Nicodemus was one of the Pharisees, who were Jewish religious leaders who were very conservative and in some cases very legalistic but who had a reverence for God and His Word the Holy Bible (then just the Old Testament). When it is stated that Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews it could mean he was a member of the Jewish governing council the Sanhedrin that included leading Pharisees of Israel. He came to Jesus by night because Jesus was quite controversial including urging the Jews to rethink the way they regarded God, His salvation and His word and so Nicodemus at first didn't want to be seen talking with Jesus but he respected him enough to hear some of his teaching. Jesus knew that keeping and honouring the law and reverence for God weren't problems with Nicodemus so he got right to the point by saying he needed a new birth and new nature by the Holy Spirit instead of self effort by the works of the law. Jesus could also be trying to relate to Nicodemus and his idea that God was with Jesus because of the miracles he did by then referring to new birth of the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of God which were the agents by which Jesus did his miracles and part of the way God was with him because he was teaching in his words and works of the Kingdom of God.
When Jesus said except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God he meant a man or person has to not just be born physically initially but also needs to be born a second time spiritually by the Holy Spirit to see or understand or discern the kingdom of God and its spiritual realities in the spirit realm and the spiritual aspect of God's word the Holy Bible etc. Nicodemus misunderstood what Jesus meant and thought instead of a second different spiritual birth Jesus was talking about a second physical birth. Although there are different interpretations of what water in water and the spirit means I personally think especially from the context of the next verse that water here means the water associated with the first physical birth or birth of the flesh. The part about spirit would be the second birth or to be born again and would be by the Holy Spirit or Spirit of God. This spiritual birth after the physical birth enables a person to enter the kingdom of God or gain citizenship or membership in the Kingdom of God and at present to come before God's presence in Heaven spiritually in prayer in the new nature in Jesus' name. When the born again believer or Christian dies we will enter the Kingdom of God on a more permanent basis with our spirit or true selves in the born again version and at the rapture we will enter the kingdom of God with our spiritual bodies. Then Jesus says that that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit meaning if we are not or not yet born again or born of the spirit we only have a fleshly nature that is under God's condemnation. On the other hand if we are born again or born of the spirit we have a second spiritual nature that we can have a preserved identity for us fit for dwelling in heaven with God and Jesus forever. This is a work of the Holy Spirit. The idea is that for born again Christians or believers our fleshly natures will be cast off when we die or the rapture happens and we go to heaven. Jesus said furthermore that the new birth is not an option for salvation or to enter the kingdom of God or for eternal life and he used the word "must" in connection with our being born again.
Finally Jesus says we can't predict or foresee the work of the Holy Spirit and who is about to be born of the Holy Spirit as this is a work at God's discretion or free will that we don't completely understand as we also don't understand what place or direction the wind might blow nest. In Greek this word for wind and spirit are the same and carry different aspects of the same original Greek word although other scriptures make clear the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person not just a force. This verse 8 also says the wind representing the Holy Spirit has a will (where it listeth or willeth) to blow or cause people to be born again. We can see the effect of the wind such as blowing leaves or rain or branches or smoke but we can't see the wind itself just as we can see the effects of the Holy Spirit giving a person the born again or spiritual birth new nature but we can't see the Holy Spirit Himself. Lastly it says so is not so was everyone that is born of the Spirit which probably means for true born again Christian the effects of the Holy Spirit should continue to be seen throughout our lives after we are born again not just at the moment we are born again. This is also the scripture passage that God used to persuade me trust Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour and enter the Kingdom of God. The scripture passage in the Gospel of John 3 that describes the new birth by the Holy Spirit associated with a person trusting in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour that he died for our sins and rose from the dead to give us new life is as follows:
There was a Pharesee, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 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. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily(truly), I say unto thee(you), Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 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? 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. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth (willeth), and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence (from where) it cometh, and whither (to where) it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Gospel of John 3:1-8
