WATER AND SPIRIT of JOHN 3:5

WATER AND SPIRIT 

 “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:5

Jesus was speaking to the teacher of Israel who himself was teaching the Jewish nation concerning the appearance of the Kingdom of God and the necessary requirements for entrance. Obviously Nicodemus was teaching in error as Jesus points out to him. By grace John the Baptist was sent with a correcting message giving the preliminary step to accept the greater message which was to come from the Messiah Himself. So here Jesus goes on, very beautifully answering Nicodemus in the realm of interpretation. Listen to Him. He said, "Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God."  Mark the continuity. You have been hearing the ministry of one who baptized you in water who was a God sent messenger, and who also taught you Another would baptize you in the Spirit (John1:33). Except you are born of all that the water baptism of John signified, which is repentance; and that which the Spirit baptism accomplishes, regeneration, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. (Titus 3:5) "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit."   This was a two-step process that Nicodemus did not understand as well as many today. The heart gets prepared by the word of God and when responded to accomplishes salvation and entrance into His Kingdom that lasts forever.

This was the preliminary foretaste to prepare oneself to accept the greater message from the Greater Preacher One did this by the acceptance of John’s message and submitting to a display of that acceptance. The baptism of water here was a washing which was the symbol of repentance, the human condition necessary to the remission of sins. The baptism of the Spirit was the fact of regeneration, the Divine answer to the fulfillment of the human condition.

Thus our Lord declared that in order to enter the Kingdom of God there must be on the part of man repentance, and also on the part of God the regeneration of the spirit of man. An earthly as well as a heavenly answer to the message preached and taught.

“Water and the Spirit” here has the connotation of “water, even the Spirit.” The death and rebirth illustrated by John’s baptism, in which Nicodemus and his colleagues on the council had been so interested (John 1:25) was merely symbolic of rebirth in the Spirit. Some expositors have equated the “water” here with the Word and others have taken it to mean the water in the mother’s womb, but the context surely refers to baptism, and that is certainly what Nicodemus would have understood it to mean. The essential conclusion of Christ’s reply was that regeneration by the Holy Spirit was prerequisite to entering the kingdom of God. Paul used the same baptismal figure of the new life in Romans 6:4 and called it “the washing of regeneration” in Titus 3:5. Scripture helps to interpret scripture.

HOW TO HAVE MYSTERIES DISCLOSED

MYSTERIES DISCLOSED  

"The mystery of God, even Christ" Col. 2:2

The phrase occurs in the record of another of the Apostle's prayers. His desire for all the saints was that they MIGHT KNOW "The mystery of God, even Christ." That he desired this shows us that in the true Christian sense a MYSTERY is not something which cannot be KNOWN. It is something which man is unable to discover or explain; but it is something which may be DISCLOSED to him, and which therefore he may KNOW. And that is perhaps Paul's ultimate word about Christ. The last word has never yet been spoken about Him. There is nothing more wonderful than the persistence and ever-increasing discussion of all sorts and conditions of thinking men concerning the Person of our Lord. The subject is never exhausted; it never becomes out of date. Again and again men feel that they have formulated a Christology, only to find that some others have seen other facts not included in their system. And so He moves on, the Enigma of the ages, the INCLUSIVE WORD, WHOSE ULTIMATE SECRET IS NOT EXPRESSED, THE VERY MYSTERY OF GOD. Nevertheless through all the intellectual processes, He finds the heart of man, and gives Himself to it, so that in Him the heart finds rest, joy, satisfaction. Multitudes of simple souls, who are unequal to any explanation, live in daily COMRADESHIP with Him. They KNOW Him, and KNOW Him well. They are more intimate with Him than with their dearest earthly friends. They tell Him all their griefs and joys, their doubts and hopes, their successes and failures; and then they hear Him speak to them positively, prevailingly because He is the most easily found and also having the ultimate power. He is indeed the Mystery of God, profound in the wonder of His being, and yet so real that the tiniest child talks of Him with sweet FAMILIARITY.

