You Must Be Born from Above the new birth, the love of God, and "he must increase"
John 3 is the great chapter of the new birth. A teacher of Israel comes by night and learns that no one can see the kingdom unless born from above, by water and Spirit. The dialogue climbs to the serpent "lifted up," to the most famous summary of the gospel in all Scripture, and ends with John the Baptist's last, self-effacing word.
Overview of John 3
Chapter 3 opens with 3:1–15, the night visit of Nicodemus — a Pharisee and "ruler of the Jews," a "teacher of Israel." Jesus presses past his cautious compliment to the heart of everything: unless one is born ἄνωθεν — "again" and "from above" — he cannot see the kingdom of God. The new birth is by "water and Spirit," the sovereign and mysterious work of the Spirit who "blows where he wills." The passage rises to the Son of Man who must be "lifted up," as Moses lifted the bronze serpent in the wilderness, that whoever believes may have eternal life.
3:16–21 gathers the whole gospel into a few sentences: God loved the world in this way — he gave his only Son — so that whoever believes should not perish but have eternal life. The light has come into the world, and the verdict turns on whether people come to the light or love the darkness. 3:22–36 closes the chapter with John the Baptist's final testimony: rejoicing as "the friend of the bridegroom," he gives the pattern of all faithful witness — "He must increase, but I must decrease" — and the evangelist sums up: the one who believes the Son has eternal life; the one who refuses him remains under the wrath of God.
Passage Units
All three passages of John 3 are available.