THE MAIN IDEA
We are all born in the first place so that we may be born again. Our passage shows us three truths about being born again.

WE ARE BORN AGAIN FOR ETERNAL LIFE
When Jesus says “Very truly I tell you,” He is affirming that what He is about to say is absolute truth. In the Gospel of John, the “kingdom of God” (3:3, 5), “eternal life” (3:16), and “life … to the full” (10:10) all refer to our salvation through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus is saying that in order to enter the kingdom of God, to have eternal life, to have life to the full, we must be born again, and there is no other way. On the other hand, the world has nothing to offer us except disappointment and then death. Jesus was pointing out that God is spirit, and there is a spiritual reality that is more real than the physical world itself. If the material world is all that we see and know we cannot be saved. Even if we are born again, if the focus of our lives is more on the physical, material realm than on the spiritual realm, then our sanctification in Jesus Christ will be hindered. Since God takes care of our material needs (Matthew 6:33), we are free to make our spiritual life in Jesus Christ the #1 priority of our lives.

WE ARE BORN AGAIN TO DO GOD’s WILL
When people are born again, they may not fully understand what the Spirit of God is doing in their lives, but they know that the Spirit of God is definitely at work in their lives. The one who is born again will conscientiously submit to the will of God and to what the Spirit of God is doing in his or her life—especially as it is revealed to us in the word of God. Everyone else is unconscious and blind to the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives and in this world. In particular, the Holy Spirit is doing two things that God wants us to do, according to His will and His word. First, God wants us to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). And this is not about large numbers, but about our relationships and Jesus at the center of our relationships. The second thing that the Holy Spirit is always doing in our lives is training us to love one another (John 13:34-35). We cannot learn to love one another in large crowds but in intimate relationships. And Jesus does not call us to love only those we already love, but to love those whom He loves (John 3:16).

WE ARE BORN AGAIN BY THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
Everyone saw the miraculous signs that Jesus was performing in the name of the Father. But the Jewish authorities refused to accept the testimony of what they heard about Jesus and even saw with their own eyes (earthly things), because of the sin of pride. In that case, how could they ever believe that Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Scriptures and the Son of God (heavenly things)? The Pharisees said they believed the Scriptures, but they couldn’t even believe the things that they heard and saw right in front of them. Believing history is simple. And there is more historical evidence for the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ than there is for the life of Alexandar the Great or Julius Caesar or Buddha or Muhammed, etc. If we cannot believe earthly things in terms of the historical evidence of Jesus Christ, how in the world can we believe in heavenly things. When we believe the historical facts of Jesus Christ, which is the gospel, we are born again.

DISCUSSION QUESTION
If joining Jesus to seek and to save the lost seems like a very difficult thing for you to do, what would help you to do so? In other words, can you think of what might be holding you back, and what do you think could help to remove that hindrance?