Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1917-01-31
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON FOR FEB. 4
sECURED EXCLUSIVELY BIZ THE
BANNER FOR ITS MANY
READERS
ACCORDING TO THE
INTERNATIONAL SERIES
Text of the Lesson, John iii, 1-21.
Memory Verses, 5, Golden Text,
John iii, documentary Prepared
by Rev. ID M. Stearns.

II we take the last sentence Of chap
ter II and the first of chapter iii from
the revised version we will read: HE
Himself knew what was In man. Now,
there was a man Of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus." This man there
fore comes before us as a sample OF
all religious men OF his stamp. and as
our Lord dealt with him so He still
deals with all such. He was one OF
the rulers and evidently a man held in
high esteem by his fellows, but he was
not as yet born from above. He was
very complimentary and courteous to
the Lord Jesus, but our Lord had no
heart and no time for mere compli-
ments. He saw all people as either
having life and not condemned or un-
der the wrath Of God and condemned
already verses 1s, 36). Seeing before
Him a lost soul and not being willing
that he should perish, He at once
spoke to his heart, for He knew what
was in him.
We may sum up His threefold refer
ence to the new birth oversees 8, 8, y
In the emphatic declaration Of verse z,
which Is a word for every unsaved
person, however religious he may be,
"You must be born again." or, as In
the margin, "from above" 1t has been
truly said that If we are born but once,
merely natural birth, we shall die
twice, and the second death will be
the lake of fire Rev. Xxx, IA, 15), but IL
we are born twice, have had the birth
from above, we shall die but once. and.
IL alive on earth at His coming, shall
not die at all q Cor. XIV, 50-52). While
our Lord often used the word verify"
IA translation of amen), only In this
gospel is He recorded as using the
double verify and just twenty-five
times, the first time being I'm chapter
4, 81, and in reference to the coming
kingdom. We find 1t in our lesson
chapter in verses 8. 8, IL, and in the
first two also In reference TO the king
dom. It requires a new birth inwardly
and a new body outwardly TO enter
that kingdom q Cor. XIV, SOD, but II we
have the first we shall in due time
nave the SttOUu " III. III 49, -Ni'
Nicodemus, being merely natural
man, although a religious one. could
not understand spiritual things, ac-
cording to / Cor. ii, IA, therefore his
many questions. AS master of Israel
(yerse 1O) he might have known more
than he did, but he needed some one In
him whom he had never yet received
! chapter 1, 12).
Our Lord then took him back to an
! incident In the wilderness story, with
which he must have been familiar
oversees IA. 15), and from 1t taught him
how to be born again, and we conclude
| from chapters VIII 80, 81; xix, 30, that
then or later Nicodemus was really
born again and became a true disciple
Of Jesus Christ.
The new birth is wrought in us by
| the word OF God and the Spirit OF God,
as our Lord taught in verse 8, the wa
ter signifying the word as in Eph. v,
90. Both James and Peter are in per-
feet accord as to the new birth being
accomplished by the word of God JAS.
4. IS; I Pet. 1, 23), and our Lord said
that His words were Spirit and Life
Uohn vi. G3). l have often seen John
iii. 10. bring about the new birth In
soul just by writing the PERSONS name
I'm the verse instead of the words "the
world" and whatsoever" and as quick
" as the bitten Israelites looked upon
the dead representation of that which
had bitten them and lived so have L
seen sinners looking upon Jesus made
sin for them and obtaining life by a
look. He came TO save the lost, the
sick the hopeless, and He does 1t all
Himself.
We have only to let Him save US, to
see Him dying i'm our stead, bearing
our sins in His own body, and, receiv-
ing him, take Him at His word, that
by virtue OF His great sacrifice all
such have everlasting life and can new
er perish. People are condemned not
because of any ordinary sin, for all
are sinners, but because they will not
receive Him who alone can save them,
because they will not look and live
oversees IS, 19). By receiving Him we
honor God as true, but by refusing to
receive Him we make God a liar and
Join hands with the father Of lies
against God Verse 33; John v, 10;
John viii, 2D.
Only one who was truly God could
speak of Himself as "the Son of Man
who Is in heaven" while yet He was
on earth verse 13). Note also His
words I'm verse 35. "The Father loveth
the Son and hath given all things into
His hand" Compare Matt. xi, 81. and
let us, like John the Baptist, bear
faithful testimony to Him, and, like
the servant OF Abraham seeking q
bride for the only son to whom bis
father had given all that he had, let Us
live to help obtain the bride, the
church, for the coming Bridegroom.
See verses 27-31 and compare the beau
tiful story in Gen. xiv. AS Abra-
hams servant talked only of the wealth
of the beloved son and carried samples