BIBLICAL FOUNDATION 1 – Chapter 2

JOHN 3
LESSON:
Many people consider being “born again” a fad that developed in the 20th century. Some people react negatively to being
born again because they think that it is being converted to a religion. But being born again is not a fad nor is it
converting to a religion. It is what happens to us when we establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

READ: JOHN 3:1-16

1. Who is the main character in verse 1? __________________________
What kind of a man was he? ____________________________________________________
(The Pharisees were the religious leaders during the time of Jesus. They were the elite members of society who were
learned, able to master the themes of the Bible and memorized word-for-word the first five books of the Bible.
Nicodemus was not only a member of the Pharisees but also a member of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin.
However, this same group of people were the ones who had Jesus crucified)

a. Why did Nicodemus see Jesus “at night”? _______________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
Why was this so? _________________________________________________________

b. What was his impression of Jesus? ____________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________.
One thing good about Nicodemus was his openness. He was seeking answers to questions deep inside him.

2. Thoughts to ponder on from VERSE 2:

What was Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus’ unspoken question in Verse 3? ____________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Notice that even if Nicodemus never asked Jesus a question, Jesus already knew what was in his heart and what
he wanted to know.

Is it enough to be religious like Nicodemus? _____________

Is being “born again” an option or an absolute condition? _____________________________

If we are “NOT” born again, can we enter the kingdom of heaven? ______________

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 Nicodemus wanted to know how to enter God’s kingdom.
The term “Born-again” was first mentioned in the passage which Nicodemus didn’t understand
as shown by how he replied in VERSE 4.

3. What was Nicodemus’ understanding of what Jesus said? _____________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ _______________.

Give Nicodemus credit ... remember he was a Pharisee ... a seminary scholar ... a prominent teacher. He was at
home with the rabbinical method of teaching spiritual truth in symbols which Jesus had just used. He was merely
picking up Jesus’ own use of symbolism and was basically telling Jesus, “ I can’t start all over again; it’s too late
... I’m too old to start over.”

4. In VERSES 5-8, Jesus now tries to explain to Nicodemus what He meant by being born of the
Spirit.
In VERSE 6, Jesus explains that He was talking about two kinds of birth: the
________________________ and ___________________________.
In VERSE 8, being the Master Teacher that He is, Jesus explains that being born of the Spirit is
like the __________________; one cannot see the wind but knows that it is present because of
its effects. It is the same with a man who is born of the _____________________. You cannot
see the Spirit in that man but you see its effects on his life, for example, a man who’s full of love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness etc.

5. But in spite of the explanation of Jesus, what was Nicodemus’ reply in verse 9? He still couldn’t
_______________.

6. In verse 10, Nicodemus receives a rebuke from Jesus. Why? Nicodemus should have known
better since he taught the ______________________________!

7. In verse 12, we see the reason why Nicodemus couldn’t understand. What was the reason?
___________________

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8. Jesus delivers His point in verse 13. That He is the only one who has come from
______________________ that’s why He had the ______________________ to talk about
the Kingdom of God.

In order for Nicodemus to understand what He was explaining, Jesus uses a story that Nicodemus had mastered,
one that came from the first five books of the Bible.

After Nicodemus heard this, he didn’t question Jesus anymore and HIS LIFE CHANGED.

DESCRIBE THE CHANGES IN NICODEMUS IN THE FOLLOWING VERSES:

READ JOHN 7:45-52

9. In Verses 50-51, what do you notice about Nicodemus?

______________________________________________

READ JOHN 19:38-39

10. WHAT DID NICODEMUS DO TO SHOW TO THE WORLD THAT HE WAS

DECLARING HIMSELF A BELIEVER OF JESUS?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

11. DID HE RISK ANYTHING BY DOING THIS? ___________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

12. WHAT CHANGED NICODEMUS? WHAT WAS IN VERSE 14 THAT MADE HIM
UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS WAS SAYING?

