“He Must Be Lifted Up”

Dear CrossPointe,

Last Sunday we considered the truth of God’s sovereign grace in salvation—that we are completely dependent on God to act first in the new birth, apart from anything in us. From a human perspective, there is an impossibility to what Jesus says to Nicodemus when he says that “you must be born again.” In the miracle of regeneration, our faith is the result of being born again, not the reason we are born again.

But that is not all that we need to say about how God saves. There is more to it than merely the divine act of granting the new birth. Our text this Sunday, John 3:9–15, helps us fill out more fully our doctrine of salvation. In the second half of his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus refers to a fascinating scene from the Old Testament in Numbers 21:4–9 and the miracle of the bronze serpent that will help us to see more of this beautiful truth. Take a moment to read John 3 and Numbers 21 before Sunday. I’m looking forward to diving in with you!

Grace and peace,

Brad