Well, it's not really simple or some of us wouldn't have it wrong. Obviously, we're both finger-pointing and the work I'm doing is to detail in John1:11-13 why I think both you and @Cameron are wrong.
The order of things from belief to birth are clear in those verses. If you think my analysis is wrong, then you should be able to explain how and why in those verses not by proof-texting from other verses that you're not analyzing.
So, with that logical order laid out, I include it going forward into John3 and Nicodemus. As a reminder, here's the logical order from John1:11-13:
- Jesus came
- Some of His own people intensely rejected Him & some of His own people - those John identifies as actively believing in Him/His identity - actively received Him.
- Jesus granted them authorization to become God's children
- Meaning children born from God (passive born so God does the birthing)
RE: Nicodemus, I'm going to be brief and will have you do the real work to try to prove me wrong. But you're going to have to prove me wrong in the foundation John has laid in John1:11-13 (and actually before also because John has John the Baptist witness for the arrival of the King before John lays out John1:11-13, so step one above is really, Jesus the Christ/King came):
In John 3:1-2 and John3:10 we can see who Nicodemus is and we can see the talk was that Jesus was a teacher from God and doing signs that could only be done by someone whom God is with.
Nicodemus is wrestling with belief and receipt of Jesus as Christ/King. I think we can see some of the reasons for things like this in John12:42-43.
NET John3:3 Jesus replied, "I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
- So, here's one of the verses you allude to, and you make the King and the Kingdom interchangeable and understandably so. But wrongly IMO.
- Firstly, I note that Jesus, as He often did, immediately takes the discussion where He wants it to go.
- Jesus does not go back to the basics as John has already established in John1:11-13. Jesus does not tell Nicodemus he needs to believe in Him. That's foundational and Jesus is taking this leader and teacher of Israel beyond that.
- Jesus is taking Nicodemus at minimum back to Ezekial and thus to Jeremiah.
- Jesus is telling Nicodemus he can't see the Kingdom because he hasn't actively received - He is not actively believing in the King - which is logical order #2 above from John1:11-13. This is contained in first clause in John3:3 above.
- Jesus ties this seeing the Kingdom John3:3 together with entering the Kingdom John3:5 and both being based in rebirth.
- The way I read all of this is that you're conflating and confusing seeing and entering with receiving and believing and wrongly associating believing in the King with seeing the Kingdom has arrived and entering into it.
- By using the flow in GJohn I see this by adding John3 to what we know from John1
- Jesus [the Christ/King] came
- Some of His own people intensely rejected Him & some of His own people - those John identifies as actively believing in Him/His identity - actively received Him.
- Some for various reasons were wrestling with receiving/believing Jesus (and even coming to Him privately at night to avoid being seen by other men)
- Jesus granted them (the ones actively believing in Him/His identity and actively receiving Him) authorization to become God's children
- Jesus has not yet granted the authorization to Nicodemus
- Meaning children born from God (passive born so God does the birthing)
- Then they could see the Kingdom and enter into it
One section of Scripture at a time.
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