The Bible

 

John 3

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1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.

23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.

24 For John was not yet cast into prison.

25 Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.

26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.

27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.

29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.

33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

   

Commentary

 

Words

  

'Words,' as in Exodus 34:28, signify everything pertaining to doctrine.

In Genesis 15:1, words signify revelation, after the Lord's boyhood combats. (Arcana Coelestia 1787)

Words signify things, and things are goods and truths. (Arcana Coelestia 1785, 1801, 5272)

In Genesis 11:1, this signifies unity of doctrine. (Arcana Coelestia 1288)

In Exodus 8:10, 13, words signify communication of the Lord's Word and confirmation. (Arcana Coelestia 7406)

In Exodus 20:1, this signifies divine truths for people who are in the heavens and on earth. (Arcana Coelestia 8861, 8862)

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1787

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1787. 'Fear not, Abram, I am a shield to you' means protection against evils and falsities which is able to be trusted. This is clear from the meaning of 'a shield', to be dealt with shortly. These words which declare that Jehovah is 'a shield' and 'an exceedingly great reward' are words of comfort following temptations. Every temptation entails some kind of despair, or else it is not temptation; and for that reason comfort follows. A person who is being tempted is subjected to anxious fears which produce a state of despair over the end in view. The conflict brought about by temptation does not consist in anything else. One who is quite certain of victory does not experience any anxiety, nor thus any temptation.

[2] Since the Lord underwent the most dreadful and the cruelest temptations of all it was inevitable that He too should be driven into feelings of despair which He put to flight and overcame by His own power, as becomes quite clear from His temptation in Gethsemane, which is described in Luke as follows,

When Jesus was at the place He said to the disciples, Pray that you may not enter into temptation. But He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and kneeling down He prayed, saying, Father, if You are willing, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not My will but Yours be done. And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. And when He was in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became as great drops of blood falling down upon the ground. Luke 22:40-45.

In Matthew,

He began to be sorrowful and in agony. Then He said to the disciples, My soul is utterly dejected even to death. And He went forward a little and praying fell on His face, saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will but as You will. Again, for the second time, He went away and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cup cannot pass from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done. And He prayed for the third time, saying the same thing. 1 Matthew 26:36-44.

In Mark,

He began to be terrified and in great agony. He said to the disciples, My soul is wrapped in dejection, even to death. He went forward a little, fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass from Him. He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible to You; remove this cup from Me; yet not as I will but as You will. This happened a second and a third time. Mark 14:33-41.

[3] These quotations show the nature of the Lord's temptations - that they were the most frightful of all; that He suffered agony from the inmost parts of His being, even to the sweating of blood; that He was at the time in a state of despair over the end in view and over the outcome; and that He received comfort repeatedly. The words 'I am Jehovah your shield, your exceedingly great reward' in a similar way embody the comfort received after the conflicts brought about by the temptations which were described in the previous chapter.

Footnotes:

1. literally, word

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.