What did HE say? (continued)
BORN AGAIN ? (continued)
The Whole Story?
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, 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. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, 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. (John 3:1-6)
Before we begin again on this topic, let us be reminded that we are speaking about spiritual matters and not matters of the flesh and so, unless we think about them in that light, they may not make much sense. We begin with some definitions:
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Flesh: from the Greek word sarx. Defined by Strong’s as: flesh, body, the soft tissue of a creature, often in contrast to bone, ligament or sinew; by extension human, humankind, with a focus on the fallen human nature which is frail and corrupt in contrast to the immaterial (spiritual) things*** . The Greek Lexicon says of flesh: flesh (the soft substance of the living body, which covers the bones and is permeated with blood) of both man and beasts; the body the body of a man, used of natural or physical origin, generation or relationship, born of natural generation; the sensuous nature of man, “the animal nature” without any suggestion of depravity; the animal nature with cravings which incite to sin; the physical nature of man as subject to suffering a living creature (because possessed of a body of flesh) whether man or beast; the flesh, denotes mere human nature, the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, and therefore prone to sin and opposed to God**. This word is translated flesh 147, carnal 2, carnally 1, fleshly 1 by the King James Version (KJV).
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Spirit: from the Greek word pneuma. Defined by Strong’s as: wind, breath, things which are commonly perceived as having no materail substance; by extension: spirit, heart, mind the immaterial part of the inner person that can respond to God; spirit being; (evil) spirit, ghost, God the Holy Spirit***. The Greek Lexicon says of pneuma: the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son, sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his personality and character (the \\Holy\\ Spirit), sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his work and power (the Spirit of \\Truth\\); never referred to as a depersonalised force, the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated, the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides, the soul; a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting; a life giving spirit; a human soul that has left the body; a spirit higher than man but lower than God, i.e. an angel; used of demons, or evil spirits, who were conceived as inhabiting the bodies of men; the spiritual nature of Christ, higher than the highest angels and equal to God, the divine nature of Christ; the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of any one; the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc.; a movement of air (a gentle blast) of the wind, hence the wind itself; breath of nostrils or mouth. This word is translated as Spirit 111, Holy Ghost 89, Spirit (of God) 13, Spirit (of the Lord) 5, (My) Spirit 3, Spirit (of truth) 3, Spirit (of Christ) 2, human (spirit) 49, (evil) spirit 47, spirit (general) 26, spirit 8, (Jesus’ own) spirit 6, (Jesus’ own) ghost 2, miscellaneous 21 by the KJV.
This is the nature of language and of translations. Bringing the thought of a thing from the ancient Greek to English results in the kind of panoply on meanings and uses that is evidenced above. For these two words, the translations from the Hebrew are similarly confusing. With overlapping definitions within themselves and similarity in definition to other Greek words, it is sometimes difficult to get the real meaning and intent of the writer. So here; Nicodemus did not understand the words of Jesus and he was a Pharisee, a very learned man in the way of the law and of the spiritual life of those days. This is then brought to us from an ancient language and translated into olde English whcih is now progressed into our ‘modern’ times. The words translated Spirit and Soul are ambiguous and perhaps this is a part of the intent of the Lord; we should always keep in mind what He said regarding hearing and understanding and the mysteries of the Kingdom.
For our purposes we will use the underlined passages from the definition of flesh above and we will make the following assumptions; these will build somewhat upon the information that has appeared in previous posts. We are men; flesh and bone and personality. This is our appearance on the Earth. Flesh and bone require no further illumination as they are what they are. Personality, on the other hand is another of those terms with a definition that does not really capture the essence the what it really is. Let us look at the dictionary for this; Webster’s definitions in the 1828/1913 versions are from before the advent of modern psychological thought. This word is defined simply there as That which constitutes distinction of person; individuality*. More modern dictionaries show the current use of this word which suits our needs better: psychol, the sum total of all the behavioural and mental characteristics by means of which an individual is recognized as being unique; the distinctive character of a person that makes him socially attractive; a well-known person in a certain field, such as sport or entertainment; a remarkable person; the quality of being a unique person; the distinctive atmosphere of a place or situation; ( often plural ) a personal remark*!*.
