in most constitutionally democratic states today, especially those which incorporate a Human Rights charter, that various freedoms are enshrined, or at least respected, such as 'Freedom of Movement', 'Freedom of Association', Freedom of Expression', etc., and this is to be cherished and protected, for it is derived ultimately from respect for the value of a human being.

the ancient world of Christ's time, few societies were as socially regulated as the Jewish, with their strict Pharisaic version of the Sinaitic Code as laid out by their senior supervisory body – the Sanhedrin. This makes it all the more significant that, when the Lord Jesus was approached by a member of that Sanhedrin (by night to protect his reputation), the Lord, using terminology of which Nicodemus would have been personally familiar in his officiating at Gentile-conversion initiation ('new-born' by Jewish baptism), states that when a person is "born of the Spirit" that person is as free as the wind from all external forms of restrictive regulation.

Within its own historical context, this statement of Jesus was extremely radical!

But Nicodemus was confused by the need to begin-again, to be born-again; for surely being Jewish of Abraham, and with their unique national Covenant of Sinai, this was enough to guarantee entrance into God's coming messianic kingdom!

patiently amplifies the concept of 'born-again', of new-beginning, to help Nicodemus understand, and then needed to reproach His lack of comprehension because the arrogant dogmatism of his mind-set was blocking his understanding.

This sad lack of understanding tends to frequently reappear in our own religious contexts today – such as when a Christian life-style is presented as being God's 'LAW' – to be obeyed, rather than as the Lord Jesus understood it!

This is particularly so in the field of social morality.

was pointing out to Nicodemus that the direct rule of God (His kingdom) requires a personal internal alignment of the individual with the intrinsic nature of God's direct rule – a shared attitude of values.
In other words, God's rule is not like the rule of mankind where the authority of an empire such as Rome is imposed upon the people by force, or the regulation of Jewish society by the Sanhedrin is imposed by social penalties and synagogue censure

for the nature of God's rule lies essentially in the moral character of God Himself – LOVE,
not in any sentimental sense, but rather in total focus on the welfare of all that He has made.

To help remove the idea of feelings and sentiment generally attached to this word 'love', it is to be understood in the mind of Christ as in the sense of His words "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you..."

sense then, there can be no external restriction upon the life and behaviour of any citizen of God's kingdom other than the intrinsic nature of God's own character –