John 3:1-21

You Must Be Born Again

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named ¹Nicodemus, ²a ruler of the Jews.

2 This man came to Jesus^{[a] 3}by night and said to him, ⁴“Rabbi, ⁵we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do ⁶unless God is with him. ”

3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is ⁷born ⁸again^[b] he cannot ⁹see the kingdom of God. ”

4 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? ”

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born ¹⁰of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

6 ¹¹That which is born of the flesh is ¹²flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ^[c]

7 ¹³Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You^[d] must be born ¹⁴again. ’

8 ¹⁵The wind^[e] blows ¹⁶where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. ”

9 Nicodemus said to him, ¹⁷“How can these things be? ”

10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel ¹⁸and yet you do not understand these things?

11 Truly, truly, I say to you, ¹⁹we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but ²⁰you^[f] do not receive our testimony.

12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

13 ²¹No one has ²²ascended into heaven except ²³he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ^[g]

14 And ²⁴as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man ²⁵be lifted up,

15 that whoever believes ²⁶in him ²⁷may have eternal life. ^[h]

For God So Loved the World

16 “For ²⁸God so loved ²⁹the world, ^{[i] 30}that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not ³¹perish but have eternal life.

17 For ³²God did not send his Son into the world ³³to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

18 ³⁴Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not ³⁵believed in the name of the only Son of God.

19 ³⁶And this is the judgment: ³⁷the light has come into the world, and ³⁸people loved the darkness rather than the light because ³⁹their works were evil.

20 ⁴⁰For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, ⁴¹lest his works should be exposed.

21 But whoever ⁴²does what is true ⁴³comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. ”

John 3:1-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 JOHN 3

In this chapter the apostle exhorts to a holy life and conversation in general, and to the exercise of brotherly love in particular. The former of these is urged from the consideration of the great blessing of adoption, which springs from the free love and favour of God, is unknown to the men of the world, and indeed, in the present state of things, does not appear to the saints themselves in all its fulness and advantages, as it will do in the future state, when the children of God will be like to Christ, and see him as he is; the hope of which should engage them to purity of life and conversation, 1Jo 3:1-3, and this is further enforced from the nature of sin, which is a transgression of the law, 1Jo 3:4, from the end of Christ's manifestation in the flesh, which was to take away sin, and who was without it, 1Jo 3:5, from communion with Christ, expressed by abiding in him, seeing and knowing him, which such must be strangers to that live a sinful course of life, 1Jo 3:6, from this, that only such that do righteousness are righteous persons, and these are righteous as Christ is, 1Jo 3:7, and from a man's being of the devil, that is, of a vicious conversation, who was a sinner from the beginning, and whose works Christ was manifested in the flesh to destroy, 1Jo 3:8, and from the nature of the new man, or that which is born of God, which is not to sin, nor can it, 1Jo 3:9, and from the distinction there is between the children of God and the children of the devil, those not being of God who do not righteousness, nor love their brethren, 1Jo 3:10, from hence the apostle passes to brotherly love, and excites and engages to that, from its being a message which had been heard from the beginning, 1Jo 3:11, which is illustrated by its contrary in the instance of Cain, who by the instigation of Satan slew his brother, because his works were righteous, and his own were evil, 1Jo 3:12, wherefore, it is no wonder that good men should be hated by the world, who, as Cain, are of the same wicked one, 1Jo 3:13, brotherly love is further urged unto, from its being an evidence of passing from death to life, or of regeneration; whereas he that hates his brother openly continues in a state of death, is a murderer, and so has not eternal life abiding in him, 1Jo 3:14,15, and from the great instance of Christ's love, in laying down his life for his people, the saints are incited to lay down their lives for one another; to such a pitch does the apostle carry brotherly love, 1Jo 3:16, wherefore, he that is rich, and is uncompassionate to his brother in distress, cannot be thought to have the love of God dwelling in him, 1Jo 3:17, hence he presses the exhortation to brotherly love, that it be not in profession only, but true, real, and cordial, 1Jo 3:18, and that by observing the advantages of it, as that hereby men know they are of the truth, and can assure their hearts before God; and which is illustrated by the contrary, the condemnation of the heart, 1Jo 3:19,20, the advantages of non-condemnation of the heart are confidence before God, and receiving whatsoever we ask of him; the reason of which is, because his commandments are kept, and things done which are pleasing to him, 1Jo 3:21,22, the commandments are explained of faith in Christ, and love to one another, 1Jo 3:23, and the happiness of them that do them is, that Christ dwells in them, and they in him, the evidence of which is, the Spirit that is given unto them, 1Jo 3:24.

