The Eternal Life That Jesus Christ Gives

A sermon on John 3:1-21, part of a verse-by-verse study of the Bible that began twelve years earlier in Genesis 1:1 and has now reached the Gospel of John. After chapter 2 the week before, this Sunday opens on chapter 3, a text so dense it could be preached three or four times over, and still more. The whole of John 3:1-21 is covered here in a single sweep.

Introduction

Nicodemus comes to find Jesus at night. He is one of the Pharisees, men who work hard, day after day, to keep the Law down to the smallest detail, convinced that through their own efforts they can be righteous before God. He is also "a ruler of the Jews" (John 3:1): he has status, recognition, authority. A religious man, serious, respected.

And yet, when he opens his mouth, it isn't to lecture. It's to tell Jesus, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus answers, without any transition, "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

That's the text you'll walk through here. The subject is eternal life. Not as some distant concept, but as the life Jesus Christ comes to give to anyone who is born again.

Outline of the sermon

1. Nicodemus, a religious man facing Jesus (John 3:1-2)

Nicodemus is a Pharisee. The Pharisees were religious men who wanted, through their own observance, to prove they were on the right path. He is also a ruler of the Jews. He appears a second time in the Gospel, in John 20, alongside Joseph of Arimathea, to take care of Jesus's body. So he isn't an outright opponent, he's a man who, at first in secret, wants to understand.

What he says to Jesus is already remarkable coming from him. He publicly acknowledges that Jesus comes from God, because of the signs he performs. But Jesus doesn't stop at the compliment. He aims deeper: it isn't what you know about me that saves you, it's a new birth.

2. "Unless one is born again..." (John 3:3-8)

To "see the kingdom of God" means to see the realm over which God reigns. That kingdom can extend into your relationships, your family, your neighborhood, your workplace. But to see this kingdom, you must be born again. Nicodemus takes it at face value: "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"

Jesus answers by pointing out the difference between the two births: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (v. 6). He compares the work of the Holy Spirit to the wind: you don't know where it comes from or where it's going, you hear its sound; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit (v. 8).

This new birth is what marks the dividing line between someone who is a Christian and someone who isn't. It isn't intellectual knowledge of Jesus that saves you. It isn't weekly attendance at church. It isn't serving in the church. These things are good and have their place, but they aren't the line between life and death. The only question is: have you been born again?

3. The new birth: the Holy Spirit in your heart (John 3:5-8; Romans 5:5; 8:15)

What the Holy Spirit does in someone born again is pour out, again and again, the love of God into their heart. Romans 5:5: "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." The Spirit teaches you, at a level your intellect alone can't reach, just how much God loves you.

It's this Spirit who makes you cry out "Abba, Father" (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). He's no longer a distant God you observe from afar, he's a Father you speak to, with the confidence of a child. That's why in this church, prayer so often begins with "our Father." Not as a formula, but because the relationship is real: the Father welcomes, the Son intercedes, the Spirit makes this reality alive in you.

4. The serpent lifted up and the cross (John 3:14-15; Numbers 21)

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (v. 14-15). Jesus points back to Numbers 21: in the wilderness, the people grumble, God sends fiery serpents, death strikes. At God's command, Moses makes a bronze serpent and sets it on a pole. Whoever is bitten and looks at that lifted-up serpent lives.

The parallel is direct. At the cross, Jesus is "lifted up." He carries, in the sinner's place, what should have killed him. 2 Corinthians 5:21: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Looking to Jesus lifted up means recognizing that he carried your guilt, and receiving his life in place of your death. That's what it means to believe.

5. "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16-17)

The most famous verse in the Bible comes here. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (v. 16). The source of everything isn't your religious effort, it's the love of God.

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (v. 17). The Son comes to save. Judgment, as we'll see next, is what's already happening now, in the way you receive or refuse this light.

6. Light and darkness (John 3:18-21)

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God" (v. 18). And Jesus continues: people have loved darkness rather than light because their works were evil (v. 19).

