resumé
John’s gospel is shallow enough for the baby to swim, but deep enough for an elephant to drown.
- Sovereign Regeneration is also called Effective Call.
- In the sense that God’s call always creates the result for which it was called and in that sense is irresistible.
- His life for these chosen sheep and the Holy Ghost applies the blessings of the cross to the lives of these sheep.
Today we will see how we are led into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The Father chooses us, the Son buys us, and the Spirit regenerates us. There are four truths I want to emphasize: (1), the sovereign birth, (2) the sovereign resurrection, (3) attract the sovereign, and (4) call sovereign. These are intertwined truths and they say the same thing: this God who brought us to Christ.
Sovereign birth or sovereign regeneration
But to all who have received it, he has given them the power to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in his name; who were not born of blood, nor of will of flesh, nor of will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13).
Verse 12 speaks of conversion and the 13th of regeneration. Conversion and regeneration are two sides of the same coin. Is it the activity of the man of conversion? It’s your responsibility to convert. Regeneration is the action of God, which allows the activity of man.
No one can believe for man, not even God; it is man who believes and repents, but it is God who works in us to bring us faith and repentance, to regenerate us and give us a new heart. Regeneration is the cause and conversion is the effect.
Verse 13 shows three negative points about how we did not come unto Christ: we have not come for (1) ethnic ancestry (God has many children, but has no grandchildren), (2) works (there are not enough good works to take us to God), nor by our (3) will, because we are one who seeks God (we can seek what God offers, but not the person of God). At the end of verse 13, a positive statement of how He came unto Christ is shown:by God’s will.
We believe in Jesus because we were born again, because God gave us a heart of flesh and took away our stone heart that resists God. At this moment of regeneration, the Holy Spirit gives us the gift of faith and repentance and bows before Jesus and We believe in Christ. Just as in our physical birth, conception occurs before birth, God works previously in our hearts to make us born in His kingdom.
In the new birth, God works in our hearts, giving us new affections and new desires so that we can believe in Christ. We are new creatures, old things have disappeared and everything is new: it is the saving work of his Spirit.
To this Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that he who is not born again cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus asked him, How can a man be born old?Can you go back to your womb in her mother’s womb and be born a second time?Jesus answered and said, “True, I say unto you, no one who is not born of water and Spirit cannot enter the kingdom of God. “What is born of the flesh, flesh is ; and what was born of the Spirit is the spirit, do not be missed if I tell you that you must be born again, the wind blows where it wants, you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; the same is true for all born of the Spirit (John 3:3-8).
There is only one active agent at the new birth: the Holy Ghost. It is not God and man, but only God, Jesus says that Nicodemus would not see the Kingdom unless he was born again, of the Spirit. To see the Kingdom, one must be born again beforehand.
The Holy Spirit does not ask man for permission, he gives permission to man, because he is sovereign, like the Father and the Son; blows where he wants. When the Spirit blows in the human heart, it does not simply knock on the door and ask permission, but it breaks the door and invades our hearts. Also, do we have no way to predict how the Holy Ghost will work?know where it’s coming from or where it’s going
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life; because God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life (John 3: 15-16).
In verses 15 and 16, we see the result of regeneration; we believe because the Spirit has blown into our hearts; It all comes from God!There is no way to give him glory beyond what he deserves in our salvation. Let us not rob God of his glory. He was the Spirit who gave birth to us in his Kingdom, for we could not be born alone.
Another figure John uses, besides the new birth, is the resurrection of the dead.
In truth, I truly tell you, the time has come and the time has come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear him will live (John 5:25).
Notice that “he’s here. ” This text does not refer to the final resurrection, it is in verses 28 and 29. In this text, we talk about the spiritual resurrection. The resurrection of the dead in this text is caused by the call of the Son. In the Bible, we have two types of calls: the general and the specific. The general call, which is the free offering of the gospel to the ends of the earth, saying “everyone who believes will be saved. “However, no one can accept the general invitation alone. without God’s specific call to resurrect this spiritual death. This is figurative when Jesus said, “Lazarus, come out!”Christ calls us by our name and all who he calls by our name come!
All that the Father gives me will come to me; And whatever happens, I will not reject it under any circumstances. [?] No one can come to me if the Father who sent me does not bring him; and I will raise you up on the last day (John 6: 37. 44).
Do you see God’s sovereignty in this text? Everything the Father gives will come. No one can come unto Christ if the Father does not bring him. “Bringing,” in the original, doesn’t just mean attracting, persuading, or tilting, it literally means grabbing and dragging in a different direction. . See this in Acts 16:19; 21:30, John 21: 6, 18:10; 21:30 and James 2:6.
The power of the Spirit is much greater than ours that brings us out of where we are and leads us into God’s presence; no sheep will be trapped in the world, because God calls us and takes us out of the world. It is not because one person is better than the other, one deceased person is a deceased person, it is all due to grace.
In truth, I truly tell you that he who does not enter the fold through the door, but goes up to another place, is a thief and a thief; but the one who walks through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. he, the doorman opens, the sheep hear his voice, he calls his sheep by name and lets them out. After releasing everything that belongs to him, he advances, and they follow him, for they recognize his voice; (John 10:1-4)
Grace’s doctrines are not secondary, they are paramount. See how Jesus begins these texts by saying, “Really, really, I tell you. “If you understand this, you are well taught by the Spirit; if you lose that, you’ve lost what’s from the udring.
Look in this text that Jesus does not call the world, but his sheep and does not call them generically, but calls them by name. And why do they follow you, do you hear the pastor’s voice?
Salvation comes from the Lord, not from you. It begins in the will of God. Have you ever been drawn to Christ by the Spirit? Has the Spirit ever given you faith and repentance? Can you say, “The Lord is my shepherd”?
Hallelujah, what a powerful Spirit we have, that he dominated the rebellion of our hearts and gave us a new life in Christ. He provides everything we need, including faith to believe in Christ. All glory is for God.