Evening star., 1932-01-16
Sunday School Lesson
BY
Rev. Hugh T. Stevenson.

| tions required to secure regeneration.
Nicodemus raised the question, How
can these things come to pass?" when
the Lord insisted upon the distinction
being recognized between the natural
and the spiritual life. 'It was Jesus
turn to be astonished. The new birth
was not a new thing in the world
nor even new name for the thing
Had not a psalmist prayed, Create in
me a clean heart, o Godv? And
another, Quicken me according to Thy
word? The very heather called men
whose distinction and dignity reduced
ordinary men to the peasantry the
twice born Nicodenius was familiar
with the work of. John the Baptist
where the experience had frequently
taken place" We are speaking of
what we know and bearing witness to
what we have seen" Jesus insisted
that except a man be morally trans
formed, by repentance suitably ac-
knowledged, and by the work of Gods
spirit, he could have no part in the
kingdom of God. Natural descent, such
as Nicodemus and Jesus could both
claim from Abraham, resulted in the
production of a natural man, while
the spiritual man came through the
power of the spirit. The blowing Of
the wind furnished the Master with
an apt illustration Of the fact that we
enjoy many things which we cannot
explain. Our failure to understand
them does not change the facts.
Gods Great Gift.
This radical change in the life of
men and women who have sinned was
made possible by the great gift of God,
who loves the world so much that He
gave His only begotten Son that whose
ever believeth in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life. In this COM
pact, concise and comprehensive state
ment we have the foundation of our
faith and the assurance not only OF
Gods interest in us, but also of our
future life Gods gift of His only be-
gotten Son is the center of our religion.
The gift of His love had provided a
salvation for every lost soul, who will
believe in Him, and the assurance of
everlasting life. 1t reveals to us that
the mission of the Master was not to
destroy but to seek and save that which
was lost through our attitude toward
God and personal sin.
In speaking of the eternal life, John
evidently desired us to understand that
it was to be life lived from the same
source as Christ's life, attained by the
moral assimilation of the mind OF
Christ, having the same quality and in
tention as His life, and having the same
kind of an outcome as His had" If We
i've in accordance with the leadership
of the Holy Spirit daily in all the
affairs of life. In this dark hour men
are puzzled by the outlook. The suffer-
ing, sorrow and sadness of the moment
are due to our failure as individuals and
nations to do Gods will. We need to
remember the words of AquinaS in this
crucial hour, when he said "Our in
terest In our destiny is an interest In a
possible blessedness, though not simply
in a far-off divine event. For the
destiny of the human will Is to CO.
operate in some degree OF present
awareness with the central power OF
the world, and so far perceive in present
experience the quality of union with
God"
When Nicodemus returned home he
carried with him the light he sought.
Twice again he appears in the New
Testament and in such manner that
we should be convinced that he be-
came a follower of Christ, for as
member of the Sanhedrin he raised
his voice upon behalf of the Master.
He courageously joined Joseph OF Ari-
mathaea in taking the Lords body from
the cross and giving to the form OF
the One he learned to love that night
a decent burial We ought to rejoice
that he made that night call upon the
Master. because we are indebted to
that visit for our golden text. Its
"whosoever" includes all who Will be-
lieye on Christ as their Lord and
Savior. II we believe, we know that
God has promised everlasting life. Let
us live as twice-born men and women
should live, so that the whole world
NAV come to know Jesus as their per-
sonal Savior.