Flesh Will Always Be Flesh

One of the most profound statements Jesus makes to Nicodemus is, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Today, we'll explore this essential truth and why it shatters our assumptions about human nature and spiritual transformation.

John 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

With this simple statement, Jesus demolishes one of humanity's most cherished myths: that we can somehow, through effort, education, or moral reformation, transcend our fallen nature. The flesh—our natural, unregenerate self—will always produce what is in keeping with the flesh. It can never produce what belongs to the realm of the Spirit.

What Jesus is telling Nicodemus (and us) is this: You, because you're a child of Adam, are always going to be a child of Adam. There's nothing you can do to become anything different than what you are at your very core.

There are no automatic Christians. You're not a Christian because you were born to Christian parents. What's wrong with humanity isn't that we've lost our way and need someone to redirect us. Mankind isn't just wandering; we're trapped. We're lost.

Jeremiah 13:23 asks questions that solidify this reality: "Can an Ethiopian change his skin? Can a leopard change his spots?" The answer to both is obviously no. And neither can someone born of the flesh become anything other than what they are.

Have you ever thought, "I just need a do-over. I wish I could go back and start over"? Here's the sobering truth: that which is born of the flesh is flesh. You could have a thousand do-overs, and every single one would prove you to be exactly what you are at your core.

Charles Spurgeon used a vivid illustration for this truth. Imagine taking a pig, dressing him up nicely, giving him a watch, spraying him with cologne, and placing him between a pile of fine food and a pile of slop. If you let him off the leash, where will that pig go? To the slop, of course. Why? Because the pig will prove who he is despite the external trappings.

Similarly, you can dress up a person with morality, religiosity, education, and manners, but at the end of the day, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. In God's eyes, apart from spiritual rebirth, we will never be anything other than sinners. You don't need reformation; you need regeneration. You don't need to turn over a new leaf; you need a new life.

Sometimes we think we're not saved by works because God doesn't accept our good works, as if He's trading in a different currency in heaven. But that's a wrong view. It's not that God doesn't accept our good works; it's that outside of Christ, we have no good works. Romans 8:8 states that "those who are in the flesh cannot please God." It's not that we bring our good works to God and He rejects them; it's that He sees nothing but "filthy rags of unrighteousness."

The Heidelberg Catechism, written in 1563, asks children this profound question: "Are we so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and inclined to all evil?" The children would respond: "Yes, unless we are regenerated by the Spirit of God."

You might find this discouraging. Good! You should be discouraged from the thought that it's anything less than a miracle of God to bring you to Himself.

Sometimes the stoniest hearts are those who are religious, because they're hardened by the idea that they could earn their way to God. But the truth is that flesh will always be flesh. The only hope is to be born of the Spirit—to become a new creation through God's supernatural power.

Here's the amazing paradox: recognizing your complete inability to change yourself is the first step toward the change you need. When you abandon all attempts at self-reformation and cry out for God's transforming power, you're finally positioned to receive the miracle of new birth.

Stay dialed in,
Jonny Ardavanis