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Listen to John 3
31 Christ teacheth Nicodemus the very principles of Christian regeneration. 14 The serpent in the wilderness. 23 John baptizeth, 27 and teacheth his, that he is not Christ.
1There [a]was now a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a [b]ruler of the Jews.
2This man came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a [c]teacher come from God, for no man could do these miracles that thou doest, [d]except God were with him.
3[e]Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot [f]see the [g]kingdom of God.
4Nicodemus said unto him, How [h]can a man be born which is old? can he enter into his mother’s womb again, and be born?
5Jesus answered, Verily, verily I say unto thee, except that a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6That which is born of the flesh, is [i]flesh: and that that is born of the Spirit, is spirit.
7Marvel not that I said to thee, Ye must be born again.
8The wind bloweth where it [j]listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every man that is born of the Spirit.
9[k]Nicodemus answered, and said unto him, How can these things be?
10Jesus answered, and said unto him, Art thou a teacher of Israel, and knowest not these things?
11Verily, verily I say unto thee, We speak that we know, and testify that we have seen: but ye receive not our [l]witness.
12If when I tell you earthly things, ye believe not, how should ye believe, If I shall tell you of heavenly things?
13For no [m]man [n]ascendeth up to heaven, but he that had descended from heaven, [o]that Son of man which [p]is in heaven.
14(A)And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must that Son of man be lifted up,
15That whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have eternal life.
16(B)[q]For God so loveth the world, that he hath given his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth [r]in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17(C)[s]For God sent not his Son into the world, that he should [t]condemn the world, but that the [u]world through him might be saved.
18He that believeth in him, is not condemned: but he that believeth not, is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the Name of that only begotten Son of God.
19(D)[v]And this is the [w]condemnation, that that light came into the world, and men loved darkness rather than that light, because their deeds were evil.
20For every man that evil doeth, hateth the light, neither cometh to light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21But he that [x]doeth truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds might be made manifest, that they are wrought [y]according to God.
22¶ After these things came Jesus, and his disciples into the land of Judea, and there tarried with them, and (E)baptized.
23And John also baptized in Aenon besides Salim, because there was much water there: and they came and were baptized.
24For John was not yet cast into prison.
25[z]Then there arose a question between John’s disciples and the Jews, about purifying.
26And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom (F)thou barest witness, behold, he baptizeth, and all men come to him.
27John answered, and said, A man [aa]can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
28Ye yourselves are my witnesses, that (G)I said, I am not that Christ, but that I am sent before him.
29He that hath the bride, is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly, because of the bridegroom’s voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled.
30He must increase, but I must decrease.
31He that is come from on high, is above all: he that is of the earth, is of the [ab]earth, and [ac]speaketh of the earth: he that is come from heaven, is above all.
32And what he hath [ad]seen and heard, that he testifieth: but [ae]no man receiveth his testimony.
33He that hath receiveth his testimony, hath sealed that (H)God is true.
34For he whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God: for God giveth him not the Spirit by measure.
35The Father loveth the Son, and hath (I)[af]given all things into his hand.
36(J)He that believeth in the Son, hath everlasting life, and he that obeyeth not the Son, shall not [ag]see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Footnotes
- John 3:1 There are none sometimes more unlearned, than the learned: but as well the learned as the unlearned must desire wisdom of Christ only.
- John 3:1 A man of great estimation, and a ruler amongst the Jews.
- John 3:2 We know that thou art sent from God to teach us.
- John 3:2 But he in whom some part of the excellency of God appeareth. And if Nicodemus had known Christ aright, he would not only have said that God was with him, but in him: as Paul doth, 2 Cor. 1:19.
- John 3:3 The beginning of Christianity consisteth in this, that we know ourselves not only to be corrupt in part, but to be wholly dead in sin: so that our nature hath need to be created anew, as touching the qualities thereof: which can be done by no other virtue, but by the divine and heavenly, whereby we were first created.
