<Title> : “Message of the Cross (23)”
- Salvation When Born Again by Water and the
Spirit -
<Passage> : <John 3:1 -8>
“Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to
Him by night, and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know
that You have come from God [as] a teacher; for
no one can do these signs that You do unless
God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to
him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be
born when he is old? He cannot enter a second
time into his mother’s womb and be born, can
he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” That
which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which
is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not marvel that I
said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind
blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of
it, but do not know where it comes from and
where it is going; so is everyone who is born of
the Spirit.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, members of
3,600 branch churches all over the world
including the United States, United Kingdom,
Canada, Honduras, Peru, Argentina, Germany,
France, Russia, Belgium, Netherlands, and African
countries including Kenya, Uganda, and Congo,
and in China, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia,
Philippines, Taiwan, India, Mongolia, Egypt, and
Korean branch churches and local sanctuary
members, those who are attending the service on
the Internet all over the world, and television
viewing audiences, this is the last session of the
Message of the Cross.
1
I thank you for having listened to the messages
carefully. The 23 sermons of the message of the
cross are the most basic and the essence for
Christians.
I hope you will fully understand the messages
you heard and have firm faith, so that you will be
able to clearly preach the providence of the
salvation of cross to all people.
Also, I urge you to guide the newcomers to listen
to the “Message of the Cross” and have a sound
understanding of the contents of this sermon
series.
By fully understanding these 23 sermons, you can
confidently believe in Jesus Christ and lead an
enjoyable Christian life experiencing the works of
the Holy Spirit.
I pray in the name of the Lord that the evidence
of the Word of God will be living and active so
that you will be filled with life and grace.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s
passage is the scene where Nicodemus, a ruler of
the Jews, came to Jesus and had a
conversation on spiritual matters. Nicodemus was
a ruler, and being a Pharisee, he was also a
teacher who knew the Law very well.
Jesus often harshly rebuked the Pharisees. They
thought they were serving God very well, but in
fact their hearts were not following the truth, and
they were far away from God.
They didn’t believe Jesus’ teachings, but rather
they opposed and tried to kill Him. The rulers of
the Jews including the Pharisees agreed to put
those who believed in Jesus out of the
synagogue. This means they would ostracize
these people.
But Nicodemus was different from other
Pharisees. He knew God’s word and kept His law,
but was not satisfied by just pretending to be
holy on the outside. He had a thirst for the truth.
When he had heard about Jesus, he had a deep
hope that Jesus would be able to quench his
thirst and came to Him at night. He came at night
because He did not yet have the faith to come to
Jesus boldly in front of other people during the
day time.
If we see the later records about him, we can see
that he finally received salvation. For example, In
John 7:50-51, we can see he spoke up for Jesus
in front of angry Pharisees.
It says, “Nicodemus said to them (he who came
to Him before, being one of them), “Our Law
does not judge a man, unless it first hears from
him and knows what he is doing, does it?”
Since the words and deeds of Jesus were not
unrighteous, Nicodemus was trying to point out
the mistakes of the Pharisees who were trying to
harm Jesus. It was not something that was easy
to do.
It is comparable to a government official
speaking up in an Islamic country that strictly
prohibits Christianity, or in a Hindu country that
prohibits publicly speaking up for Christianity.
Nicodemus might have lost his position and even
his life, but he still spoke up for Jesus.
Also, after Jesus died on the cross, John 19:39
says, “And Nicodemus came also, who had first
come to Him by night; bringing a mixture of
2
myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds
[weight].”
Even after Jesus died, Nicodemus, being in the
position of a sinner, still came to serve Him.
Looking at his deeds, we can infer that he had
received salvation.
Today’s passage is the scene where Nicodemus
met with Jesus before he knew the truth, and
talked to Him for the first time. He said, “Rabbi,
we know that You have come from God [as] a
teacher; for no one can do these signs that You
do unless God is with him.”
Because Nicodemus had good heart, he did not
want to doubt or argue about what Jesus was
doing, but rather he confessed his faith first. He
confessed that Jesus came from God.
Jesus knew the thirst in his heart and answered
something that Nicodemus had not yet asked. He
said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
We cannot enter the kingdom of heaven just
because we have knowledge and wealth. Neither
can we receive salvation just by just knowing the
word of God and attending church for a long
period of time.
Although we attend church and give titles to the
church, it is of no use. We cannot enter the
heavenly kingdom unless we are born again. But
Nicodemus could not understand what Jesus was
saying.
He said, “Born again? How can a grown-up man
be born again?” Nicodemus could not even
imagine it.
When you came to church for the first time and
heard that you have to be born again, you
probably didn’t understand what it meant.
You also may also feel it is difficult to understand
not only these spiritual words well, but the
spiritual meaning of other words as well, until
your spiritual eyes and ears are opened.
