Sermon III on Nicodemus (John 3:10) 
by Rev. J. Hugh Odhner
October 18, 2009

“ Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” (John 3:3, 9, 10)

This is the third in a series of sermons on the Lord’s teachings to Nicodemus concerning spiritual rebirth or regeneration.

In the previous sermons in this series we mentioned that Nicodemus represents the state of the church at that time and the state of the Church with us in respect to our understanding of truths. It is a state in which truths are mostly understood naturally and externally, and there is great difficulty in comprehending truths spiritually or internally. Nicodemus represents a state in which there is almost no understanding of spiritual rebirth or regeneration. However, there is a willingness to seek and learn about such matters.

We read in the Gospel of John that after the Lord had spoken to Nicodemus about the need to be born again of water and the Spirit, that Nicodemus asked Him, “How can these things be?” To this question the Lord replied, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” From the Lord’s answer we would get the impression that Nicodemus should have known something about being born again.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and teacher. He was learned in the books of the Old Testament and in the traditions of his religion. If he were to have known anything about being born again, these would be the sources of any knowledge he would have possessed. But when we go looking in the letter of the Old Testament for some passages that teach about the need to be born again, we find hardly any that plainly teach about this. Some biblical scholars maintain that Nicodemus should have been able to understand what Jesus was talking about, since the new life, that is being born again, is like the resurrection depicted in Ezekiel 37 and like the new heart mentioned in Deuteronomy 30, Jeremiah 31, and Ezekiel 36. Let us take a look at those passages and see how clear they are ---

From Ezekiel 37:
4Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.”’”
10So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. 12Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 14I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it,” says the LORD.’” (Ezekiel 37:4-5, 10-12, 14)

From Ezekiel 36:
“24For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:24-28)

From Deuteronomy 30:
“4If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. 5Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:4-6)

From Jeremiah 31:
23”Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ‘The LORD bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!’ 31“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
(Jeremiah 31:23, 31, 33, 34)

Now reflect on those passages for a moment:
What do we think they are talking about?
But what are they saying literally?

Understood from a spiritual perspective, all of those passages treat of spiritual rebirth or regeneration. And this becomes very evident if we know just a few correspondences – the language of parable. From a knowledge of correspondences we would know that where land is spoken of, it refers to the church, particularly the church within each of us, where the new heart is spoken of, it refers to the new will which a person who is being reborn receives, likewise a new spirit refers to a new understanding, water refers to truths from the Word, and breath or wind corresponds to the Holy Spirit or the work of the Lord in reforming and regenerating a person so that we may spiritually live.

However, Nicodemus would not have understood those passages according to any knowledge of correspondences, because he did not possess such knowledge. He would have understood these passages much more literally. He would have noticed that all of them have reference to the house of Israel being brought back into the promised land after they had been dispersed, and that the Lord would again be their God. This is a very common theme in the Prophets and also in many of the Psalms. Nicodemus would have known this. But from his educational background and knowledge of Scripture, he would not have understood these passages in relation to what the Lord was talking about, that is, regeneration or being born again.

In the letter of the Old and New Testaments very little is said about the idea of being born again. In the Old Testament, in the letter, the term “born again” cannot be found. When the Lord began talking about the need for a person to be born again, to be born of water and the Spirit, He was actually teaching a new doctrine that is not found in the letter of the Old Testament. In his conversation with Nicodemus, the Lord was presenting a new doctrine that would be for the use of the church was to be founded upon his teachings – the Christian Church. A study of the Gospels indicates that this new doctrine, about our need to be born again, is set forth only in the Gospel of John. Search for the term born again, or born of water and the Spirit, in the other three Gospels and you will not find it. It is mentioned in several of the epistles, namely first Peter, second Corinthians, Ephesians and Titus, often with more details.

When the Lord came into the world in His First Advent, He not only opened up a deeper and more complete understanding of the Old Testament, especially when he fulfilled specific Old Testament prophecies, but he also established new sacraments, that is, baptism and the holy supper, and He taught new doctrines. As we have mentioned, the doctrine concerning spiritual rebirth or regeneration, given in the Gospel of John was a new teaching or doctrine. It is said in the Gospel of Mark:
“And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (Mark 7:22)
And also in the Gospel of John we read:
“Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.” (John 7:16, 17)

We see this same thing in respect to the Lord’s Second Advent. Like the first advent, a deeper and more complete understanding of the prior testaments, that is, of the Old and New Testaments is given. By knowledge of correspondential meanings or language, we are given an insight into what lies deeper within the literal sense of the Old and New Testaments. We are also given a host of new doctrines or teachings on subjects we do not find in the prior two Testaments, such as teachings concerning Conjugial Love, Divine Providence, Divine Love and Wisdom, the Doctrine concerning the Sacred Scripture, and others. These are all new doctrines to be found in the Third Testament that cannot be found in the prior testaments. And some doctrines such as the doctrine of regeneration or being born again, which we find in just a few verses in the Gospel of John, are revealed much more fully in the letter of the Third Testament. Thus from the Third Testament we find out that the whole of Genesis and Exodus, understood spiritually, speaks of the glorification of the Lord and also of our regeneration or spiritual growth.

In a way it could be said that each new revelation rests upon the previous revelation as a foundation or basis. For example, we can see that the New Testament refers often to how the Lord fulfilled certain sayings and prophecies in the Old Testament. In the same way we can see how the Third Testament rests upon the previous two Testaments and fulfills prophecies mentioned in those Testaments.
More than that, each testament in its letter, is accommodated to the state of those for whom it was written. Further, each testament teaches truths in a manner accommodated to the state of those who are presently reading it. It is this accommodation to those different states which gives the external differences in the letter of the three Testaments. Each testament is adapted or accommodated to a different mindset. This is true of the Word in the Heavens also. We read in AE 1066:

“Inasmuch as the Divine truth, which is the Word, in its descent into the world from the Lord, has passed through the three heavens, it has become accommodated to each heaven, and lastly to men also in the world. This is why there are in the Word four senses, one outside of the other from the highest heaven down to the world, or one within the other from the world up to the highest heaven. These four senses are called the celestial, the spiritual, the natural from the celestial and the spiritual, and the merely natural. These four senses differ so greatly from one another that when one is exhibited beside the other no connection can be recognized; and yet they make one when one follows the other; for one follows from the other as an effect from a cause, … consequently as an effect represents its cause and corresponds to its cause, … thus it is that all four senses make one through correspondences. (AE 1066)

The same can be said in relation to the three testaments. In many ways they differ so greatly from one another that when one is exhibited beside the other no connection can be recognized and yet they make one by correspondence. Internally they all open up to the Lord in Heaven and are the means of conjoining us with the Lord and with Heaven. So we read in NJHD 252:

“The Word, because it is a revelation from the Divine, is Divine in each and all things; for what is from the Divine cannot be otherwise. What is from the Divine descends through the heavens even to man; wherefore in the heavens it is accommodated to the wisdom of the angels who are there, and on earth it is accommodated to the apprehension of people who are there. Wherefore in the Word there is an internal sense, which is spiritual, for the angels, and an external sense, which is natural, for people. Hence it is that the conjunction of heaven with man is effected through the Word.” (NJHD 252)

For those who are sincerely seeking spiritual truths, and who are open to receiving them, like Nicodemus, the Lord reaches out using ideas that are adapted or accommodated to our understanding. “Ask and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find.” (Matthew 7:7)                                                                              Amen

Lessons: Psalm 104:1-4, 10-13, 24-31                                                             John 3:3-10                                                                                                  Heavenly Secrets 4269