TH E K I N G ’ S BUS I N E S S
December, 1942
458
many questions he wanted to ask. He wanted to know whether Jésus was really the Son of God as people said. If He was God’s Son, why had He come to this earth? Why had God sent Him? Finally, one dark night Nicodemus made his way to the place where Jesus was staying. He knocked at the door very gently and listened. How happy he was when Jesus answered and asked him in! What a friendly, kind, and loving teacher Jesus was! He listened to Nidodemus’ questions and answered them very patiently. He told Nicodemus that God the heavenly Father wants every one to love Him and serve Him. Just as we each have an earthly father, so we have a heav enly Father that wants us to be His sons and daughters by trusting the Lord Jesus as our very own Saviour from our sins. One of the things Jesus said to Nicodemus is something that almost every one here can say by heart. Let us say it together and then see how many of the questions Nicodemus had are answered in this verse [Quote John 3:16]. Wasn’t it wonderful for Nicodemus that he was able to talk to Jesus? Jesus is our teacher, too, and the lessons that He has for us are in the Book we all love, the Bible. Object Lesson L in k s T h a t L i f t OBJECTS: A piece of white paper 3 inches wide by 6 feet long, a globe of the world, and a pair of scissors. (Using crayons, color a border light blue 1 inch wide the full length of the paper on the top and bottom sides. Color the other edge red. This will make red, white, and blue strips 1 inch wide. Give one end of the paper a complete twist and glue the two ends together.)
3. "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit" (v. 5). The expres sion “born of water” is thought by many to refer to baptism. However, there is nothing to substantiate such a view. Baptism surely is not the only thiiig water stands for in the Scrip tures. In John 7:37-39 it clearly refers to the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 5:26 it refers to the Word of God. The true interpretation o f the passage before us is that the “water” is the Word which is the instrument of the Holy Spirit’s operation upon the soul. In harmony with this we read in James 1:18, “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth.” As in John 3:5, so ih this passage, the Word of God is the instrument of the new birth. Also in 1 Peter 1:23 we read, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” Both the Word of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit are indis pensable in the matter of the new, birth. Golden Text Illustration J ohn 3:1-16 It is now shown that the X-ray com pletely detects and exposes false gems. A real stone shows almost no shadow, while a false one is almost opaque to the X-ray. To the eye of man, Nico demus is a d i a m o n d character, counted of great value. To the divine eye, piercing to heart and spirit, his inner n a t u r e is revealed, and the X-ray of the soul declares: “Ye must be born anew” '(John 3:7, R. V.). —The Sunday Circle. Nicodemus' Friendly Teacher J ohn 3:1-16 MEMORY VERSE: “We know that thou art a teacher come from God” (John 3:2). AIM FOR THE LESSON: To make John 3:16 more meaningful to the children. LESSON STORY: Nicodemus was
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is thereíorí a real danger of perishing and just as real a possibility o f‘ pos sessing eternal life. To perish one needs only to reject God’s provision; to have eternal life one needs nothing more than the acceptance of God’s provision. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesús Christ our Lord,” and “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (Rom. 6:23; 1 John 5:12; cf. v. 11). Points and Problems 1. 'There was a man of the Phari sees, named Nicodemus" (John 3:1). Only in John’s Gospel do we find any thing about Nicodemus. He appears for the first time in the text of today’s lesson. He is the first Pharisee who manifests a kindly spirit toward our Lord. Tradition says he was one of the richest men in Jerusalem. Much dis cussion has filled many pages as to why he came to Jesus by night. The important thing is that he came, and came with the proper attitude and a disposition to learn. His second ap pearance in the New Testament is found in John 7:50, 51, where he is the only member of the Sanhedrin who stands up for the legal rights of Christ. The final’ appearance of Nico demus is in connection with the cross of Christ (John 19:39). Together with Joseph of Arimathea, he had a part in giving Christ a dignified and honor able burial. Thus Nicodemus showed his colors for* Christ in the hour of testing. 2. "Except a man be born again" (v. 3). Literally, the statement should be “Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The Greek word is "anothen," mean ing “from a higher place, from above.” The same word is used in verse 31 of this chapter where it is used to speak of Christ who “cometh from above." It it used also in John 19:11 where Jesus speaks to Pilate and says, “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above." See also James 1:17 and 3:15, 17. The meaning of the present text is that ere a man can belong to the kingdom of God, he must have a heavenly life, a divine nature. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.
troubled. He had seen Jesus in the market place, and he had heard about the w o n d e r f u l things Jesus was d o i n g . How he wished now that he might go and talk with J e s u s himself! But per haps he thought
LESSON: This endless piece of paper reminds me of the Trinity. We will let the blue stand for God the Father, the red for Christ the Son, and the white for the Holy Spirit. Not one of them has beginning or ending. You will notice a globe down on the floor, but the red, white, and blue circle does not reach the world. [Quote John 3:16.] The only way for God to reach a lost world was for His Son to come down. If we cat the red here it can reach the world. ,[Cut all the way around the circle, between the red and white.] The red is still linked to the
Jesus would not want to talk to him. Besides, if people would see him talk ing to Jesus, Nicodemus might lose his position as an important teacher of the Je'ws. Then Nicodemus had an idea. Some night when it was dark he would go to talk with Jesus. No one would be able to see him go. There were so
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