The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet 1503
John chapter 3

You must use your eyes to see and understand what Jesus teaches in this chapter!
If you do not understand, go to John 3:3 and go over it again until you do!
You need to understand this!

Now we are going to read some of the most quoted verses in all the Bible. And you know what?  Most people who read them believe they say something which they don't.  Ironically, what they believe one of them says is actually a true statement, though that verse doesn't actually speak of it. The second one is in direct conflict with one of the traditional beliefs of mainstream Christianity, but in full accord with the rest of the scriptures.

So before we begin, let's think about the magnitude of what was just said, and in doing so consider an excerpt from one of the great Christian scholars of all time, E.W. Bullinger, from his book titled, "How to Enjoy the Bible", American Christian Press, Knoxville, OH.

    "If any think they know all, or that they have exhausted the Divine Word; or that what they set out to learn is only to be in addition to what they already know, instead of sometimes substitution for it, then we shall be of little service to them: and they need not follow us any further.

    When we come to ask ourselves, and say, "Where did I learn this?" it is astonishing to find how much we have imbibed from man, and from tradition; and not directly and for ourselves, from the Word of God.

    All that we have learned from our youth up must be tested and proved by the Word of God. Where we find it is true we must learn it over again, from God. And where it will not stand the test of His Word we must be not only content, but thankful to give it up; and receive Divine revelation in the place of man's imagination. ("How to Enjoy the Bible", E. W. Bullinger, pg.6)

John 3:1
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

And the name "Nicodemus" means "victorious among his people". He was a wealthy ruler in the Sanhedrin and a friend of the shipping magnate, Joseph of Arimathaea, Jesus' Uncle. It would be this Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea who would be Jesus' legal defense team at the illegally held trial of the council preceding the crucifixion, and they would be victorious in obtaining His acquittal.

[2] 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.

For the benefit of those who haven't studied with us long let's do a little recapping:

In order to fully understand the next few verses one must be familiar with the 3 World Ages (II Pet. 3) and the overall plan of salvation. We read at beginning of this Gospel of John about the Light that came into the world of darkness, a world that had been destroyed and made tohu va bohu (Gen 1:2) because of the rebellion of Satan and his drawing away from God one third of His sons (Rev. 12:4). God held judgment for Satan at that time and sentenced him to "perish", but suspended the judgment of the rest of His sons until the plan to "salvage" [save] them and bring them back to Him is completed. The actual perishing of all that are wicked, including Satan, will occur at the lake of fire following the Final Judgment of the rest of the sons of God. And so it is written they will be either sentenced to "perish" or receive eternal life.

There is, however, one exception. There were 7,000 sons of God who came to earth in the days of Noah and took to wife the daughters of Adam. You can read about them in the 6th chapter of Genesis. The union between these "fallen angels", who Jude records as having left their first estate, i.e. their abode in heaven, and the daughters of Adam produced giants, who roamed the earth, the evidence of which can easily be found. So pervasive were these supernatural beings, angels, that all of Adams descendents except Noah and his family had corrupted their bloodline. You see, the Messiah would be born through the seed of Adam and Eve and it came down to only 8 people who were left in the land through which God's Word could be fulfilled. So God brought about the flood of Noah to destroy these giants.

Understand then that these fallen angels were not born of woman.They did not enter into the womb of woman, the bag of water, and become born of water, which is to say born in the flesh.They came directly to earth, bypassing the decree that all the sons of God should dwell in the flesh, for as it is written, it is given unto all the sons of God to die once [the first death, which is of the flesh] and then the judgment will occur which will determine whether or not they will die the "second death", the one in which their souls will "perish".Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"

Yes, we were all with God before we came to earth to be placed in the embryo at conception, at our appointed time for the journey. To be born in the flesh is to be born innocent without any prior knowledge of the world that then was (II Pet. 3) and therefore with the opportunity to choose to love God or follow after Satan.

And once we die, or are changed instantly back into our spiritual bodies if we happen to be alive in the flesh at the second advent (I Cor. 50:51), we return to the Father from whence we came.

