João 3
David Guzik · Citado em PreceptAustin
João 3
Guzik - It was taught widely among the Jews at that time that since they descended from Abraham, they were automatically assured of heaven. In fact, some Rabbis taught that Abraham stood watch at the gate of hell, just to make sure that none of his descendants accidentally wandered in there.. Most Jews of that time looked for the Messiah to bring in a new world, in which Israel and the Jewish people would be pre-eminent. But Jesus came to bring new life, in which He would be preeminent. Edwin Blum - To be born again or born “from above” (anōthen has both meanings; e.g., “from above” in Jn 19:11 and “again” in Gal. 4:9+) is to have a spiritual transformation which takes a person out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God (cf. Col. 1:13+ "from the domain of darkness, [RULED BY SATAN] and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son" = ED: THIS TRANSFER OCCURS IMMEDIATELY WHEN ONE IS BORN AGAIN). The kingdom is the sphere or realm of God’s authority and blessing which is now invisible but will be manifested on earth (Mt. 6:10+). Paul Apple has an interesting comment writing that John 3 "contains the proper definition of the baptism of the Holy Spirit referred to in Chap. 1 (Jn 1:33+ “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’) ; that is why it is so important to study passages in the context of the entire book." (INTERESTING THOUGHT!) Apple goes on to comment on the the new birth noting that "Birth is a dramatic, climactic experience. No mistaking it!" Rod Mattoon asks What does born again mean? - This phrase carries three meanings. It comes from the Greek word anothen {an'-o-then}. (1) It means "from the beginning, completely or radically." (2) It also means "again for the second time." (3) It means "from above, from God." All three are found in the phrase "born again." To be born again is to undergo such a radical change that it is like a new birth. It is to have something which can be described as being born all over again. The whole act of the new birth is not a human achievement because change comes from the grace and power of God. It is a spiritual birth in a person that takes place when they trust Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. (Treasures from John) ILLUSTRATION - When translator Des Oatridge, working in Papua New Guinea, came to the words "born again" in John's Gospel, he asked his native co-translator to think of a good way to express it. The man explained this custom: "Sometimes a person goes wrong and will not listen to anybody. We all get together in the village and place that person in the midst of us. The elders talk to him for a long time. 'You have gone wrong!' they say. 'All your thoughts, intentions, and values are wrong. Now you have to become a baby again and start to re-learn everything right.'" It was the answer Des was looking for. Today the words of John 3:3 in Binumarien read "No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he becomes like a baby again and relearns everything from God's Word." (See related video) D A Carson writes that "Predominant religious thought in Jesus’ day affirmed that all Jews would be admitted to that kingdom apart from those guilty of deliberate apostasy or extraordinary wickedness (e.g. Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1). But here was Jesus telling Nicodemus, a respected and conscientious member not only of Israel but of the Sanhedrin, that he cannot enter the kingdom unless he is born again." (Borrow The Gospel according to John) Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1 says "All Israel have a portion in the world to come, for it says, “Your people, all of them righteous, shall possess the land for ever; They are the shoot that I planted, my handiwork in which I glory” (Isaiah 60:2). And these are the ones who have no portion in the world to come: He who maintains that resurrection is not a biblical doctrine, that the torah was not divinely revealed, and an epikoros. Rabbi Akiva says: “Even one who reads non-canonical books and one who whispers [a charm] over a wound and says, “I will not bring upon you any of the diseases which i brought upon the Egyptians: for I the lord am you healer” (Exodus 15:26). Abba Shaul says: “Also one who pronounces the divine name as it is spelled.” (Bolding added) "KINGDOM VISION" He cannot see - Cannot see literally "Absolutely continually will not be able to see" where able is the same verb dunamai (and in present tense = continually) as above in Jn 3:2 ("can do these signs"). Jesus is speaking first and foremost of spiritual sight ("insight"), of seeing with the eyes of faith so to speak as in 2 Cor 4:18+) (cf 2 Cor 5:7+). In John 3:5 Jesus says one "cannot enter into the kingdom of God," so clearly to see is the same as to enter the Kingdom. The new birth prepares you for life in a new kingdom! Alan Carr - Notice what kind of place Heaven is. It is the “kingdom of God.” Do you understand what He is saying? It has been said that Heaven “Is a prepared place for a prepared people.” Did you know that this is true? One of the most precious benefits of the new birth is the fact that we receive a new nature when we are saved, 2 Peter 1:4+. When you get saved, you receive God’s nature; a nature from Heaven! The new birth prepares you