John 3 - CSB Disciple’s Study Bible

3:1-15 SALVATION, As New Birth—Nicodemus was exhibit A of the truth of 2:25. He was a real person; yet he represented all people. What Jesus said to him in vv. 3,7, he says to all. The only way to enter the kingdom of God is through the new birth. “Born again” means born from above. It is the work of God and not the work of human beings. It is the new birth that the Holy Spirit gives. Being born again is mysterious like the blowing of the wind. It is a miracle after the analogy of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ (Mt 1:18-25; Lk 1:34-35) and that of the first creation (Gn 1:1-2). We get our phrases “new birth”, “second birth”, “twice-born”, “regeneration”, and “born again” primarily from this passage. Verses 14-15 are crucial to answering the how of the new birth. These verses refer to the incident in Nm 21:4-9. The new birth is possible through Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross and through faith in him as God’s antidote for the poison of sin (Jn 8:28; 12:32-33). “Eternal life” is another way of referring to the kingdom of God in John’s Gospel. The new birth is the door to eternal life. See 1:13; Ezk 37:1-10; 2Co 5:17; Eph 2:15; Ti 3:5; 1Pt 1:3,23; Rv 21:5.

3:2 JESUS CHRIST, Teaching—Many times in the Gospels, Jesus is seen teaching. Nicodemus recognized Jesus as a Rabbi, one of the many Jewish interpreters of the law who gathered disciples and performed authenticating signs. Nicodemus acknowledged that Jesus came from God, responding to Jesus’s mighty works. See 1:38,49; 3:2,26; 6:25; 20:16. This term implies all the traditional reverence and respect that Judaism had for wisdom and instruction. Jesus was critical of an exaggerated place of teachers who desired compliments more than service (Mt 23:7-8). He knew Nicodemus’s respectful form of address did not issue from a heart of saving faith—Jesus must be seen as more than a powerful teacher.

3:2 MIRACLE, Vocabulary—For Nicodemus the signs signified that God was with Jesus and authenticated Jesus as a teacher of God’s truth. Nicodemus did not question the miraculous nature of his works. See note on 2:1-11.

3:3-5 ORDINANCES, Baptism as New Life—The words “born of water and the Spirit” have been a battleground of interpretation. Bible students have interpreted the phrase to imply (1) John’s baptism and Jesus, (2 ) baptism and Pentecost, (3) a demand for humble submission by a Jewish leader to water baptism before expecting to receive God’s Spirit, (4) reception of Christ’s word or teaching as well as the Spirit, and (5) spiritual cleansing and the Spirit’s power. The immediate context compels us to see the primary contrast between the physical birth (that Nicodemus asked about) and the new birth (or birth from above) that Jesus said is essential in order to see the kingdom of God. There is also a contrast, just two chapters earlier in this same Gospel (1:26,33), between John’s water baptism and Jesus’s Spirit baptism. That may be in the background of this saying, but it cannot refer to Christian baptism at this point in Jesus’s ministry because it had not been given or commanded yet. Because the Greek has no article (“the”) with Spirit, it would be ungrammatical to separate “water” from “Spirit”. Probably both water and wind (spirit) symbolize the powerful activity of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. The main point is abundantly clear: physical birth is not enough; one must be born again spiritually to enter the kingdom of heaven. The contrast is emphasized in v. 6.

3:5-6 HOLY SPIRIT, Regenerates—See note on Ezk 37:12-14. Jesus surprised Nicodemus by saying that even religious leaders such as Pharisees must be born again to enter the kingdom of God. He described the new birth as a work of the Spirit (vv. 5-6). Other similar ideas include a new age (Col 1:26), a new creation (2Co 5:17), a new covenant (1Co 11:25), a new creature (Gl 6:15), a new self (Eph 4:24), and regeneration (Ti 3:5-6). In Christ all things are new (2Co 5:17). The Spirit as the giver of life is specifically affirmed by John (6:63) and Paul (Rm 8:2).

