The God Who Grants New Birth (john 3:1–15)

In this lecture, Don Carson exposits John 3, explaining how spiritual birth is a transformative power from God that brings moral and spiritual change. Carson emphasizes the connection between this imagery, Jesus’s death, and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. Carson also explores the need for reconciliation with God, moral transformation, and the reversal of sin’s effects. New birth isn’t a result of human effort but a life-changing process enabled by the Holy Spirit.

He teaches the following:

• The desire to challenge God and usurp his authority leads to social evils and strife.
• Rebellion against God results in death, but God’s mercy leads to a new humanity through Abraham.
• God showed the need for sacrifice under the old covenant, promising a Redeemer from the Davidic line.
• Jesus’s revelation is grounded in his identity as God’s own self-expression.
• The new birth is grounded in Jesus’s death, which provides the means for eternal life.