Daily Good News – No Small Decision

Apr 29, 2015 1569

“Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again’” (John 3:7).

Through our first, physical, birth we are born into the kingdom of this world. In order to enter God’s kingdom we must be born again—by the Spirit. What a powerful symbol of a new life in Christ! Birth is the beginning of life. It is as if nothing existed before we are born into the Spirit.

This should not have been a new concept to Nicodemus, who knew the Hebrew scriptures very well. He would have been familiar with the passage in Ezekiel 36:26 that says, “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you.” But it appears he was surprised, and he showed it, otherwise Jesus would not have told him, “You should not be surprised.” Being changed to the extent that it is described as being ‘born again’ is no light matter: it requires faith, commitment and willingness to admit that you need a new life in Christ.

The kingdom that Christ established on earth is a kingdom in which every citizen is a dwelling place for God’s Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20). The people who belong to the kingdom of this world are just human; the people who belong to Christ’s kingdom are a union of the human and the divine because God’s Spirit dwells in them.

Have you invited Jesus to come and live in you?

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