His By Birth
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?” – John 3:1-10
Once while visiting in the home of friends in Louisiana, I was asked to say a prayer of thanks before dinner. Seated at the table with us was a middle-aged businessman who had brought with them the priest from his church in another city. After I prayed a fairly short blessing, the man looked at me with tears and said, “It sounded as if you were talking directly to God.”
Surprised at this emotion, I responded, “I was.”
“Really?” he sighed. “I wish I could do that.”
When asked by His disciples, “Teach us to pray,” Jesus began by teaching them how to address God. Because He wants His disciples to know God as their Father, He tells them: “When you pray, say ‘Father.’ ”
Is Jesus saying every person is a child of God? No, clearly Jesus is not saying we are all God’s children. We find Jesus on a different occasion saying to some very religious people, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.”
While people may not take kindly to being called children of the devil, the same Jesus who teaches His disciples to pray “Our Father,” brands other people as “children of the devil.”
The Bible is plain. Not everyone is a child of God. Jesus issues a gracious invitation to all people everywhere throughout all generations: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me …” While Jesus invites all to join His family, not everyone accepts the invitation.
Similarly, many people engage in various kinds of prayer, but most fail to enter into the intimate relationship God offers. God’s children do come from all over the world: “…from every tribe and language and people and nation;” however, they share this in common: God’s children have all been born again!
When we are born of the flesh, we enter into an earthly family. When we are born again of the Spirit, we enter into a spiritual family. And the members of our spiritual family are those who have entered into the kingdom of God.
The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is the gospel of the kingdom of God. Being born again involves moving out of one kingdom and into another. In fact, the word kingdom is used in the New Testament more often than the word gospel when describing the message God’s children are called to proclaim. Because He is Sovereign, Jesus teaches His disciples to pray to our Father, “Your kingdom come.”
The kingdom of God is not about Israel or Palestine; the kingdom of God is not about geography, the kingdom of God is about His relationship with His subjects. In order for a person to live in God’s kingdom, God must be King. If God is King, He is in charge, and His followers are His subjects. In other words, those who have been born again have entered into a relationship whereby God rules and we are to obey Him.
Jesus says none of us can recognize the kingdom of God, much less enter into it, unless the Holy Spirit of God does a work in our lives: “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
While good works characterize the lives of believers, not all people who do good works and claim to be following Christ have really entered into the kingdom of God.
Jesus gives a terrifying warning: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ”
God will not be mocked and God cannot be fooled. Many people are able to fool others, and we are all capable of fooling ourselves, but life in the kingdom of God is not a matter of our performance, but rather a supernatural work of God’s grace. The good news is that we are offered a vital, intimate relationship with our heavenly Father, marked increasingly by the character of Christ reflected in our lives.
Don’t despair! What we could never do for ourselves, God offers to do for us and in us. Those who trust in His grace are part of the family. As we grow up, the resemblance to our heavenly Father begins to show. Jesus, our elder brother, has provided more than a perfect example. He actually provides His life and power to change us from the inside out. We enter into this life through prayer. As we draw closer to our heavenly Father, we discover the joy and peace for which our hearts have longed. Are you ready to go deeper?
