"Except a Man Be Born Again"
The New Birth Imperative by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
In a culture where spiritual transformation is often reduced to self-improvement or religious observance, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones's powerful exposition of John 3:3 stands as a clarion call to authentic Christianity. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" represents, in the Doctor's words, "one of the greatest spiritual pronouncements ever made, if not the greatest."
The Modern Confusion About Spiritual Life
Contemporary society offers countless paths to spiritual fulfillment—from mindfulness practices to moral living, from religious rituals to social activism. Many assume that becoming "spiritual" or "religious" is simply a matter of adopting new behaviors or perspectives.
Within Christian circles, similar confusion persists. Some equate Christianity with moral improvement, others with intellectual assent to doctrines, and still others with emotional experiences. Dr. Lloyd-Jones confronts these misunderstandings head-on through his analysis of Christ's encounter with Nicodemus.
"The whole time we find this crass misunderstanding about the very beginnings, the elements, the fundamentals of the Christian faith," observes Dr. Lloyd-Jones. "Christianity is the message concerning the kingdom of God. And everybody thinks he knows what it is."
The Interrupted Religious Expert
What makes Christ's declaration to Nicodemus so striking is the context in which it occurs. Nicodemus was no spiritual novice but "a man of the Pharisees... a ruler of the Jews"—a religious expert who understood Jewish law and tradition with remarkable depth.
Yet when Nicodemus approached Jesus at night, something extraordinary happened. Before he could even pose his question, Jesus interrupted him: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Dr. Lloyd-Jones finds profound significance in this interruption: "Our Lord doesn't even allow Nicodemus to ask a question... He's not allowed to put his question. He'd simply praised our Lord. And our Lord interrupts him."
Why this abrupt response? Because Jesus "could read his mind... He knew the type." Christ understood that Nicodemus approached Him not as one needing fundamental transformation but as a fellow teacher seeking additional insights: "Master, what I want is this. I want to know, what is this thing you've got? I'm a master of Israel. I'm a teacher. What is this something extra you've got?"
The interruption itself conveys a vital message: the kingdom of God cannot be approached on our terms, through our preconceptions, or as something we simply add to our existing religious framework.
Three Essential Propositions About Spiritual Birth
From Christ's interaction with Nicodemus, Dr. Lloyd-Jones extracts three crucial propositions about the new birth:
1. "Ye Must Be Born Again"
The phrase "born again" (or "born from above" or "born anew") captures the essence of Christian transformation. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that this is "the key phrase of Christianity" because it declares that becoming a Christian is not about:
- Adding new ideas to existing beliefs
- Slightly improving one's moral behavior
- Acquiring additional religious knowledge
Rather, it involves "an entirely new start." Using the metaphor of urban renewal, Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains: "In modern London... you see these new buildings going up. Yes, but before these went up, they pulled something else down. Demolition... All we've got is no good. It's got to be done away with."
This new birth involves God placing "a new principle of life into us. He doesn't renovate us, he doesn't improve us, he doesn't make us a little bit better. No, he puts new life into us."
2. This Transformation Is Required for Everyone
Perhaps most startling is Christ's insistence that this radical transformation isn't just necessary for obvious sinners but for everyone—including the religiously accomplished.
"It was to this man of all men that our Lord said, 'You must be born again,'" Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes. "We wouldn't be surprised if he'd said that to the publicans, would we?... We'd understand it if he said, 'Woman, you need a new nature'... But he said it to Nicodemus."
This universality challenges our tendency to divide humanity into those who need radical transformation and those who merely need minor improvements. In God's eyes, "no man can enter the kingdom of God as he is. Everybody must be born again. Even Nicodemus."
Dr. Lloyd-Jones highlights Nicodemus's impressive religious credentials:
- A Pharisee who believed in divine decrees
- A teacher who instructed others in righteousness
- A believer in moral accountability and immortality
- A man who recognized Jesus as "a teacher come from God"
Yet even he needed complete spiritual rebirth—a truth that demolishes religious complacency and self-satisfaction.
3. This New Birth Is God's Work, Not Human Achievement
Finally, Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that the new birth is fundamentally God's supernatural work, not a human achievement. Using Jesus's analogy of the wind, he explains:
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit. It's a great mystery because it's a miracle. It's God acting. It's the Creator creating anew."
This critical truth distinguishes biblical Christianity from both secular self-improvement and religious self-effort. The new birth "is the great act of God... the recreating act of the Almighty God."
