John 3
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John 3:3:
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven |
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"[N]o doctrine in Christianity is more necessary than the doctrine of rebirth. This is the very ground upon which Christianity stands. A person without this is not to be called a Christian. Just as the article of creation is the first, without which the others would not be (for if man were not created, how could his redemption and sanctification occur?), so if the person is not created anew or born of God, it does not help at all that Christ died for him; nor does it help at all that he has sent the Holy Spirit, and so forth. But when new birth occurs, we enjoy all the more the heavenly Father, our Savior, and the dear Holy Spirit."
--Dale Brown; God’s Glory, Neighbor’s Good: A Brief Introduction to the Life and Writings of August Hermann Francke (Chicago: Covenant, 1982), 135, 142.
--Dale Brown; God’s Glory, Neighbor’s Good: A Brief Introduction to the Life and Writings of August Hermann Francke (Chicago: Covenant, 1982), 135, 142.
"What it is that is required: to be born again. We must live a new life. Birth is the beginning of life; to be born again is to begin anew. We must not think to patch up the old building, but begin from the foundation. We must have a new nature, new principles, new affections, new aims. We must be born anothen, which signifies both again, and from above. We must be born anew. Our souls must be fashioned and enlivened anew. We must be born from above. This new birth has its rise from heaven, it is to be born to a divine and heavenly life." (commenting on John 3:3-8)
"To be born of God is to be inwardly renewed, and restored to a holy rectitude of nature by the power of the Spirit of God. Such a one committeth not sin, his seed remaineth in him. Renewing grace is an abiding principle. Religion is not an art, an acquired dexterity and skill, but a new nature. And thereupon the consequence is the regenerate person cannot sin. He cannot continue in the course and practice of sin. And the reason is because he is born of God. There is that light in his mind which shows him the evil and malignity of sin. There is that bias upon his heart which disposes him to loathe and hate sin. There is the spiritual disposition, that breaks the force and fullness of the sinful acts. It is not reckoned the person’s sin, in the gospel account, where the bent and frame of the mind and spirit are against it. The unregenerate person is morally unable for what is religiously good. The regenerate person is happily disabled for sin." (commenting on 1 John 3:4-10)
--Leslie F. Church, ed., Matthew Henry’s Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1960)
"To be born of God is to be inwardly renewed, and restored to a holy rectitude of nature by the power of the Spirit of God. Such a one committeth not sin, his seed remaineth in him. Renewing grace is an abiding principle. Religion is not an art, an acquired dexterity and skill, but a new nature. And thereupon the consequence is the regenerate person cannot sin. He cannot continue in the course and practice of sin. And the reason is because he is born of God. There is that light in his mind which shows him the evil and malignity of sin. There is that bias upon his heart which disposes him to loathe and hate sin. There is the spiritual disposition, that breaks the force and fullness of the sinful acts. It is not reckoned the person’s sin, in the gospel account, where the bent and frame of the mind and spirit are against it. The unregenerate person is morally unable for what is religiously good. The regenerate person is happily disabled for sin." (commenting on 1 John 3:4-10)
--Leslie F. Church, ed., Matthew Henry’s Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1960)
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John 3:16-18:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. |
The answer is love. He loved us so much that He was willing to do the unfathomable, something that made no sense — leave everything to save us. We could not go to God, so God came to us. A true upset.
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Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple, in the 1940s, said that the Church exists “to serve those who are not yet its members,” that is, the whole world.
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John 3:19:
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. |
The darkness is such a normal part of life that those who walk in darkness not only know nothing else, but prefer the darkness over the exposure of the light. The life apart from the Lord, rationalized and practiced for so long, is an investment in the darkness. The sadness and oppression became familiar, and “men loved the darkness rather than the light.” But the sadness was just covered, not taken away. The fear, the loneliness, the shame—all were still there. The light was too much for some, but the darkness was not good.
Some walk in darkness because of ignorance. All they know is that the light is foreign, strange. They fear the light until someone shows them the truth. Some walk in darkness because of pride. They think they can cope with the darkness. They have managed to survive day by day, pushing away discouragement and fear. When the light comes, they say they don’t need it. Some walk in darkness because of shame. The light exposes too much. It reveals weakness and guilt. They may not know that their shame can be washed away. They may not believe it possible. Yet, they hide from the light that offers freedom. To walk in darkness is to hide from the truth. -Grace For My Heart |
