We Beheld His Glory # 13

The New Birth - Its Basis

Well, now I think we see why the Lord immediately, and so peculiarly and strangely, pulled Nicodemus up short with an imperative. Nicodemus starts his conversation - I do not know whether in a patronizing way, or in a somewhat high-falutin' manner, "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." "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." What is the connection? The thing does not seem to be connected at all, it hardly seems relevant. It is a tremendous break in on the part of the Master, calling this whole thing to a halt, and saying, in effect: Let us go no further, your need is to be born from above, if you have come to discuss spiritual things. If you have come to talk about the Kingdom of God and how to get into it, you must be born from above. If you are interested in Me and what I represent, you can only have a living interest and understanding as you are born from above. You see, He brings right forward the end that Nicodemus probably had in mind, and plants it with an imperative at the commencement, and says, virtually: Look here, Nicodemus, it is no use you and I discussing these things, we are in two different realms; we need to be in the same realm to have understanding and appreciation of these things, and I am from above; you have to come from above, Nicodemus, to be in fellowship with Me; we cannot talk over the thing while yo stand in one wold and I in another. You must come over to the realm where I am, and we will have fellowship and understanding, because that means you will have new capacities, a new consciousness; you will be able with spiritual ability to enter into these things; which is quite impossible to you, even as a master in Israel, until you are born from above. That imperative, that "must" carries with it all the content of the utter impossibility of man by nature, even at his highest, to enter into the things of the Kingdom of God, and all the mighty content on the positive side of what it is to be in the Kingdom of God. That is, to have what is of God resident within by birth; Divine capacity, Divine consciousness, Divine understanding and intelligence, and all that belongs to God - excepting deity.

For myself, the wonder of the Christian life is the reality of what I have called the "Otherness". The reality of Another so closely related within me, subjective and yet objective. In me, but not me, and yet as close to me, to my consciousness as it is possible for anything to be. That is the foundation of all our hope and confidence; it is the spring of everything for the ultimate realization of perfect God-likeness; "Christ in you the hope of glory."

In a further chapter we shall see with what a forceful illustration the Lord enforced His dictum as to the necessity for new birth, and the why of it.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 14 - "The Necessity for New Birth")