Dear Christian friends:
During the past six months, from December unto today, we have celebrated
the important events that happened for our salvation. Every church
year we do this, beginning with the First Sunday in Advent and ending
with Trinity Sunday, which is today. These important events of the
past six months tell about the wonderful work of our God for our
salvation. These events show that our God, the God who saves us, is
the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity. So today
as we close this festival half of the church year we praise the Holy
Trinity and we rejoice that we are
Born Into The Trinity's Kingdom
It is necessary that we be born into the Trinity's kingdom. Why?
Because by nature all people are born of “the flesh." Here in our text
we see Jesus say to Nicodemus, "Ye must be born again." (verse 7)
Nicodemus had a hard time to believe that he must be born again, Why?
Because he thought that he had already been born into God's kingdom.
He thought he was a good and righteous person. He was a Jew born of
Jewish parents. He was rich and had much power. Our text says that
he was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. (verse 1) He came to visit
Jesus one night and he flattered Jesus. (verse 2) But Jesus did not
accept his flattery. Jesus saw his pride and self-righteousness and
that he thought himself a member of God's kingdom because he was a
Jewish ruler. So Jesus pops his balloon, saying to him, "Ye must be
born again. That which is born of the flesh is flesh." (verses 6-7)
"The flesh" means man's sinful heart and nature. It means that all
people are descended from Adam and Eve and are therefore born of
sinful parents and are themselves lost and helpless sinners before
God, spiritually dead and physically on the way to death and the
grave and eternal death in hell.
Having rich and respectable parents does not help or save anyone.
Being born a Jew or a Lutheran or an American does not help either.
Being rich or in high position also does not help. He who is born
of sinner parents is a sinner. And that means all of us. That means
you, too!
The Bible says, "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our
righteousness are as filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6) "There is not a
just (righteous) man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."
(Ecclesiastics 7:20) "All have sinned and come short of the glory
of God." (Romans 3:23) David says, "Because Thou art angry we die;
and through Thy anger we are frightened. Thou takest our sins before
Thee: Thy face seeth our secret sins." (Psalm 90:7-8) Indeed we are
born of "the flesh," as we are born of our parents.
We must be born again of water and the Spirit. Jesus said to Nicodemus,
"Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (verses 5-6)
Here Jesus reminds us Christians of our Baptism: that through water
and the Holy Spirit we were born again. We received the full and free
forgiveness of all sins and with the washing away of our sins we
received new birth and new life by the Holy Spirit. Now the Holy
Spirit helps us every day to be sorry for our sins and confess them
and look to Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and for strength and
love for God to resist sin and walk in the right and holy ways of
God. Through Baptism we have been born into God's eternal kingdom.
And this we cannot boast about. We had nothing to do with it. Most
of us were helpless babies when it happened, and even if you were
baptized as an adult it was God's calling you and God choosing you;
not you choosing Him. Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Marvel not (don't
be surprised) that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again, The wind
bloweth where it listeth (wants), and thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth: so is
everyone that is born of the Spirit." (verses 7-8) The Holy Spirit gives
new birth and new life to whomever He wants. Nicodemus and all of
us should not think it is because of our religion or position in Life.
It is only by God's mercy and grace whom He chooses. "The Spirit
goes where He wants." Give glory to the Holy Spirit.
Furthermore, our new birth by the Spirit is based on Jesus' work and
righteousness, not on our works. Nicodemus was still self-righteous
and did not understand about the new birth. (verse 9) So Jesus said to
him, "No man has ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from
heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted
up the Serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted
up; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal
life." (verses 13-15) The forgiveness of sins and new birth into God's
kingdom can happen only because God's Son came down from heaven and
was lifted up upon the cross to die for the world's sin. And because
He arose from death and went back up (ascended) into heaven. We are
born into God's kingdom on the basis of Jesus’ suffering, death,
resurrection and ascension into heaven; not on the basis of our good
works or righteous works. Give glory to Jesus!
Even more, our birth into God's kingdom is God the Father's idea,
not mans. Jesus says to Nicodemus, "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. For God sent not His Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be
saved." God loved us; we did not love Him; we hated Him! God sent
His Son, His only beloved Son! It was God's idea! Give glory to Him.
Give glory to the Spirit; give glory to the Son; give glory to the
Father, the Holy Trinity. Because of the Holy Triune God we are born
anew into His Kingdom! Alleluia!
Amen.