A Sermon By Bishop James P. Dees, Founder of the Anglican Orthodox Church
In the 3rd Chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, Jesus, speaking to Nicodemus, said, "Except a man to be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."
"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."
We have heard of Nicodemus. He lived during the time of Jesus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He was one of the ruling men among the Jews. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish court. Nicodemus had heard much about our Lord and about his teachings, and he wanted to know more, and so one night, he decided to come to Jesus secretly and ask him some questions. He was afraid to come during the day time because he didn't want anybody to see him talking with this controversial Person, Jesus of Nazareth, so he came at night, and when he had found Him, he said to Him, "Rabbi (which means teacher), we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no one can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with Him."
We can imagine Jesus looking on Nicodemus with pity and compassion, for Nicodemus apparently was sympathetic with Jesus and his ministry, and wanted to learn more. Jesus answered him simply saying, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a ma be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God."
And then Nicodemus replied to Jesus, "How can a man be born again when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?" And Jesus answered him again saying: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Poor Nicodemus! He came to Jesus looking for help, but he could not understand what Jesus had to say to him. Jesus told Nicodemus that in order for a person to enter into the Kingdom of God, he had to be born into it anew through baptism into the realm of God's Spirit, into a new level of being; but Nicodemus confused it with being born again into this same world of material things into which he already had been born. Nicodemus's eyes were closed to Jesus was telling him because he had not been born again. He had not been born anew, but he was searching. He had not been born from above, he had not been born a second time, he had not been born into the kingdom of God, into the realm of God's Holy Spirit. And Jesus might as well have been talking to a stone wall - or a telephone pole- as to Nicodemus, because Nicodemus, poor man, had been born only once, and he did not know what Jesus was talking about. Nicodemus was a once-born man but he was searching.
As we look around us in the world today, we see a world full of once-born people, men and women, boys and girls, young and old, who have been born into this world on the physical level only and who have not yet experienced the new birth into the Life of the Spirit of God. The world is overflowing with people who have been born only on the natural level- who live only on the animal Page 2
level, the level of the flesh, within the confines of their own little intellectual systems, natural philosophies, human rationalities, and who know nothing of the joy of living in the freedom of the Kingdom of God, of living with Jesus, of living in Jesus.
St. Paul tells us in his first letter to the corinthians: "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body." "It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:--
"It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory:"
"It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power."
Jesus said, to Nicodemus, "that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit."
We come into this world a natural body--a fleshly body; and those who are saved are those who are raised up by God, on account of our faith in Jesus, to the spiritual level. By the power and grace of God which He gives to us on account of our faith in Jesus, in the atoning sacrifice of our Lord on the Cross, and faith in His Resurrection and Ascension, we re raised by him up into the Kingdom of God, and into the kingdom of His Spirit. God does this for us by His grace, freely, as we accept and believe in His Son and acknowledge hi atoning death on the Cross for us all.
It is only too apparent that there are vast multitudes of people in the world today who have not yet experienced this second birth, and who still live with Nicodemus on a worldly plane, who can see no further than this material world, which is a fallen world, this world of materialism which has as its first law the law of the survival of the fittest, and whose god is material gain, as St. Paul says, "Whose god is their belly, who mind earthly things." There are vast multitudes of people in the world today who are only once-born people, people who have been born on the level of the flesh, but who have not been born again on the SPIRITUAL level, who do not know of the things of the Kingdom of God, and who would foolishly ask with Nicodemus, "Can a man be born again when he is old; can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?" We have with us in the world today predominantly, overwhelmingly, once born people, people who have been sown a "natural" body only, and who put themselves into the center of their lives and of their striving, who confuse the things of the material world with FINAL things, and whose concern in life is with their own welfare, their own self-interest, their own self-sufficiency, their own self-enjoyment, who "build their barns" and "take their east" in self-complacency, bound by the chains of human reason, dry-rotting inside, and who never get beyond this animal world into which they are born, and who never know the difference. They are satisfied with themselves. The end of these people is death--physical death, spiritual death--the soul's death--separation from God, because they have not been born a second time; they have not been raised up a spiritual body; they know not the things of the Kingdom of God, which bode forever, and Oh, the pity of it! We know people like this, we know many people like this, and it seems impossible to reach them, to help them.
Our Lord said: "Except a man be BORN AGAIN, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." He must experience a SECOND BIRTH, with all of its BIRTH PAINS, of self-denial, of new scales of values and new attitudes towards reality, or he cannot enter the Holy City. Jesus said, "Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye cannot enter the Kingdom of God."
Having said all this, let us ask the question now: who, then, has experienced this second birth? Who has been born again? Who are those who have been raised up from the natural level, the animal level, the human level, the level of the flesh, from the realm of the natural intellect, and have been born into the Kingdom of God and become the Sons Page 3
of God?