But if you constantly try to learn and understand
and if you ask for God’s grace, at a certain point
of time God’s grace will fall on you.
You will be able to understand the words that
you used to find difficult, and those words will
become both interesting and emotion filled. This
is not the case only for new-believers but, all
believers
As I stated earlier, in today’s passage, Nicodemus
is a ruler of the Jews and a teacher so he knew
the Law and the word of God very well. But he
still could not understand when Jesus was
speaking in terms of something that was spiritual.
It’s the same today. Church members who have
attended for a long time, those who hold church
titles, and even among the ministers, if they have
not gained spiritual understanding, just as it was
with Nicodemus, they cannot understand.
Even though they may have a doctorate in
theology and ministry, and have a lot of
knowledge about the Bible, they cannot
understand without the spiritual meaning of the
word.
They are not able to experience the works of God
or raise the flock spiritually, so their churches are
not able to grow.
3
That is why even the apostle Paul, who had such
great knowledge said in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, “And
when I came to you, brethren, I did not come
with superiority of speech or of wisdom,
proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I
determined to know nothing among you except
Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”
As said in 1 Corinthians 4:20, “For the kingdom of
God does not consist in words, but in power,” we
can realize the spiritual secrets and also
accomplish God’s kingdom greatly only through
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the power of
God.
In order to accomplish the kingdom of God more
greatly and more clearly understand the will of
God, we have to understand the secret of the
cross more deeply and understand God’s word in
our minds spiritually.
Coming back to the passage, Nicodemus, who did
not understand what Jesus said, asked Him
again. “How can a man be born when he is old?
He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s
womb and be born, can he?”
And Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That
which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which
is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not marvel that I
said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind
blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of
it, but do not know where it comes from and
where it is going; so is everyone who is born of
the Spirit.”
What Jesus is talking about is not about the flesh
that will perish. It is spiritual in context.
He was saying that, for a man to enter into the
heavenly kingdom, his spirit that is invisible, must
be born again, not the visible body.
The first man Adam was created as a living spirit.
But, his spirit died as a result of his fall in sin.
Now, he was not a living spirit any more but a
man of flesh.
As said ‘which is born of the flesh is flesh,’
descendants of Adam, who became a man of
flesh, were born in the flesh as well. All mankind
became men of flesh whose spirit was dead. Men
of flesh cannot enter into heavenly kingdom.
They have to fall into hell, the way of death.
For a man to enter into heavenly kingdom this
dead spirit must be revived, and it is done by
water and spirit.
Jesus said about these spiritual things, “The wind
blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of
it, but do not know where it comes from and
where it is going; so is everyone who is born of
the Spirit.”
We can hear the sound of wind but we cannot
see it. We cannot find out where wind starts to
blow and where it stops.
Just like the wind that we cannot see, we cannot
understand spiritual things within the limit of our
flesh.
Even with the development of science, we cannot
understand everything in this world. We may say
we know about winds with modern science today,
but even a country like United States could not
prevent the disaster of a recent hurricane.
4
In fact, as science and technology develop more,
we can only more clearly realize that God the
Creator is truly Almighty, and that men’s
knowledge and ability have clear and definite
limitations.
That is why many scientists try to prove that the
word of God is true in a scientific way.
We cannot even understand the movement of the
wind, so how can we understand the things of
heaven that belong to the spiritual realm within
our physical limits?
We can understand and experience the works of
God only by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, then, what
does it mean by being born again by water and
spirit? Let us first look at the water.
Here, ‘water’ is the same water as said in John
4:14, “well of water springing up to eternal life.”
As said, “but whoever drinks of the water that I
shall give him shall never thirst; but the water
that I shall give him shall become in him a well of
water springing up to eternal life,” by drinking
this water of eternal life, men are born again.
Then, what is this ‘well of water springing up to
eternal life’?
In the last session, I told you we do not have
eternal life if we do not eat the flesh and drink
the blood of the Son of Man.
To eat the flesh of the Son of Man is to keep
God’s word in our heart and to drink His blood is
to practice the word of God with faith.
Likewise, eating the flesh and drinking the blood
of the Son of Man, namely the Word of God itself,
becomes the water giving eternal life to men.
Water washes away the filth and stains and gives
life to everything. Even spiritually, water, namely
the Word of God, washes the stain of sins and
gives us eternal life.
How dirty it is if you have envy, jealousy, hatred,
and anger in your heart?
When we stand before God later, those who did
not cast off the defilement of sins will be too
ashamed to be able to lift up their faces.   our heart with the word of God.
But if the word of God comes into our heart, the
filth of sins will be washed away.
For example, as explained in the last session, if