- John 3:3 That is, go in, or enter, as he expounded himself afterward, verse 5.
- John 3:3 The Church: for Christ showeth in this place, how we come to be citizens, and to have ought to do in the city of God.
- John 3:4 How can I that am old, be born again? for he answereth, as if Christ’s words belonged to none but to him.
- John 3:6 That is, fleshly, to wit, wholly unclean and under the wrath of God: and therefore this word (Flesh) signifieth the corrupt nature of man: contrary to which is the Spirit, that is, the man ingrafted into Christ through the grace of the holy Ghost, whose nature is everlasting and immortal, though the strife of the flesh remaineth.
- John 3:8 With free and wandering blasts, as it listeth.
- John 3:9 The secret mystery of our regeneration which cannot be comprehended by man’s capacity, is perceived by faith, and that in Christ only, because that he is both God on earth, and man in heaven, that is to say, in such sort man, that he is God also, and therefore almighty: and in such sort God, that he is man also, and therefore his power is manifest unto us.
- John 3:11 You handle doubtful things, and such as you have no certain author for, and yet men believe you: but I teach those things that are of a truth and well known, and you believe me not.
- John 3:13 Only Christ can teach us heavenly things for no man ascendeth, etc.
- John 3:13 That is, hath any spiritual light and understanding, or ever had, but only that Son of God, which came down to us.
- John 3:13 Whereas he is said to have come down from heaven, that must be understood of his Godhead, and of the manner of his conception: for Christ’s birth upon the earth was heavenly, and not earthly, for he was conceived by the holy Ghost.
- John 3:13 That which is proper to the divinity of Christ, is here spoken of whole Christ, to give us to understand that he is but one person, wherein two natures are united, and this kind of speech men call, the communicating of proprieties.
- John 3:16 Nothing else but the free love of the Father, is the beginning of our salvation, and Christ is he in whom our righteousness and salvation is resident: and faith is the instrument or mean whereby we apprehend it, and life everlasting is that which is set before us to apprehend.
- John 3:16 It is not all one to believe in a thing, and to believe of a thing, for we may not believe (in anything) save only in God, but we may believe (of anything) whatsoever, this saith Nazianzene in his oration of the Spirit.
- John 3:17 Not Christ, but the despising of Christ doth condemn.
- John 3:17 That is, to be the cause of the condemning of the world, for indeed sins are the cause of death, but Christ shall judge the quick and the dead.
- John 3:17 Not only the people of the Jews, but whosoever shall believe in him.
- John 3:19 Only wickedness is the cause, why men refuse the light that is offered them.
- John 3:19 That is, the cause of condemnation, which sticketh fast in men, unless through God’s great benefit they be delivered from it.
- John 3:21 That is, he that leadeth an honest life, and void of all craft and deceit.
- John 3:21 That is, with God, God as it were going before.
- John 3:25 Satan inflameth the disciples of John with a fond emulation of their master, to hinder the course of the Gospel: but John being mindful of his office, doth not only break off their endeavors, but also taketh occasion thereby to give testimony of Christ, how that in him only the Father hath set forth life everlasting.
- John 3:27 What mean you to go about to better my state? this is every man’s lot and portion that they cannot better themselves one iota.
- John 3:31 Is nothing else but man, a piece of work and of the slime of the earth.
- John 3:31 Savoreth of nothing but corruption, ignorance, dullness, etc.
- John 3:32 What he knoweth fully and perfectly.
- John 3:32 That is, very few.
- John 3:35 Committed them to his power and will.
- John 3:36 Shall not enjoy.
Cross references
- John 3:14 : Num. 31:9; John 12:32
- John 3:16 : 1 John 4:9
- John 3:17 : John 1:39; John 12:47
- John 3:19 : John 1:9
- John 3:22 : John 4:1
- John 3:26 : John 1:34
- John 3:28 : John 1:20
- John 3:33 : Rom. 3:4
- John 3:35 : Matt. 11:27
- John 3:36 : 1 John 5:10
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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