In the Old Testament circumcision of males was the rite that made Jewish males or males of other nations, such as strangers who were Gentiles living amongst the Jews, brought fully into the Jewish or Israelite community when it was done in the name of the true God the God of Israel. After it was established this would preferable be done when the male child became 8 days old. The circumcision made without hands talks about the dedication by God through His Holy Spirit to Himself of those people, Jew and Gentile, including in this present Church age that admit we are sinners in God's sight and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour who died for our sins and rose again to give us new life. The apostle Paul also using the analogy of baptism here. The main baptism referred to here is baptism of the Holy Spirit by which a person becomes a restored child of God and a Christian or part of the true Church as also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:13. This is also accomplished immediately upon a person praying to God the FAther in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to admit we are a sinner in HIs sight and that we are receiving the LOrd Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour. Then God sees us as more humble and admitting we can't save ourselves and are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as His death on the cross for our sins and His bodily resurrection from the dead on the third day later for salvation and God then sees fit to give us a new nature, forgive all our sins, receive us as a restored child of His, give us a home in heaven and put His Holy Spirit in our heart. This is illustrated by our dying to our old nature and focusing on sin or self-sufficiency which are part of the flesh or old nature as our way of life as illustrated by saying we are buried with Jesus in baptism. This also refers to Jesus dying on the cross as bearing our sins. We then who become true Christians are pictured as risen with Jesus through the faith of the operation of God. This is faith in both Jesus' resurrection the third day after He died on the cross after having paid for all our sins with His new body and His becoming the first representative as the God-man of God's new creation for eternity for restored to God humans living under the Spirit but not under the law of Moses. The meaning of faith in the operation of God is also personal faith in what God does in us individually spiritually when we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour of God by His Holy Spirit raising us with a new nature that is sinless and in God's restored spiritual image and that we are forgiven of all our sins and have God's indwelling in our hearts forevermore by His then come to be indwelling Holy Spirit. Through this process of admitting our sins and placing our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for our sins and resurrection from the dead to give us new life we are also brought from spiritual death, or separation of our spirit from God, to spiritual life by being forgiven of all our sins and having a restored relationship with God by the new nature in Christ and the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit in our heart. Although baptism by immersion is an illustration of this process, the reception of this new nature and our being forgiven of or have our sins buried is accomplished by spiritual baptism that takes place the moment we confess our sins genuinely in our heart and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour by praying to God in Jesus' name to become our personal Lord and Saviour. Believer's baptism is the right way of physical baptism but it is after spiritual baptism and an indication and profession before other people and God that we have already trusted in our heart in His Son Jesus Christ as the One who died on the cross for our sins and enabled us to be raised spiritually to a restored relationship with HIm by faith in Jesus with the new nature in Him by the indwelling Holy Spirit that comes to indwell our hearts the moment we trust in Jesus before believer's baptism. Although circumsion is used here as an analogy and baptism this passage is not endorsing infant baptism as some teach to join the Church as God's spiritual or heavenly people because a child is too young to make a conscious decision to be convicted of and confess their sins and receive through prayer to God Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour. This conviction of sin and receiving Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour are necessary to be baptized by and receive God's Holy Spirit by faith in Jesus' finished work on the cross and resurrection from the dead for us which awareness or faith is not present in an infant at infant baptism or christening so the benefit mentioned here of spiritual circumcision and baptism of the Spirit also do not take place at infant baptism but at baptism of the Spirit the momemnt a person consciously and knowingly prays to God in Jesus' name to admit our sins and receive Jesus as our personal LOrd and Saviour who died for our sins and rose from the dead to give us new life. The Bible also teaches that parents or guardians of children cannot give merit towards a person's salvation and spiritual transformation only God by His grace and personal heart faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour in calling on God in His name for salvation. The scripture reference from Colossians 2 of circumcision and baptism being used as analogies of the process of God transforming the heart of a person with forgiveness of all our sins and giving us a new nature by the Holy Spirit come to indwell our hearts by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour and become part of God's true Church or chosen heavenly and spiritual people of this age is as follows:
