Jesus proves to Nicodemus that he is totally ignorant of the revelation of the way of salvation and eternal life. Doctrine: all natural men are ignorant of God as revealed in Christ (Jn 3:1-21). Jesus gives two major reasons why men like Nicodemus are ignorant of spiritual realities:

1-Men do not have access to heaven.

Nicodemus was telling Jesus about the opinion of his religious colleagues. He uses the word ‘we’ when saying: “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God” (Jn 3:2). Jesus is also using the word ‘we’ when speaking on behalf of Himself and His family members, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. “Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who IS in heaven” (Jn 3:11-13). Don’t you feel sorry for Nicodemus and his associates, the religious leaders in Jerusalem? Jesus speaks in the name of the Trinity. He said that the major sin of Nicodemus and of all sinners is that they do not receive the Witness of the Trinity. They reject the Gospel. Men can’t claim that they are totally ignorant of God. Nature testifies that there is a Creator God. But what man rejects is the revelation of the way of salvation, by Grace alone, thru faith alone, in Christ alone. Man cannot on his own go to heaven. He needs a ‘password’ coming down directly from heaven. That Living Word is Christ! Trusting Jesus Christ who came from heaven to die for sinners is the only way to salvation! The revelation of life and death, of heaven and hell, is found only in the pages of the Bible. But reading the Bible alone is not enough. Man needs the help of the Holy Spirit to believe God’s Word. On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down from heaven and who is the Witness to Jesus!

Jesus speaks in Jerusalem, but He says that He is heaven at the same time. “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who IS in heaven” (Jn 3:13). We have a glimpse of Jesus’ life and glory before He came down to earth as a Man. Heaven is His eternal dwelling place. He sits on the throne in heaven. Even on earth, having the body of mortal man, Jesus is still “IN HEAVEN”. Jesus lives in heaven and on earth at the same time. God is Omnipresent! Nicodemus needed to hear that! Jesus was more than a teacher or a miracle worker. He is God! Nicodemus was talking to God, and he did not even know it! “Whatever the LORD pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places” (Ps 135:6). Jacob had the same revelation. “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it” (Gen 28:16). The revelation that Jesus is God humbles any man! Glory to God!

2-The only way to heaven is through the Cross.

The only way for man to receive eternal life and go to heaven is faith in the death of the Son of God on the Cross. For as long as man rejects Jesus, he can’t go to heaven. The only Person who can describe heaven is Jesus Christ who came down from heaven. It is only thru Christ that man can have a glimpse, enter and experience heaven. Jesus is the only Way! There is no other way! “Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (Jn 14:6; AMP). Amen!

Jesus tells Nicodemus that the Son of Man will be lifted as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness. He was referring to the story in the Book of Numbers 21. God’s people grumbled against God and Moses. They became discouraged on the way to the Promised Land. They complained saying they are tired of eating only manna, the food God sent from heaven. Manna stands for God’s Word. God became angry. He sent venomous serpents. Many people were bitten and died. They repented of their sins and asked Moses to intercede for them. Moses did. God gave ‘the cure’. He told Moses to make a bronze serpent. He should hang this serpent on a high pole for all to see it. Anyone who was bitten by a serpent should look up to the bronze serpent. He who looks with faith in God’s given solution, will live. He who refuses to look, or has no faith in God’s method of healing, will die. The main lessons from this story are these: God’s solution of looking with faith is the only solution that saves, heals, gives life. There is no other medicine, doctor, prayer or sacrifice that can save a dying man. Secondly, the bronze serpent is a symbol of the devil, not of Jesus. Bronze stands for judgment. Looking at that bronze serpent we see that he is condemned and defeated by the Cross, by Christ Crucified. By faith with see the total victory of Christ over Satan, sin, sickness and death.

Jesus told Nicodemus: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:14,15). This serpent on a pole is a symbol of the Cross. This is the doctrine of salvation: He who believes in Christ crucified shall have eternal life! He who rejects the Gospel, shall die and go to hell. “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation]” (Ac 4:12; AMP). Selah!

