one would see him talking with God’s Son. Nicodemus told the Saviour that He surely came from God because only God could give power to do the miracles that Jesus had performed. The Saviour told Nicodemus that to see the kingdom of God one must be born again. This was a hard saying for Nicodemus to understand. The Lord Jesus told him that just as Moses had lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness (re view this story in Exodus 4) “even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him, should not perish but have eternal life.” The Sav iour then spoke those wonderful words of John 3:16, 17 to the wise ruler. We are not told whether or not Nicodemus received the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour, but we find him mentioned two other times in the Gospels. One day the religious leaders sent men to take Jesus and punish Him. Nicodemus stood up for the Saviour and asked that they not do Him any harm until they had questioned Him thoroughly. Again, when the Lord Jesus was crucified, Nicodemus brought about one hundred pounds of spices to wrap in the linen cloth with which the Saviour was covered. Perhaps this deed of love indicates that Nico demus had been born-again at last, we do not know. Wealth, splendid positions, popularity, wisdom, talents are not sufficient to cause us to become children of God. Only those who realize that they are sinners and those who come to the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour are born-again and therefore children of God. Have you been born-again? Do you know that you are a child of God? If not, won’t you today ask the Lord Jesus to cleanse you from sin and be come your personal Saviour and the Lord of your life?
which liveth and abideth forever.” Both the Word of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit are indispensable in the matter of the new birth. The Manner of the New Birth vv. 8-10 Since the new birth is a spiritual mat ter it cannot be observed by physical eyes. Even as there is much of mystery about the origin and movement of the wind, so there is much about the new birth that cannot be explained. It is God working in the soul. But though it can not be explained it can be experienced and enjoyed. Evidence of the New Birth 7:45-52 If one is truly born again it is bound to show itself in a right attitude toward the Son of God. Nicodemus manifests such an attitude in both the subsequent passages where he is mentioned follow ing the new birth chapter (7:50, 51; 19:38, 39). His heart is warm toward the Saviour. In the passage before us, Nicodemus stands up for Christ when others have nothing good to say for Him. Helps For the Children A Visitor at Night John 3:1-21 Memory Verse: “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Nicodemus was a wise ruler of the Jews. He had most of the things that men would say were necessary for hap piness, but Nicodemus did not have real peace in his heart. One night Nicodemus visited the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps he chose to come at night so that no
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