ESCAPING DEATHS GRAPPLE TO A HAPPY ENDING

ESCAPING DEATHS GRAPPLE TO A HAPPY ENDING

"I have no good beyond Thee" Psa. 16:2

This is the first Psalm headed "Michtam." There are five others (56 to 60). The meaning is obscure. Thirtle says: "The term, Michtam, seems best explained by a personal or private prayer or meditation." This one is attributed to David, but nothing can be said decisively as to the time of its writing. As a whole it is a song of exultant confidence. In its opening petition the consciousness of danger is revealed, but this is the occasion for a glad confession of assurance in the deliverance of God. Whoever wrote it, and under whatever circumstances, its final value is that it is distinctly Messianic. Peter (Acts 2:25-31) and Paul (Acts 13:34-37) not only quote it in reference to our Lord, but argue its Messianic intention. The words we have emphasized reveal the deep secret of this holy confidence. The singer declared that he knew no well-being apart from God-Jehovah, as his SOVEREIGN LORD (John 13:13). Only of our Lord Jesus Christ, as an expression of unvarying experience, was this always true. The will of God was His delight, His meat, His one and only passion; and that as surely in His death as in His life. Therefore, to quote Peter: "It was not possible that He should be holden of it” (Acts 2:24) (that is, death). The measure in which, through His infinite grace, we are enabled to say in very truth, "We have no good beyond Thee," is the measure in which—whatever the perils opposing us, or the apparent calamities overtaking us—we may also be confident in the deliverance of God. In life, and all its experiences, through death itself, we shall be delivered and brought to His presence, in which is fullness of joy, and to His right hand, where are pleasures forevermore (Jude 24 and many more).

HOW TO CHANGE DIVINE GOVERNMENT

HOW TO CHANGE DIVINE GOVERNMENT 

"The Day of Jehovah cometh; for it is nigh at hand" Joel 2:1

In these words we have the same fundamental idea, but stated with a variation in method. Having interpreted the locust plague, by declaring that the Day of Jehovah was at hand, the prophet now said: "The Day of Jehovah cometh, for it is nigh at hand." In that sentence the word "for" has the force of "because." The truth emphasized now was not so much that of the ACTUALITY OF THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT AS THAT OF ITS CONTINUITY. Joel declared that the Day of Jehovah was not over. There were still OTHER experiences before them of the Divine judgment. Under the figure of the locust plague, he described the imminent invasion of a foe which would bring far more terrible desolation's to the people. Therefore again he called the nation to REPENTANCE, and declared the way by which they MIGHT CHANGE THE VERY CHARACTER OF THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT into that of mercy, and healing, and restoration. Here again is a matter for our careful attention. The Day of Jehovah is not only PRESENT; it is ALWAYS COMING. When some great activity of God has ended, His government has not ceased. He proceeds upon His way without intermission. If by one manifestation of His power and majesty, men do not learn the lessons He would teach, then they have not escaped from Him. By yet other means, more terrible than those already experienced, He will make Himself known: This is the story of humanity; and so it will continue until "the great and terrible Day of Jehovah come," the day of the final putting forth of His judgment of evil spoken of in Rev. 19:11-21 in order to the establishment of His Kingdom upon earth according to the grace of His heart.

GLORIOUS STRENGTH FROM GOD

GLORIOUS STRENGTH FROM GOD    

"The might of His glory" Col. 1:11

                                                                                                                                                                    

