“You must be born again,” Jesus said.
I know people today who shudder at that statement. They don’t like the term “born again.” They think it’s too religious – or too churchy – or too judgmental.
But it’s not.
It’s strictly Jesus.
His words.
His term.
This new birth – being born again – is part of the receiving I spoke of in my brief article on John, Chapter 1. It’s also part of the gracious plan God has for us
He goes on to explain it further in John, Chapter 3:4-21. Read about it. It includes perhaps the most well-known verse in Christianity:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
You might noticer that I’ve written the verse above in the King James Version – the version from which so many of us memorized it. It sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Throughout your life, how many people have told you that John 3:16 is their favorite Bible verse. And why not? It’s God’s plan all in one verse!
So much is packed into this third chapter of John. In this chapter, the writer of this Gospel (John the Apostle) also shares more of the teaching of John the Baptist. I love to read his humble statements. Speaking of Jesus, John the Baptist says, “He must become greater; I must become less . . . [Jesus] is above all . . . Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
When I was a young teenager, a missionary woman named Ann Nantz came to our church occasionally to minister to the youth group. I remember her as a modest woman, who spoke with a slight speech impediment. Her face radiated the love of Jesus, as she taught us Bible stories and spoke of the love of Jesus. “He must increase,” she said, “but I must decrease,” quoting John 3:30, her favorite life verse. Again, the King James translation was set in my mind, in the voice of this woman who truly lived the Word of God. I knew Ann only for a short time through my early teen years. Years later, I heard she had passed to Jesus. It has been decades now since I heard her voice – more years than I want to admit – but whenever I drive M-60 and I pass the house where Ann lived, that simple verse with a deep message comes foremost in my mind: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Learning the truths of God’s Word brings about our understanding of the increase our Jesus deserves, and the decrease of self we so need – that we might honor God in the way of John the Baptist and of my friend, Ann Nantz.
Please subscribe while you’re on this website. Look for Coffee with Kathi – John, Chapter 4