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.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the 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 canst not tell when it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit. John 3:5-8
Here, Jesus was having a conversation with Nicodemus, described in the book of John as a, “man of the Pharisees,” a “ruler of the Jews”. In this conversation a little later, Jesus chastised Nicodemus because he had no knowledge of these things. Jesus said, “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” This was astounding to Jesus since Nicodemus was supposed to be teaching the Jews about, spiritual things, the very knowledge of God!
So, what does it mean to be, “born of water and of the Spirit” so that we may enter into the, “kingdom of God.” I believe the water he is speaking of here is, the water referred to later on in the chapter of John when he is talking to the woman by the well. Here Jesus is having a conversation with a Samaritan woman, people the Jews did not speak to when he told her this:
If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. John 4:10
He then went on to say later, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again; But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:13-14
This, “living water”, later in scripture is said to be, “the Spirit”, the Holy Ghost, which is the essence of God which is also given as a, “gift” to us. To receive this gift we must look to spiritual things and allow ourselves to be filled, believing by faith. This is where we have to realize the difference between information and revelation. A person can read scripture and hear the, “word” of God without actually discerning what they are actually reading or hearing. We are made in the image of God and can receive this information spiritually. We are made with the internal modem, an analogy which may be useful in this age, to receive this information of the Spirit. Like a computer which can receive, we too can receive.
The apostle Paul talks too about these things to the people of Corinth, who really are no different than we are, trying to understand the things of God!
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard , neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, ye, the deep things of God. 1Cor.3:9-10
The rest of the scripture explains that these, “deep things of God”, are only spiritually discerned. The, “Spirit of God” revealing the deep things of God!
Which things also we speak not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
So, we too must look away from, “the natural”, things of the world to understand the, spiritual things, yes, and receive the Spirit to learn of the, “deep things of God”! Until the next time, may you all be blessed!
The Realm by Daniel Mears 