for life in a new kingdom! The only way for you to get into Heaven is for you to first get Heaven into you! Besides, if you went to heaven with a lost, fallen nature, you would be miserable! Heaven would become Hell for you! You would never enjoy that land unless you had a new nature! All the worship, the praise, the glories of Heaven would be offensive to you if you went there lost! It would be against your nature to enjoy anything in that land. That is why we need a new birth; it prepares us to enter in and to enjoy that new land! It gives us a new nature and it gives us a new life!...You will never see a bird swimming laps in a pool. Why? It’s against its nature! You will never see a cow dancing in a Broadway show. Why? It’s against its nature! You will never see a pig flying from tree limb to tree limb. Why? It’s against its nature! My friends, you will never a see a lost sinner in Heaven! Why? Because it’s against their nature! If you are going there, then you need a new nature. The only way to get that new nature is through the new birth. Why? Your first birth provided you with a physical, fleshly nature. You need a new birth, a birth from Heaven to provide you with a new, spiritual nature, Jn 3:6. That is why Jesus says, “You must be born again!” It is not an option! Don’t settle for a maybe so, hope so or think so kind of salvation. Get born again and you will know so! The new birth is a must!) (Sermon) The kingdom of God - As discussed below this subject can be confusing, as there are several aspects to the Kingdom of God which I have attempted to demonstrate in the following table (click). The question is which aspect of the Kingdom of God would be of interest to this religious Jewish ruler? While the following is somewhat speculative, my personal opinion is that Nicodemus would have been thinking about the earthly Kingdom of God in which Israel would be restored as the leading nation and Messiah would rule. Why would I suggest that possibility? It is instructive and fascinating that a major topic which Jesus taught His Jewish disciples for 40 days after His resurrection was the Kingdom of God. Luke records "To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God." (Acts 1:3+) And after their "course on the Kingdom" they ask Jesus "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6+). Clearly these Jews were looking for the Kingdom and Jesus does not correct them! He simply does not specifically answer their question. In short, it seems very reasonable to propose that like these Jewish disciples, the Jewish rule Nicodemus had this same longing for the beginning of the future Messianic Kingdom. NET Note on the kingdom of God - John uses the word kingdom (basileia) only 5 times (Jn 3:3, 5; Jn 18:36 [3×]). Only here is it qualified with the phrase of God. The fact that John does not stress the concept of the kingdom of God does not mean it is absent from his theology, however. Remember the messianic implications found in John 2, both the wedding and miracle at Cana and the cleansing of the temple. For Nicodemus, the term must surely have brought to mind the Messianic Kingdom which Messiah was supposed to bring. But Nicodemus had missed precisely this point about Who Jesus was. It was the Messiah Himself with whom Nicodemus was speaking. Whatever Nicodemus understood, it is clear that the point is this: He misunderstood Jesus’ words. He over-literalized them, and thought Jesus was talking about repeated physical birth, when he was in fact referring to new spiritual birth. The Kingdom of God is complex but a simple way to look at it is to say that it is that realm where Jesus reigns as King. Whether Jesus’ emphasis was on the present or future aspects of God’s kingdom is not important. For those who are born again, they receive a new heart and it is in that new heart that Jesus reigns as King. And so believers are in the "Kingdom" spiritually speaking, but there is coming a future day when we will also enter the physical Kingdom of Christ. The kingdom obviously speaks of a king, and the first thing a person needs to see by faith is the King of that kingdom, Jesus Christ. As the Spirit of God carries out the miraculous work of regeneration, they begin to see Him by placing their trust fully in Him, being born again, and at that moment of new birth the eyes of their heart are enlightened and they can see spiritual truths for the first time in their life! At that moment they also become subjects of the invisible spiritual kingdom of God even though they may not fully understand what that entails (it was years before I fully understood this great truth). In Luke 17:21+ Jesus declares "behold, the Kingdom of God is in your midst." He is referring to the invisible Kingdom of God which every believer enters by grace through faith in Christ and what writers have referred to as the “already now” or realized aspect of God’s Kingdom (Lk 17:20, 21-see commentary, cf advantageous of this "already now" aspect of the Kingdom in Ro 14:17+, cf 1 Co 4:20NLT = "living by God's power" = dunamis = relying on the supernatural power of the Spirit!). Then Jesus continues in Lk 17:22–37 (see commentary) where He speaks of the “not yet” or future literally visible aspect of the Kingdom of God. One day our faith will become literal sight and not only will we see King Jesus, we will