In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. Colossians 2:11-12
In verse 32 of this chapter as well as earlier verses the apostle Peter asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and that this is according to prophecies in the Old Testament and that Peter and the other apostles were eye-witnesses of these events. Peter also asserts that the one Jesus of Nazareth that the Jews had crucified God had made Lord and Christ by raising him from the dead etc. Peter then also claims that the Lord Jesus has now ascended to heaven and is at God's right hand. Peter then stresses that the events of Pentecost were a result of the Holy Spirit being poured forth on people that trusted in Jesus. Then when some of the people in Jerusalem heard these things they were convicted by the Holy Spirit and asked Peter who they should respond to the gospel message of Jesus' ressurrection from the dead which implied his having previously died for our sins. Peter then urges the people to repent and be baptized. He says this will result in the remission or forgiveness of their sins. From other New Testament scriptures it is clear that it is the result of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that results in forgivenss of sins not believer's baptism which is done later to give a profession that we have already believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and become Christians. Verse 41 makes clear that these people were only baptized after they received Peter's word including the invitation to salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. The gift of the Holy Spirit would also be received immediately upon the people gladly received the word of God through Peter. The scripture reference from Acts 2 of these people in Jerusalem hearing the gospel message and responding to it and receiving God's forgiveness, Holy Spirit and believer's baptism is as follows:
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves for this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Acts 2:32-41
One reason a lot of unsaved people are not receptive or have trouble understanding deeper spiritual aspects of Bible teaching is because they have not received the Holy Spirit yet as their indwelling counsellor. The Holy Spirit is only received by a person when we trust with all our hearts in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour who died for our sins and rose again. When we do that God sends His Holy Spirit into our hearts and can empower and counsel us to understand the things of God in His Word the Holy Bible and see His leading for our lives in events in our lives or those around us and through God making real His word we hear to us. The scripture reference of receiving the Holy Spirit upon faith in Jesus Christ to give us spiritual understanding in the things of God including in His Word the Holy Bible is as follows:
For what man knoweth the things of man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 1 Corinthians 2:11-12
Earlier in Acts 10 the apostle Peter gave a gospel message about God's witness through His Son Jesus Christ and the good and miracles and finally the dying for our sins on the cross and resurrection from the dead of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a result of the apostle Peter's preaching an audience of non-Jews of the household of Cornelius had the Holy Spirit come on them and they by the Holy Spirit spoke with tongues or in foreign languages. However it is a controversial topic whether speaking in unknown tongues is also application in the church today. Anyway this amazed the Jews among them and they saw this as an indication that the church should not just be for the Jews but for the Gentiles or non-Jews as well. The coming of the Holy Spirit on these Gentiles indicated that they had believed in their heart the message of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation through him from Peter and been saved. Preaching of the Gospel as well as prayer are still the main ways to enable people to be saved and enter into a relationship with God and show God's presence and work on earth today. Then the apostle Peter orderd that these new converts demonstrate their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by undergoing believer's water baptism right away. The scripture from Acts 10 of preaching from God's word being a way of receiving God's Holy Spirit and becoming saved and entering into a relationship with God is as follows:
While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. Acts 10:44-48
