Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-02-03
SUNDAY SCHOOL. LESSON.

, even when the disciples. including some
Of those who had been in the inner cir
Gle. had denied Him and ned, Nicodemus
by courageously assisting Joseph in
burying the body OF the LORD IN the
nearby grave. Jesus met Nicodemus.
desire for more light with demand
for life. by insisting upon the necessity
of q new birth for all men.
The requirement not Of more light
but of life that would enable him to
see through being born anew as uni
versal necessity surprised Nicodemus.
The, key to the understanding OF tne
conversation Is the position OF Jesus
that regeneration was necessary to un-
derstand the kingdom OF God. The
Master spoke with authority not as the
scribes when He made His saying the
standard of authority. He knew what
Nioodemus needed, and although He
was DESTROYS of securing the eminent
scholar as one of His disciples, the
Lord Jesus made no exception because
Of the rulers birth. position or ma
ment Of his conversation Christ re-
vealed to Nicodemus that he and the
others who had been Influenced by His
signs to expect a political power along
stood His program and preaching.
The new birth demanded by the LORD
Jesus was not a question of parentage,
education or moral living. for the Mas
ter demanded Of Eicodemus. VINO pos
sessed all these. that he must be born
again. It was not baptism or any other
ritualistic observance, for John had
taught that while he baptized Win
water the Messiah would baptize with
the Holy Spirit. Although he demand
ed a religious Improvement as an evil
dence of the new birth. Jesus demand
ed more than a radical reformation for
chat which is born of the flesh Is flesh.
and that which is born OF the spirit Is
spirit"
Gods gift of His only begotten Son
there had been given to the world, not
merely another in succession OF human
teachers and prophets, but one unique
" endowed with the very life of God,
set apart to convey that life to those
who. abandoning self-dependence and
it's fatal issues. place themselves unre-
servedly in His saving hands.
Jesus pointed out that one ousht no.
not understand the process by which
the life is renewed. The natural
world was full, He suggested, of mys-
teries like the spiritual. and the trans
formations in both were due TO the
working out of unseen forces that
were regulated by the law OF God.
Although regeneration is of God it is
easily obtainable, "for God so loved
the world that He gave His only pc
gotten Son, that whatsoever beheveth
eternal life" To make His love for
men effective He offers freely to all the
blessings of salvation in Jesus. the
Savior Of the world.
The fundamental American princi-
pies upon which President Wilson in
his history-making peace message TO
the Senate last week insisted would
be demanded by the nation if they en-
tered into league to enforce peace
were all derived from the gospel Of
Christ Not only the Presidents eff
forts. but every effort put forth to Sc
cure peace among men and nations, to
free them from the rule Of King Alco-
hol, to uplift humanity and promote
the welfare Of society, that today seeks
to introduce changes in commercial and
civic life. uniting all in one great
brotherhood, is the manifestation Of
the power of the gospel that is seeking
today to save not only the souls but
the society Of men in every nation.