see and experience His glorious Messianic Kingdom on earth, the "not yet" aspect of the Kingdom of God. Kingdom (932)(basileia from basileus = a sovereign, king, monarch) denotes sovereignty, royal power, dominion. Basileia in many NT uses can have a temporal component ( past, present, future) as well as a spiritual and/or physical component depending on the context. Three Basic Meanings of basileia = (1) The power exercised by a king, the act of ruling - kingship, royal rule, reign (2) Basileia can sometimes refer to the land, the realm or the territory over which a king rules. (Mt 4.8, Mt 12:25, 26, 24:7, Mk 3:24, 6:23, 13:8, Lk 11:17, 18, 21:10) (3) Basileia can refer to the spiritual rule of God in the hearts of people now (Ro 14.17) In Mk 10:15 Jesus declares "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God (TANTAMOUNT TO "BELIEVE IN THE KING" OF THE KINGDOM) like a child will not enter it at all.” (cf Mt 18:3). THE KINGDOM OF GOD/HEAVEN PRESENT & FUTURE ("NOW & NOT YET") Internal Invisible In Hearts of Believers Present Age (Between 1st & 2nd Comings) External Visible Literal On earth Messianic Age (After 2nd Coming) External Visible Literal New Earth Eternal Age (After Christ gives Kingdom to Father) Internal, Invisible - in hearts of believers only - in this present age (between Christ's First and Second Comings). In other words the Kingdom of God is present to the extent that people live in submission to God’s authoritative Word. External, Visible - literal earthly Kingdom - It is future in that the day is coming when Jesus returns, the Second Coming, and rules with a rod of iron (Rev 19:15+) on the throne of David (Isaiah 9:7+) for 1000 years (I am a literalist on Rev 20:1-10+) External, Visible - literal heavenly Kingdom - only believers ("internal" aspect of Kingdom) - following age #2 (After Christ gives the Kingdom to His Father - see 1 Cor 15:24-26) Related Resources Kingdom of God commentary in notes on Luke 17:20ff and notes on Acts 1:3. The Arrival of God’s Kingdom - Tony Garland What is the kingdom of God? What did Jesus mean when He said, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21, KJV)? (See also Luke 17:21 commentary) John MacArthur's sermon "Kingdom Parables" which gives an explanation of universal Kingdom and mediatorial Kingdom. THOUGHT - Dear reader all of this "erudite" discussion on the Kingdom of God can obscure the most important question - Are you in the Kingdom of God? Are you born again? In the eighteenth century George Whitefield preached hundreds of times (perhaps even more than a thousand times), on the text ‘You must be born again.’ Someone once asked him "Why do you always preach that we must be born again?" His answer was simple but profound -- "Because, we must be born again." Had Christ a thousand times, Been born in Bethlehem, But not in thee, thy sin Would still thy soul condemn. -- Scheffler There are a few ways that physical birth can be used to illustrate spiritual birth. 1. Physical birth provides life – A babies have life because they are born! Likewise, spiritual birth provides a person with spiritual life, 1 John 5:12. 2. Physical birth only happens once – Physically speaking, you can only be born one time! (Ill. All the mothers said: Amen!) Spiritually, the same thing is true! Your spiritual birth is a one time for all time experience. It cannot be undone and it cannot be repeated! 3. Physical birth takes place because of the suffering on another – A mother enters the very jaws of death to bring life into this world. Jesus entered the cruel jaws of death so that you might be born again. The new birth rests squarely upon the pain and suffering of another! 4. Physical birth gives the infant a brand new start – No baby is born with a past! They have no past, only a future! So it is with the new birth. When you get saved, you get a brand new start. Your past is wiped away and a new, clean future lies in front of you! (Alan Carr) ILLUSTRATION - Not only was Benjamin Franklin a great statesman and inventor, but he was also penned and received letters from famous people from all over the world. One day he received what may have been the most important letter he had ever received from anyone. The letter was from British preacher George Whitefield and was dated August 17, 1752. Whitefield wrote "I find you grow more and more famous in the learned world. As you have made a pretty considerable progress in the mysteries of electricity, I would now humbly recommend to your diligent, unprejudiced pursuit and study, the mystery of the new birth. It is a most important, interesting study; and, when mastered, will richly answer and repay you for all your pains. One, at whose bar we are shortly to appear, hath solemnly declared, without it we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You will excuse this freedom. I must have something of Christ in all my letters (WHAT A GREAT EXAMPLE FOR ALL BELIEVERS -SOMETHING OF CHRIST IN OUR LETTERS OR CONVERSATION!)