Abundance From Above
John 3:1-16
Chapter 5 (Pages 70-75)
So if abundance is not cash, possessions, or comfort, what is it? Given that Jesus’ inner circle of
followers suffered persecution and died as martyrs, what kind of abundance did they receive?
John, the disciple of Jesus, chose to open His narrative with this explanation:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was
in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him
nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light
of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it….John 1:1-5
Jesus is eternal and He is the Creator, so the kind of life He brings is not man-made, but Godmade. It is a kind of life that didn’t exist on earth before His coming. Moreover, the abundant
life is so contrary to the thinking of this world that the world cannot comprehend-it without
help.
Nicodemus, one of Israel’s great theological and philosophical minds, struggled to comprehend
the king of life Jesus offered. As a politician, Nicodemus cared about the crisis in Israel, for
God’s Kingdom had become a province of Rome. As a teacher of Scripture, he cared about
truth. As a religious man, he cared about morality and conduct that pleases God. As a man, he
cared about himself, his future, and his standing before God, and he was probably sure of most
of those things until Jesus spun Nicodemus on his heels with the words, “You must be born
again.”…John 3:7. The expression “born again” has unfortunately become so overused that it
has lost much of its meaning. It’s even become something of a joke in our culture. But in the
Greek language in which John wrote this story, the words are charged with multiple layers of
meaning, all of which reveal simple yet profound truth. It’s an expression that invites us, as it
did Nicodemus, to look deeper.
Study Questions from the text:
1. (John 3:1-2) What makes Nicodemus so different from other scholarly Pharisees of
Jesus’ day? (John 3:10) How does Jesus recognize Nicodemus as being important to
Israel?
2. (John 3:2) What is the popular implication of Nicodemus coming at “night” to see
Jesus, why do some dispute that?
3. (John 3:3-8) What was the controversy that Nicodemus was wrestling with, and why
do you think that was (the concept is so easily understood today)?
4. (John 12:30-33; John 3:13-17; Numbers 21:4-9) What does Jesus mean when He refers
to Moses and lifting up the snake and how then is Jesus the key to all of our futures?
Class discussion Question:
On page 75 of our book, our author says that Nicodemus’ problem wasn’t intellectual;
it was volitional; read the middle 5 paragraphs of page 75, and in your own words
describe the problem that Nicdemus was having.
Abundance Now
When Jesus spoke of abundance, He most likely spoke Aramaic. And when John told this story,
he wrote in the common language of the Roman Empire, Kione Greek, using the work perissos
to convey the idea of abundance. It means, “To be present over abundantly or to excess.”
Abundant life is not only eternal, but it is overwhelmingly, exceedingly ample life. And while
abundant life has profound implications beyond the grave, Jesus gave every indication that it
also has practical relevance here and now. As I reflect on the kind of life He offers, I find four
tangible qualities.
Soaring Life: as God intended it enables us to live above the drag of fear, superstition, shame,
pessimism, guilt, anxiety, worry, and all the negativity that keeps people from seizing each day
as a gift from Him. The abundant life allows a person to start the day by saying, “Lord, I’m
Yours. Today is Yours. I give You all of my problems as I begin this new day. I know I’ll struggle
and grope, and I may even stumble, but I know You are with me and You will use every
experience of my life to increase my ability to receive more and more strength from You.”
Ignoring Life: as God intended it causes us to refuse to take our cues from those who operate
their lives from a purely human perspective. It’s feeling secure in the truth while ignoring the
majority opinion. It’s daring to stand for what is right without fear or ridicule or persecution.
Those who receive abundant life have no need to please people because they thrive in the
pleasure of God.
Risking Life: as God intended it dares us to attempt the impossible in the unwavering belief that
all things are possible with Him. Because abundance is immaterial, not material, there’s very
little fear of loss. And we can live outside the trap of worrying about losing “stuff.”
Releasing Life: as God intended it loosens our grip on everything because security and
contentment come from God. Money, possessions, status, and even relationships are but
God’s means of blessing us as we, in turn, bless others. Because He owns it all, we have no
need to clutch and cling.
The abundant life has only one requirement: we must be willing to exchange our old life-our
former way of living, choosing, thinking, and behaving-for a new life, a life crafted and directed
by the Lord. The exchange begins with a decision, but runs its course over a lifetime. The
abundant life is not something we claim; it’s something we receive. And we begin to receive it
as we become citizens of the Messiah’s new Kingdom.
And that starting point is when we are “born from above.”
Do you understand? Have you accepted? Will you believe?