06-02-19 This message may be
viewed live streaming video at www.tabernacleofmoses.org commencing
today
Sunday at 11:00 am, and repeated 24/7 for one week; thereafter, the
video,
audio, and study notes are archived.
(John 3:1,2) There was a man of the
Pharisees [Heb: a separatist], named Nicodemus [a member of the Sanhedrin],
a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus
by night [so as not to be seen by
others] [1], and said unto him, Rabbi
[Heb: an official title of honor], we [i.e.,
some of us, a few]
know that thou art a teacher come from God: for [common sense says]
no man
can do these miracles that thou doest, except
God be with him.
1.
Commentary: “came
to Jesus by night” = is rather like a person seeking to be
saved without
obediently saying the prayer words out
loud. An act of
disobedience cannot get you to Heaven.
a.
(Rom 10:9,10)
That if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth
unto
righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.
(John 3:3,4)
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily [truth], verily [truth], I say unto thee, Except
a man
be born again
[Gk: be begotten from above], he cannot see
[Heb: perceive, understand] the kingdom of God. Nicodemus [his thinking is still confined
to the physical realm]
saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is
old? [How] can he enter the second time into
his
mother's womb, and be born?
ANSWER:
A
MAN THINKS DIFFERENTLY WITH THE ADDITION OF NEW
KNOWLEDGE
AND
THE SPIRIT OF GOD TO EXPLAIN IT [1,2]
(John 3:5,6) Jesus answered, Verily,
verily,
I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water [“the washing
(cleansing) of water by the
word (Gk: rhema)” Eph 5:26] and of
the Spirit [the
utterances of God], he
cannot
enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the
flesh is flesh
[i.e., Jesus (temporary)]; and that which is born of the Spirit
is spirit [i.e., Christ
(eternal)].
1.
(John
16:13) Howbeit
when he, the Spirit of truth [the Holy
Spirit], is
come [inside you], he
will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear
[that you read or yourself hear orally], that shall he speak:
and he
will shew you things to come [i.e.,
prophecy].
2.
(2 Cor 5:17)
Therefore if any man be in Christ [Gk: the anointed], he is a new creature:
old
things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new.
3.
Commentary: “born
of water” = the great physician washes the obstructing
ear-wax from our
ears with water. Then Jesus (the
flesh) plus Christ
(the Spirit) come together as Jesus Christ.
Your given name
+ your family name (your heritage) is who you are.
4.
(Col 3:22-25)
Servants,
obey in all things your
masters
according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in
singleness
of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it
heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of
the Lord ye shall receive the reward
of the inheritance: for ye serve the
Lord Christ. But he that
doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done:
and there is no respect of persons.
5.
(Ezek
36:25-27)
Then will I sprinkle clean
water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness,
and from all your idols, will I
cleanse you. A new heart
also
will I give you, and a new spirit
will I put within you: and I will take
away the [hard] stony heart out of your flesh, and I
will give you an [soft] heart
of flesh. And I will put my
spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and
do them.
(John 3:7,8) Marvel not that I said
unto
thee, Ye must be born again. The wind
[symbol of the Holy Spirit] bloweth
where it listeth [Gk:
chooses or
prefers], and thou hearest the
sound [Gk: voice] thereof, but canst not tell [from] whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is
born of the Spirit [for as
servants they obediently go only when and where God’s Spirit directs,
they
“flow” with (and in) the Holy Spirit of God].
(John 3:9-12) Nicodemus answered and
said
unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered
and said unto him, Art
thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily,
I say
unto thee, We speak that we do know [Gk: understand] [all men, saved and unsaved speak
what they do know,
be it little or much], and
testify that we have seen; and ye receive not
our witness. If I have
told you earthly [lowly
caterpillar] things,
and ye
believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of
heavenly [exalted,
lofty, butterfly] things?
HEAVENLY
THINGS
(John 3:13-15) And no man
hath ascended
up to heaven, but [Gk: except] he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is
in
heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent [on the “pole” (a composite symbol of sin on the
cross) Num 21:5-9] [1] in
the wilderness, even so must
the Son of man be lifted up [i.e.,
Jesus, the flesh, be crucified… put to death]:
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
eternal life.
1.
(Num
21:5-9) And the
people spake against God,
and against
Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt
to die in the
wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is
there any
water; and our
soul [our mind, the
animal
sentient (consciousness) principle] loatheth
[Heb: is disgusted: abhors, (is) vexed
(by), weary (of)] this
light
bread [“angels’ food” Psa
78:25
(manna)]. And the LORD sent fiery [Heb: burning, fig. poisonous] serpents among the people, and
they
bit the people; and much people
of Israel died.
Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We
have sinned, for we have spoken
against the LORD, and against thee [i.e.,
a confession]; pray unto the LORD [for
forgiveness for us], that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Make
thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole [a branch of wood]: and it shall come to
pass, that every one that is bitten,
when he looketh upon it [Heb: see, consider, discern, experience,
gaze, take heed, X think],
shall live. And
Moses made a serpent of brass
[Heb: brasen, filthiness] [a significant metal symbolic of sin used
throughout the Tabernacle], and
put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a
serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld [Heb: look
intently at, regarded, considered, had
respect for] the serpent
of brass, he lived.
(John 3:16-18) 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. For
God sent not his Son
into the world to condemn the world; but that the
world through him might
be saved. 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 [Jesus Christ].
(John 3:19-21) And this is the
condemnation
[Gk: damnation, judgment], that light [Gk: to shine or make manifest, especially
by rays; luminousness, fire] is
come
into the world, and men loved darkness rather than
light, because their
deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth
the light,
neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved [Gk: rebuked].
But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that
his deeds
may be made manifest, that they are
wrought [Gk: effected,
engaged in or with] in God.
1.
(Gen 1:1-3)
In the beginning God created the heaven and
the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness
was
upon the face of the deep. And the
Spirit of God moved upon the face
of
the waters. And God said, Let there
be light: and
there was light.
a.
darkness
= Heb: the dark; fig. misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow,
wickedness: night.
i.
night
= Heb: a twist (away of the light), fig. adversity.
b.
light
= Heb: illumination; happiness:
day.
2.
(John 8:12)
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I
am the light of the world
[Gk: kosmos; “cosmos” (universe)]:
he that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
3.
(John
9:5) As
long as I am in the world [Gk:
kosmos; “cosmos” (universe)], I
am the light of the world [Gk:
kosmos; “cosmos” (universe)].
4.
(Matt
5:14) Ye
are the light of the world [Gk:
kosmos; “cosmos” (universe)]. A
city [composed of
billions of
flaming fires] that is set
on an
hill [Gk: a mountain (as
lifting
itself above the plain)] cannot
be hid.
a.
(1 Cor 12:27)
Now
ye are the body of Christ, and members in
particular.
Amen