Again then, we are men; flesh and bone and personality or that sum total of all the behavioural and mental characteristics by means of which an individual is recognized as being unique. Some qualify the personality as the soul in saying that the soul is the emotions, the mind and the will but there is no biblical reference for this conclusion. Some also have the belief that these qualities are eternal and not temporal while others relegate the eternal aspects to the Spirit. Looking at this from a non-spiritual perspective one can make these arguments because there are no words and ideas with which to really identify the Spirit or the Soul. It should be remembered however that eternal has the specific meaning of without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be** and embedded in this meaning is the nature of God which is at the same time unchangeable and immutable. Carrying this thought forward then the changeable mind and the fluctuating emotions do not qualify as eternal or immortal components of life but as temporal states of being. There is much confusion on the nature of Soul and Spirit and their sameness or difference but this is not the post to get deeper into these aspects of life as our focus right now is on the words of Jesus.
Let us leave then with this: Flesh as spoken by the Master is in reference to our flesh and bone and to our personalities which are the sum total of our distinctive individual self at any moment. We are born with flesh and bone and in possession of a mind and emotions which all develop together. Based on what we eat and how we live our physical bodies grow to maturity. Based on how we live and what what we learn and focus on our personalities, our minds and emotions, grow to maturity. This is then what the Master referred to when He said to Nicodemus “that which is born of the flesh is flesh“.
The other part of this is Spirit. From the definition above there is no clarity to what it is and when we add the biblical meanings of the words translated at soul and breath and life there is even less. There are no ideas in these definitions that qualify as the Spirit to which Jesus referred. The ideas above are combinations of Soul and Spirit and even aspects of personality and, again, when looked at from a non-spiritual perspective can be seen as adequate, though confusing, definitions. We are told that we are made in the image and likeness of God: “and God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26); we are also told that “we are Spirit” (John 4:24). So what does this mean? For the purposes of this post we will say that we are Spirit; that Godlike quality that is Life. Unchangeable, immutable, eternal and infinite; unimaginable with our finite minds and especially with the insufficiency of words to express ideas so great.
And so Jesus tells Nicodemus: “that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit“. He is telling him that there are two natures; we are born of the flesh and with our carnal minds we walk and talk and carry on living in the world of men doing and acting as men. Our flesh is given Life buy the Spirit and Soul that animate us but of which we are generally unaware until and if we come to a point in life where we can see the Light of the Soul that shining through. Then we can be born of the Spirit; when we see that Light and it attracts us away from the personality life that we have grown to know. When we change our focus and attend to the Life of the Spirit, then that spiritual nature can be ‘born’ in our flesh bodies and we can take on that nature. This is being born again. Remember here that Jesus is talking to a man who does not understand these things and who does not understand who or what Jesus is; he is looking strictly from the perspective of the flesh. He sees the Master as a teacher of whom he says: “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“.
We are Spirit and with our Godlike quality we exist in purity and in the Kingdom of God; if we are Godlike how could we be anything else. Thinking spiritually let us not look at ‘born’ as did Nicodemus but also as a birth from within that awakens our personality to the new Light, a Light that reveals to us our true nature and the nature of God. This is a hard thing to grasp for many; even though we have been taught that we are not the body we still identify with it almost exclusively. It is alright to make this body and personality our identity because to all who see us that is who and what we are. The necessary changes are not in this area but in the area of what we make body and personality to be; do we leave it grounded in carnal living never attending to the Light or do we see the Light and focus our personality on it; again, this is being born anew
Let us be those of whom can be said: “which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13).
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
No new Quote of the Day today; there are not many better sayings than the one posted yesterday and know as The Lord’s Prayer.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. (From the Gospels of Matthew and Luke; this version is from the Book of Common Prayer of 1662). For commentary and information on The Lord’s Prayer please see the Prayers and Meditations section of this site which can be found as a menu on the right side this post page.
- ** New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
- *** Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible – 2001
- **** Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
- *!* Dictionary.com Unabridged based on Collins English Dictionary – 2011
