3:3 Born Again . . . as Part of God’s Family! Jesus says that only a person who is “born again” or born from above can be saved. This imagery reveals that God’s salvation is more than simply avoidance of hell. Rather, it is membership in a new family, one in which God himself is our Father (Matt 6:9; John 1:12; 1 Jn 3:1-2) and our adoption comes through belief in Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection (Rom 8:15-17; 1 Cor 15:1-4; Eph 1:3-14).
3:16 The Greatest Gift The most devastating disability—and the source of all the suffering in this world—is sin. Our sin is the root cause of all our problems and will lead to death. Through Jesus, God dealt with this problem once and for all. While on this earth, we will suffer. However, suffering will not last forever. God’s gift will make us whole and enable us to spend eternity with him.