Speak His Word Only

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Introduction John 3 records the nighttime conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee and “a ruler of the Jews” (John 3:1). Nicodemus recognized that Jesus had come from God because of the miracles He performed, but Jesus immediately directed the conversation beyond miracles to something far more fundamental: a person must be born again to see and enter the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus initially understood Jesus in natural terms. He asked how a grown man could enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born. Jesus was not speaking of another natural birth. He was teaching about spiritual regeneration—a work of God that gives a person new life. “Except a Man Be Born” Jesus begins with necessity. He does not present the new birth as an optional experience for unusually spiritual believers. “Except a man be born…” Entrance into God's Ki...

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” — Genesis 1:2 (KJV)   Observation The verse does not yet describe the ordered and inhabited world that appears later in the chapter. Instead, we are shown the earth before God brings the arrangement, distinction, and fullness that unfold through His spoken commands. “Without Form, and Void” The Hebrew expression translated “without form, and void” is tohu va-bohu (תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ) . Tohu carries the idea of formlessness, emptiness, waste, or an unformed condition. Bohu conveys emptiness or voidness. Together, the expression describes the earth as not yet ordered and filled in the manner that God is about to accomplish throughout Genesis 1. Darkness Was Upon the Face of the Deep Before God says, “Let there be light,” Genesis describes darkness upon the face of the deep. The Hebrew word translated “deep” is tehom (תְּהוֹם) , referring her...