LWF: Three Miracle Births - John 3:1-7 part 1

Part one of a Bible study adapted from a sermon once preached by Adrian Rogers

Our natural birth is a miracle, and The Virgin Birth is a miracle, and the new birth is a miracle.

LWF: Three Miracle Births - John 3:1-7 part 1

Was it really necessary for Jesus to come as He did being born of a virgin?
Why did Jesus have to become a man?
And did He have to die?
Why dark Gethsemane?
Why bloody Calvary?
Couldn’t God just say, "I forgive you" without His death?
Why didn't He simply forgive us?

Let's see why in this amazing study of three miracle births.

Why? That's the question today...

Why couldn't man simply say, "I repent of my sins." and then God say "I forgive you."

Friends the answers to these questions are found in The Word of God and uncovering them will yield great blessings!

Once there was a doctor that would burst out of the delivery room after every birth shouting, "It's a miracle, it's a miracle!".

The family and friends of the mother would look up and think he delivered triplets or something.

After he settled down, he'd explain to the family and friends that EVER baby he sees born is a miracle!

BTW it IS a miracle. A man and women don't "create" life, they merely propagate life created by God.

So the natural birth is a miracle, and The Virgin Birth is a miracle, and the new birth is a miracle.

So let's look at John 3:1, there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

The name Nicodemus means "superior". He was a top man, this was no ordinary ruler of the Jews. He was one of the Pharisees and a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court.

He was one of the top 71 rulers of all the land, so this was a very important man!

And look what he did as described in John 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with Him.

Now Nicodemus had seen all of the miracles that Jesus was performing.

Opening blind eyes, straightening crippled limbs, unstopping deaf ears, loosing dumb tongues.

So he knew that surely this Man, named Jesus was sent of God because no man could do these miracles without God.

And look how Jesus speaks to him.

See John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

In effect, Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, this high ruler of the Jews, "Nicodemus, do you want to understand miracles? If so, then you are going to have to become a miracle."

That statement by Jesus perplexes Nicodemus and look how he replies:

See John 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

Nicodemus is saying to Jesus that there is no reverse gear in life. A man cannot turn back time and go back into his mother's womb so how can a man be "born again" when he is old?

He's thinking "Jesus, I've already been born, been there done that, so what are you talking about?!?"

And look how Jesus replies:

See John 3:5-7
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Friends these are incredible words for our hearts and minds to grasp and dwell upon!

Imagine the shock to this high priest Nicodemus, when Jesus tells him that one birth was not enough and another was needed!

And may I add, if Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be reborn, imagine how much more crucial it is for every man, woman and child in this lost and fallen world to be "born again", because none could measure up to him.

I say that because no flesh on this earth today could even begin to measure up to the godly and holy nature of this high priest named, Nicodemus. Yet Jesus told him that he must be "born again".

There are three truths contained in these passages to bury in our hearts:

1) The DEFICIENCY of Human Nature:

So Nicodemus already had one birth his natural birth, as we all have had.

Now what is wrong with that birth?
What is wrong with our natural birth into the natural world?

It is so great that God uses the illustration of birth to make this point because that is something universal that we all can identify with.

So Jesus is saying, "Nicodemus, your natural birth is simply not enough. There is a deficiency inherent in natural birth."

Friends Nicodemus was born into the natural world as we all were. And we as he are all bound to it! We are all bound to a sinful world by our natural birth.

We are born with a sinful nature!!!

See Psalms 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Now when King David wrote these words he wasn't saying his mother had an adulterous affair when he was conceived, he was saying that we are shapened in iniquity.

In other words, we have a sin nature!

Or look at Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

The Bible clearly teaches that we are by NATURE children of wrath!!! That means we are born with sinful natures!!!

Friends we are not sinners because we sin, no! We sin because we are sinners!!!

Each and every cute newborn is born with a depraved, sinful nature! That is why the modern child rearing and education methods will simply not work! We are creating a generation of monsters!!!

Friends we are by nature, by Nature, by NATURE, children of wrath!!!

So Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he had one birth, a natural birth and therefore by the nature of that birth, Nicodemus as us all are children of wrath!

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh..."

So what is "flesh" like?

Look at Galatians 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh (your natural birth) are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

I love that phrase "... And such like.". That's there in case he didn't get to you yet...

Now this is a catalogue of sins that is true for each and every one of us.

Are you thinking that it doesn't apply to you? Are you thinking "I've never done any of those horrible things."?

Friends you are missing the point!

It isn't the amount of sin that condemns us, it is the fact of sin that condemns us!

If we are caught speeding, breaking the law and are standing before a judge in traffic court. We cannot say to the judge, "Well every other day I obeyed the speed limit.". Or "Your honor, I didn't break any other traffic laws."

That doesn't matter! If you were caught speeding, you are guilty!

Look at James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Which one of us could ever say that we have NEVER had a prideful thought? A lustful thought? Which one of us have not told a lie, even a little "white lie" as they are called?

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Friends we all are by nature dirty wells and out of those wells come dirty water. The product of our sin nature. We are by NATURE children of wrath!

The wife of a missionary once tried to scrub the floor in her cottage. She scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed, but she simply could not get the floor to come clean. She finally told a local woman about her problem and the woman smiled at her and said "you can't get it clean, it is a dirt floor."

The woman was scrubbing a dirt floor!

Friends that dirt floor is like our NATURE!

You can scrub all you want, but we are by nature children of wrath!

So here was Nicodemus born into the natural world, bound by the sinful world and blind to the spiritual world. That is why we must be born again...

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

It didn't matter that Nicodemus was a high priest of Israel, it didn't matter that he was highly educated and very intelligent, a master of Israel, he was still spiritually blind as we all are until we are "born again"!

Notice that he came to Jesus by night, at a time when it is hard to see in the natural. When others would not see him coming to Jesus. But friends, there was an even greater darkness in his soul (in his mind, emotions and will) that Nicodemus simply could not see!!!

What's my point here?

I'm saying if you have a friend who is not a Christian, don't try to argue with them. No one has ever been "argued" into the Kingdom of Heaven!

His problem is that he cannot see!

You cannot scold a blind man for not seeing regardless of how much light there is!

Remember, Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, (that means truly, truly) I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see, See, SEE, the kingdom of God.

A person may have 20/20 vision in the natural but still be blind in the spiritual realm, he MUST be born again to see spiritual things!!!!

See Ephesians 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

The eyes may be fine, but the heart is blind!

Some may be reading this right now that have tuned me out... You may be clueless to what I am saying...

And you never will until The Holy Spirit of God opens your understanding.

You know it would be foolish for a blind man sitting outside on a sunny day to say there is no light simply because he cannot see it.

There is light, but that blind man needs more than light to see, he also needs sight!

Except a man be born again, he cannot SEE!!!

Friends when we are "born again" when we are "in Christ" look at what the scriptures say:

See 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

This is why we need to pray to God to open the eyes of each and every sinner, whose eyes have been blinded, that they may see the light of the glorious gospel of our LORD Jesus Christ!!!

It takes more than good preaching and teaching to get somebody saved, it takes the work of the Holy Spirit!!!

That is why I always pray before each and every one of these studies that I write each day, "LORD Please open the eyes of whoever You are bringing into Your kingdom this day, annoit this study for Your glory..."

So I hope you can see the deficiency of our natural births. We were all born into a natural world, bound by a sinful world and blind to a spiritual world...

Now that is The DEFICIENCY of the Natural Birth. And tomorrow we will continue by looking at

2) The EFFICIENCY of The Virgin Birth:

The LORD Jesus was born to make up for the deficiency of our natural births!!!