1
There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler among the Jews.

2
He came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come as a teacher sent from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

3
Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

4
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”

5
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

8
The wind blows where it wills, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9
Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

10
Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do you not understand these things?

11
Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we have seen, yet you do not receive our testimony.

12
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

13
No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

14
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

15
so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.

16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

17
For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

18
Whoever believes in Him is not condemned; whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19
And this is the judgment: the Light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.

20
For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

21
But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be made clear that his deeds have been done in God.”

22
After this Jesus went with his disciples into the land of Judea, and there he stayed with them and baptized.

23
John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there, and people were coming and being baptized,

24
for John had not yet been thrown into prison.

25
Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples and a Jew about purification.

26
So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, look, he is baptizing also, and all are going to him.”

27
John answered, “No one can receive anything unless it has been given him from heaven.

28
You yourselves bear me witness that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent before him.’

29
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.

30
He must increase, but I must decrease.

31
He who comes from above is above all; he who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.

32
He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.

33
Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.

34
For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without measure.

35
The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.

36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; but whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

📖 John 3 – New Birth and God’s Love That Saves the World

🧾 Summary of John 3

This chapter contains an important conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader. Jesus explains the concept of new birth, presents the heart of the gospel of salvation, and reveals his loving mission for the world. At the end of the chapter, John the Baptist bears witness to the greatness of Jesus.

1. Jesus and Nicodemus: Born of the Spirit (verses 1–21)

• Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, came to Jesus by night.
• He acknowledged that Jesus was a teacher from God because of his signs.
• Jesus said:

“Unless a person is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (verse 3)

• Nicodemus was puzzled in a literal way, and then Jesus explained that the new birth is birth of water and the Spirit.
• Jesus declared a deep truth:

“For God so loved this world, that He gave His only begotten Son…” (verse 16)

👉 Meaning:
Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save it through faith in Him. Those who believe will have eternal life.

2. John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus (verses 22–36)

• After the conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus and His disciples were baptizing.
• John’s disciples became uneasy because many people were beginning to follow Jesus.
• John answered with humility:

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (verse 30)

• John acknowledged that Jesus came from above and spoke on God’s behalf, because God gave the Spirit to Him without measure.

👉 Meaning:
Jesus is the only way to the Father, and faith in Him brings eternal life, while rejection of Him brings God’s wrath.

📘 Main Teachings of John 3

1. New birth is an absolute requirement for entering the Kingdom of God.
2. Salvation does not come from good works, but through faith in Jesus Christ.
3. John 3:16 is the most concise summary of the gospel: God’s love, the giving of Jesus, and the offer of eternal life.
4. The one who believes in Jesus will not perish, but will be saved.
5. The humility of John the Baptist is an example for all servants of God: exalting Jesus, not oneself.

✨ Spiritual Meaning of John 3

• Many religious people like Nicodemus know about God but have not yet experienced spiritual birth.
• New birth is not merely a moral change, but a total renewal by the Holy Spirit.
• God’s love is universal (“for this world”), but salvation is only for those who believe.
• We must live in the light and leave the darkness that loves sin.
• Faith is a response to love, not the result of human effort.