Eternal Life Today | John 3:1-21

In John 3:1–15, we meet Nicodemus, the unfulfilled superstar. John 3:1 says, “There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.”

Nicodemus represented the best of the best—the cream of the crop of Israel. He was a Pharisee, part of the strictest, most devout sect of Judaism, and a member of the Sanhedrin, the nation’s ruling council of 70 elders plus the High Priest. These leaders were not only religious authorities but also exercised civil influence under Roman rule—almost like senators today.

Jesus also calls him a “teacher of Israel,” someone who knew the Scriptures and the Law better than anyone, who lived by it and taught others to obey it. Nicodemus was moral, disciplined, wealthy, and powerful. By every human measure, he was successful.

Yet he was unfulfilled. All his striving and achievements left him wanting. He knew something was missing. He had heard about Jesus and the miracles He performed. Could this man hold the answer he had been seeking?

Nicodemus’s Misguided Investigation: Who Are You?

So, Nicodemus undertook a misguided investigation to find out about Jesus. John 3:2 says, “This man [Nicodemus] came to him at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.’”

Nicodemus likely approached Jesus at night to avoid scrutiny by the other religious leaders. Apparently, there had already been much talk about Jesus. At this point, some of the Jewish leaders were curious, while others were already furious. Jesus had recently turned over tables and driven the merchants and money changers out of the temple with a whip!

At first glance, Nicodemus seems to be on the right track. He addresses Jesus as “Rabbi… a teacher that comes from God.” In Nicodemus’s mind, this was generous, treating a humble carpenter as a peer. But Jesus is no peer. He is not merely a teacher; He is the Teacher. He is not simply a priest; He is the High Priest.

We are reminded: it is not enough to know something about Jesus. You must know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior to be redeemed.

Jesus’s Response: You Must Be Born Again

Nicodemus approached Jesus without asking a question, but Jesus answered anyway. How did He know what was on his mind? John 2:24–25 explains: Jesus did not need testimony about anyone, for He knew what was in a person’s heart. Even on earth, He had divine knowledge of the human heart and its needs.

Nicodemus sincerely wanted to know how to enter God’s Kingdom. He had followed the Law, done all the right things, and sought assurance of salvation. But Jesus shocked him: “You must be born again.”

Nicodemus would have been familiar with the ministry of John the Baptist, who called for repentance and baptized in water, but announced that another—the Messiah—would come to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11). Jesus was explaining that to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, one must repent and be regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

In other words, there is absolutely nothing we can do to earn salvation. Our self-righteousness, morality, good works, and apparent success are all insufficient—filthy rags before a holy God. Salvation comes only when we repent and are fundamentally transformed, made into a new creation by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

The prophets foretold that the Holy Spirit would regenerate men’s hearts. The Scriptures revealed that God would transform men by His grace. Jesus now testifies to this truth. But their testimony concerns spiritual realities—and fallen humanity has rejected it. Instead of trusting God’s promise of regeneration, people futilely strive in the flesh to rescue themselves from darkness. 

Then, in verse 13, Jesus makes a bold claim. He essentially says, “Listen carefully. No one else can teach you this. No one else can show you the way. Only I can tell you how to get to heaven because only I came from heaven.”

With that authority, Jesus reveals how new birth is possible at all… 

Jesus’s Solution: Believe in the Lifted-Up Son of Man

In John 3:14–15, Jesus gives the answer to Nicodemus’s question: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

In the Gospel of John, the verb “lifted up” (hypsoo) is used four times. In each case, it links Christ’s humiliation and crucifixion to his resurrection and exaltation as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus was marching toward glory. His humiliation did not stand in the way of His exaltation. It was the way. The means by which He would redeem His people and establish His Kingdom.

How can a person be born again? By looking in faith to the Son of God who was crucified so that we might live.

• To be saved, you must look in faith—believe in, place your trust in. 
• To whom do we look for salvation? Jesus Christ, as He has revealed Himself through His Word. 
• You must look to the Lifted-Up Jesus of the Bible, who descended from heaven, was crucified on the cross to bear the wrath of God on our behalf, was resurrected from the dead, ascended into heaven, and will return one day.

Jesus Came on a Rescue Mission

“For God loved the world…” The opening phrase of John 3:16 begins to reveal Christ’s purpose: Jesus came on a rescue mission.

In John’s Gospel and letters (1–3 John), the term “world” does not refer merely to the planet or the people on it. The “world” represents the wicked and sinful, those who stand in opposition to a holy God and are under His wrath. That makes God’s love all the more remarkable. 

Though we were lost in sin and under His wrath, Christ came and died for us.

Often, the phrase, “God so loved the world…” is interpreted as referring to “how much” God loved the world. How much? So much. But it is better translated, “For God loved the world in this way…” or “in this manner…”

God loved the world by giving His only Son. It is in the giving of His Son that the extent and intensity of His love are revealed. How much does He love us? He gave His only Son. He gave His Son by sending Him into the world. And He gave His Son on the cross. Christ’s atoning sacrifice was not exacted from a reluctant Father. It was motivated by His great love for us.

It is critical to understand this: there are no spiritual free agents. From the moment you exist, apart from God’s grace through Jesus Christ, you stand condemned. You don’t have to do anything to earn hell—you are already under God’s judgment. You need rescuing.

John 3:17–18 makes this clear: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned.”

Do not misunderstand Christ’s mission. He did not come to condemn us—we are already condemned. He came to deliver us from condemnation so that we can escape the future judgment.

What has not yet arrived is the full experience of that condemnation. Now it exists as a legal and spiritual reality, but if you die without trusting in Christ, that verdict becomes eternal, and you will experience the consequences of condemnation in hell forever.

The Means of Salvation

When confronted with these eternal realities, we must all ask the same question Nicodemus asked: “How can this be accomplished? How can one be born again?”

The Bible answers clearly. Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.” Salvation is entirely God’s gift, received through faith in Jesus Christ, not by anything we do.

Jesus alluded to this in His conversation with Nicodemus. John 3:8 says, “The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Here, Jesus uses an analogy: the same Greek word (pneuma) is used for wind and Spirit. Just as we cannot control or harness the wind, we cannot facilitate our own spiritual rebirth. Salvation comes by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, and its effects are evident in a transformed life.

So, we are all faced with a critical choice. The same choice Nicodemus faced. It’s a choice that everyone makes, whether they acknowledge it or not. Will you reject Christ and remain in darkness or accept Christ and come humbly into the light?

Behold, and Be Changed

When we behold Jesus for who He truly is and trust in Him as our Savior, we are changed.

Scripture strongly suggests that Nicodemus’s encounter with Jesus led to genuine faith. Though we left him earlier at a spiritual crossroads, we see the outcome of his journey in John 19:38–42. After the crucifixion—when many of the disciples had scattered—Nicodemus stepped forward publicly. Along with Joseph of Arimathea, he prepared Jesus’s body for burial and laid it in the tomb. The man who once came to Jesus by night now identified with Him in the light. It appears that Nicodemus had been changed—born again.

As we begin this new year, I want to leave you with three final application points from God’s Word.

• It is not enough to be a better version of the old person
• The redeemed experience eternal life today and forever
• Your transformation is your testimony.

So, this year, will you commit yourself to Christ in such a way that those around you see a difference that can only be explained by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit? If you will, that transformation will become a living testimony to the grace of God at work in you.