter one, starting in verse nine, there was the true light which coming into the world enlightens everyone.

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and those who were his own did not receive him, 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.

In that context, there's a reference to the nation of Israel that those he came for did not receive him, and the Greek word there is about accepting, so Jesus is saying the judgment is for those who ignore or reject.

They don't accept, and they are clearly already condemned, but just to be clear, Jesus isn't talking about those who have momentary doubts or who are working out their faith or assurance. No, he's talking about people who ignore and reject him completely.

The negative idea of the phrase not believing in the name is literally saying not believing into the name, so that's an important distinction, and that is more than just an intellectual understanding or acceptance.

Believing into the name demonstrates there's a trust, and not an empty trust. This is a trust that results in commitment to Christ as Lord, both Lord and Savior, and the result of the belief is the reception of the new nature.

A person becomes a new creation. They receive a new nature, which then gives genuine heart change, intellectual understanding, and heart obedience to Jesus as Lord, and Jesus' next statement makes it clear.

What is the sentence? The judgment is unbelief. He helps Nicodemus understand the reason as he takes him by the hand and explains to him that unbelief is a part of the nature of human beings. Men don't seek after the light.

Men don't seek after God. The sentence, the judgment. The Greek word denotes the legal process of judgment, judging, a legal decision of the activity of God or the Messiah as judge, especially on the last day.

The word often means judgment that goes against a person, condemnation, and the sentence that follows. Some interpreters see verse 19 in sort of a double sense or maybe a nuance there with an implication for judgment containing really in addition to the senses judgment and condemnation, the clear connotation of separation or division.

The point that Jesus is making is that men don't want their evil deeds exposed and brought out into the open. God is judge and the sentence or the judgment is that men don't want to believe. They love their sin.

They don't want to give up their sin and they don't want their sin exposed. And they certainly don't want to give an account to one who will judge their sin. So instead of believing, they deny the truth.

They suppress the truth and they die in their unbelief. That's the judgment. The sentence explanation is that mankind loves their sin and would rather stay in their sin than believe in a God who will save them from their sin.

And we can think about it maybe in a couple ways. Maybe two things to think about here. Just think in your mind about a man who maybe has a son and some kind of a catastrophe happens in public and that son ends up laying down his life so that another person could live.

And then later in some kind of exchange, that person comes to the father and says, ah, your son didn't die for me. I saved myself. Just from a human point of view, what do you think that father's response would be to that?

Okay, now just multiply that by a million. We're talking about an infinite, all-knowing, perfectly holy God rejecting his son, the son who came to die for your sin. What do you think that leads to? It's not everlasting life.

You're condemned if you don't believe in the son of God. That's maybe one thing to think about. Another thing, I'll just share personal testimony and you guys might have a similar experience, but just witnessing to people, whether it's family members or friends, fellow co-workers, whoever it is, fellow students in your life.

One thing I hear again and again is, I know that Jesus is God. I believe in the Bible, but right now I'm kind of doing my own thing. I'll get right with God later. I'll get right, yeah, I'm gonna believe.

I'll just do that down the road after I've sort of like lived my life and done all the fun things I wanna do. I'll get right with God later. Just think about what that person is saying. Okay, that's not belief.

That person is standing condemned. And then, yeah, I mean, even having conversations where the person has tears in their eyes, tears coming down their face. It seems like, oh, this is exciting. Like they're about to accept the gospel.

God's saving them. And then they wipe the tears out and say, I'll just get right later. You just believe what I wanna believe. It's like you're gambling with your soul. Like, what are you doing? You have an opportunity to be saved, and yet you just want to stay in your unbelief.

The sentence. And then Jesus explains the secrecy, the secrecy of sin, the insincerity, the secrecy, verses 20 and 21. He says, for everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds be exposed.

But he who practices the truth comes to the light so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God. Jesus now shifts to explain the secrecy of sin in mankind. Choosing sin over salvation to avoid acknowledging sin or changing their wicked sinful lifestyle.

The last two verses of the passage, Christ's explanation of the truly, truly statements help us to understand why the sentence makes sense. Even though there's a savior, even though the sinner has a way to have peace with God and everlasting life and reconciliation with God and to be forgiven of their sin, they would rather hold on to their sin than be saved.

What an indictment. The insincerity of the sinner, a person in their stubborn unbelief would rather spend eternity in hell separated from the love of God than just acknowledge that they're a sinner and they need someone to help them.

And God has given himself as a savior. The secrecy of sin is worth spending eternal damnation, condemnation, that's worth, rather than coming to the light, acknowledging the need for a savior, acknowledging sin and being saved, the unrepentant sinner who has a desire to keep the sin secret will choose eternal torment over eternal life.

And we have to grapple with this as believers to think about what's going on in the mind of the unbeliever. And for all of us today who are saved, this is where we were at when God lovingly saved us. At some point, we hid in the shadows because we didn't want our lives to be exposed by God's revealing light.