Eccles. 12:6
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

[7] Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

1 Cor. 15:44
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1 Cor. 15:50
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Now, remember the excerpt from "How to Enjoy the the Bible" that we just read?  Most of Christianity believes that in this next verse Jesus is merely telling Nicodemus that a person must be "begotten" by the Holy Spirit, else he cannot be saved. But is that really what He is saying?

Let's return to John and see what Jesus has to say to Nicodemus.

John 3:3
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Look up the Greek word for "again". It is anothen, Strong's #509, and it means from above which is how it is most often translated. Dr. Moffat's translation of the Bible has it so:

John 3:3 Jesus replied, Truly, truly I tell you, no one can see God's Realm unless he is born from above. (Moffat)

However, either way you look at it, the next verse shows that Nicodemus is thinking about another birth.

[4] 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?

[5] 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.

And again, we've already documented that flesh and blood cannot enter into the kingdom. You must be born of woman first and then be born in the spirit.

Note: This is not talking about being begotten by the Holy Spirit. Of course you must be begotten by the Holy Spirit to be saved. Some like to call that begettal being "born again". Call it what you like but that is not what is being discussed here.

As Paul said  "There is a natural body (terrestrial), and there is a spiritual body (celestial)." So when you are born in the flesh body you are flesh and when you die and are born into your spiritual body you are spirit. Let's continue with Christ's explanation to Nicodemus:

John 3:6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

[7] Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

[7] Do not wonder at me telling you, "You must all be born from above."

John 3:8
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

[9] Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

[10] Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

American Wisdom Series note: Allow us to try to make this clearer in your mind. When you repent of your sins and invite Jesus Christ into your heart; At that moment you receive a new "inner man", spiritual nature that dwells in your heart, although your old "inner man" still dwells in your flesh body. You now have life eternal, but still being alive in the flesh, you are still living in your terrestrial body. You also, still have your old nature living within in your flesh body, and may still sin from time to time. (For that reason you should confess that sin and ask forgiveness for that sin in Jesus name.)

Now when Christ returns all of us who are still alive and living in terrestrial bodies (both the saved and the unsaved will instantly be changed (reborn) back into our celestial bodies, very similar to the body we had in the first earth age.

If you were saved (welcomed Christ into your life, were begotten by the Holy Spirit) at some point during your flesh and blood life, (THIS PERIOD OF GRACE) you still needed some work done, by "The Holy Spirit" in your life, to make you perfect and acceptable to God before the Millennium. To be ready to be granted eternal life at  "The First Resurrection", during Christ's return.

This is only speculation on my part, but, I believe the reason for Christ's Millennial reign here on earth before He actually ends this earth age and prior to the "Great White Throne of Judgment" is to allow all of the non-believers an opportunity to rethink their position, while in their new non-corruptible bodies but with still mortal souls, having full knowledge of both earth ages and what Satan's ways result in.  
 
If you are not yet ready (acceptable) at Christ's return, you will enter the Millennium in Your new non-corruptable, but still mortal body, still needing further work to make you acceptable.

If you were one who entered the Millennium, unsaved, you have now become "a real piece of work", After 1000 years of teaching and discipline, by our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, while back here on earth in person as "Lord of lords and King of kings", you will now be able to know and appreciate the difference between what is holy (Jesus) and what is profane (Satan). 

Satan will again be released from the pit to test you for a short while, at the end of these 1000 years, after which you be will judged by your works and may, also be granted eternal life (The second resurrection), but by works, not by grace, although it will still be because of Christ's shed blood on the cross.

But, ALWAYS REMEMBER SATAN WILL COME TO EARTH FOR FIVE MONTHS PRIOR TO THE REAL CHRIST'S RETURN at the start of the Millennium, CLAIMING HE IS CHRIST!.  When that happens, IF YOU ARE STILL IN YOUR FLESH AND BLOOD BODY, i.e. HAVE NOT BEEN REBORN INTO YOUR NEW SPIRITUAL BODY, (If you still bleed when pricked with a pin or if grandma still looks older than you.) it ain't the real Christ you're seeing! IT'S SATAN CLAIMING TO BE CHRIST!

Uh oh, Nicodemus was a teacher of Israel and he didn't know about these things?

