M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The conversation of Christ with Nicodemus. The teaching and baptism of John, and what witness he bears of Christ.

3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler among the Jews. ² He came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God. For no man could do such miracles as you do unless God were with him.

³ Jesus answered and said to him, Truly truly I say to you, unless a man be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

⁴ Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter into his mother’s womb and be born again?

⁵ Jesus answered, Truly truly I say to you, unless 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 to you, you must be born anew. ⁸ The wind blows where it will, and you hear its sound, but cannot tell from whence it comes and where it goes. That is how it is with everyone that is born of the Spirit.

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

¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, Are you a teacher in Israel, and do not know these things? ¹¹ Truly truly I say to you, we speak what we know and testify what we have seen, and you people do not receive our witness. ¹² If when I tell you all earthly things, you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? ¹³ And no man ascends up to heaven but he who came down from heaven; that is to say, the Son of man who 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 so that no one who believes in him will perish, but will have eternal life.

¹⁶ For God so loves the world that he has given his only Son, so that none who believe in him should perish, but should have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world through him could be saved. ¹⁸ Whoever believes on him shall not be condemned. But whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he does not believe in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation: that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness more than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be reproved. ²¹ But whoever does truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be known, that they are wrought in God.

²² After these things, Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and there he spent time with them and baptized. ²³ And John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there, and people came and were baptized. ²⁴ For John had not yet been cast into prison.

²⁵ And there arose a question between John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. ²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, of whom you bear witness, behold, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.

²⁷ John answered and said, A man can receive nothing at all unless it is given to him from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves are witnesses that I said I am not the Christ, but have been sent before him. ²⁹ He who has the bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and hears him, rejoices greatly to hear the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this my joy is fulfilled. ³⁰ He must increase in renown, and I must decrease.

³¹ He who comes from on high is above all. He who is of the earth is earthly, and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all, ³² and what he has seen and heard, that he testifies; but no one receives his testimony. ³³ However, the person who has received his testimony has set to his seal that God is true. ³⁴ For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God. For God does not give the Spirit by measure (to him). ³⁵ The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. ³⁶ The person who believes on the Son has everlasting life, and the person who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

Paul is taken up into the third heaven and hears words not to be spoken of.

12 No doubt it is not seemly for me to boast. Nevertheless, I will come to visions and revelations from the Lord. ² I know a man in Christ about fourteen years ago (whether he was in the body I cannot tell, or whether he was out of the body I cannot tell, God knows) who was taken up into the third heaven. ³ And I know the same man (whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell, God knows), ⁴ how he was taken up into Paradise and heard words not to be spoken, which no man can utter. ⁵ Of this man I will boast. Of myself I will not boast, unless it be of my infirmities. ⁶ And yet if I chose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. Nevertheless, I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be, or hears from me.

⁷ And lest I should be unduly lifted up through the greatness of the revelations, there was given to me unquietness of the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me – because I should not be unduly lifted up. ⁸ For this thing I besought the Lord three times, to put it from me. ⁹ And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect through weakness. Very gladly therefore will I rest in my weakness, so that the strength of Christ may dwell in me. ¹⁰ Therefore I am content in infirmities, in reproach, in need, in persecutions, in anguish, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹¹ I am made a fool in going on about myself. You have compelled me. I ought to have been commended by you. For in nothing was I inferior to the chief apostles. Though I am nothing, ¹² yet the signs that mark an apostle were wrought among you with all patience – with miracles, and wonders, and works of power. ¹³ For in what were you less favoured than other congregations? – unless it is in that I was not burdensome to you. Forgive me this wrong done to you! ¹⁴ And now the third time I am ready to come to you, and still I will not be a burden to you. For I seek not yours, but you. Also, the children ought not to lay up for the fathers and mothers, but the fathers and mothers for the children. ¹⁵ I will very gladly give, and will be given, for your souls – though the more I love you, the less I am loved in return.

¹⁶ But granted that I did not impose upon you, nevertheless I was crafty and took you with guile – ¹⁷ Did I rob you through any of the men that I sent to you? ¹⁸ I asked Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus defraud you of anything? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in like steps? ¹⁹ Again, do you think that we are justifying ourselves to you? We speak in Christ, in the sight of God.

But we do all things, dearly beloveds, for your upbuilding. ²⁰ For I fear lest it come to pass that when I come, I will not find you such as I would like, and you will find me such as I would not want. I fear lest there be found among you debate, envying, anger, rivalry, backbiting, whisperings, swelling, and discord. ²¹ I fear that when I come again, God may bring me low among you, and I may be constrained to bewail many of those who have sinned already and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and wantonness that they have committed.