You Must be Born from Above

Scripture quotations are from the EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2018, 2024 – UK Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.easyenglish.bible 

John 3: 1-9 and 16-17

1 There was a  Pharisee * called Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish * leaders. 

2 He came to speak with Jesus at night. He said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we know that God has sent you to us. We have seen the miracles that you are doing. Nobody could do these things unless God was with him.’

3 Jesus replied, ‘I tell you this. Unless a person is born from above, they cannot understand the kingdom of God*.’

4 Nicodemus asked, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot return into his mother's body. He cannot be born a second time.’

5 Jesus explained, ‘I tell you this. Unless a person is born by water and by God's Spirit, he cannot come into the kingdom of God. 

6 People give birth to what is human. But God's Spirit gives birth to spirit. 

7 I said to you, 'You must be born from above. What I said should not surprise you. 

8 When someone is born by God's Spirit, it is like the wind that blows. The wind blows wherever it chooses to blow. You can hear it. But you do not know where it came from or where it is going.'

9 Nicodemus asked, ‘How can this happen?’

(In the next part of this reading, Jesus says that he was sent from Heaven. He says that He will die on the cross. The reason that He will die is to give everyone who believes in Him life forever with God.) 

Then, in these next verses, Jesus answers much more clearly the question that Nicodemus asked in verse 9…

16 God loved the people in the world so much that he gave his one and only Son to save them. As a result, everyone who believes in the Son will not die. Instead, they will live forever with God.

17 God did not send his Son into the world because he wanted to punish people. He sent his Son to save the people in the world from punishment.

18 God will not punish anyone who believes in his Son. But if people refuse to believe in the Son, God has already decided that he must punish them. They have not believed in God's one and only Son.

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Important Vocabulary to Learn

(Some of these words are from the reading and some come from the questions below.)

1. Words from the first 1000 high frequency General Service Word List

 accept(s), ancient, belong (to), blow, to be born, choose/chooses, decided, difference (between), happen, heaven, human, nation, presence, refuse, religion/religious, (as a) result, return, replied, (to) rule, save, spirit, surprise, trust, unless, understanding, wherever 

(And all the other words in the reading that are not listed in numbers 2 to 4 below.)

2. Words from the second 1000 high frequency General Service Word List

arrow, (give) birth (to someone), punish/punishment

3. Off List Words 

forever, miracles, similar (to)

4. Glossary (these words are marked with a *)

Hebrew - a group of ancient people who began the nation of Israel. Their language is also called Hebrew. The Hebrew language is still used by many people today.

Israel - A country in the Middle East. This word is also used in the Bible to describe the people of God.

Jewish  - (adjective). A word to describe the people of the nation of Israel and the Hebrew people of the ancient world. It also describes anyone who follows the religion of the Jews. Jewish people live in many places today, not just in Israel.

Kingdom of God - The place where God is, where he rules as King. Also, His saving presence that rules in the lives of all on Earth who trust in Jesus, and who love and follow Him.

Pharisee - Someone who belonged to the strong group of Jewish religious leaders. The Pharisees taught that people had to follow God’s Laws very closely all the time. If they did that, the Pharisees said they would please God. Jesus taught us that we need to be born again (in our spirit) by the Holy Spirit. This is a very different way of understanding how God saves and accepts us. 

 

 Learning Questions and Activities 

1. Remembering - Did Nicodemus think that Jesus was sent by God? How do you know? When Jesus first replied to Nicodemus, what did he say? (Check your answer in verse three.) 

Learn verse three, and say it to someone without looking back at the reading. Check again tomorrow, and the next day, to see if you can still remember it.

2. Understanding - Why do you think Nicodemus came to Jesus at night? Did Nicodemus think that Jesus was sent by God? When he first started to talk to Jesus, did Nicodemus really believe (from his heart) that Jesus was God, or was he just surprised by the miracles that Jesus did? How do you know? (Check your answer in verses 3 and 5).

What was Jesus really saying to Nicodemus? Did Jesus think that just seeing the miracles, and agreeing that God was doing those things through Him, was enough to save Nicodemus? Why not?

3. Applying -  Why did Jesus tell Nicodemus he had to be born from above by the Spirit? What does this idea (to be born from above) mean to you? Have you been born from above by the power of the Holy Spirit? How do you know? How can any person be born of the Spirit? How can anyone know for sure that they have been born from above?

4. Analysing - How is being born as a human baby similar to being born by the power of God’s Spirit? (clue - Who does the work of giving birth/new life, the baby...?) What is the difference between being born as a human baby, and being born from above in your spirit?  Who does the work of giving us a new birth?

5. Evaluating - Many people think that by being a good person, or just knowing and following religious teachings and rules, is enough to please God. Give examples of some of the ways of trying to please God that many people think will help them to be saved? What does the reading above teach us instead? Why aren’t our own ways of trying to please God ever going to help us live forever with Him? 

6. Creating -

1. Print out the yellow circle below, OR draw a large circle on a large piece of paper, and in the centre of the circle write the words ‘Life forever with God’. 

2. Pin this large piece of paper onto a wall, or a large box, or a board, or even a tree!

3. Now copy and cut out (OR draw) the arrow shapes you can see below. If you draw the arrows yourself, write the ideas into the arrows as you can see them in the arrows below. Make sure the arrows are large. Can you think of other ‘good things’ that people do to try to get to Heaven, and to get God to give them life forever with Him?  You could add these other ideas to some more arrows. 

4. From another piece of paper, copy or cut out the green circle. This green circle should be larger than the yellow circle on the first piece of paper. If you draw it yourself, write the words ‘Trust in Jesus’ inside the circle, as you can see below.

If you are doing this activity in an English class, practise telling the information in English to a partner or a small group, or even people in other classes. 

If you are telling the message of this reading to people who do not speak English, you should write the information in the circles and arrows in the language you will use when you talk to them, and give your message in the language they understand.

5. Give the arrows to the person (or people) you are speaking to. 

6. Ask them, one by one, to try to stick the arrows onto the large piece of paper without using any glue, tape or pins. They should hold the arrow on the paper, then let it go, and take their hand away. Of course, because there is no glue, tape or pins, the arrows will fall to the ground.

7. Now take the cut out piece of paper that says ‘trust in Jesus' and with some glue, or a pin, or a piece of tape, stick it over the large circle that says ‘Life forever with God’ so that it stays there.

8. Explain that the Bible teaches us this is the only way that God will accept us and let us live forever with Him. 

9. You should also say that the reason the cut out circle stays on the large piece of paper, is because of the pin/tape/glue. Tell them this is like the work of the Holy Spirit who gives us new birth. It is He who makes it possible for us to have life forever with God.