The Message of the Cross (26) Salvation Given Only to Those Born of Water and the Spirit
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December?13, 2020 |
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 “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (John 3:3).
Although many people profess to have accepted Jesus Christ and their faith in God, they do not necessarily all have the assurance of salvation. With the spiritual dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus as our guide, this issue of Manmin News will delve into the significance of “being born of water and the Holy Spirit” and the road to perfect salvation.
1. Spiritual Dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus
Nicodemus was a Jewish official, a teacher, and one of the Pharisees very well versed in the Law.
During Jesus’ time, the Pharisees were “holy” on the outside, without keeping the Law from the heart; they not only doubted Jesus’ teachings but also spearheaded the movement to have Him killed. Unlike other Pharisees, however, Nicodemus was thirsty for the truth and as he possessed true faith, he paid Jesus a visit one evening.
Nicodemus blatantly confesses to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Sensing Nicodemus’ thirst in the heart, Jesus replies, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,” and provides him with spiritual teaching.
Upon hearing it, however, Nicodemus simply could not understand how a grown man, long after he had been born, could be born again. As 1 Corinthians 4:20 reminds us, only when an individual receives God’s power in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit will he be able to fathom the spiritual secrets. Without understanding Jesus’ spiritual teaching, Nicodemus asks, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
In response, Jesus tells him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” In order for an individual to enter Heaven, says Jesus, the invisible spirit must be born again.
Adam, the forefather of mankind, had been created as a living being but on account of his sins, his spirit died. Thenceforth, all of Adam’s descendants were born with their spirits dead and since they had become fleshly beings, they were unable to enter Heaven.
The only way to rectify and avert this-to prevent one from going to Hell-is to be born of water and the Holy Spirit. For that reason Jesus told Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Just as wind is invisible and its direction cannot be predicted, we can fathom and experience the affairs of the spiritual world only by God’s works and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Following this meeting with Jesus, we see Nicodemus coming to Jesus’ defense when the Pharisees criticized Him (John 7:50-51), and after Jesus had died on the cross, he came forward with “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight” (John 19:39). From such deeds we know Nicodemus received salvation.
2. Spiritual Significance of “Being Born of Water”
John 4:14 reads, “But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” The “water” here is the same as “a well of water springing up to eternal life” Jesus is to give us.
What, then, is “a well of water springing up to eternal life,” the eternal water that Jesus gives us? We know that without eating of the flesh and drinking of the blood of Jesus the Son of Man, there is no life in us (John 6:53).
John 6:54 states, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Eating of the flesh of the Son of Man is to make bread of God’s Word and drinking of the blood of the Son of Man is to put God’s Word into practice. Eating of the flesh and drinking of the blood of the Son of Man-God’s Word itself-are the water that provides man with eternal life.
Just as water cleanses the uncleanness and gives life to all living things, in spiritual terms “water”- God’s Word-cleanses away sin and evil from our hearts and helps us possess eternal life. When God’s Word settles in our hearts and cleanses them, we will be rid of such sinful and evil elements as envy, jealousy, hate, and temper, be born again, and arrive at salvation (1 Peter 3:21) Therefore, when we make bread of and live by God’s Word, which serves to cleanse away our sins, we will gradually become sanctified and righteous, and this will in turn serve as the proof of our salvation.
3. Spiritual Significance of “Being Born again of the Holy Spirit”
God has given His saved children the Holy Spirit (John 15:26; Acts 2:38) and the Holy Spirit helps them possess faith and revives their spirits that had been dead.
1 John 5:5-8 reminds us, “Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.”
The expression “the One who came by water and blood” signifies the shedding of blood and the death of Jesus, the Word that became flesh. As Jesus died on the cross, by His blood we receive salvation. Therefore, “the One who came by water and blood” is Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit sent to us after His ascension helps us believe in that fact.
The Scripture also tells us that he who believes Jesus to be the Son of God “overcomes the world” and this refers to how we do not become smeared with untruth by fighting and overcoming the lusts of this world. The Holy Spirit not only helps us believe with all certainty in the Lord but by convicting the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment, He will also give us the strength to overcome the world and its ways.
Once we realize the nature of sin, understand the importance of accomplishing righteousness, and believe in the Judgment that is to come to pass, we will be compelled to live according to the desires of the Holy Spirit. By casting away the sins and forms of evil from our hearts every day, we will transform our hearts and fill them with the truth.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, only when you are born of water and the Spirit and have the Spirit give birth to spirit in you, can you enter the kingdom of heaven.
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Manmin News 