we have spiritual love in our heart, hatred, envy
and jealousy, and anger and seeking our won
benefit are washed away.
When we wash away the sins and evil in our
heart, we can be born again and receive
salvation.
So, 1 Peter 3:21 also says, “And corresponding to
that, baptism now saves you-- not the removal of
dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a
good conscience-- through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ,”
God’s word is the truth itself and Jesus Christ
who is the Word that came to this earth in flesh.
Jesus, who is the Word, resurrected and became
the Savior, thenceforth all the words in both Old
Testament and New Testament were fulfilled to
be true.
5
By believing these words, and when we keep
them in our minds and practice them, we become
more righteous. Namely, the Word of God gives
life to men and makes them righteous men.
Those who truly believe God’s Son, who is the
Word, as their Savior will naturally believe and
practice all the commandments in the 66 books
of the Bible.
When God’s word is in you and washes your
hearts, it is the evidence that you are saved. The
water baptism is the symbolization of washing
Next, let us look at the Spirit. This Spirit is the
Holy Spirit of God who comes into the hearts of
saved children of God and helps them gain
complete salvation.
John 15:26 says, “When the Helper comes, whom
I will send to you from the Father, [that is] the
Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He
will bear witness of Me,” As said, since the Lord
resurrected and ascended into heaven, God sent
the Holy Spirit to His children who are saved.
Acts 2:38 says, “Repent, and let each of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
As said, if you hear the gospel, repent, and
accept Jesus as your Savior, you will receive
forgiveness of you sins and the Holy Spirit comes
into your heart. If you receive the Holy Spirit,
your dead spirit revives and you gain spiritual
faith with which you can truly believe.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, 1 John 5:5-8
says, “And who is the one who overcomes the
world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son
of God? This is the one who came by water and
blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but
with the water and with the blood. And it is the
Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the
truth. For there are three that bear witness, the
Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three
are in agreement.”
Here, ‘Jesus Christ coming with the water and the
blood’ means that the water, which is the Word,
came to this earth in flesh and died shedding His
precious blood. Because Jesus died on the cross
for us, we receive salvation by that power of
blood.
Therefore, the one who came with the water and
the blood is Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who
came after Jesus’ ascension helps us believe this
fact firmly.
It is said those who believe Jesus is the Son of
God will overcome the world. It does not mean
we fight against the people in this world. It
means we fight and win the victory over worldly
lusts and do not become stained with sins.
The Holy Spirit not only helps us believe in the
Lord confidently, but also gives us strength to
overcome this world by letting us realize about
sin, righteousness, and the Judgment.
If we, in the work of the Holy Spirit, realize what
sin is, that we have to accomplish righteousness,
and that there is judgment, we will naturally
follow the desires of the Holy Spirit. It means we
will wash away the sins in our heart with water
everyday.
6
Then, the untruths in our heart will be removed
and our heart will change into a heart of truth.
Finally, our heart will be filled with only truths
just like when Adam was created as a living spirit.
This is the process of giving birth to the spirit
through the Spirit.
Only those who give birth to the spirit through
the Holy Spirit in this way will be able to see the
kingdom of God.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Ephesians 2:8
says, “For by grace you have been saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of
God;”
Men can be born again by water and spirit and
reach eternal life only by the love of God the
Father. It is the gift that we received without any
price.
Men can never be saved only with their own
effort or ability. There is no other way of
salvation but the way of cross.
Because Jesus perfected the way of salvation for
us by taking the cross within the secret
providence of God that had been hidden since
before the time began, anyone who accepts this
with faith can be born again and gain eternal life.
John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to
them He gave the right to become children of
God, [even] to those who believe in His name,”
Also, Philippians 3:20 says, “For our citizenship is
in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Those who believe
in the Lord and are born again by the water and
the Spirit enjoy the authority of God’s children.
The enemy devil cannot claim his authority of
death over them any more. Now they become
citizens of the heavenly kingdom and live within
the protection and blessings of God both on this
earth and in heaven.

This is the privilege for you who are saved.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, now we finish

the “Message of the Cross” that has consisted of 23
sermons. These sermons will be your way of
salvation, way to receive God’s love, and the way
to be guided by the Holy Spirit.

It will also be the way to solve all your life

problems and receive blessings.

I earnestly urge you to accept these messages

with faith so that none of you will fall away from
the way of salvation until the Lord comes back
again.

Also, I hope you will be diligently spread this

message and lead many souls to the heavenly
kingdom.

I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that you and I

will be able to praise the love and grace of God
and live in eternal glory in the city of New
Jerusalem, the most beautiful heavenly dwelling
place.