Cross References

• 1. 3:1 ch. 7:50; 19:39
• 2. 3:1 See Luke 24:20
• 3. 3:2 [ch. 12:42]
• 4. 3:2 See ch. 1:38
• 5. 3:2 [ch. 9:29; Matt. 22:16]
• 6. 3:2 Acts 10:38; [ch. 5:36; 9:33; Acts 2:22]
• 7. 3:3 See ch. 1:13
• 8. 3:3 [2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; 1 Pet. 1:3, 23]
• 9. 3:3 ver. 36
• 10. 3:5 [Ezek. 36:25-27; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Eph. 5:26; Titus 3:5; Heb. 10:22]
• 11. 3:6 1 Cor. 15:50
• 12. 3:6 ch. 6:63
• 13. 3:7 ch. 5:28
• 14. 3:7 See ver. 3
• 15. 3:8 [Eccles. 11:5; Ezek. 37:9]
• 16. 3:8 1 Cor. 12:11
• 17. 3:9 ch. 6:52, 60
• 18. 3:10 [ch. 9:30]
• 19. 3:11 See ver. 32
• 20. 3:11 See ver. 32
• 21. 3:13 Prov. 30:4; [Acts 2:34; Eph. 4:9]
• 22. 3:13 [ch. 7:34]
• 23. 3:13 ver. 31; ch. 6:38, 42, 62; 1 Cor. 15:47; [Rom. 10:6]
• 24. 3:14 Num. 21:9
• 25. 3:14 ch. 8:28; 12:32, 34
• 26. 3:15 [ch. 15:4; 16:33; 1 John 5:12, 20]
• 27. 3:15 ver. 36
• 28. 3:16 Rom. 5:8; Eph. 2:4; 2 Thess. 2:16; 1 John 3:1; 4:9, 10
• 29. 3:16 See ch. 1:29
• 30. 3:16 Rom. 8:32
• 31. 3:16 ch. 10:28
• 32. 3:17 ch. 5:36, 38; 6:29, 57; 7:29; 8:42; 10:36; 11:42; 17:3; 20:21; Rom. 8:3; 1 John 4:9, 10, 14
• 33. 3:17 ch. 5:45; 8:15; 12:47
• 34. 3:18 ch. 5:24; [Mark 16:16]
• 35. 3:18 See 1 John 5:13
• 36. 3:19 [ch. 9:39]
• 37. 3:19 See ch. 1:4, 5, 9
• 38. 3:19 [Isa. 30:10; Jer. 5:31]
• 39. 3:19 ch. 7:7
• 40. 3:20 [Job 24:13; Rom. 13:12; Eph. 5:13]
• 41. 3:20 Eph. 5:11, 13
• 42. 3:21 1 John 1:6
• 43. 3:21 Ps. 139:23, 24

Footnotes

• [a] 3:2 Greek 'him'
• [b] 3:3 Or 'from above'; the Greek is purposely ambiguous and can mean both 'again' and 'from above'; also verse 7
• [c] 3:6 The same Greek word means both 'wind' and 'spirit'
• [d] 3:7 The Greek for 'you' is plural here
• [e] 3:8 The same Greek word means both 'wind' and 'spirit'
• [f] 3:11 The Greek for 'you' is plural here; also four times in verse 12
• [g] 3:13 Some manuscripts add 'who is in heaven'
• [h] 3:15 Some interpreters hold that the quotation ends at verse 15
• [i] 3:16 Or 'For this is how God loved the world'