LIVING FAITH

“Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life!” The words of Jesus remind us of our greatest need: It is the need for salvation, for eternal life. “Salvation is of the Lord! (Jonah 2:9). God the Father sent God the Son to earth to provide the solution for our greatest need and to become our greatest blessing. This is the Gospel of Christ Crucified and Resurrected. Eternal life is given only to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Saving Faith is the deciding factor. Our Living Faith is more precious than silver and gold (1Pet 1:7). But not all faith is approved by God. These are the characteristics of Biblical Living Faith that saves the soul:

*Faith is connected to God’s Word, which is Truth. Faith is not just a religious emotion. Faith believes God’s Word. “So, then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17). Religious ‘secondhand faith’ cannot save. You must believe God’s Word by yourself! Here you see that there is a preacher and there is a hearer. Both must do their work. The hearer listens to God’s Word. It’s his responsibility to listen well. God’s Word is activated by the Holy Spirit, and it becomes living faith in his heart. The beginning, progress, and strength of faith is always by hearing. It is true that not all who hear the Gospel believe unto salvation. The Holy Spirit separates the wheat from the tares. God’s Word must be preached before the sinner hears and faith is born. Faith is acceptance and submission to truth. Jesus is Truth!

*Faith means totally trusting God and trusting Jesus Christ to save you. It means trusting God’s Promises. The believer abandons trust in himself and commits himself to Jesus Christ. It’s like marriage. Once a man and his wife get married, they open their hearts to one another, share their most intimate thoughts, trusting each other. They reject every other person coming between them. Agape love trusts truth and it is fruitful. As a child of God, you totally believe that Jesus will take you to heaven. Living Faith is personal, real and extremely strong!

*Faith saves the believer from ‘perishing’. In Greek, the word ‘perish’ means to be totally destroyed, or to die. To perish does not mean to cease to exist. It means to die a second death in the lake of fire, to be tormented day and night, forever and ever. “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever… 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:10,15). Some ask how a God of Love can condemn people to hell, to suffer forever. God is the God of Mercy and Love. But God is also the God of Justice. Because God is holy, He hates and punishes sin. When Adam sinned, sin entered humanity. We are born sinners. We also choose to commit sin. We are all condemned already. We are all going down to death and hell. We cannot save ourselves. God sent His Son Jesus Christ, to die on our behalf. Those who believe and surrender their lives to Jesus Christ, shall be saved. This is the doctrine of justification by Grace alone, thru faith alone, in Christ alone. The rest of the people, no matter how moral, good or religious they seem to be, remained condemned and perish. Jesus did not come to condemn men because they were ‘condemned already’ (Jn 3:18). Condemnation is old! Salvation is new!

When Jesus died on the Cross, He removed the sting of death. Like the people who were bitten by the fiery serpents in the wilderness, by looking with faith at the bronze serpent on the pole, the poison in their blood was neutralized. And they lived (Numbers 21). It is the same with looking unto Jesus! You need personal faith in His Person, especially in His death on your behalf. This is the truth revealed in the Bible. Faith saves! Unbelief condemns! Therefore, condemnation is as real as salvation! The people who have faith in Jesus have ‘Eternal Life’. Eternal life is a life that never ends. But it is not just that. Eternal Life is a special type of life; it is the life of God. It has a different quality than the life of a sinner. Salvation, eternal life, going to heaven, worshipping God forever are blessings money cannot buy. You cannot enter heaven trusting in your good works. If you reject Jesus, no tears you shed that day will make any difference once you die. Be born again!

The Book ‘The Pilgrim Progress’ written by John Bunyan, is a classic. Next to the Bible, is the greatest bestseller in the world. It tells of a man called Christian. God told him that his city will be destroyed. He believed the warning. That is true faith. He runs from his city towards the narrow gate. His family and friends try to convince him to come back. But he refuses. He runs shouting: “Life! Life! Eternal Life!” He passes through the narrow gate and arrives at the Cross. Looking at Christ Crucified, his burden of sin drops from his back and disappears. He is now free. He passes through many trials and temptations and eventually he arrives at the Celestial city, which is heaven itself. Later, his wife and children follow him on the same road of salvation. Worship the Lord!