Shout for Joy
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Almost everyone is aware that the material world in which we live (and of which we are a part) is not the only “world.” This very awareness is part of that other world, a world without boundaries, one in which we are not limited by time or in space. “But,” says the genuine unbeliever, “that is merely your mind at work, your imagination.”
But if this other world were a product of my imagination, wouldn’t it follow that the material, that is, our brain, would be creating something that is non-material? Now that would be difficult for me to accept. If there are two realms – and your reference to an “imagination” requires that (you can’t measure or weigh and imagination) – would it not be more reasonable for the non-material to be responsible for the material? After all, it’s the sphere you hold to be unlimited. I wouldn’t suggest that something like that was running through Jesus’ mind when he was talking with Nicodemus (the Jewish scholar) about spiritual birth, but it does open the door to consider a sphere of being that is not material. That Jesus could perform miraculous signs led Nicodemus to acknowledge that God was somehow involved. But the question of being born again in order to enter the kingdom of God left him confused. So Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, a person cannot enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Physical birth results in a physical being; spiritual birth, in a spiritual being” (John 3:5-6, all quotations are from Jesus, In His Own Words). I know that the expression “to be born again” has been used in connection with everything from selling used cars to a new plan for vacationing, but Jesus was not speaking metaphorically. He was distinguishing between two realities, physical life as we know it and a new kind of life, spiritual. The first brings a child into the world and the second into a world best described as spiritual. Interestingly enough, as in physical life, so also in spiritual life – a person can’t experience the realm prior to being born into it. Think about it. I encourage everyone to check it out because in both cases (material birth and spiritual rebirth) confirmation follows new birth.
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AuthorRobert H Mounce Archives
January 2019
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