Why Spiritual Rebirth Is Necessary
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explores two fundamental reasons why this radical transformation is necessary:
1. Because of What We Are by Nature
Our natural condition makes us incapable of spiritual perception and response:
"All our thinking about this is wrong," explains Dr. Lloyd-Jones. We approach God with mistaken assumptions—believing we can merely adjust our behavior slightly or add religious practices to our existing lifestyle.
More fundamentally, we are "incapable of spiritual thinking." Dr. Lloyd-Jones points to Nicodemus's bewildered response: "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
This response reveals not mere confusion but spiritual blindness: "When he is confronted by spiritual truth, he's an utter blank. There's nothing there. He can't follow it at all. He's amazed, he's confused, he stumbles."
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains this using Christ's statement: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Our natural state cannot rise above itself—"it can't do anything but reproduce its own nature."
Even more troubling, we are naturally resistant to spiritual truth: "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world. And men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil."
2. Because of What the Kingdom of God Is
The second reason we need spiritual rebirth lies in the nature of God's kingdom itself:
"It's not something external. It's something spiritual... It's entering into fellowship and communion with the Almighty and the everlasting God."
This spiritual reality demands spiritual capacity. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains: "Before I can enter it, I must have something in me that corresponds to that." Without spiritual rebirth, we lack the capacity to perceive, understand, or participate in God's kingdom.
Using Paul's language, Dr. Lloyd-Jones asks: "What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion hath light with darkness?... what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?"
The unbridgeable gap between our natural state and God's kingdom necessitates nothing less than divine transformation.
Signs of the New Birth
How can one know if they've experienced this spiritual rebirth? Dr. Lloyd-Jones suggests several evidences:
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Spiritual understanding: "Is Jesus of Nazareth only a man to you? Or do you believe he's the eternal Son of God incarnate? If you're born again, you'll not only have no trouble about that, you'll rejoice in it."
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Faith in Christ's atoning work: "Do you believe that when he died on that cross he was dying to receive the punishment that your sins deserve? Do you believe in this substitutionary atonement? If you do, you're born again."
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New spiritual desires: "Have you been anxious to know? Have you been anxious to possess? Have you rejoiced when I've praised this Son of God, and when I've said that he died that you might be forgiven? Has it moved your heart?"
These signs point to an internal transformation that comes not through human effort but divine initiative.
Questions People Ask About Being Born Again
What does it mean to be born again?
Being born again means receiving spiritual life from God—a complete transformation that gives us a new nature, new desires, and new capacities. It is not self-improvement or adding religion to one's life but receiving an entirely new spiritual life from God.
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains it as "comparable to being born again, starting absolutely de novo, as if there had never been anything there before... a new man, a new life, a new nature."
How can someone be born again?
The new birth is fundamentally God's work, not ours. Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes: "It is obviously, patently nothing that you and I can do. A man can't give birth to himself. He can't change his nature."
However, we can:
- Recognize our spiritual blindness and helplessness
- Cease trying to understand or achieve salvation through our own reasoning
- Turn to Christ in faith, casting ourselves upon God's mercy
- Trust in Christ's finished work on the cross
As Dr. Lloyd-Jones puts it: "Recognize your blindness, your ignorance, your vileness. You must further acknowledge that you can do nothing about it... cast yourself upon the mercy of God."
Who needs to be born again?
Everyone—regardless of moral background, religious knowledge, or social standing—needs spiritual rebirth. Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that this need is universal: "No man can enter the kingdom of God as he is. Everybody must be born again."
This includes the morally upright, the religiously devout, and the intellectually accomplished. The Doctor notes that even Nicodemus—a religious leader who acknowledged Jesus as "a teacher come from God"—needed complete spiritual transformation.
The Critical Choice
Dr. Lloyd-Jones concludes with a stark contrast: "It's one or the other, isn't it? Either you're still clever, just scoring debating points, just gaining the applause of your fellow infidels... Or you've seen tonight that it is possible for a man, however far away he may have wandered from God, to become a child of God."
The essential question is not whether we can understand spiritual rebirth fully but whether we will submit to it humbly. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones counsels: "Don't try to understand. Just bow your head and feel the gale of the Spirit bringing you to new life and a knowledge of God."
In a world of religious complexity and spiritual confusion, Christ's simple yet profound declaration stands as both challenge and invitation: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
To hear Dr. Lloyd-Jones's complete exposition on this transformative truth, visit "Except a Man Be Born Again". Discover how this fundamental teaching can revolutionize your understanding of true Christianity and genuine spiritual life.