Being Born Again

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader among the Judeans. 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 answered him, “I tell you the absolute truth, unless one is born all over again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he return to his mother’s womb and be born?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you the absolute truth, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What has been born of the flesh is flesh, and what has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be confused because I told you that you must be born again.

“The wind blows wherever it will. You hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from or where it goes. This is how it is with everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to Him, “How are these things possible?”

Jesus answered him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and you do not understand these things? I tell you the absolute truth, what we know, we speak. And we testify of what we have seen, but you do not accept our testimony. If I talk about things on earth, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about things in heaven?

“No one has gone up into heaven but He who came down out of heaven: the Son of Man, who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.

Why Jesus Entered the World

“For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who trusts in Him should not perish, but have life forever. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.

“Whoever trusts in Him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s only Son. And this is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light — because the things they did were evil.

“For all who practice evil hate the light, and do not come to the light, so that what they do may not be exposed. But the one who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been accomplished with God.”

After these things Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean countryside. And He stayed there with them and baptized.

Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water. And people were coming and being baptized because John had not yet been thrown into prison.

Then a discussion arose between John’s disciples and a Judean over purifying. And they came to John, and said, “Rabbi, He who was with you across the Jordan, the One you told everyone about, look, He is baptizing. And everyone is going to Him.”

John answered by saying, “A man can receive nothing at all unless it is given to him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses, that I said I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent ahead of Him.

“The man who has the bride is the bridegroom. The bridegroom’s friend, who stands and hears him, rejoices with joy at the bridegroom’s voice. So then, my joy is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

He who comes from above is above all. Whoever is from the earth is of the earth, and from the earth he speaks. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, this He tells about. Yet no one receives His testimony. The one who does receive His testimony sets his seal to this: that God is true. For the One sent by God utters the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure.

The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. But whoever does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

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