You know what? We can say the same of many Christian ministers today, they do not know these things? I'm not bashing them. Many of them mean well, but the traditions of men have overridden the Word of God and have made it of non effect.

Now before Jesus puts the finishing touch on this precious knowledge He's giving to Nicodemus, and so to you and me, here's one more excerpt from "How to Enjoy the Bible":

"The cloud that now rests over its [God Word] intelligent study arises from the fact that it is with us to-day as with the Jews of old - "The Word of God has been made of none effect by the traditions of men" (Mat. 15:1-9).

Hence it is that on some of the most important questions... we are, still, in what the great Lord Bacon calls "a desert". He alludes to those "deserts" in history, where discovery or research comes to a stand-still, and we get schoolmen instead of philosophers; and clerics instead of discoverers.

The Reformation came as an oasis after one of these deserts. Men were sent from the stagnant pools of tradition to the fountain-head of truth. But within two or three generations the Church entered the desert again; Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms took the place of the open Bible; the inductive method of study was abandoned, and to day it is scarcely understood." ("How to Enjoy the Bible", E.W. Bullinger, pg. xv.)

[11] Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

[12] If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

Now get this next verse.

John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Next,  Jesus will tell us "WHY" He came down, even as required of all the sons of God, to dwell in the flesh, to tabernacle among men.

It's the most precious and important thing you'll ever read!

So far in Chapter three we learned that just as all the children of God must come down and dwell in the flesh, so did the Son of man, the Word of God, who was from the beginning with God, for He was God (Jn. 1:1).

And there was a very special reason why the Son of God went through that  process of being born in the flesh. We read about in the opening chapter of this Gospel. It was to be the Lamb of God, the sacrificial Lamb Who would pay the price and atone for the sins of the world.

And just how difficult do you suppose it is to accept that sacrifice and be "saved" from death and receive eternal life?

Well, Jesus is about to give to us an example, a type set forth, of the Simple Salvation Message which will then be expressed in one famous verse in John 3:16. He draws the analogy to the serpent in the wilderness.

John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

So God sent a bunch of fiery serpents to the ungrateful Children of Israel to bite them! Ouch!

Numbers 21:6
And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

So here we see in the wilderness [the world], that unless something is done to "save" the people, they will surely die. And there's no doubt about it, they were dying!

Numbers 21:7
Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

[8] And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

Note: Don't try to make any more out of this than the lesson Christ is teaching here in John. God could have put a frog or a door knob on the pole as the savior of the people. But the point is HE HIMSELF would become the One on the pole [cross] Who would ultimately be the SAVIOR. And all we have to do is look upon Him and believe!!

Let's continue in John now that we have filled in some of the details between John 3:14 and 3:15.

John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

And now for the most quoted verse in all the Bible which will explain WHY Jesus Chirst became the sacrificial Lamb.

[16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Yes, He loves you and me and all His precious children and desires so much in His heart that they would all turn to Him and love Him. And He showed forth His love by allowing His only begotten Son to be placed on the cross [by guess who?... the serpent], and as it was in the wilderness, all we have to do is BELIEVE in HIM and receive ETERNAL life.

So the question is, "What must a person do to receive eternal life?" John 3:16 says it all.

Now for a couple of notes on this verse:

1.) The word "everlasting" in John 3:16 is the same word as "eternal" in the prior verse (15) and should be rendered as such, i.e. "eternal life" not "everlasting life".  There is a difference in the Greek between "eternal" and "everlasting". "Eternal" means "from the beginning", even continuous for ever and ever from the creation of your very soul in the first earth age.

2.) If you recall earlier we mentioned that one of the well known and often quoted verses we would be covering is misunderstood and conflicts with a main "tradition of men", which is an unscriptural doctrine of Christianity, of which there are many! And that verse happens to be John 3:16.

You see, the opposite of Eternal Life is Eternal Death. And the word "perish" in John 3:16 means just that, to cease existing, which is for ever and ever. Traditionalists teach that our Father is going to torture His unrepentant children in an everlasting burning hell fire, when He Himself said that hideous thought NEVER even crossed His mind.

It's amazing how that we have laws that protect even dumb animals from being tortured and yet we will allow someone who claims to be a representative of Christ and teach the love of God, tell us that our Father is going to torture His children for ever and ever. Don't allow it! Stick to and believe the Word of God.