From natural conception and birth every person, except for Jesus Christ, is ruled by a sinful, selfish nature called in the Bible the flesh. This ungodly nature of the flesh meaning not only preoccupied with the body but also with selfish and sinful thoughts and emotions and spirituality is that it is generally selfish and sinful which leads to continuing spiritual death and if not corrected before physical death to the second death or eternal separation from God and Jesus Christ in hell and then the lake of fire. However the new nature or heart focused on the Holy Spirit leads us to be preoccupied with God and Jesus and His will, word and worship and this is associated with and leads to spiritual and eternal life with God and Jesus and His blessing. The law or the law of Moses attempts to get people to act righteously by external rules and regulations but it doesn't change a person's heart or really get people to obey these commandments of God from the heart. Instead God sent His Son Jesus Christ in the likeness or image of sinful flesh in other words with a very normal except sinless human nature and to address the problem of sin that separates all people from God condemned sin in the flesh by Jesus dying on the cross to pay for all our sins in the flesh with Jesus's substitutionary sinless sacrifice. In this way we can have God's righteousness fulfilled in us who come to be believers in the Lord Jesus Christ by coming to walk not after the law but after the Holy Spirit who comes to reside in us and teach and guide us beginning with the moment we listened to his call to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and stop trusting at all in our own merit or righteousness. The scripture reference in Romans 8 of the place of the Holy Spirit in bringing a person to life and fulfillment of the law of God and then walking in it when we take heed to the Holy Spirit's call to our heart to trust in Jesus and His finished work for our righteousness with his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead is as follows:
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:2-4
According to this verse in Galatians 3 it is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that Christians are partakers of some of the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant. However these blessings are principly the blessings of salvation through the Messiah in the line of Abraham who is Jesus and do not include the blessing of a promised land to any Gentile country such as the United States as this was a blessing under the Abrahamic covenant only given to God's chosen earthly people the Jews and was not repeated here in Galatians or anywhere else to the church which is God's heavenly people. It is also through the Lord Jesus Christ and our personally placing our faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour who died for our sins and rose from the dead to give us new life that Christians including many Gentiles or non-Jewish people get the everlasting inheritance of God's indwelling Holy Spirit. Also it is now through faith from our heart in the Lord Jesus Christ that we receive the full measure of the Holy Spirit into our lives rather than speaking in tongues etc. although it is a continuing effort in our Christian lives for the Holy Spirit get more of us and in that sense be filled with the Holy Spirit. The scripture passage from Galatians 3 that mentions that all Christians become partakers of most of the Abrahamic Covenant and get the promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is as follows:
That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:14
In verse 12 of this chapter it is mentioned that the body or the universal church the spiritual body of the Lord Jesus Christ is one body and all true Christians are members of that body. It also says "so is Christ" meaning that the church as the body of Christ is one and one with the Lord Jesus Christ. This scripture passage then goes on to say that all true Christians or members of the Lord Jesus' spiritual body the Church are baptized into his body by the Holy Spirit. Now, as the reader may be aware, there is much controversy about this passage especially between Charismatic or Pentecostal Christians on one hand and other evangelical or fundamentalist or mainstream Christians on the other. Personally I think when we take this verse in context with the preceding verse (and following verses) that Paul is clearly talking about all Christians or all members of the spiritual body of the Lord Jesus Christ as his complete church. Therefore I don't think baptism of the Holy Spirit is something that happens after salvation to a select or limited number of true Christians but that baptism of the Holy Spirit is part of salvation for every Christian. I believe baptism of the Holy Spirit happens at the moment we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and SAviour who died for our sins on the cross and rose from the dead to give us new life. I think as I read in a good book about the Holy Spirit called The Spirit of Christ by Andrew Murray that at salvation the Christian receives the full measure of the Holy Spirit but after salvation the believer still has to be regularly rededicated to God for Christian service to get the filling of the Holy Spirit where God by His Holy Spirit gets more of us or our heart. It also mentions in verse 13 that all believers are to drink of the Spirit which I believe means to help live a life in the Holy Spirit for worshipping God, having boldness in Christian witness, getting understanding of the Bible, living a godly life or looking forward to heaven or the Lord's coming again and his past death for our sins and resurrection and enjoying Christian fellowship and having enthusiasm about these things. I believe these things start at salvation not some later date under special conditions like speaking in tongues. The scripture reference from 1 Corinthians 12 about the baptism of the Holy Spirit for a person coming to salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ is as follows:
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members or that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we are Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13
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