Jesus: Except a man born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the ...

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Ye Must Be Born Again

 

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus,

a ruler of the Jews:

The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him,

Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God:

For no man can do these miracles that thou doest,

except God be with him.

Jesus answered and said unto him,

Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man born be born again, he

cannot see the Kingdom of God.

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born again when he is old?

Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man born

of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.

That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of

Spirit is spirit.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound

thereof,

But cannot tell whence it comes and where it goeth:

So is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

Jesus answered and said unto him,

Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak that we do know, and

testify that we have seen and ye receive not our witness.

If I told you earthly things and ye believe not,

how shall ye believe if I told you of heavenly things?

Shall ye believe if I told you of heavenly things?

 

John 3:1-12

 

 

 

" What is Truth?

 

Pilate asked Jesus this all important question about 2,000 years ago

in St. John 18:38. Many are still asking this question today. With

so many different denominations and religious crusaders, many of

whom clash, disagree, and even dispute with one another, it is no

small wonder why many people may be asking this question today.

 

Can a hungry heart find Truth today, or has God hidden His face from

all humanity? Must we be specially trained (indoctrinated) by some

religious organization before we can understand God's Word? Can

an " ordinary person " with average intelligence pick up the Holy

Bible and find out for them selves what is truly ordained of God and

what is really just traditions and doctrines of men? How does one

study the Bible? Where do you begin? Does the Bible contradict

itself? Is the Bible really God's inspired Word, or is it just a

collection of writings by different people over time who recorded

their view of history, philosophy, etc.? Aren't religious

denominations, like many other organizations, just out to recruit as

many as they can in order to enjoy the status, financial benefits,

power and prestige that comes along with having a large membership?

Is there a way the " ordinary person " with average intelligence

can " screen " the many doctrines and beliefs themselves, using only

the Word of God to identify what is Truth in its entirety, and

expose error, deceit and out right lies? " 1

 

" Everyone today is familiar with the term " born again. " It has

become so popular that it is used for all kinds of situations that

have nothing to do with the way the New Testament uses it. If a

football team has a bad season and the next year comes to life again

and does much better, the sports writers say it has been born again.

I heard a man say last week that his marriage, which had been

threatened but was now recovered, had been " born again. " I read in

the paper that the Equal Rights Amendment, which is again being

pushed hard by the women's movement, has now been " born again. " If

all this happened in line with the New Testament view of that term

it would be very encouraging. How nice to know that football teams,

women's movements and marriages are born again! But obviously that

is not the way they use the term; rather they are referring to a

kind of renewal.

 

In Chapter 3 of John's gospel we see this phrase used for the first

time in connection with a famous night visit to Jesus.

 

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of

the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, " Rabbi,

we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do

these signs that you do, unless God is with him. " Jesus answered

him, " Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew [born

again] he cannot see the kingdom of God. " {John 3:1-3 RSV} . . . .

 

Notice how Jesus cuts right across that with a sharp and penetrating

sentence that must have gone like a sword thrust right into

Nicodemus' heart. He said to him, " Truly, truly I say to you, unless

one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. " Observe what

Jesus is saying in this startling word to Nicodemus. He introduces

his words with this little phrase, " truly, truly. " I have come to

understand that that term is a sign our Lord gives that what he is

about to say is extremely important and should not be missed. It is

a revelation of a fundamental reality about life; a basic,

elementary fact that we need desperately to understand if we are

going to live realistically in this world. . . .

 

These then are the words which Jesus highlighted: " Unless one is

born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. " A new birth is

absolutely essential to enter the kingdom. John uses a very

interesting word here that is translated " anew, " or " again. " It is

the Greek word, anothen, which has three meanings: It means again to

do it a second time; it also means to begin radically, completely, a

new beginning; and it also means from above, and it is used in that

sense in other places in Scripture. It signifies God must do this.

The Christian understanding of this word includes all three of those

meanings. It is speaking of something radical, a new beginning. It

is a second birth, but it comes from above. It is God that does it,

not man; and it results in a new creation, a new beginning. " 2

 

The most decisive and important message of the entire gospel is to

properly understand the new birth. There are many variations or

interpretations of what constitutes the new birth. But, regardless

of these variations and interpretations Lord Jesus Christ says, " Ye

must be born again. "

 

Nicodemus did not understand that Christ was speaking about

receiving second birth from the Mother Kundalini. Lord Jesus Christ

again called attention to this vital rebirth from within: " 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. " He was emphasizing

a spiritual birth from within, a profound transformation of the

physical being necessary for life after death. It had nothing to do

with modern day baptism.

 

" Today, there are many different types of baptism. The Scripture

says there is only one. Some of the different types of baptism today

are:

 

[1] Triune immersion

[2] Aspersion (sprinkling)

[3] Affusion (pouring)

[4] Baptism by phone

[5] Baptism by mail

[6] Holy Spirit only

[7] Waterless baptism

[8] Immersion

[9] Laying on of hands

[10] Few drops of oil

[11] A pinch of salt

[12] By desire. " 3

 

" There is a large part of the modern church for whom the meaning

of water baptism as an essential, non negotiable element of

Christian obedience, has lost its impact. For various reasons,

in different church cultures, the New Testament emphasis has

changed. Too often, what passes now for baptism bears little

resemblance to that first century urgent response to the

Gospel, made under deep conviction of need for a new beginning

with God.

 

Some make a total mockery of the meaning of belief by

" baptising " infants who can neither believe nor repent. This is

not New Testament baptism.

 

Others make the same mockery, by practising an indiscriminate

adult baptism which requires no real belief of the Gospel of

the Kingdom, and no meaningful repentance. This is not New

Testament baptism either.

 

For others still, it has become somehow, a relatively

unimportant " optional extra " for those who are already regarded

as " saved " on the basis of an impulsive response to an altar

call and a brief " sinners prayer " , which invites a Jesus about

whom they knew almost nothing at all, to " come into their

hearts " . This is not Biblical salvation.

 

It is also not uncommon to find those who reject the need for

water baptism altogether, claiming that it is unnecessary in

this " dispensation " , for those who have been " born again " or

" baptised with the Holy Spirit " . " 4

 

Without the new birth of the water (Kundalini) and Spirit there is

no eternal salvation. That is how important it is to be born again.

Therefore, it is vitally important that we properly and rightly

understand the new birth of Lord Jesus, and not the sham baptism

administered by the clergy of the competing churches.

 

In order to carry out this self-discovered, self-contained and self-

sustaining experiment of being " born of the water and Spirit "

successfully below:

 

http://www.adishakti.org/self-realization.htm