JESUS CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF REGENERATION-Part 1

JOHN 3;1-13

The discourse between Christ and Nicodemus illustrates an important principle, which, every witness for Christ should observe;
Christ took the very statements, Nicodemus made, and turned them, upon the unregenerate
Teacher.

1. Nicodemus declared--''We know that thou art a teacher come from God'' [John 3;2].
The Jews knew that the Messiah, was to be a teacher--
Isaiah 2;2-3--''And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.''

Isaiah 48;17--'' Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy
God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.''

Men can have knowledge of such things, and yet be unaffected by what they know.
Nicodemus said, ''We know,'' but he was the only one, who came to Christ.

This proves, men, who come short of the knowledge of Salvation, may have high thoughts about
Christ.
Christ said, ''We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness'' [John 3;11].

Our Lord, in His reply to Nicodemus, in verse 12 said, that we, who are engaged in preaching the truth, know what we are proclaiming.
Now, Here is a real warning, for every Preacher and Bible Teacher. Each is required to know not only mentally, but also, experientially, what he is seeking to diffuse.

The Lord Jesus Christ, also stated, ''We have seen'' i.e. Christ saw through His omniscient Eye,
all the effects of the Regenerating Spirit in the changed lives of men.

They were able to see the effects of Regeneration, as they saw the effects of the wind.

Now, Get this truth; KNOWING AND SEEING ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A WITNESS
FOR THE LORD.
I John 5;13-[Quote]
Acts 26;16-''But rise, and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;''
The Eternal Son manifested great condescension, by including men with Himself, in the same yoke of bearing witness to Gospel Truth.

Although these men often make mistakes about the truth, committed to their trust, the truths themselves are infallible.
For Example; John Baptist was a witness for Christ, but who will say, that his knowledge was as perfect as Christ's/ John 3;23-36-[Turn].

The climax of Christ's reply to Nicodemus was, ''Ye received not our witness'' [John 3;11], and
this proves that Nicodemus was yet, in his sins.
You see, the strongest external evidence of truth's confirmation doesn't effect the unregenerated heart.

The Spirit, alone, can confirm the truth of the gospel, internally. Thus, the subjective confirmation of objective truth, is the work of The Holy Spirit.

Now, One may witness the conversion of many Regenerated people, but he, himself, will never receive the witness, until a work of grace is wrought in his heart. One must be Spiritual to discern The Spiritual.

2. Nicodemus said, ''Thou art a teacher'' [John 3;3].
The prophecies concerning ''Teacher'' were known to him, but, his ignorance is seen in his statement, ''Thou art a teacher''.
The Eternal Son of God was more than a teacher. He was ''The Teacher''--The Teacher of all teachers, as He is The Lord of lords, and King of Kings.

Our Lord said to Nicodemus, ''Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things/''
[John 3;10].
Now, Nicodemus was not a common teacher;
he was a teacher, in their great Sanhedrin. Though his fame was known, all over Jerusalem and
Judea, he was ignorant of the first and most important point in Religion--
his circumcision of the flesh didn't effect the circumcision of his heart-
Galatians 6;15-''For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.''
Men may have much learning, and be Religious Teachers, and yet, be ignorant of Regeneration.

What a tragedy, it is, for men to be teachers of God's Word, and be strangers to The Incarnate Word, Whom The Scriptures clearly proclaim.

Now, Get this truth; THE OLD TESTAMENT CLEARLY REVEALS THE DOCTRINE OF THE
NEW BIRTH--
Ezekiel 11;19-''And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh.''
Ezekiel 35;25-26-''Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.''

The Bible constantly warns against false teachers and prophets-
Jeremiah 5;31-''The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so; and what will ye do in the end thereof/''
Jeremiah 6;30-''Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.

Now, When teachers have been tried and found wanting, they are called Reprobate silver.''
This was confirmed, by the LORD'S rejection of them, as being those, He called out, and sent.

The one, great business of teachers, is to know the way of Salvation. And, only those, who have come, by the way of grace, CAN SHARE IT, WITH OTHERS....

3. Nicodemus said, ''no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him''
[John 3;2]. He was speaking of the miracles, Christ performed at the Passover in Jerusalem.

Miracles were expected to be wrought by the Messiah, but Nicodemus, not knowing that this was
the Messiah, thought Christ was nothing more, than a man.
And this is all, that men who claim that Jesus Christ was Peccable [capable of sinning], see in Him
Today.

The Lord Jesus answered Nicodemus, by saying, ''Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God'' [John 3;3].

Regeneration of the soul, which includes the impartation of faith, is required, to be able to penetrate Christ's Human Nature, and behold The Impeccable Person of The Divine Son of God.

Nicodemus' spiritual blindness is seen in the fact, that he acknowledged Jesus Christ, as only a teacher, NOT Lord and Saviour.

There are many Religious Teachers today, who are no where in Jesus Christ, than Nicodemus was, when he came to Christ by night.

4. Nicodemus asked, ''How can a man be born, when he is old/'' [John 3;4]. Here, the natural mind of the teacher of Israel, is brought out to light, by this question.

There's quite a difference between Nature and Grace-Nature declares The Glory of God's Power and Wisdom, objectively--
Psalm 19;1-6-[Turn].
Romans 1;19-20-[Turn].
Grace applies The Redemption, wrought out by Jesus Christ, subjectively.

Psalm 19 gives 3 aspects on Revelation--
[1] Natural-in creation-verses 5-6.
[2] Revealed-in Bible-verses 7-11
[3] Experimental-by grace-12-14.

Christ answered, ''Except a man be born again...born of water and the Spirit''-He can neither see nor enter the Kingdom of God.
The New Birth is wrought by the Holy Spirit, and this is accomplished, like water cleansing from filth-Ezekiel 36;25-26-[Turn].
[we will take up in our next entry].