John 3:3

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.

a. NLT: Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. NIV: Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

c. Young’s Literal Translation: Jesus answered and said to him, 'Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one may not be born from above, he is not able to see the reign of God;' [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

d. Amplified Bible: Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e. Worrell Translation: Jesus answered, and said to him, “Verily, verily, I say to you, unless one be born anew, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” [Copyright 1904 by A.S. Worrell. Copyright assigned to the Assemblies of God, Springfield, MO. This edition was published 1980 by the Gospel Publishing House, Springfield, MO 65802. Printed in the U.S.A.]

1. “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee…”

a. Jesus [Strong: 2424 Iēsoûs, ee-ay-sooce'; of Hebrew origin (H3091); Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites:—Jesus.

b. answered [Strong: 611 apokrínomai, ap-ok-ree'-nom-ahee; from G575 and κρίνω krínō; to conclude for oneself, i.e. (by implication) to respond; by Hebraism (compare H6030) to begin to speak (where an address is expected):—answer.]

c. and [Strong: 2532 kaí, kahee; apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:—and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

d. said [Strong: 2036 épō, ep'-o; a primary verb (used only in the definite past tense, the others being borrowed from G2046, G4483, and G5346); to speak or say (by word or writing):—answer, bid, bring word, call, command, grant, say (on), speak, tell.

e. [unto] him [Strong: 846 autós, ow-tos'; from the particle αὖ aû (perhaps akin to the base of G109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:—her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]

f. verily [Strong: 281 amḗn, am-ane'; of Hebrew origin (H543); properly, firm, i.e. (figuratively) trustworthy; adverbially, surely (often as interjection, so be it):—amen, verily.]

g. verily [Strong: 281 amḗn, am-ane'; of Hebrew origin (H543); properly, firm, i.e. (figuratively) trustworthy; adverbially, surely (often as interjection, so be it):—amen, verily.]

h. [I] say [Strong: 3004 légō, leg'-o; a primary verb; properly, to "lay" forth, i.e. (figuratively) relate (in words (usually of systematic or set discourse; whereas G2036 and G5346 generally refer to an individual expression or speech respectively; while G4483 is properly to break silence merely, and G2980 means an extended or random harangue)); by implication, to mean:—ask, bid, boast, call, describe, give out, name, put forth, say(-ing, on), shew, speak, tell, utter.]

i. [unto] thee [Strong: 4671 soí, soy; dative case of G4771; to thee:—thee, thine own, thou, thy.]

2. “…Except a man be born again…”

 

a. [Strong: 1437 eán, eh-an'; from G1487 and G302; a conditional particle; in case that, provided, etc.; often used in connection with other particles to denote indefiniteness or uncertainty:—before, but, except, (and) if, (if) so, (what-, whither-)soever, though, when (-soever), whether (or), to whom, (who-)so(-ever).]

b. Except [Strong: 3362 mḗ, may; a primary particle of qualified negation (whereas G3756 expresses an absolute denial); (adverb) not, (conjunction) lest; also (as an interrogative implying a negative answer (whereas G3756 expects an affirmative one)) whether:—any but (that), × forbear, + God forbid, + lack, lest, neither, never, no (X wise in), none, nor, (can-)not, nothing, that not, un(-taken), without. Often used in compounds in substantially the same relations.

c. [a] man [Strong: 5100 tìs, tis; an enclitic indefinite pronoun; some or any person or object:—a (kind of), any (man, thing, thing at all), certain (thing), divers, he (every) man, one (X thing), ought, + partly, some (man, -body, - thing, -what), (+ that no-)thing, what(-soever), × wherewith, whom(-soever), whose(-soever).]

d. [be] born [Strong: 1080 gennáō, ghen-nah'-o; from a variation of G1085; to procreate (properly, of the father, but by extension of the mother); figuratively, to regenerate:—bear, beget, be born, bring forth, conceive, be delivered of, gender, make, spring.] [Thayer: of men who fathered children, to be born, to be begotten, of women giving birth to children, metaph., to engender, cause to arise, excite, in a Jewish sense, of one who brings others over to his way of life, to convert someone, of God making Christ his son, of God making men his sons through faith in, Christ's work.]

e. again [Strong: 509  ánōthen, an'-o-then; from G507; from above; by analogy, from the first; by implication, anew:—from above, again, from the beginning (very first), the top.] [Thayer: from above, from a higher place, of things which come from heaven or God, from the first, from the beginning, from the very first, anew, over again.] [Strong: from above; by analogy, from the first; by implication, anew:--from above, again, from the beginning (very first), the top.]

1). Young’s Literal Translation and the Amplified both include the term born from above.

2). In Peter, the same English words are used but it is a different Greek word. 

a). 1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

b). born again [313 * anagennao] [Thayer: to produce again, be born again, born anew, metaph. to have one's mind changed so that he lives a new life and one conformed to the will of God.]

3). The Scriptures are speaking of the new birth of being born again. It is what Paul was speaking of when writing to Titus, of the work of the Holy Ghost in the recreation of the human spirit.

a). Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

b). regeneration [Strong: 3824 3824. paliggenesia pal-ing-ghen-es-ee'-ah from 3825 and 1078; (spiritual) rebirth (the state or the act), i.e. (figuratively) spiritual renovation; specially, Messianic restoration:--regeneration.] [Thayer:  new birth, reproduction, renewal, recreation, regeneration, hence renovation, regeneration, the production of a new life consecrated to God, a radical change of mind for the better. The word often used to denote the restoration of a thing to its pristine state, its renovation, as a renewal or restoration of life after death, the renovation of the earth after the deluge, the renewal of the world to take place after its destruction by fire, the signal and glorious change of all things (in heaven and earth) for the better, that restoration of the primal and perfect condition of things which existed before the fall of our first parents, which the Jews looked for in connection with the advent of the Messiah, and which Christians expected in connection with the visible return of Jesus from heaven.