Why do people run from what is right? Why is someone sincere mocked, as if taking things seriously made you "too righteous"? Because in the light, whatever you're hiding comes out. They flee the light not because the light is bad, but because they're missing the most important piece of information: forgiveness is possible.

The deep reason a heart prefers darkness is that it doesn't know the good news of forgiveness. Once you know you can be forgiven, you can step into the light. You can say, "Forgive me." Once forgiven, the fault no longer weighs you down, and you walk in the light. "But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God" (v. 21).

7. And what if you're still struggling? (Romans 7:24-25)

One last pastoral point. If you look at your life and see that you don't follow Christ the way you'd like, if you're tormented by your own inability, then here's good news: it's proof that you've been born again. Someone who hasn't been born again doesn't accuse themselves of that. It's precisely because you're born again that your heart is awake and your sin bothers you.

Don't condemn yourself. That's what Paul describes in Romans 7: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" and right after: "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25). Following Jesus doesn't mean becoming a flawless Christian who has nothing left to ask for. It means learning, every day, to return to the cross, to receive forgiveness, and to stand before the Father saying, "It's all right, I am loved."

Key takeaways

• The line between life and death is the new birth. Not knowledge of Jesus, not attendance at church, not service. "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).
• Being born again means receiving the Holy Spirit. He's the one who pours the love of God into your heart (Romans 5:5) and makes you cry out "Abba, Father" (Romans 8:15).
• The cross is the serpent lifted up. Jesus carried your sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Looking to him means life.
• John 3:16 says it all starts with the love of God. It isn't your effort that triggers salvation, it's the gift of the Son.
• People flee the light because they don't know about forgiveness. Once you know you can be forgiven, you can step into the light.
• Your inner struggle is a sign of life. If your sin torments you, it means your heart is alive. Return to the cross, don't condemn yourself.

Personal applications

1. Can you say, today, that you've been born again? Or are you leaning on what you know, what you do, what you give? Where do you really stand on this question of the new birth?
2. At what point in your week do you call God "Father" in a real, living way, and not just as a formula? Is there a part of your heart where you still don't dare pray to him with that kind of confidence?
3. What "darkness" are you keeping hidden out of fear of being judged, when forgiveness is being held out to you? What would you do if you truly believed the light won't destroy you but will set you free?
4. When you get stuck on a recurring sin, how do you respond: by condemning yourself, or by returning to the cross? What would you like to change in the way you come back to Jesus?
5. Is there a "Nicodemus" around you, a religious, serious, respected friend or family member, that you could pray for, that the new birth would become real for them?

Scripture references

• John 3:1-21 : Nicodemus, the new birth, eternal life
• John 3:16 : "For God so loved the world..."
• Numbers 21 : The bronze serpent lifted up in the wilderness
• Romans 5:5 : The love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit
• Romans 8:15 : The Spirit of adoption by whom we cry "Abba, Father"
• Galatians 4:6 : The Spirit of the Son who cries "Abba, Father"
• 2 Corinthians 5:21 : He made him to be sin for us
• Romans 7:24-25 : "Wretched man that I am... Thanks be to God"
• John 20 : Nicodemus reappears at Jesus's body

FAQ

What does "born again" mean in John 3?

Being born again isn't about improving your life or trying harder religiously. It's receiving a life you didn't have: God, through his Spirit, brings you into a living relationship with him, where you are loved, forgiven, and able to call him "Father." Without this new birth, no one can see or enter the kingdom of God.

Is going to church and serving enough to get to heaven?

No. Jesus says this clearly to Nicodemus, who was nonetheless a religious man, serious and respected. Going to church, knowing the Bible, serving: none of that is the line between life and death. The only question is: have you been born again? Have you passed from death to life by believing in Jesus Christ?

Why does a Christian keep struggling against sin?

Because the new birth opens your eyes to what, before, no longer bothered you. If you see your sin and it torments you, that isn't a sign that you aren't saved, it's actually the sign that you've been born again. Paul himself experienced this in Romans 7. The answer isn't to condemn yourself, but to keep returning to the cross of Jesus.