Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1899-01-18
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON w, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. 90.

] !. Now there was a man" Or. W. In
verses 1, 90, 80, of chapter 2, we read that
the disciples believed and many believed
but then we read that Jesus did not com
init Himself unto (believe inn men, for He
! knew what was in man. Then we have
Him dealing with this man, ruler of the
Jews, and revealing Nicodemus to him
self, that he might know God, for this IL
greater than riches or wisdom or might
(Jer. tx, 80, 24).
2. Nicodemus knew that Jesus was at
least sent of God and that God was with
him, and his soul was hungering for more
of God, and he felt that Jesus had power
| to help him, yet, being ruler and Jesus
being evidently a very humble person, not
having been taught in any of the schools,
nor having, like Saul, been brought up at
the feet Of Gamaliel or any great teacher of
the day, he seems to think it wise not to
come at first to Him too publicly.
8. Jesus passes by the seeming compli-
lnent and, recognizing the longing In the
heart of Nicodemus, tells him briefly the
only way to see the kingdom for which he
longs. To be born of God Q-13) or from
above (margin) is the only way. No hui
man wisdom nor royal lineage nor position
dIuOuS IutLl Ctll Ouc W 6cc VI
enter the kingdom of God II must be q
work of God in the heart-nothing less
than the receiving of the Son of God (chap-
ter j, 12).
4. Nicodemus, though very religious
and a ruler of the Jews, was only nat
ural man and understood not spiritual
things He could only think of a natural
birth.
8. A little more fully Jesus now states
it, saying that to be born of God means to
be born of water and of the Spirit. BY
calling up three witnesses-Peter, James
and Paul-and by comparing Pet. i, 23;
Jas. /, IS; Eph. v, 26; John vi, 63, we
learn that water suggests the Word of God,
by which the Spirit always works.
6. The flesh is the natural man, the man
not subject to nor controlled by God. He
may be intellectual, educated, talented,
wealthy, good citizen, moral, philan-
thropio and in every way all that could be
desired as a loving father, son or brother,
yet if only that never see the kingdom of
God He that hath the Son hath life but
he that hath not the Son of God hath not
life, whatever else he may have Il John v,
12).
z. 'Ye must be born again" There is
much teaching nowadays to the effect that
there is spark of the divine nature in
every one and that it only needs to be de-
veloped, but such is not the teaching of
the Word of God, which says that the car
nal or natural mind is enmity against
God, for it is not subject to the law Of
God, neither indeed, can be Rom. viii, y.
8. We can feel the wind as 1t blows upon
us, but we cannot tell whence it came nor
whittier it's destination. Thus the Spirit
moves and works. In the darkness of
Gen. i, Q, the Spirit of God moved upon
the face of the waters, and God spake, and
there was light. So God, by His word
and Spirit, shines in hearts and gives the
knowledge of Himself, causing life and
fruitfulness where all before was waste
and void Oh Cor. Nv, 6, y.
Q. How can these things be?" The
blind was cropping for the light and but
very dimly perceiving These spiritual
things, so simple to the Spirit taught, were
too much for the natural man, even though
he be ruler. J. have wondered If one
reason why the wisdom of this world dis
likes the book of Daniel and would fain
have done with it is that there, as perhaps
nowhere else, is shown the utter impo-
tence of such wisdom to deal with the
things of God.
10. A master of Israel should know
something of these things, for in Eek
xxxyi, 26, %, it was written: "a new
heart also will give you and new spirit
will / put within you. 1 will put My
Spirit within you and cause you to walk
in My statutes" Gabriel was sent from
heaven to cause Daniel to know, but here
is greater than Gabriel, and yet Nicode-
mus does not understand.
IL. This is the third verify, verify of
our lesson. Only in this gospel do we find
the double verify or amen or in truth,
and He who uses it is Himself the Truth.
He knew all things and all men, even
their utmost imaginings. He said through
jeremiah II, the Lord, search the heart;
try the reins" (Jer. xvii, 10).
~. There are celestial and terrestrial
things as well as bodies, but the glory of
the one differs greatly from that of tho
other U Cor. XIV, 4O) The Kingdom, al
though not of this world, is to be set upon
this earth and will include Che whole
world (John xviii, 80; Dan. vii, 81; Hab.
ii, 14), but there is a New Jerusalem to
come down out of heaven from God in the
light of which the nations of the earth are
To walk.
49, What wondrous sayings are here,
While He was on earth He was in heaven;
He came down from heaven, and does He
say that as man He had assembled up to
heaven? If so, we must believe it. But
what about John Xxx, II, II am not yet
assembled to my Father" That was in
His resurrection body.
IA. Our Lord Jesus never made light of
or in any way discounted any record in
the Scriptures, but spoke of them as reali-
ties Here He refers to the incident of
Mum. xxi, so, where the people, dying
from the bite of fiery serpents, were to
look upon brazen serpent which Moses,
at Gods command, lifted up upon pole
high enough for all to see, and when any
dying one beheld the serpent of brass he
lived
10. The Israelites bitten were as good
as dead unless they looked They were
utterly helpless. Nicodemus was as help
less to save himself as bitten Israelite;
so are we When a bitten and dying ono
looked where he was told, he saw the re-
semblance of that which was causing his
suffering and probable death, but it was
fastened to pole and thus in the place of
death to itself
10. In Jesus Christ on the cross for our
sins we see the love of God AS 1t never was
seen elsewhere. We see the fulflllment of
Gen. Iii, is, 81; Ps. xxi; lisa. lii, and CIV.
cry other Scripture concerning His suffer
ings and death We are not asked to I'M
ders'and it nor to grasp It's full signif