Joh 3:11 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord begins the answer to Nicodemus’ question again with a mild reproach. He points out to Nicodemus that he could have known what He meant if he had read the prophets correctly. Nicodemus knows the prophets, but not their real meaning because his thinking is directed toward the glory of Israel and not toward the glory of the Messiah. As ‘the teacher of Israel’ he should have known what the Lord means. After all, he will have had sections like Isaiah 44 and 55 and the aforementioned Ezekiel 36 often enough for his attention ( ; ). Yet because he was not born again, he has never understood its true meaning. After this mild reproach, the Lord does not close the discussion, but continues His teaching and even extends it to the heavenly things. For the third time He uses the double “truly” followed by “I say to you” to emphasize the importance of His teaching. He assures Nicodemus that He does not talk about unfamiliar things. He is perfectly able to speak about the things He has just said because He has seen what He is testifying of. Only God can say that He ‘knows’ what He is talking about. With Him it is perfect ‘knowing’. He possesses the perfect knowledge of the essence of all things. The Lord Jesus knows what is in man, for He knows what is in man ( ). He knows what is in God, for He knows God because He is God. He makes God known ( ). The Lord speaks in the ‘We’-form because He testifies together with the Holy Spirit. He and the Holy Spirit are Divine Persons Who have perfect knowledge of all things. Like the Son, the Holy Spirit also knows perfectly what is in man and what is in God. He is perfectly familiar with this. No one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God ( ). For a man to be able to share and know the things of God, he must first be born again and receive the Spirit. Through the new birth he is able to understand the things of God. The natural, unborn man does not accept the things of God because they are spiritually appraised ( ). He cannot even accept those things because he has no part in the life that is needed to do so. The Lord has spoken about the earthly things, that is, things that the prophet Ezekiel has communicated and that are necessary for the earthly blessings in the realm of peace. The new birth is an earthly matter that is necessary to enter the earthly realm of peace. And Nicodemus does not even understand this. So how then would he understand anything if the Lord is going to speak about heavenly things? For the kingdom of God has not only earthly but also heavenly aspects ( ; ; ). The heavenly things will be fully revealed by the Spirit after Christ has shed His blood and ascended into heaven. In the Son of God Who is speaking here with Nicodemus, these heavenly things are present in perfection. Only Nicodemus does not (yet) have an eye for them.

‏ John 3:11

The Earthly and the Heavenly Things

The Lord begins the answer to Nicodemus’ question again with a mild reproach. He points out to Nicodemus that he could have known what He meant if he had read the prophets correctly. Nicodemus knows the prophets, but not their real meaning because his thinking is directed toward the glory of Israel and not toward the glory of the Messiah. As ‘the teacher of Israel’ he should have known what the Lord means. After all, he will have had sections like Isaiah 44 and 55 and the aforementioned Ezekiel 36 often enough for his attention (Isa 44:3 ; Isa 55:1; Eze 36:24-32). Yet because he was not born again, he has never understood its true meaning.

After this mild reproach, the Lord does not close the discussion, but continues His teaching and even extends it to the heavenly things. For the third time He uses the double “truly” followed by “I say to you” to emphasize the importance of His teaching. He assures Nicodemus that He does not talk about unfamiliar things. He is perfectly able to speak about the things He has just said because He has seen what He is testifying of. Only God can say that He ‘knows’ what He is talking about. With Him it is perfect ‘knowing’. He possesses the perfect knowledge of the essence of all things.

The Lord Jesus knows what is in man, for He knows what is in man (Jn 2:25). He knows what is in God, for He knows God because He is God. He makes God known (Jn 17:6 ; 26). The Lord speaks in the ‘We’-form because He testifies together with the Holy Spirit. He and the Holy Spirit are Divine Persons Who have perfect knowledge of all things. Like the Son, the Holy Spirit also knows perfectly what is in man and what is in God. He is perfectly familiar with this. No one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God (1Cor 2:11).

For a man to be able to share and know the things of God, he must first be born again and receive the Spirit. Through the new birth he is able to understand the things of God. The natural, unborn man does not accept the things of God because they are spiritually appraised (1Cor 2:14). He cannot even accept those things because he has no part in the life that is needed to do so.

The Lord has spoken about the earthly things, that is, things that the prophet Ezekiel has communicated and that are necessary for the earthly blessings in the realm of peace. The new birth is an earthly matter that is necessary to enter the earthly realm of peace. And Nicodemus does not even understand this. So how then would he understand anything if the Lord is going to speak about heavenly things?

For the kingdom of God has not only earthly but also heavenly aspects (Heb 12:22-24; Eph 1:10; Col 1:20). The heavenly things will be fully revealed by the Spirit after Christ has shed His blood and ascended into heaven. In the Son of God Who is speaking here with Nicodemus, these heavenly things are present in perfection. Only Nicodemus does not (yet) have an eye for them.