New Believer's Bible Sample - Flipbook - Page 46
J ohn 3
page 998
We must be born again
F I R S T
S T E P S
read JOHN 3:3
Many people today do not understand
what it means to be born again, a term
Jesus himself originated. Today, the term
has been pirated, emptied of meaning,
dragged through the gutter, and then given
back to us, minus its power. Some people
say, “I am a Christian, but I am not one of
those ‘born agains.’”
Listen! There is no such thing as a Christian who is not born again. We need a spiritual rebirth because, according to Jesus,
unless we are born again, we cannot see
the Kingdom of God.
For the next note on “Experience New Life in Christ” turn
to page 1022.
6 Standing
nearby were six stone water jars,
used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each
could hold twenty to thirty gallons.* 7 Jesus told
the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When
the jars had been filled, 8 he said, “Now dip
some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.
9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the
water that was now wine, not knowing where
it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over.
10 “A host always serves the best wine first,” he
said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to
drink, he brings out the less expensive wine.
But you have kept the best until now!”
11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Gali
lee
was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And
his disciples believed in him.
12 After the wedding he went to Capernaum
for a few days with his mother, his brothers,
and his disciples.
Jesus Clears the Temple
was nearly time for the Jewish Passover
celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In
the Temple area he saw merchants selling
cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he
also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. 15 Jesus made a whip from some
ropes and chased them all out of the Temple.
He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered
the money changers’ coins over the floor, and
turned over their tables. 16 Then, going over
to the people who sold doves, he told them,
13 It
“Get these things out of here. Stop turning my
Father’s house into a marketplace!”
17 Then his disciples remembered this
prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for
God’s house will consume me.”*
18 But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What
are you doing? If God gave you authority to do
this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”
19 “All right,”
Jesus replied. “Destroy this
temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken
forty-six years to build this Temple, and you
can rebuild it in three days?” 21 But when Jesus
said “this temple,” he meant his own body.
22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they
believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus
had said.
Jesus and Nicodemus
23 Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in
Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many
began to trust in him. 24 But Jesus didn’t trust
them, because he knew all about people. 25 No
one needed to tell him about human nature,
for he knew what was in each person’s heart.
3
There was a man named Nicodemus, a
Jewish religious leader who was a Phar
isee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to
speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all
know that God has sent you to teach us. Your
miraculous signs are evidence that God is
with you.”
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless
you are born again,* you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicode
mus. “How can an old man go back into his
mother’s womb and be born again?”
5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can
enter the Kingdom of God without being born
of water and the Spirit.* 6 Humans can re
produce only human life, but the Holy Spirit
gives birth to spiritual life.* 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You* must be born again.’
8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as
you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it
comes from or where it is going, so you can’t
explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
9 “How are these things possible?” Nicod
e
mus asked.
10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jew
ish teacher, and yet you don’t understand
these things? 11 I assure you, we tell you what
we know and have seen, and yet you won’t
2:6 Greek 2 or 3 measures [75 to 113 liters]. 2:17 Or “Concern for God’s house will be my undoing.” Ps 69:9. 3:3 Or born from
above; also in 3:7. 3:5 Or and spirit. The Greek word for Spirit can also be translated wind; see 3:8. 3:6 Greek what is born of
the Spirit is spirit.
3:7 The Greek word for you is plural; also in 3:12.
