Nicodemus at Night

Drake Allen
John 3: Nicodemus
John 3:3
• Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a
man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

• γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν
• gennethe anothen
• born again (anew, from above, from on high, from the top)
• αναγεννηθεί (1 Peter)
• anagennethe
Born Again: David A. Bednar
• “We begin the process of being born again through exercising faith in
Christ, repenting of our sins, and being baptized by immersion for the
remission of sins by one having priesthood authority. … Total immersion in
and saturation with the Savior’s gospel are essential steps in the process of
being born again”
Kingdom of God: Joseph Fielding Smith
• “The kingdom of God mentioned by the Savior in his conversation with
Nicodemus points clearly to the fact that it is the celestial kingdom that is
meant. This is also implied in the instructions given by our Savior to his
apostles when he left them. They were to go into all the world and preach
the gospel, all who accepted and were baptized should enter the celestial
kingdom, but all others would be damned, or be assigned to one of the other
kingdoms.”
John 3:5
• 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.
Seeing vs. Entering: Joseph Smith, Jr.
• “It is one thing to see the kingdom of God, and another thing to enter into it.
We must have a change of heart to see the kingdom of God, and subscribe
the articles of adoption to enter therein”
• When a person “sees” the kingdom of God, the Holy Ghost has caused the
person to have a mighty “change of heart”. Then the person must
participate in the ordinances of the gospel in order to “enter” the kingdom
of God.
Entering the Kingdom: Robert D. Hales
• “When we are baptized by immersion by one with the proper priesthood authority and
choose to follow our Savior, we then are in His kingdom and of His kingdom. …
• “At baptism we make a covenant with our Heavenly Father that we are willing to come
into His kingdom and keep His commandments from that time forward, even though we
still live in the world. …
• “When we understand our baptismal covenant and the gift of the Holy Ghost, it will
change our lives and will establish our total allegiance to the kingdom of God. When
temptations come our way, if we will listen, the Holy Ghost will remind us that we have
promised to remember our Savior and obey the commandments of God. …
• “By choosing to be in His kingdom, we separate—not isolate—ourselves from the world.”
Ordinances for Exaltation
• Joseph Smith, Jr.
• “Being born again, comes by the Spirit of God through ordinances”
• Boyd K. Packer
• “Good conduct without the ordinances of the gospel will neither redeem nor exalt
mankind; covenants and the ordinances are essential”
• Ordinances and covenants become our credentials for admission into His presence.
To worthily receive them is the quest of a lifetime; to keep them thereafter is the
challenge of mortality”
John 3:8
• The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but
canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is
born of the Spirit.

• pneuma
• wind, breath, spirit (ruah in Hebrew)
• The Spirit breathes where it wishes
The Spirit: Marion G. Romney
• “The Master was here affirming that the knowledge to be obtained through
the gift of the Holy Ghost—the rebirth of which the Lord had spoken is just
as sure and certain to us as the wind that blows, even though we cannot see
it. The Lord was teaching Nicodemus that the process of learning about
things from the Spirit is real, even though the Spirit’s workings cannot be
understood by those who have not been born again.”
John 3:16
John 3:16: Dallin H. Oaks
• “There is no greater evidence of the infinite power and perfection of God’s
love than is declared by the Apostle John: ‘For God so loved the world, that
he gave his only begotten Son’ (John 3:16). Another Apostle wrote that God
‘spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all’ (Romans 8:32).
Think how it must have grieved our Heavenly Father to send His Son to
endure incomprehensible suffering for our sins. That is the greatest evidence
of His love for each of us!”
John 3:16: Bruce R. McConkie
• John 3:16 “summarizes the whole plan of salvation, tying together the
Father, the Son, his atoning sacrifice, that belief in him which presupposes
righteous works, and ultimate eternal exaltation for the faithful”