To answer this, we need to go back to the first five books of the Bible, specifically NUMBERS 21, and
understand what went on in the mind of Nicodemus when Jesus spoke those words.

NUMBERS 21:4-9

13. In VERSE 4, as the people were traveling, they started to _______________________ against
God.

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14. WHAT WERE THEY COMPLAINING ABOUT? _________________________________

15. DID THEY REALLY LACK FOOD AND WATER? _______________________________

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

NOTE: WE MAY THINK NEGATIVELY ABOUT THE ISRAELITES AT THIS POINT

BECAUSE HERE WAS A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO PERSONALLY WITNESSED THE
DELIVERANCE OF GOD THROUGH THE PARTING OF THE RED SEA AND YET
THEY STILL FOUND TIME TO COMPLAIN AND GRUMBLE.

WHAT ABOUT US? GOD HAS BEEN SO GOOD IN PROVIDING FOR ALL OF OUR
NEEDS AND HAS DONE A LOT OF MIRACLES IN OUR LIVES, BUT ARE WE STILL
COMPLAINING? WE COMPLAIN ABOUT FINANCES, TRAFFIC, WORK, SUPERIORS, and
GOVERNMENT etc. TO STOP OUR COMPLAINING, WE NEED TO START COUNTING
OUR BLESSINGS.

16. WHAT DID GOD DO IN VERSE 6? ___________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

17. In VERSE 7, WHAT, IN THEIR MINDS, WAS THE SOLUTION TO THEIR PROBLEM?
______________________________________________________________.
*Oftentimes, we think of certain things to be the solution to our problems but God may have other solutions.

18. WHAT WAS GOD’S SOLUTION? ______________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

19. WHAT WOULD MAKE THEM LOOK AT THE SNAKE?

___________________________________________________________________________

NOTE: THOSE WHO WERE BITTEN HAD TWO CHOICES, EITHER TO RUN TO THE
DOCTOR OR OBEY GOD’S INSTRUCTION. VERSE 9 SAYS THAT ONLY THOSE WHO
OBEYED GOD SURVIVED. IT WASN’T THE SNAKE THAT SAVED THE ISRAELITES
BUT THEIR FAITH AND OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD.

Back to Nicodemus: When Jesus mentioned about the snake being lifted up in the desert, Nicodemus recalled this
story clearly and somehow he understood a little of what Jesus meant. But when Nicodemus witnessed Jesus crucified on
the cross and lifted up, the more he understood and from thereon, he declared himself to be a believer.

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HOW DID JESUS SUMMARIZE THE TRUE MEANING OF BEING “BORN AGAIN”?
Read John 3:16.

20. What is man’s part in being born again according to verse 16?
_________________________________________.
Belief is not just head knowledge but obedience to God’s word.

21. What happens to those who reject Jesus Christ, according to verse 18?
___________________________________________.

APPLICATION:
WHAT ABOUT US? DO YOU WANT ETERNAL LIFE? DO YOU WANT THE SPIRITUAL
POISON OF SIN TO BE REMOVED?
DO WE BELIEVE THAT WE ONLY NEED TO PUT OUR FAITH IN JESUS TO BE SAVED
FROM HELL?

IF SO, WILL YOU ACCEPT HIS GIFT OF SALVATION TODAY BY INVITING JESUS
INTO YOUR HEART/LIFE?
TO SHOW YOUR TRUST IN HIM, YOU CAN SAY THIS PRAYER.

PRAYER:
Lord God, I admit that I am a sinner, full of the poison of sin. I thank you for
providing a solution - your son Jesus Christ who died on the cross for my sins.
Today, I put my trust in Him totally to save me from eternal death. I would like to
open my heart now and invite you, Lord Jesus, to come into my life. Thank you
for forgiving my sins and for Your gift of eternal life.
Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into my heart. Give me the desire to want to
know you more and more. Make me into the kind of person you want me to be.
Amen
MEMORY VERSES:

Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

1 John 5:11-12
“And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. [12] He who
has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”

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John 3 – Participant’s Guide