3:8 HOLY SPIRIT, Freedom—Jesus affirmed two things about the Spirit here: freedom and mystery. The Spirit (Gk pneuma) moves about just as freely as the wind (Gk pneuma). No religious group controls him. No religious doctrine fully defines or confines him. He is at liberty to move about exactly as he pleases. The Spirit works to regenerate all ungodly people, even pious Pharisees. The reminder is still needed today in the church. The movement of the Spirit is mysterious, like the wind. You cannot see the wind; you can only see the results of its moving, such as the movement of tree branches. You cannot see the Spirit; you can only see the results of his works, such as the changed lives of those who have been born again. Both the freedom and the mystery of the Spirit suggest that he is divine, for only God is utterly free and utterly mysterious.

3:10 EDUCATION, Scribes and Pharisees—Nicodemus, a Pharisee and respected teacher, was schooled in the OT Scriptures. Yet, he did not comprehend Jesus’s reference to a new birth, even though the prophet Ezekiel had used similar language. See Ezk 36:26. Here is living proof that a teacher may have a comprehensive knowledge of the Scriptures, yet be lacking in spiritual insight.

3:12-16,36 SALVATION, Belief—Nicodemus, a blue-blooded intellectual of Israel, had trouble believing in Jesus. Yet, then and now, whoever believes in Jesus as the Son of God has eternal life. Total commitment to Jesus is the one requirement for salvation.

3:13-15 JESUS CHRIST, Preexistent—See note on Mk 10:45. Jesus’s home is heaven, not earth. No other human can say this. He chose to obey the Father, come to earth, and be lifted up on the cross for our sins to give us eternal life.

3:15-16,36 SALVATION, Eternal Life—“Eternal life” is another term in the Fourth Gospel for the kingdom of God and the new birth. It is the present possession, as well as a future hope, for all persons who believe in the Son of God. God loves the world so much that he sent his Son to die on the cross to give eternal life to those who trust in him. He does not want anyone to perish in sin, but those who reject his Son are already living under the wrath of God. They need to believe and know eternal life.

3:16 GOD, Love—The most profound expression of the love of God for us is the gift of his only Son to be our Savior. The word translated “love” here is one of special significance, meaning a love that seeks to give itself away in behalf of its object. It is a love that seeks the best interests of its object while seeking nothing for itself in return. Notice that v. 17 states the priority of God’s purpose to save over judgment or condemnation. For this reason God is declared to be love (1Jn 4:8,16). See note on Mk 1:11.

3:16-18 JESUS CHRIST, Son of God—See note on 1:18. Jesus is God’s salvation gift to the world. His purpose is salvation, not condemnation. He is the only path to salvation.

3:17-18 SALVATION, Initiative—God loved the world so much that he sent his “One and only Son” (v. 16), the only One of his kind, to save the world and not to condemn it. “World” here means that part of humankind that is in rebellion against God, as well as the physical world.

3:18-21 SIN, Individual Choice—Jesus, the Light (8:12), reveals us for what we are: either of God or not. The Son of God demands that we either believe in him and come into the light or else reject him and remain in darkness. No neutral position can be taken. Jesus confronts each one of us with these two choices. We refuse to believe because we prefer sin to Jesus. Such depravity comes because we choose evil deeds. Such depravity makes us guilty and fearful. We know our wickedness becomes evident in the presence of Jesus’s purity. Even so, we are not beyond hope. Jesus came to save sinners.

3:19 JESUS CHRIST, Light—See note on 1:4-5.

3:19-21 CHRISTIAN ETHICS, Character—Evil character causes people to reject Christ. People are totally devoted in love to the darkness of the world’s way, or they are ready to have their lives examined and changed by the Light of the world, Jesus. Persons devoted to evil, fear what the light would reveal in their lives. Persons dedicated to truth in knowledge and in action come to Christ and give evidence that God is at work in Christ’s coming.

