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Devotions from Gospel Chapel Ministries HOME SERMONS SERMON NOTES
THESE THINGS
"Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?" JOH 3:9-10.
JOH 3:7-8 says, "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." Then Nicodemus asked how these things could be. "These things" are the things which accompany a true work of regeneration through the cleansing power of the Word. "These things," the essential elements of salvation, of which Jesus was speaking as being born of the Spirit as we saw in Verse 8. Jesus asked Nicodemus, "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?"
See how "these things" accompany a true work of regeneration. TIT 3:3-5 says, "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. [Isn't that a perfect description of the attitude of the heart by nature?] But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done [we will not be saved by the letter of the law], but according to his mercy he saved us [How?], by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."
We need to be washed in the blood of Christ to remove the penalty of sin, and by the washing of water by the Word for cleansing our walk of life, do we not? We must be cleansed from the wrong attitudes of the natural heart we saw in Verse 3, this hateful spirit; disobedience, envy, and living in diverse lusts and pleasures must be washed away. We must be washed from our sins. How? It is by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.
In other words, it is by the work of grace in our hearts that we receive the new desire; it is by grace that we have the work of regeneration. The renewed, new man of the heart now loves his neighbour as himself. The hateful, despiteful spirit has been removed.
Our Saviour was named Jesus because He came to save us from our sins. Everyone wants to be saved from hell, but not many want to be saved from their sins. The name Jesus means He came to save us from, not in but from, our sins; He came to save us from a hateful spirit and diverse lusts that serve self. He came to deliver us from the power of sin and the spirit of disobedience and from the foolishness of heart which we have by nature. How does He do that? It is "by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost." These are the things which Nicodemus did not understand; they are the things of which Christ was speaking.
The Pharisees had a legal religion. In Titus we read, "...Not by works of righteousness which we have done." In other words, it is not by the fact that one kept the letter of the law that brings salvation; it is the work of regeneration. A changing of the heart is required, and it is accomplished "by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." How did Jesus view the nature of the Pharisees. In MAT 5:20 Jesus said, "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." The Pharisees were so concerned with following the letter of the law and their interpretation that they would not understand the working of regeneration or the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Nicodemus was a Pharisee.
Notice that in Chapter 5 of Matthew Jesus goes through six contrasts that are prefaced by, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time," or "Ye have heard that it hath been said," or "It hath been said." These words refer to those things the scribes and Pharisees were teaching as works of righteousness. Then Jesus says, "For I say unto you," to say the exact opposite of what they were teaching. They taught a legal religion under the letter of the law. Jesus taught a heart religion under the spirit of the law.
Look at V:27, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery." They thought that as long as they did not commit the physical act, they were obeying the law, but the Lord Jesus wanted to see a heart religion. Jesus answered, "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart," MAT 5:28. Jesus is calling for a change of heart and attitude.
See V:31-32, "It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement." That was the end of the Pharisee's teaching. Jesus replies, "But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery." Jesus shows them the spirit of the law.
Again in V:33-34 we see, "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, ...But I say unto you, Swear not at all..."
Look at V:38-42, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil [Jesus wanted to see a heart religion]: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away."
In V:43 we see the legalistic teaching of the Pharisees in, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy." The teaching of the scribes and Pharisees deemed anyone not a Jew of certain merit an enemy, but Jesus demands more as He adds, "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."
These verses are samples of the things Nicodemus did not understand. Nicodemus did not understand the washing of regeneration or the purifying of the heart. The Pharisees, including Nicodemus, were strangers to the purifying of the heart "...by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost," TIT 3:5. Their hearts had never been cleansed. They had a legal religion; Nicodemus is shown seeking Jesus, but his education never prepared him for this Godly wisdom.
Now see how the Lord Jesus addresses the Pharisees in MAT 23:25-26. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites [why? because of the attitude of their heart]! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter [you do the letter of the law], but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."
If we clean up our attitude, if it has been washed with the washing of regeneration, if our whole disposition toward God has been altered, our actions will follow. If the inside is clean, the outside will be also. A person with a legal religion does not see the need for a heart religion, i.e., for the cleansing by the Word.
The cleansing effect of the Word is missing in many of our churches today; emphasis is placed on their doctrine rather than on God's Word. In MAT 23:27-28 Jesus says, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! [following the letter of the law? Oh, yes, but how? It is the laws of men which are their private interpretations of the law of God. They never saw or understood the spirit of the law or the need for cleansing the heart.] for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. [That is quite a description of the heart of man by nature.] Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."
In effect what Jesus asked was: "Nicodemus, are you a ruler and a leader of the people and you don't understand these things? You do not understand the washing of regeneration that cleanses the heart and mind." These are the things of which Jesus spoke, i.e., "...the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost," or the baptism of the Holy Spirit which is visible in our labors of love.
The Holy Spirit came down like a dove which is the symbol of holiness. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is visible in our walk of life. It can be seen with the natural eye; the world can see it. Do you know how they will see it? In our labor of love, in our attitudes. Amen.
Fill my life, O Lord my God,
In every part with praise,
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being and thy ways.
Not for the lip of praise alone,
Nor even the praising heart,
I ask, but for a life made up
Of praise in every part;
Praise in the common things of life,
Its goings out and in,
Praise in each duty and each deed,
However small and mean.
Fill every part of me with praise;
Let all my being speak
Of thee and of thy love, O Lord,
Poor though I be, and weak.
Our sermons and devotions are a ministry of Gospel Chapel located in Conrad, Montana. We also have a daily devotion and sermon notes on-line. We pray this devotion has been a blessing to those who read it. Thank you.