John 3:1-16 NIV

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:5

Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee ,.... Explaining somewhat more clearly, what he before said: except a man be born of water and of the Spirit : these are, מלות שנות , "two words", which express the same thing, as Kimchi observes in many places in his commentaries, and signify the grace of the Spirit of God. The Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read, "the Holy Spirit", and so Nonnus; and who doubtless is intended: by "water", is not meant material water, or baptismal... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:6

That which is born of the flesh, is flesh ,.... Man by his natural birth, and as he is born according to the flesh of his natural parents, is a mere natural man; that is, he is carnal and corrupt, and cannot discern spiritual things; nor can he, as such, enter into, and inherit the kingdom of God; see 1 Corinthians 2:14 . And therefore there is a necessity of his being born again, or of the grace of the Spirit, and of his becoming a spiritual man; and if he was to be, or could be born... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:7

Marvel not that I said unto thee ,...., For Nicodemus was quite astonished, at this doctrine of the new birth; it was altogether new to him, and unheard of by him; nor could he understand, nor conceive in what manner it could be: ye must be born again ; in "four" of Beza's copies, it is read "we"; but as Christ was not begotten in a carnal way, or descended not from Adam in the ordinary way of generation, he was not carnal and corrupt, nor in the least tainted with sin; and so stood in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:8

The wind bloweth where it listeth ,.... For ought any mortal can say, or do to the contrary: and so the Spirit of God is a free agent in regeneration; he works how, and where, and when he pleases; he acts freely in the first operation of his grace on the heart, and in all after influences of it; as well as in the donation of his gifts to men, for different purposes; see 1 Corinthians 12:11 ; and this grace of the Spirit in regeneration, like the wind, is powerful and irresistible; it... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:9

Nicodemus answered and said unto him ,.... Remaining still as ignorant as ever, though Christ had explained the phrase "born again", at which he stumbled, by a being "born of water and of the Spirit", or of the grace of the Spirit of God; and had illustrated this by the free, powerful, and invisible blowing of the wind: how can these things be ? The Arabic version reads, "how can this be?" referring either to the last thing said, that a man's being born of the Spirit, is like the blowing... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:10

Jesus answered and said unto him ,.... Upbraiding him with his continued and invincible ignorance, which was aggravated by his dignified character: art thou a master in Israel ? or "of Israel", as all the Oriental versions render it, as it literally may be rendered he was one of the חכמי ישראל , "wise men", or "doctors of Israel" F18 Derech Eretz, fol. 18. 1. , so often mentioned by the Jews. One of the Jewish doctors was answered, by a boy, just in such language as is here... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:11

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak that we do know ,.... Meaning either himself, and John the Baptist his forerunner, who preached the same doctrine of regeneration, internal sanctification, and evangelical repentance, as well as outward reformation, as necessary to entrance into the kingdom of heaven, or the Gospel dispensation, he declared was just at hand; or his disciples with himself, who were now with him, and whom he had called to preach the same truths he himself did; or the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:12

If I have told you earthly things ,.... Not that the doctrines he delivered were earthly ones; for he was not of the earth, but from heaven, and above all, and so spake not of the earth, but of heaven, John 3:31 ; and this doctrine of regeneration was an heavenly doctrine; and the thing itself required supernatural power, and grace from above: but either they were the more easy doctrines of the Gospel; or were delivered in a plain and easy style, and illustrated by similes taken from... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:13

And no man hath ascended into heaven ,.... Though Enoch and Elias had, yet not by their own power, nor in the sense our Lord designs; whose meaning is, that no man had, or could go up to heaven, to bring from thence the knowledge of divine and heavenly things; in which sense the phrase is used in Deuteronomy 30:12 , and which may be illustrated by John 1:18 ; wherefore inasmuch as Nicodemus had acknowledged Christ to he a teacher come from God, our Lord, would have him know, that he was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:14

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness ,.... The history referred to is in Numbers 21:8 . There is, in many things, an agreement between this serpent, and Jesus Christ: as in the matter of it, it was a brazen serpent; it was made not of gold, nor of silver, but of brass, the meaner metal, and was a very unlikely means, of itself, to heal the Israelites; and might be despised by many: this may denote the meanness of Christ in his human nature, in his birth and parentage, and... read more

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:5

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:6

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:7

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:8

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:9

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:10

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:11

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:12

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:13

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - John 3:14

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