The unbeliever doesn't want his life to be exposed. They're afraid of what would be revealed. The unbeliever certainly doesn't want to change the way they're living. And for us as believers, we should never be shocked when unbelievers are offended because of our desire to obey God.

As God changes us from sinners doomed to hell to regenerated sinners saved by the grace of God, he will give us a desire to do what is right. Jesus is telling Nicodemus the opposite is true for the unbeliever.

Their insincere darkened heart and sin may be exposed by acknowledging their need for a savior. And remember the greater context of this passage. First, we have the sign wonder of turning water into wine, and then the account of Jesus cleansing the temple.

And then we see this brief insert in the historical eyewitness account in the Gospel of John. Look at the verses just before chapter three, chapter two, verses 23 through 25. Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast, many believed in his name.

When they saw his signs, which he was doing. But Jesus on his part was not entrusting himself to them, for he knew all men. And because he had no need that anyone bear witness concerning man, for he himself knew what was in man.

In verses 23 through 25, the apostle explained the outcome of the first sign wonder in his cleansing of the temple. So that you can understand that believing in Jesus for the wrong reasons does not equal genuine conversion.

It's really John's explanation of the outcome. The context of verses 23 through 25 set the stage for Jesus's discerning reaction to those who merely profess belief outwardly in response to the good things that he does.

The contrast of false converts versus true converts showed that outward profession of belief does not equal genuine heart conversion because Jesus's disciples follow his way, not their own. And the conclusion in the outcome of the sign wonder is that Jesus knows the heart and whether a professing believer truly desires to submit to him as a follower and a disciple.

And if we think about it like that, Jesus is explaining to Nicodemus the heart of man. Nicodemus is confronted with the fact that he has only made an intellectual ascent and Jesus is explaining why others are not believing in him as the Christ.

They can believe in the sign miracles all they want, but if they haven't turned away from their sin and unbelief, they are not saved. And he makes it clear, they don't want to believe because they are afraid that the light may expose their wickedness and so they will not come to the Messiah.

They will not come to Jesus as their savior. And we can think about our own relationship and our own lives with family members or coworkers or friends, fellow students. The unbelieving God has placed in our life and the reason why relationships are broken when one person professes faith in Christ genuinely and those in our sphere of influence that are stuck in their unbelief don't like it and sometimes break relationship or fellowship with us.

The answer is simple, that you may expose the darkness they have. And I don't think it's wise for us to give ourselves a pass here. The struggle with sin that we sometimes face as genuine born-again believers can be covered up and hidden from our fellow believers.

But rather than giving up in discouragement or being despairing, we ought to remember God's great love for us in the gospel of our salvation. For you as believers still struggling with sin and the pressure of the world pulling you back away from the light, you can openly confess your sins to our great God who is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We can confess our sins to brothers and sisters in Christ for help and by keeping the word of God central in our lives, we can pray that God will help us to see how much better it is to live in his light rather than hold on to the darkness of our sin.

And that's the distinction that Jesus makes for the unbeliever versus the believer. His comments in verse 21 help us to understand that the Holy Spirit removes our unbelief and makes us to be different than we were before our conversion.

We are born again, we are new creations. Unlike the unbeliever who hides their sin and holds on to their sin and rebels in their unbelief, the believer graciously born again by the power of the Holy Spirit in God's will and good pleasure, the believer will do the opposite by God's enabling power.

In our salvation, God gave us a new heart, new affections, new practices. And those who practice the truth as born again, redeemed, regenerated sinners, we will run to the light, we will run to Jesus.

You want this light, you need this light. You want this Jesus, you need this Jesus. And the reason the believer who practices the truth comes to Christ is so that the deeds and actions of his life are clearly manifested that they come from Christ.

We don't take the credit, it's all God all the time. The secrecy explanation records the stark contrast and difference from the unbeliever hiding and nursing their sin versus the believer living life with new heart motives and affections.

The Puritan Matthew Henry said it like this, quote, a good man acts truly and sincerely in all he does. He desires to know what the will of God is and to do it. Though against his own worldly interest, a change in his whole character and conduct has taken place.

The love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost and has become the commanding principle of his actions. So long as he continues under a load of unforgiven guilt, there can be little else than slavish fear of God.

But when his doubts are done away, when he sees the righteous ground whereon this forgiveness is built, he rests on it as his own and is united to God by unfeigned love. Our works are good when the will of God is the rule of them and the glory of God the end of them.

When they are done in his strength and for his sake to him and not to men, regeneration or the new birth is a subject to which the world is very averse. It is, however, the grand concern in comparison with which everything else is but trifling.

What does it signify though we have food to eat in plenty and variety of raiment to put on if we are not born again? If after a few mornings and evenings spent in unthinking mirth, carnal pleasure and riot, we die in our sins and lie down in sorrow, what does it signify though we are well able to act our parts in life in every other respect if at last we hear from the supreme judge, depart from me, I know you not, ye workers of iniquity.