Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-09-07
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON XII, THIRD QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, SEPT. g.

Text of the Lesson, John III, 1-1G-Mcm-
DRY Verses, Is 90 Golden Text, John
iii, 1G-Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
stearns.
Having so many verses assigned for this
lesson, we will not quote them, but trust
you to study with the open Bible.
l. This chapter illustrates the last words
of chapter ii, and we might read this way.
He knew what was in man. Now, there
was a man. See r. V. So this ruler Mic
odemus is introduced as a specimen, and
Jesus proceeds to read to him his thoughts
and deal with him. In the next chapter
He takes the woman of Samaria as II spec
linen, and from the rich religious ruler
and the poor ungodly woman He shows
us the best and the worst in man and
that each must and may be born anew
9 Better to come to Jesus by night than
not at all. The great thing is to come, and
the great assurance is him that cometh
unto Me | will in no wise cast OUT (John
vi, 80.
g. All the vcrilics i'm John are double
ones, and there are 25 of them, this being
the second one. The first is chapter /, 81,
and the third and fourth are i'm verses .
and IL of our lesson. 1t is just the word
amen, and might be read amen, amen.
Jesus calls Himself 1.-The Amen" in Rev
ill., Il
l. Nicodcmus though so religious, was
only natural man and understood not
spiritual things. therefore asked so foolish
a question The preaching of the cross is
to them that perish foolishness, and the
things of the Spirit of God are foolishncss
to the natural man q Cor. i, Is; ii, IA
>. Jesus cnargcs upon His first state
| mcnt as to the necessity of the birth from
/ above, and now emphasizes that necessity
and says that it is accomplished by water
and the Spirit Both james and Peter tcs
tify that we are born again by the word OF
God (Jamcs i, Is; l Pet. i, 23) Paul says
/ that the water signifies the word (Eph. V,
| 26, with which compare John XIV, 3, and Ps
cxiX, 81.
Is. The flesh or natural man can only
produce the flesh or natural man. 1t may
be cultivated and educated and become
very talented and refined, bat it is only
flesh and cannot please God (Rom viii, -
/ When we are born ancW or from above by
receiving a life we never had before, even
Jesus Himself, then we are said to be in
the spirit, not in the flesh (Rom. viii, -.
&. w
everything for the mind that is meek and
submissive. There is another in verse II,
and as truly as the Son of Man had to be
crucifod so surely must every refined, tai
cntud, educated, religious man or woman
be born from above by receiving Jesus, or
he never can see or enter the kingdom
OF God. One may be very near the king
dom and not enter in, like the scribe of
Mark xii, 3D. of whom Jesus said, Thou
are not far from the Kingdom of God.
s. The work of the Spirit in the heart
of man is at first IA secret work, AS if a
man should cast seed into the ground, and
should sleep, and rise night and day, and
the seed should spring and grow up, he
knowcth not how MARK iv, 26 2O
D. The natural man continues to ask,
How The man in whom the Spirit
works simply believes and receives with
mccEncss the cngraftcd word GAS. i,
2D The entrance of Thy words givetl
light 1t givcth understanding unto the
simple" ops cXiX, 1901 but as long as We
are asking how or why we are not simply
receiving Rather let us say, Lord, he
lcve" or like Mary " BE it unto me ac
corting to Thy word"
10 \ teacher in Israel might hav,
known that at the word of the Lord, il
the vision OF Ezekiel the dry bones cam,
together, bone to his bone, and were GOV
cred with flesh, and by the Spirit of the
Lord they stood up an exceeding grcat
army CEZck XXXvii, 1-lO). The tcsti
mony of every spirit filled man in the OLE
Testament history, confessing his sin ant
hclplessncs5 and giving God the glory, Il.
Joseph, Isaiah, Daniel and Others Gen
XII, Is; lisa. vi, 5-S Dan Y, s, 10; Mic. iii
s., taught the hclplessncss of the flesh anC
the necessity OF the Spirit and word o
God
II. Notice that Il say unto you" 0
Christ in the gospels is equivalent t
THUS saith the Lord in the Old Tcsta
ment, for the Lord, or Lord of Hosts o
the Old Testament, is none other than tn
Christ of the New For a simple proof SCI
Rev. xiii, 8, Is, or perhaps lisa. vi, .
with John xii, Il, would be more plaii
to some One who knows because he ha
seen is surely IA good witness, yet how
4 often a false witness is believed rathc
than a true onel Compare chapter V, 43.
Il. The one only thing to do with tn
testimony of true witness is to believe
; as otherwise we make the witness IA liar
and those who believe not God are guilt,
I of making Him a liar Il John V, 100. Tn
=, belief keeps unsaved souls in "A lost condi
ton, and even those who believe to the saw
D ing of the soul are kept from enjoying tn
e rest and peace and JOY which is their priv
! ilcge by not believing fully. The last nal
of John iii, Is, proves the first, and Heb
= iii, Is to iv, 3, the second. BE not afraid
only believe"
e 10. Very often in this gospel we have tn
= testimony Of Jesus that He came dow
from heaven, came forth from the Father
was sent from God, but here He tcstific
that even while He was on earth He wa
- still in heaven. Tho other view of thi
great fact is that now i'm heaven at tn
right hand of God He is still with us al
way, and Wherever two or three are gath
cred i'm His name He is in the mids
(Math. xviii, 20; xviii, POI.
IA. Jesus now takes Nicodcmus back {
something he must have been familia
wth-the story of the shining and bite
Isracltes and the wondrous healing by tn
brazen serpent lifted up upon IA pole il
sight OF all The brazen serpent was Tn
likeness Of that which by its poisonou
bite was staying the thousands of Israel
10. The bitten lsraelite who looked upo
the brazen serpent lived, "Whcn he behel
/ the serDent of brass he liVcdN Mum xxi