4). 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

a). creature [Strong: 2937 2937. ktisis ktis'-is from 2936; original formation (properly, the act; by implication, the thing, literally or figuratively):--building, creation, creature, ordinance.] [Thayer:  the act of founding, establishing, building etc., the act of creating, creation, creation i.e. thing created, of individual things, beings, a creature, a creation, anything created, after a rabbinical usage (by which a man converted from idolatry to Judaism was called), the sum or aggregate of things created, institution, ordinance.]

b). Amplified Bible: Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

5). Circumcision was the way Jews entered into the Old Covenant. The new birth or spiritual circumcision is the way we enter into the New Covenant. 

a). Romans 2:28, 29 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

6). New Covenant Circumcision

a). The New Covenant Circumcision is a spiritual circumcision: Romans 2:25-29. This is what is spoken of in Colossians 2:11, “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” The “body of the sins of the flesh”, in Colossians 2:11 is the same as the “body of this death”, in Romans 7:24. It is “the law of sin and death”, in Romans 8:2.

b). The spiritual circumcision of the Old Covenant was not as effective or complete as the spiritual circumcision under the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, the effect was, “…to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” Deuteronomy 6:5, while the effect under the New Covenant is, “…putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” Colossians 2:11.

7). The weaknesses of the Old Covenant are many, but a very powerful witness to those weaknesses was preached by the Apostle Paul in Pisidia Antioch.

a). Acts 13:38, 39 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses.

 

b). Acts 13:39 (NASV) “and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.”

c). Spiros Zodhiates Complete Word Study of the New Testament: “In Acts 13:39, dikaioo, the Greek word for “justified” is used with the preposition apo – from, referring to all those things from which the Mosaic Law could not liberate us. In this instance as well as in Romans 6:7 where apo is used with the word “sin”, it refers to our liberation from something, i.e., sin which holds a man a prisoner, a slave…thus dikaioo does not mean the mere declaration of innocence, but the liberation from sin which holds man a prisoner.”

8). We are under a better Covenant! Under the Old Covenant they did not have the authority we have, they did not have the power to break free from the bondages of sin that we have in Christ. Acts 13:39 says it right: “…and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.”

2. “…he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

a. [he] can [Strong: 1410 dýnamai, doo'-nam-ahee; of uncertain affinity; to be able or possible:—be able, can (do, + -not), could, may, might, be possible, be of power.]

b. not [Strong: 3756 ou, oo; a primary word; the absolute negative (compare G3361) adverb; no or not:—+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, + nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but.]

c. see [Strong: 3708 horáō, hor-ah'-o; properly, to stare at (compare G3700), i.e. (by implication) to discern clearly (physically or mentally); by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear:—behold, perceive, see, take heed.] [Blue Letter Bible lists 3708] [Zodhiates says 1492 is obsolete] 

d. see [Strong: 1492. eido i'-do a primary verb; used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent 3700 and 3708; properly, to see (literally or figuratively); by implication, (in the perfect tense only) to know:--be aware, behold, X can (+ not tell), consider, (have) know(-ledge), look (on), perceive, see, be sure, tell, understand, wish, wot.] [Thayer: to see, to perceive with the eyes, to perceive by any of the senses, to perceive, notice, discern, discover, to see, i.e. to turn the eyes, the mind, the attention to anything, to pay attention, observe, to see about something, i.e. to ascertain what must be done about it, to inspect, examine, to look at, behold, to experience any state or condition, to see i.e. have an interview with, to visit, to know, to know of anything, to know, i.e. get knowledge of, understand, perceive, of any fact, the force and meaning of something which has definite meaning, to know how, to be skilled in, to have regard for one, cherish, pay attention to (1Th. 5:12).] [Dake: lists 1492, to see, not so much the mere act of looking, but the actual perception of the kingdom and its realities.] [Zodhiates says 1492 is obsolete] [The text of the King James uses 1492] [Bullinger lists 1492] The Word Study New Testament lists 1492]  

e. the [Strong: 3588. [tēn] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [tēn] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé, Hē, hē, hai, tas.]

f. kingdom [Strong: 932 basileía, bas-il-i'-ah; from G935; properly, royalty, i.e. (abstractly) rule, or (concretely) a realm (literally or figuratively):—kingdom, + reign.]

g. [of] God [Strong: 2316 theós, theh'-os; of uncertain affinity; a deity, especially (with G3588) the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very:—X exceeding, God, god(-ly, -ward).

1). Jesus did not change the subject in his reply to Nicodemus, as some think. Nicodemus was saying ‘everyone knew that Jesus was of God because of the miracles he did’. Jesus replied that unless a man is born again he cannot know the kingdom of God. The use of the same Greek word in these verses is critical. Jesus was saying that no man can, “know, i.e. get knowledge of, understand, perceive” the kingdom, spiritual truths about the kingdom, unless they were “born again”.

2). . [Family Bible Notes, Power Bible CD: “…our Lord saw that Nicodemus had no true apprehension of the spiritual nature of the kingdom which he had come to establish, nor of the spiritual character required for admission to it.”]

3). There are only two families on the earth, the family of God and the family of Satan. We are either a child of God or a child of the devil. The only way to be born into the family/kingdom of God is through the New Birth, the born again experience. 

a). John 1:12, 13 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

b). Colossians 1:12, 13 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

4). The children of the devil are also revealed by Jesus and by the Apostle Paul.

a). John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

b). Ephesians 2:2, 3 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.