Even the very fate of Satan, whose name by the way is also the "son of perdition", which means the "son who will perish", is well documented in Ezekiel 28. Read the entire chapter of how iniquity was found in this once beautiful son of God and how he will ultimately be "destroyed" and cease to exist. We pick it up in verse 18, speaking about Satan:

Ezekiel 28:18
Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

[19] All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

When Satan, whose name is also death [because he's as good as dead having been sentenced by God already] is cast into the lake of fire, he will cease to exist, perish, along with everyone else who is cast in with him. That is why the lake of fire is called the second death. It kills, destroys, the soul!

Rev. 20:14
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Rev. 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

So the question is, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" Do you know Him? John has already gone to great lengths to document that He is the Word of God.

Then I've got great news! You will be raised to immortal status at Christ's second coming and therefore the second death doesn't even apply to you!

Rev. 20:6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

So you see, it was because of the love our Father has for His children that Christ was sent from above to dwell in the flesh, to pay the price once and for all for the sins of the world.

Now we are going to be given a little more detail and learn the status of those who choose not to believe in Jesus Christ, but rather prefer darkness.

John 3:17
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

[18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And since the only way to receive eternal life, and therefore not ultimately PERISH, is to believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, and since we have all broken the laws of God which condemn us as sinners, then "he that believeth not" is in Big Trouble, for he is as good as dead already.

Yet it is so simple to receive eternal life. Just as the serpents bit the children of Israel in the wilderness, and the deadly venom was injected into their bodies ready to kill them, all they had to do was look to the serpent on the pole and live.  And now that Jesus has paid the price, all we need to do is look to the son of God and believe in Him and receive Eternal Life!

But if you choose not to believe in Jesus Christ, you are a dead man (or woman).

[19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

[20] For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

People always try to hide their evil deeds and keep the truth, the light, from exposing them.  Even the thief comes in darkness, which can easily be the ignorance of those victims who are being robbed even in the broad daylight (I speak of the hidden dynasty of the economy). Too bad they won't come to the Light, which is Jesus Christ, which is the Word of God and be reproved. If they just believed in Him they could receive eternal life. Then they could be doers of the Word!

John 3:21
But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

You see, if we've never been to the Light, or if we move away from the Light, it won't matter how much we polish our self image and try to boost our self esteem. We will still be dimly lit. But when we come to the light or move back into the Light, that Light is so brilliant that you won't be able to even see those smudges and blemishes on your self image. So it's not one's "image of self" that improves their quality of life and brings peace of mind. It's their image of God.

[22] After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there He tarried with them, and baptized.

[23] And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.

[24] For John was not yet cast into prison.

Mark 6:17
For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.

[18] For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.

Meanwhile, while John still had his head on, he was out there baptizing.

[25] Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.

Here's their "dig" into John:

[26] And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, He that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to Him.

Of course John was just too smart for them. Remember, he ate locusts for lunch! (That's an inside pun for those who have studied the 9th chapter of Revelation and the book of Joel.)   Joel  &  Rev.9

John 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

[28] Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.

[29] He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

You see, it is the bridegroom that weds the bride, not the best man who goes forth and helps make the preparations. And once the bridegroom comes the best man stands by His side and rejoices greatly as the Bridegroom makes a New Covenant with His bride.

[30] He must increase, but I must decrease.

[31] He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

Now, what John the Baptist is saying is that Christ, Who came from above [heaven,] is above all that is earthly in that He speaks the words directly from heaven, directly from God (verse 34 coming up), for He is God.

[32] And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.

[33] He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

So which will it be, the Light or the Darkness, the Truth or Deception, the Word of God or the words of man [traditions of men], the True Jesus or the Instead of Jesus [Satan as the spurious messiah]?  Are you familiar with the 7 seals given in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and the book of Revelation?

John 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

And the Father has given Him everything!

[35] The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

That is why He is the ONLY WAY and there is no other. This same John, who wrote this Gospel of John also wrote the three epistles of John, and he documents several times that if you don't have the Son you don't have the Father either!

1 John 2:23
Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

John 5:23
That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

John 3:36
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.