| From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase |
Part one of a series
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Nicodemus' conversion demonstrates the sovereign and amazing work of the Spirit of God.
Nicodemus' conversion is typical of many. When first confronted with the truth of the Gospel, Nicodemus was confused, because the message of the new birth was foreign to his thinking - even though he was a well-educated religious leader and teacher. But as time went on, Nicodemus' confused and hardened heart became more open to the truth through the Holy Spirit's convicting work, and he began to see the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ with greater clarity. Eventually - Scripture does not tell us the exact point at which this happened - Nicodemus passed from confusion to conviction to conversion.
In John 3:1-12, we see that Nicodemus' confusion about the new birth stemmed from his orientation toward the things of earth rather than the things of Heaven - the physical and material rather than the spiritual. Yet even at his earliest meeting with the Lord Jesus, Nicodemus was beginning to see that Jesus was no mere man:
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."
Jesus therefore immediately confronted Nicodemus with the central truth that he must believe in order to have eternal life:
Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Nicodemus then exhibited his great confusion about the new birth:
Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
Jesus then explained further:
Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
And yet, Nicodemus could not receive this truth. He was, as yet, the natural man who cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God - they are foolishness to him, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"
And so Jesus pointed out to Nicodemus that this was indeed his condition:
Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? (John 3:1-12)
Later in John's Gospel, we find Nicodemus' heart being moved from his initial state of confusion - in which his focus was on the works religion and traditions of the Pharisees - to greater openness to the Gospel message of grace through faith in Christ.
Next: Nicodemus - A Man Under Conviction
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