Of course, we realize that that second birth we’re reflecting on is wholly spiritual. Lest we missed that. However, Y’shua Jesus said very clearly that we must be born of God’s Spirit. It’s part of His response to Nicodemus and is the basis of our reflections. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
John 3:5 AMP
[5] Jesus answered, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God. [Ezek 36:25-27]
Reborn of God’s Spirit. Life is spiritual.
Those who stop to recognize it as such will find it easier to function. It is by God’s Spirit (breath becoming speech) that everything was created at the beginning (see Genesis 1). It is by God’s Spirit that breath entered the first human (see Genesis 2). It is by God’s Spirit that we live, move, and have our being (see Acts 17).
That final statement about God’s Spirit is actually an adaptation of a popular saying in Paul’s day. Its inclusion in the biblical narrative tells us that spirituality wasn’t only practised by Jews and people of the Way. This corroborates the earlier premise that life is spiritual.
When we accept that life is spiritual, then we must operate in the spiritual also. Whether we seek guidance along life’s way or are in need of accompaniment, we are doing so in the realms of the physical and the spiritual simultaneously.
Self-Check
Are we aware of functioning in the spiritual? How do we navigate life in the dual realms?
Application
In John 6, Y’shua is abundantly clear: Only God’s Spirit can offer us eternal life. That is why being born of God’s Spirit is crucial. Being born of God’s Spirit includes the acceptance of Y’shua as fully God and fully human, as no one can say Jesus is Lord, except they receive God’s Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 12).
It also says that we belong to God, reflecting God’s characteristics as would any member of God’s family. This rebirth eventually manifests physically, but God’s Spirit would already have begun a good work in us. That’s what restores us to factory (creation) settings.
One could argue that Nicodemus could only seek Y’shua out because God’s Spirit was at work on him. And, without a doubt, God’s Spirit renews our minds so that we too can access life in Christ. Being born of God’s Spirit also results in our yielding to God’s way and strengthens our relationship with Y’shua. And, just as we grow naturally, so it is that we grow spiritually, manifesting spiritual fruit and gifts as we mature.
Point to Ponder
Yes, life is spiritual. And for us to best navigate spiritually, we need to be born of God’s Spirit. Do we dare to safeguard that relationship?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
