Meeting Jesus
Jul 16, 2023
Summary
He was a religious man. We know that he took his religion seriously because he was a member of the Pharisees sect. They were strict, narrow, traditionalists who were at times bigoted. He was "a ruler of the Jews." He was one who is first or preeminent among his associates. He stood in a high position among the ruling class in Jerusalem. This would indicate that he was a member of the Sanhedrin. Nicodemus was a man of discernment is seen in his estimation of Jesus. "We know that You have come from God as a teacher." He did not jump in to condemn Jesus because of prejudicial ideas and motives. He was open-minded and wanted to hear Jesus personally. Nic was discerning. "No one can do these things that You do unless God is with him."
Detail
Jesus said, Nick you have to be born again. You must have a new birth. It is the production of a new life consecrated to God. It is a radical change of mind for the better. It's regeneration. It is the communication of spiritual life to that which is spiritually dead. It is the "baptism of the Spirit," the commencement of something new. Someone has said, "It is a crisis with view to a process; a rebirth with the prospect of a constant renewal." The Bible also calls it "regeneration." This spiritual birth is the supernatural act of God in response to faith. The experience is evidence of regeneration, but not regeneration itself. We experience the results of the spiritual birth. However, the regeneration itself is not an experience.
When a person receives Christ by faith, he is born again and in the act of the new birth receives a new nature. This new nature is patterned after the nature of God. That is why it is described as being born from above, born again or regenerated. It is God's kind of life; therefore, the believer can experience true intimate fellowship with God.