Last week, in JESUS AND NICODEMS, Part 4, we saw that Jesus opened the door for Spiritual Rebirth at the cross. Yet many of us have already accepted His gift of the cross, but we continue to feel like we have not yet received access to the Spiritual plane we’ve been talking about. We would love to live by the Spirit of God, always being where we need to be, when we need to be there, always living our “reason to be”, our purpose, but it just doesn’t seem to be happening. What do we do?
Is it possible that we have embraced the gift of Salvation, without fully understanding the power that it brings?
The door to this Spiritual rebirth was opened for each of us when we were saved, yet so often we fail to step inside! Maybe we don’t think we are worthy of this Spiritual rebirth, or we don’t realize it even exists. Or maybe we just don’t know how to access it. Either way, we stand in that doorway, never crossing over, never taking possession of what is truly ours.
Jesus’ answer to this question lies hidden within His discourse with Nicodemus: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NIV)
Wait a minute. Is Jesus saying here that our problem is lack of belief? Am I taking this out of context? Am I being too literal?
Perhaps I am taking liberties here, for Jesus goes on to indicate He is talking about Salvation. But the entire purpose of the discourse is spiritual rebirth, not just Salvation!
In Jesus’ ministry, lack of faith is often cited as what is keeping us from being able to do the things He does:
1. A father comes to Jesus asking healing for his son. Jesus says: “‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!'” (Mark 9:23-24 NKJV)
2. Later the disciples came to Jesus wondering why THEY couldn’t cast out the same unclean spirit: “So Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your unbelief . . .'” (Matt 17:20 NKJV)
3. At another time, Jesus was unable to do many miracles in his own country. Why? “Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” (Matt 13:58 NKJV)
I could go on, but it would make for a very long devotional. Suffice is to say, Jesus rebuked many in His day for their lack of faith, all the while commending many others for their miracle-resulting faith!
Friends, do we truly believe that being reborn of the Spirit is an attainable goal? Is our lack of belief keeping us from walking through the door into the liberty that Jesus died to give us? Is it this that keeps us from taking what is truly for us? Do we really believe in the power of the Holy Spirit? Have we been filled with His Spirit? Have we received the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
Being saved is oh, so vitally important, friends. And for those of us who are standing in that doorway, we have made the right decision, the most important decision of our lives. But there is so much more that Jesus died to give us! He wants us to be able to understand the Kingdom of God, and we cannot do that without accessing that spiritual plane that we lost at Eden, without fully embracing the Truth that Jesus’ death on the cross opened the doors so that we can once again experience that closeness, that understanding, that relationship with God, and with it, the power that accompanies it!
Are you standing on that doorframe, friend? If so, why not step in? There is so much more to a life in Christ than simple Salvation. And it all begins with belief. If you are having trouble with this step, friend, please email me at helpmelearnaboutjesus@gmail.com.
But maybe you are someone who has already taken that step, at least for certain things in your life. If so, why not step in further? Why not believe in the power of God for ALL areas of your life? Why not surrender COMPLETELY to His will? For when you do, then you become like the wind that “blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.” (John 3:8)
For “So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:9)
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Mother of two teens, Speech-Language Pathologist, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, www.scripturalnuggets.org, with Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org.
(To access the entire “Jesus and Nicodemus: A Study on Rebirth” mini-series, please click here.)