The Importance of John 3:3

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

It has come upon me just yesterday afternoon that these are probably the most important words in the Bible, and that everything else is either God’s preamble to them or commentary on them.

Do I offend with my boldness? I don’t mean to. It’s just that I believe these words are describing the one necessary thing for salvation. Paul and the other apostles and contributors to the Scriptures are merely unpacking this single verse with all its freight of meaning and significance. For instance, what is Romans but an extended commentary on John 3:3; or rather should I say the working out of its significance and consequences in great detail. What are the great themes of the NT—grace, regeneration, justification and sanctification—if they are not the unfolding of the essential truth found in this verse?

It is often said that John 3:16 is the most beloved and well known verse in the Bible. So it may be, but when it comes to importance and urgency, John 3:3 says everything needed to be said. Verse 16 tells us that God loved (and loves) the world by sending us His only Son. It tells us that this was an internal act of His love (He gave His only Son) as well as an external demonstration or expression of that love to the world (that whoever believes). But it does not tell us that the mere coming of Christ is insufficient for one’s salvation (this is the essential reason why I don't celebrate Christmas). While it tells us that salvation is made available to those who would believe on Christ, it does not tell us how that is to happen. Yet John had already told his readers that the one only needful thing is to be born again, earlier in the chapter by recording Jesus’ speech with Nicodemus. He then offers commentary on His own words in verse eight when He says, “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (that is, “this is what happens to everyone who is born of the Spirit"). This indicates to me that the new birth is of an alien origin as well as character; it is “from above” and totally beyond our apprehension and control. Paul and the other apostles as well as the prophets of the OT explain this by recourse to God’s “election.”

The point being that this new birth is not and cannot be accomplished by us. John makes this painfully clear when he says, “…who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). What words could be simpler and yet what words could be more hateful to the world and its need for pre-eminence and wickedness. The wicked don’t like to hear the truth of Scripture that the dead in sin cannot give themselves new life. So the new birth is despised by the world, and so are those who in fact are reborn as children of God. Each one of them is like salt in a wound to those worldly and once-born children of wrath.

But let me be even bolder. I would say that if you do not understand John 3:3 or John 1:13; if you do not know what they are saying viscerally as well as intellectually; if you do not have an emotional response to these verses; if you are not convinced of the assurance they provide, you are probably not one who has in fact been born again and therefore not a Christian.

This is harsh I know. It is meant to be. I don’t write these words to find favour; I write as one who cries Fire! Fire! to those who are asleep in a temple and who know nothing of their impending doom.

I write them as an appeal to non-believers yes, but also as a warning to the modern Pharisees who think themselves saved because they follow the rules and do all the right things rather than experiencing Christ; who see holiness as a separation from the world rather than as a dedication to God; who think that being saved is the result of acquiescing to biblical ordinances and prescriptions and traditions rather than of experiencing and living in a mystical union with Christ, Who, in that union, carries us along with Him in His holiness and righteousness before God.

People who think they are responsible for carrying out or even attempting to fulfill the demands of the law are those who fail to understand they are still trying to earn their reward. They fail to understand the truth that Christ has already fulfilled the law, so they are necessarily resorting to a subtle form of works-righteousness, instead of throwing themselves on the mercy as well as the finished and perfect work of Christ.

We will never be found righteous before God by attempting to keep the commandments (even though called to do so). Rather we are found righteous in Christ because He has already met all the requirements of the law Himself and has graced us with His protective and sustaining love in spite of all our weakness, foolishness and sinfulness.

This is something that ministers of God’s Word have been saying all along of course. This message is not mine, nor is it new. It is foundational to our faith. There will never be a time (until Christ’s second coming) when it will not be needed to be shouted from the very housetops, in the alleys and byways and streets of our villages, towns and cities!

What say you: have you been truly and incontrovertibly saved? Are you truly born-again?

Because if you are not born again of the Spirit of God then you are as one of the foolish virgins to whom it was said by Christ the Bridegroom, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you” (Matt 25:12).

But this begs the question, “What does it mean to be born again; or how can I know for certain I am born again; or what are the qualities of this second birth? I’ll try answering those questions from my limited knowledge as well as my personal experience next time. But let me end with this: Those who truly are born-again don’t need an answer from me. They know the answer already, for it lives in their hearts as well as their minds.

Soli Deo Gloria.