Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Sept/53

Contributor - A.A. Schermer

Title - The Imperatives of John Chapter Three

Topic - Divine Imperatives

In this wonderful chapter from the gospel of John we find three Imperative declarations: two made by the Lord Jesus and one by John Baptist. That they appear in the order found in chapter three is also significant. They concern the Sinner, the Saviour, and the Saint. Here is briefly set forth the whole plan of God's wonderful redemption for sinful men. And in the very center of it we have God's love story to the world: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life". If we through God's grace may lay hold on this great truth, then we have the key that unfolds the mystery which surrounds the first Imperative. By "Imperative" I mean a "must" - a Divine injunction or commandment that must be accepted and made effectual.

The DIVINE IMPERATIVE for the SINNER is declared in v. 7: "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again". Jesus said this to a religious man. It was Nicodemus who came to Him by night to talk with Jesus about the way of salvation. He thought he knew the way. But he soon realized that he did not understand that way. He asked questions such as you and I would ask: "How can a man be born when he is old . . . How can these things be?"

There are many like Nicodemus who have a biological concept of the natural process of a birth, but the being "born again" when one is fully matured, is a matter that our finite brains cannot comprehend. It is a work that God does in the human heart. The development of those processes are not visible to the natural eye; but the effects are visible to the natural eye. It is for this reason that we sometimes hear said: "That person is different: a change has come over that person". Jesus described it by the illustration of the wind: v. 8: "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so-is everyone that is born of the Spirit". We cannot tell the source or the destination of the wind but we can feel its breath in our faces. It is there. We cannot tell how God's Spirit works in a sinner's heart, but we can see the results of it. The Bible says, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new" (II Cor. 5:17). And so, can we know if we are a Christian. It is wholly a matter of believing and trusting the spoken word of the Lord. God by His spirit makes the New birth effectual.

THE DIVINE IMPERATIVE FOR THE SAVIOUR is declared in v. 14: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life' . The New Birth is incumbent upon this imperative for the Saviour. Jesus had to face the cross: He had to be lifted up on the cross: had to die on the cross in the place of others; He had to die in your stead and in my stead. And he who believes and receives that truth into his heart experiences the new birth.

But what happened in the wilderness? Israel had rebelled against God. They had murmured against Moses. They were ready to form their own expedition and return to Egypt. The Lord punished their rebellious spirit by permitting poisonous serpents to come into the camp. These venomous creatures were vicious and bit many of the people. Thousands were dying, and the suffering victims began to cry for deliverance. Those who had escaped the venomous reptiles petitioned Moses to. beseech the Lord God for mercy and deliverance. The Lord met their cry and provided a remedy: only one remedy. Moses was to make a likeness of the serpent out of copper: place this on a standard and place it in the midst of the camp. The cure for the victim was found through a LOOK upon this copper serpent, and it worked. It was God's prescribed remedy: not man's. The suffering were saved and healed by looking trustingly upon the symbol of their destruction.

This was also the assignment for the Lord Jesus. He was to be raised up; to be crucified for man's sin. And man, bitten and poisoned by sin, was to look upon Jesus the crucified One. And every sinner who trustingly and trustfully looks upon the crucified Jesus as his remedy for deliverance from the guilt and penalty of sin shall be saved. Jesus MUST be crucified to make our Salvation effectual.

THE DIVINE IMPERATIVE FOR THE SAINT is implied in the gracious response of John Baptist when he spoke of Jesus, v. 30: "He MUST increase, but I must decrease". John had been a powerful preacher preparing the way for Jesus, the Messiah. Now that Jesus had come, he saw his own popularity fading, while the work of Jesus was growing and expanding. John rejoiced in this. No man likes to step down for another; but John Baptist did do so. He testified that he had heard the "Bridegroom's voice, and this my joy is therefore fulfilled". It is when we let Jesus "take over" in our life, that He will be able to use us more effectively in His service. What John Baptist did, we too, as followers of the Lord should do. What we give to Christ is not lost. When the lad gave Jesus his lunch of five buns and two fish, Jesus multiplied them and fed a multitude of more than five thousand people. When the disciples heeded the word of Jesus to cast the net on the "other side of the ship", their net was quickly filled with fish. When we give our heart and life to the Saviour to let Him use us as He sees flt, we may be assured that He will accomplish more through our yieldedness than if we tried to serve Him in our own strength. The words of the hymn writer say it better than I can say it:

Jesus, I my cross have taken, All to leave and follow Thee; Destitute, despised, forsaken, Thou from hence my all shalt be Perish every fond ambition, All I've sought and hoped and known; Yet how rich is my condition, God and heaven are still my own.

Have we experienced and rejoiced in the first two MUSTS then we shall not find it difficult to concur in the third MUST. We shall gratefully and thankfully crown our Lord as King of our life, and yield glad obedience to Him.

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