3:22-26 ORDINANCES, Baptism by Jesus—Only John’s Gospel gives an account of Jesus’s ministry in Judea, paralleling the ministry of John the Baptist. Jesus’s ministry brought two areas of conflict: with the Jews who wanted to interpret John’s baptism as some kind of ceremonial washing like they practiced and with John’s disciples who were jealous of the response to Jesus. John was true to his witness in 1:26-34, rejoicing that Christ the “bridegroom” had come and must become greater. John’s baptism was very different from the Levitical rituals of washing. It was the sign of the Messianic Age, which Jesus was bringing to fulfillment in his ministry. See note on 4:1-2.

3:27-30 JESUS CHRIST, John—John promoted Jesus at the cost of his own popularity. See note on 1:19-34.

3:29 SALVATION, Joy—The coming of Christ makes the joy of God’s people complete.

3:30 EVANGELISM, Holy Life—The power of a holy life is vital to effective evangelization. Humility is a strong characteristic of such a life. John exemplified that quality. He understood his position in the light of the person and ministry of Jesus. Humility is an honest evaluation of oneself in the light of Christ.

3:31-36 JESUS CHRIST, Son of God—See note on 3:13-15. Jesus is the true source of revelation because only he has had intimate experiences with the Father in heaven. To accept his testimony is to trust God’s truthfulness. Jesus’s words are from God. In love, God has given Jesus all authority. See 5:22,26-27; 6:37; 12:49; 17:2,6,8,11-12,22. Belief in Christ as God’s divine Son is the standard for eternal judgment.

3:33 SALVATION, Acceptance—Acceptance of Christ’s testimony is certification of God’s truthfulness. Christ testifies to God’s saving love for all people.

3:33 GOD, Faithfulness—Jesus testified to God’s saving love. A small minority accepted his testimony. By so doing they proclaimed that God is truthful; he does what he says he will do. Despite the control exercised by the Roman government, the Jews should not lose hope. God in sending Jesus had provided the way to eternal life, a way much more desirable than a way to eternal political power. God had been and always will be true to his plans, not to the way we interpret his plans.

3:34 HOLY SPIRIT, Indwells—The Spirit guided Jesus in his words, just as he guided the prophets before him. The gift of the Spirit to Jesus was even greater than the gift to the prophets. The prophets received the Spirit only temporarily as they received and proclaimed a specific message, but Jesus had the Spirit without limit, that is, permanently and in everything he did. The generalized wording of the verse may be intentional to indicate that God continues to give his church the Spirit without limit to live out and proclaim the gospel. The church must appropriate the work of the Spirit, following Christ’s example. Jesus totally appropriated and followed the Spirit’s guidance.

3:34-36 GOD, Trinity—The Father loves the Son and trusts him with everything. He communicates and empowers him without limit through the Spirit. He places his entire work of salvation in the hands of the Son. Confidence in God’s faithfulness rests on the testimony of the Son. Here we clearly see the close relationship among the three Persons of the Trinity and yet the different spheres of work. While the identity of the Father and the Son is clearly separate, remember that they are nevertheless One. All that Jesus said or did was at the same time the work of the Father through him. In his human experience here on earth, Jesus subordinated himself to God the Father. The infinite Jesus humbled himself to accept the limitations of human life according to Php 2:5-11. See note on Mt 24:36. God the Father was working through Jesus the Son in ways that go beyond any and all human limitations. This is the mystery of the Trinity on the one hand and the mystery of the incarnation on the other hand.

3:36 GOD, Wrath—The wrath of God is as real as his love, even though the priority clearly falls on the love of God as he relates to sinful people. See note on vv. 16-17. God’s wrath is not a fit of uncontrolled anger. It is the inevitable suffering and destruction that we bring on ourselves when we refuse to let God’s love have its way. See notes on Gn 6:5-8; 19:13,24-26. The hand of God that reaches out to bless in love becomes a hand of judgment when we refuse to accept the blessing offered. Wrath comes upon anyone who rejects Jesus, the Savior God sent to give us eternal life.