." In one of his lighter moments, Benjamin Franklin penned his own epitaph. Sadly he did not profess to be a born-again Christian (most writers feel he was a deist as were a number of the founding fathers), but it seems that he must have been influenced by Paul’s teaching of the resurrection of the body. Here’s what he wrote: The Body of B. Franklin, Printer: Like the Cover of an old Book Its contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Guilding, Lies here, Food for Worms, But the Work shall not be wholly lost: For it will, as he believ’d, Appear once more In a new and more perfect Edition, Corrected and amended by the Author. One more story of Benjamin Franklin and Whitefield - Benjamin Franklin became an enthusiastic supporter of Whitefield.12 Franklin, a Deist who rarely attended church, did not subscribe to Whitefield's theology, but he admired Whitefield for exhorting people to worship God through good works. Franklin printed Whitefield's sermons on the front page of his Gazette, devoting 45 issues to Whitefield's activities. Franklin used the power of his press to spread Whitefield's fame by publishing all of Whitefield's sermons and journals. Many of Franklin's publications between 1739-1741 contained information about Whitefield's work, and helped promote the evangelical movement in America. Franklin remained a friend and supporter of Whitefield until Whitefield's death in 1770. As pastor Phil Newton wrote "Benjamin Franklin remained a deist- detached from a personal relationship to God through faith in Christ alone. He had eyes, ears, and understanding yet they did not come to the aid of his grasping kingdom life." Marvin Olasky adds that "Insofar as Christians, through God’s grace, become interested in that which they cannot physically touch, it appears clear that Franklin, unless the change occured when he was very old, was not touched by that grace." We will have to wait until we get to Heaven to see! Spurgeon told of a missionary who visited a primitive hut and became nauseated by the filthy floor on which he had to sit. He suggested to his host that they scrub the dirty surface with soap and water, but the man replied, "the floor is just clay—packed down and dry. Add water and it turns to mud. The more you try to wash it, the worse the mess becomes!" Yes, the hut needed something besides an earthen floor. So it is with the human heart: it is hard and dirty, and nothing will help it. Man needs a new heart (Ezekiel 36:25-27+; see Excursus on Circumcision -). He must be born again from above! Have you ever had a spiritual birthday? Have you been born again? BORN AGAIN IN THE HELLENISTIC CULTURE- The Greek world had a non-Biblical concept of born again or new birth. The ancient world knew about a counterfeit "rebirth." A famous ceremony at that time was the Tarobolium. In this ceremony, a person would go down into a pit which was covered with lattice. A bull was slain on the lattice cover. Its throat was slit and the blood would pour down into the pit. The person in the pit would be covered in blood and when they came out of the pit, they would be considered reborn for eternity. When Christianity came into the world with a message of rebirth, it came with a message that the world was interested in. Those who trust Christ are covered by the blood of Christ in God's eyes. The blood atones for our sins. William
João 3
Guzik - John continues his account of the life of Jesus with the emphasis on what He did in Judea. The other Gospels focus on the work of Jesus in the Galilee region. (Enduring Word Bible Commentary – John) J C
João 3
Guzik - John’s disciples seem alarmed, but it didn’t bother John one bit. John would not allow envy or the fickle crowds make him forget his mission: to announce that the Messiah had come, and then to step back. Steven
João 3
Guzik explains that "Jesus is a uniquely reliable revelation, because He has the Holy Spirit without measure, in contrast to the previous prophets." The Old Testament prophets were anointed with the Holy Spirit only when they were speaking for God, but Jesus always had the Spirit. In a sense the writer of Hebrews alludes to greater authority of Jesus' words writing "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." (Heb 1:1-2+) All of the prophets that preceded the great Prophet (Dt 18:15, 18) were "moved by the Holy Spirit (and) spoke from God." (2 Peter 1:21+), but only the great Prophet had the Spirit without measure. Carson adds "Three centuries after John wrote, Rabbi Aha rightly commented that the Holy Spirit who rested on the prophets did so according to the measure (bemišqal) of each prophet’s assignment (Leviticus Rabbah 15:2). Not so to Jesus: to him God gives the Spirit without limit... John the Baptist had already testified that he had seen the Spirit descend and remain on Jesus (John 1:32–33+), in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 11:2+; Isa 42:1; Isa 61:1+)(ED: see also Lk 4:18+); the same truth is repeated in new form." (Borrow The Gospel according to John, 212) George Beasley-
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Guzik: John’s disciples seem alarmed, but it didn’t bother John one bit. John would not allow envy or the fickle crowds make him forget his mission: to announce that the Messiah had come, and then to step back. John is the "best man" at the "wedding" between Jesus and Jesus’ followers. In the Jewish wedding customs of that day, the friend of the bridegroom arranged many of the details of the wedding and brought the bride to the groom. John the Baptist lost his congregation - and he was happy about it! John was happy because he lost his congregation to Jesus. (John 3 Commentary) F B