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John 3:1-21 (MSG)

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¹ There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. ² Late one night he visited Jesus and said, "Rabbi, we all know you're a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren't in on it." ³ Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to--to God's kingdom." ⁴ "How can anyone," said Nicodemus, "be born who has already been born and grown up? You can't re-enter your mother's womb and be born again. What are you saying with this 'born-from-above' talk?" ⁵ Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation--the 'wind hovering over the water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life--it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. ⁶ When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch--the Spirit--and becomes a living spirit. ⁷ "So don't be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be 'born from above'--out of this world, so to speak. ⁸ You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it's headed next. That's the way it is with everyone 'born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of ⁹ Nicodemus asked, "What do you mean by this? How does this happen?" ¹⁰ Jesus said, "You're a respected teacher of Israel and you don't know these basics? ¹¹ Listen carefully. I'm speaking sober truth to you. I speak only of what I know by experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing secondhand here, no hearsay. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you ¹² If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don't believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can't see, the things of God? ¹³ "No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. ¹⁴ In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up-- ¹⁵ and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life. ¹⁶ "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. ¹⁷ God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. ¹⁸ Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. ¹⁹ "This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. ²⁰ Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure. ²¹ But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is."


This passage relates to the following topic(s):
(v. 1) Salvation / Eternal Life - Must be born from water and the spirit
(v. 2) Salvation / Eternal Life - Must be born from water and the spirit
(v. 3) Salvation / Eternal Life - Must be born from water and the spirit
(v. 4) Salvation / Eternal Life - Must be born from water and the spirit
(v. 5) Salvation / Eternal Life - Must be born from water and the spirit
(v. 6) Salvation / Eternal Life - Must be born from water and the spirit
(v. 7) Salvation / Eternal Life - Must be born from water and the spirit
(v. 8) Salvation / Eternal Life - Must be born from water and the spirit
(v. 16) Believing / Unbelief - Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life
(v. 16) Love - For God so loved he gave his one and only Son

This passage relates to the following question(s):
(v. 2) Do miracles prove a divine mission or not? No one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him
(v. 13) Was Jesus the only one to ascend into heaven? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven

This passage is referenced in the following quiet time(s):
(v. 1) Jesus with People - Nic at Night (2009-01-26)
(v. 1) Sin and Repentance - Kansas City (part III) (2011-02-16)
(v. 1) Knowing Jesus (2015-05-15)
(v. 1) Holy Spirit (part I) (2011-01-04)
(v. 2) Jesus with People - Nic at Night (2009-01-26)
(v. 2) Holy Spirit (part I) (2011-01-04)
(v. 2) Sin and Repentance - Kansas City (part III) (2011-02-16)
(v. 3) Fearing God - Transcendent Majesty (2011-08-18)
(v. 3) Blessings In Christ (part VI) (2012-03-10)
(v. 3) Jesus with People - Nic at Night (2009-01-26)
(v. 3) Master Plan - Jesus gave himself away (part 2) (2009-12-06)
(v. 3) Jesus with People - Nic at Night (2009-01-26)
(v. 3) Sin and Repentance - Kansas City (part III) (2011-02-16)
(v. 3) Holy Spirit (part I) (2011-01-04)
(v. 4) Holy Spirit (part I) (2011-01-04)
(v. 4) Master Plan - Jesus gave himself away (part 2) (2009-12-06)
(v. 4) Blessings In Christ (part VI) (2012-03-10)
(v. 4) Sin and Repentance - Kansas City (part III) (2011-02-16)
(v. 5) Sin and Repentance - Kansas City (part III) (2011-02-16)
(v. 5) Blessings In Christ (part VI) (2012-03-10)
(v. 5) Holy Spirit (part I) (2011-01-04)
(v. 5) Master Plan - Jesus gave himself away (part 2) (2009-12-06)
(v. 6) Master Plan - Jesus gave himself away (part 2) (2009-12-06)
(v. 6) Holy Spirit (part I) (2011-01-04)
(v. 6) Blessings In Christ (part VI) (2012-03-10)
(v. 6) Sin and Repentance - Kansas City (part III) (2011-02-16)
(v. 7) Sin and Repentance - Kansas City (part III) (2011-02-16)
(v. 7) Waking Dead - Restored (2010-08-19)
(v. 7) Master Plan - Jesus gave himself away (part 2) (2009-12-06)
(v. 7) Holy Spirit (part I) (2011-01-04)
(v. 8) Master Plan - Jesus gave himself away (part 2) (2009-12-06)
(v. 8) Holy Spirit (part I) (2011-01-04)
(v. 9) Master Plan - Jesus gave himself away (part 2) (2009-12-06)
(v. 16) Kingdom First - Giving in Secret (2010-01-18)
(v. 16) Purpose Driven Life - Becoming a World-Class Christian (part 2) (2008-07-16)
(v. 16) Power of Gratitude - Bon Appetit (2008-02-29)
(v. 16) Top Ten of Giving (2010-05-06)
(v. 16) 7 Habits of Highly Effective Children (2010-04-27)
(v. 17) Power of Gratitude - Bon Appetit (2008-02-29)
(v. 19) Kingdom First - Light Drives Satan Away (2010-01-09)
(v. 19) Ministry - The Wild Man (2012-02-02)
(v. 19) Men are without excuse (part 1) (2010-05-07)
(v. 19) Teach Us To Pray - Surrender (2008-09-03)
(v. 20) Ministry - The Wild Man (2012-02-02)
(v. 20) Kingdom First - Light Drives Satan Away (2010-01-09)
(v. 20) Men are without excuse (part 1) (2010-05-07)
(v. 20) Teach Us To Pray - Surrender (2008-09-03)
(v. 21) Ministry - The Wild Man (2012-02-02)
(v. 21) Teach Us To Pray - Surrender (2008-09-03)
(v. 21) Kingdom First - Light Drives Satan Away (2010-01-09)
(v. 21) Men are without excuse (part 1) (2010-05-07)

Definition(s):
Israel (Iz-rehl): who prevails with God
Israel (Is-ra-el): who prevails with God
Jesus (Jeez-us): savior; deliverer
Moses (Moh-ziz): taken out; drawn forth
Nicodemus (Nick-o-dee-mus): victory of the people