St. Paul tells us plainly: "..as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God." Writing to the Christians in the Church of Rome, he says,"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ;.." inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven. And those who have been born a second time, who have been born into the world of the Divine Spirit, into God's Kingdom, are those who have let the Lord Jesus come into their hearts to take possession of them, who see in the Cross of the Saviour of the world the price paid by God for the sins of the world, for the sin in humanity that demanded such a price; the sin in ME and the sin in each one of us that demands such a price; they are those who see in the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross the sacrifice of God Himself; the sacrifice that God made of Himself in Jesus to Himself the Father, in order to justify us before his judgment seat, in order to "make peace: between us and God - Between us sinners and our judge who is also our loving heavenly Father. THIS GREAT WORK GOD DID FOR US. God did it because man was not able to do it; God did this out of His infinite love for humanity. St. John tells us: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
"He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world know his not."
"He came unto His own, and his own received him not."
BUT AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, TO THEM gave he power to BECOME the sons of God, even to them which BELIEVE on his name.
"Who are BORN not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, BUT OF GOD!"
Our new birth is not from the world, it is not from below; it is not a product of the striving of the human intellect, it is not a CLIMBING UP OF A LADDER OF GOOD MORALS. It is from above, it IS THE FREE gift of God, of His free grace.
"And as many as received HIM;" St John tells us, as many as received Jesus, as their Saviour, their Lord, their God, TO THEM JESUS gave, and still gives the power- the strength- to BECOME, and to be, the Sons of God, to experience the NEW BIRTH, to be born a SECOND TIME, out of this animal existence in which we find ourselves, into the Spiritual kingdom of his beloved Son. We have the blessed assurance of this over and over again in the Scripture. St. John tells us in his First Epistle: "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:" and he says, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God" is born a second time, is born into the Kingdom of Heaven.
We may ask, WHY? WHY? Oh, why is this so? Why are we given so wondrous and great a gift? The Scripture tells us why, and you know why. Because, "God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, Jesus, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." God so loved the world that he took upon himself the form of a servant and came into the world as one who ministers to bear our sins upon the Tree, because we could not bear our sins ourselves, and survive God's punishment on them; for the wages of sin is death and hell. God so loved the world that He suffered himself in His Son to be lifted up- and crucified- in order that a dead world might be given a new birth, that it might have New Life, New Hope, as we behold the forgiveness of God made available to us through the suffering of our Saviour, God in Jesus on the Cross. And St. Paul tells us: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs to God and joint heirs with Christ."
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God so loves the world that He gives New Birth and New Life to those who will turn to Him and worship Him and serve Him and to suffer when called on to suffer for Jesus' sake. He calls us to be faithful, and to walk in the way of the Cross! Jesus said, "Except a man take up his cross daily and follow after me, he is not worthy of me." "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk even as He walked."
Some brave soul my rise up and say:
"Lord, I would gladly die for Thee,
for Thou hast died for me,
and what am I compared with Thee."
Some people want to do big things for our Saviour! But Jesus does not ask us all to do big things, or to die a martyr's death. He calls to many of us to suffer other things...He calls
to us to suffer the little inconvenience that it takes to get ready to come to Church and to Sunday School regularly, every Sunday - to worship Him and to study His Word.
He calls to us to suffer the time spent studying Sunday School lessons, and helping in the Sunday School, and helping our young people, serving Him in the Church's work, (serving in the Women's work, and men's work) and serving the unfortunate, the sick, the needy, visiting those who have just gotten out of the habit of coming to church and so on.
But most important of all, and basic to it all, God calls on us to suffer the destruction of that old self in us that wills its own will when it comes into conflict with His will. We must suffer the destruction of the Old Man or sin in us, the natural man, with which we are born, in order that Christ may live in us; in order that we may become NEW CREATURES made by Him into His likeness, that we may beBORN AGAIN, as we walk with Jesus, letting the HOLY Spirit of the living God remake us and remold us into the glorious image of his beloved Son.
But can we suffer this? Can we suffer these things Can we drink of the cup of Self-Sacrifice? "Can you drink of the cup that I shall drink of," said Jesus, to his disciples, the cup of death. "We are able," they said, and they WERE able. But most people can't, and most people won't. But if we love God our father and his dear Son, and his children, we can.
If we have experienced the love and the power of God streaming through the mangled bleeding body of our dear crucified Lord hanging on the Cross, hanging there for our sakes, we can, with God's help. Jesus our Saviour said, "If a man love me, he will keep my commandments." He will follow me: he will do my will. And when we sense this, we come to Church, not because we think that the preacher may preach an interesting sermon, or simply to enjoy human fellowship. But we will come because WE HAVE FOUND JESUS, OR rather because Jesus has found us, and we want to give ourselves to Him in worship and in service...because we love Him, because we know that He loves us, (He died for us) because we know "the Lord is mindful of his own." St. John says, "We love him because He first loved us, and gave His son to be the propitiation of our sins." Jesus said, "Except a man be born again he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Have you been born again? St. John tells us: "As many as received Him, to THEM gave He power to become the Sons of God." - to be born again.
St. John tells us, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." We believe that Jesus is the Christ. And we are born of God. St. John tells us, "God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and He in Him." And who ever knows these things, and has committed himself to Jesus, has been born again.
