God Must Move

“No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
—John 3:3 NIV

God’s kingdom is so unlike the kingdom of the world that entering into it requires more than effort and persistence. It demands an entire transformation—a rebirthing. While such an event seems inconceivable (it certainly was for Nicodemus), it is yet less conceivable to imagine attaining the kingdom of God through our own strength.

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus said when explaining the kingdom to Nicodemus in John 3. “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

It must have been a bit offensive to this religious teacher who had presumably spent his whole life stepping further up the ladder of religious achievement. After all of that work pursuing holiness through the law, Jesus tells him that it simply won’t be enough. He taught along these lines in Matthew 5:20 NIV, saying, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

At this point, most of us would rightfully give up on the hope of ever entering the kingdom of God. If even the righteousness of the best pastors and theologians is insufficient for access to heaven, why should I even try?

Even idealistic religions are poor representations of the kingdom of God. We can have everything perfectly in order and still be operating a kingdom of our own making. It matters very little how your church compared to the other churches in your community when standing before a Holy God. Paul said it plainly in Galatians 6:15 (NIV while countering the church’s desire for religious correctness, saying, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.”

Paul, being a Jew of Jews and a recognized Pharisee, understood that the practices of religious belief don’t have the power to extend into the realm of resurrection life. He experienced living among the religious elite and found that it was (in his own words) all garbage compared to knowing Christ!

Of course, knowledge of the scriptures, religious understanding, and theological grounding are all beneficial for the believer. Paul had all these things and used this knowledge to preach the gospel and compel people from all walks of life to turn to Jesus. But it was in that moment of turning that something greater than religious knowledge was needed.

You must be supernaturally reborn. Words fall short, worship music lacks power, and great books can’t transform the heart. Perhaps all these things would be vessels for God to use, but in the end, God must move. No pastor, denomination, or ministry in the world can do the work only God can do. Our options are either to strive in religion and miss the mark or surrender and be born again.

It’s impossible to see God’s kingdom without being reborn, but it is even less possible to be reborn without an invitation from the Lord. So here is your invitation from Matthew 11:28 NIV, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”