That is a far more arresting translation than the old one, "His glorious power," and it is more accurate. The latter is a phrase in which the emphasis is laid on a quality of the power--it is GLORIOUS. The real thought of the phrase is that it lays an emphasis on a fact concerning His GLORY, and that is, that it is CHARACTERIZED BY MIGHT. The Apostle was recording his prayer for the saints that they might be FILLED WITH KNOWLEDGE in order to walk worthily, bearing fruit. The condition for all this is that they should be STRENGTHENED with all power. Of this power he gives a description in this phrase, "The might of His glory." God is essentially the God of might. The first great name by which the Hebrew people knew Him was ELOHIM, which speaks of that might in all its greatness. Everything of God has in it this quality of strength. In, no application is the fact more unusual than in this of His glory. Glory is splendor and with God speaks of a finished product with all the qualities of beauty and brilliance, whether material or mental; and one of the most marked qualities of human glory is that of its weakness. Sic transit glories mundi, is a proverb expressing this conviction. Glory fades, passes, and that because of its weakness in men. The GLORY of God knows no fading, no passing, and no perishing. It abides undimmed because of its STRENGTH. When the GLORY of God is seen, when to realize it becomes the passion of a life, it is found that in the vision there is STRENGTH, in the effort there is ENERGY. His GLORY not only captures the mind; it EMPOWERS all upon whom it shines and walks towards perfection, the finished product (2 Cor. 12:9; Jude 24). It not only lures—it lifts.

FEAR IN THE UNKNOWN GOD

FEAR IN THE UNKNOWN GOD  

“But fear thou God" Eccles. 5:7

The relative considerations continue in this letter, as the Debater turns to the subject of RELIGION and of POLITICAL CONDITIONS. These words conclude the paragraph dealing with RELIGION, and express the finding of one who is living "under the sun." As we have pointed out before, this man is A BELIEVER IN GOD, but he has NO KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. These words seem to harmonize with the central principle of true wisdom, which is that its beginning and maintenance depend upon “the fear of Jehovah" but a careful consideration of the whole paragraph will show how utterly different is the conception. FEAR, in the sense in which it is used here, is THE FEAR OF THE SLAVE RATHER THAN THAT OF THE SON; it lacks the notes of confidence, of trust, and of love. All the advice given is good, in so far as it goes; but every word of it is born of the dread of doing anything which will offend a GOD WHO IS SOVEREIGN, but WHOSE WAYS ARE UNKNOWN. This conception of religion is that it consists of securing personal safety, by not doing things which are likely to offend God. I repeat, all is good so far as it goes; but it lacks the positive note, the glad note, the triumphant note; which notes are always present when life begins with the KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUE GOD. Such knowledge issues in no irreverent familiarity; but it produces a reverent familiarity; it gives the soul freedom of utterance and of action in the PRESENCE OF GOD. Men whose belief in God is merely INTELLECTUAL, never rise above this level. Their RELIGION, if they have any, is always characterized by this kind of FEAR, and becomes a burden and oppression, something which robs life of joy. First repent, then read His book and come to KNOW HIM, entering into the proper fear of God, which is the fear that I might continue in my sin against His Son.

ONWARD TO COMPLETION OF HIS PLAN

ONWARD TO COMPLETION OF HIS PLAN    

"After the death of Joshua" Judges 1:1

The Book of Joshua began with the words: "After the death of Moses," and recorded the story of the people of God under the leadership of his SUCCESSOR. Now the story is continued as to what followed his death. These beginnings keep us reminded of the PERSISTENCE OF THE DIVINE PURPOSE, in spite of the frailty of the human instruments. After the death of any servant of God, the service of God goes forward, and the work of God is carried on. Yet the other side of that truth is not to be lost sight of. God carries on His purpose and His work THROUGH HUMAN INSTRUMENTS. Moses made possible the work of Joshua. Joshua had made possible the work of all who were to follow. The period covered in this Book is that from the death of Joshua to the judgeship of Samuel, and the movement toward MONARCHY. On the human side, it is a story of disobedience and disaster; and on the Divine side, of continued direction and deliverance. Therefore in its light the servant of God may always find encouragement. When the appointed task is done, he will always be conscious of the incompleteness of it, of the things desired but not done, of the perils threatening the ultimate realization which he must leave unattained; but he will know by all this history that God NEVER ABANDONS HIS PURPOSE, (His plan made before the ages began) (2 Tim. 1:9; 2 Thess. 2:13; Eph. 1:11) cannot be finally defeated, will always find those to take up and continue the service which is unfinished. Happy is the man who in his little hour works with God. He may be at rest about the issues.