The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 3:1-6, “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;

2 this man came to Him by night, and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’

3 Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’

4 Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?’

5 Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 ‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.’”

I know this is a long passage, but we need it all to clearly understand it.

Nicodemus was an authoritative person among the Jews. But, he realized

that Jesus was truly from God the Father. He also knew that Jesus knew

things he himself did not know. ~ His coming by night was probably because

the rabbis did their studying at night, and he recognized Jesus as a rabbi or

teacher. ~ Jesus told him plainly “You must be born again?” Again is the

Greek word anothen, meaning “from above.” Nicodemus obviously did not

understand. Jesus said, “…unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he

cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Then, Jesus explained that the

“water” referred to the physical birth (“That which is born of the flesh is

flesh”), while “of the Spirit” referred to the spiritual birth (“that which is

born of the Spirit is spirit.”) ~ Nicodemus was honest in his search for truth.

Some who come to us are honest, also. We need to be clear and honest

with them. Nicodemus admitted he did not understand. Not everyone

understands the Gospel the first time. The big question is: Did Nicodemus

become a Christian? John 19:39 says that he came to the burial of Jesus,

bringing “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.”

We would hardly expect a non-believer to bring something. When people

are truly “born from above,” they demonstrate it in some manner. ~ What

are we doing to demonstrate that we know Him?

We love you and pray for you every, single day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”