John 3:4

“Nicodemus said unto Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

What could Nicodemus have thought a man could gain through a second physical birth that he had not received through the first? What additional inheritance could be given him through the same parents in a second birth? The very question he asked revealed his need of light, but of spiritual light that is the product of spiritual life. Nicodemus was blind because he was dead. The thing Nicodemus did not know, but Christ did know, was that he was still in the sphere of death, outside the Kingdom and family of God, and living on the plane of the natural man.

Consequently, Nicodemus did not know that nothing he had through the flesh could be put to his account in the realm of the spirit; that the position, possessions, and privileges upon which he prided himself in the natural sphere were like counterfeit coins in the spiritual sphere. Nicodemus did not comprehend that nothing he could have received through a thousand physical births could make him eligible for citizenship in the Kingdom of God or for sonship in the family of God.

The whole purpose of Jesus’ conversation was to show Nicodemus that he was an alien and that citizenship in the Kingdom of God required naturalization through regeneration. Is it any wonder that the perplexed cry came from his heart, “How can these things be?” For was he not a Jew by birth? Therefore, was he not born into the Kingdom of God? Had he not scrupulously and punctiliously observed every ordinance and ceremony and fulfilled every religious duty, thus, had he not earned his way into the Kingdom of God by good works? Was he not a man of the Pharisees, even a ruler of the Jews? Therefore, was he not eligible for citizenship in the Kingdom of God by his religion? Nicodemus was all that he claimed to be by birth, by good works, and by religion, yet Jesus told him that none of these things in itself or all of them put together would serve as naturalization papers in the Kingdom of God. One thing was absolutely essential in a Kingdom that was built upon the supernatural, and that one thing was supernatural life. Without this, no one could qualify for entrance, whatever his parentage, privileges, or position.

Seeing the perplexity of Nicodemus’s mind, yet understanding the hunger of his heart, Jesus repeated and amplified His words on the absolute necessity of the new birth.

John 3:5, 7

“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. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”

Is it possible that some readers of these pages are, like Nicodemus, trusting in his godly parentage, good works, exemplary morality, and inherited religion to enter the Kingdom of God? If so, will you not heed the words that Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, for He is also speaking them to you?

The absolute necessity of the new birth as a requirement for entrance into the Kingdom of God could not have been expressed more emphatically than the Lord uses here. If you trace His conversations in the gospels, you will notice that He never uses the words “Verily, verily” except when teaching something of paramount importance. In John 3:5, 7, He uses three very emphatic words, “except,” “cannot,” and “must.” The Lord of the Kingdom is declaring the first and fundamental requirement of life in the Kingdom when He says “Ye” — no matter who you are — “must be born again.” There are absolutely no exceptions to this law of the spiritual realm.

If anyone could have hoped for exemption from this requirement, Nicodemus would have been that man. Yet his high moral character, his clean, upright life, his orthodox religious creed, his influential social position, his membership in the Sanhedrin, his faithful performance of religious duties, and his acknowledgment of Jesus as a great teacher and a good man, were insufficient to gain an entrance for him into the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ, who looks at men from the viewpoint of heavenly standards, told Nicodemus that even he could not see, much less enter, the heavenly Kingdom except this divine miracle of the new birth was wrought in his spirit. 

Source: “Life on the Highest Plane” by Ruth Paxson

May Your word be heard by all who desire to enter the Kingdom of God. “You MUST be born again!”