Earthly
Things And Heavenly Things
John 3:12
If I have told you earthly things and you do not
believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
There was a man named Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee, and also an
important Jewish leader.
One night, Nicodemus came to Jesus. He said, “Teacher, we know
that You are a teacher sent from God. No one can do the miracles You
do, unless God is with him.”
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Unless you are born again,
you cannot be in God’s kingdom.”
Nicodemus said, “But if a man is already old, how can he be born
again? He cannot enter his mother’s body again. So how can he be
born a second time?”
But Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth. Unless you are born
from water and the Spirit, you cannot enter God’s kingdom. A
person’s body is born from his human parents. But a person’s
spiritual life is born from the Spirit. Don’t be surprised when I
tell you, ‘You must all be born again.’ The wind blows where it
wants to go. You hear the wind blow. But you don’t know where the
wind comes from or where it is going. It is the same with every
person who is born from the Spirit.”
Nicodemus asked, “How can all this be possible?”
Jesus said, “You are an important teacher in Israel. But you
still don’t understand these things? I tell you the truth. We talk
about what we know. We tell about what we have seen. But you don’t
accept what we tell you. I have told you about things here on earth,
but you do not believe Me. So surely you will not believe Me if I
tell you about the things of heaven! The only Person who has ever
gone up to heaven is the One who came down from heaven—the Son of
Man.”
Jesus was telling Nicodemus about the need to born again. But the religious
Jewish leader was unable to understand what Jesus was saying. How
could a person be born again?
This can be explained in very simple terms. To exist on earth, we
need to be born physically on earth. But to enter heaven, we need to
be born spiritually by the Spirit! Born again is the heavenly birth!
Earthly birth and heavenly birth! We need to be born first by human
parents, and then by the Spirit of God.
How can we understand spiritual things if we do not understand
earthly things? Recently, someone told me about the mysteries
behind some Chinese ancient characters even though she could not
read or speak the language. I told her that there were
traces of Genesis in the ancient Chinese words but we cannot replace
those findings with the Word of God. The Bible is the main and
authoritative source for sharing the gospel.
Many Christians are awed and fascinated by mysteries, endtime events, prophecies and supernatural encounters and
such. But they do not read their Bibles. They just hear what others
say and tell them.
But how can we prove and discern the prophecies and teachings if
we do not know the Word? How can we solve mathematical questions and
problems if we do not know the basics of numbers, additions,
subtractions, multiplications and divisions? How can we explain
ancient Hebrew words if we do not know the ancient language
ourselves? How can we decipher and unravel mysteries found in
ancient texts if we do not know the basics of the language?
Like kids, we need to crawl before we can walk. We need to walk
before we can run. But many Christians want to go the express lane.
Before they can walk, they want to run! Before they learn how to
drive a vehicle properly and safely, they want to zoom here and
there at extremely fast speeds. In so doing, they often get injured and
wounded in the process. Often trapped and enslaved by the teachings of false
teachers, prophets and apostles. They will be easily blown away by the
seducing winds of doctrines not founded in the Word of God.
1 John 1:1-3
What Was Heard, Seen, and Touched
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our
hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—
2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and
declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father
and was manifested to us—
3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that
you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our
fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
The truth is this. We can talk about what we know, and not what
we do not know. We can tell others about what we have seen, and not
what we have not seen. We cannot not exaggerate and inflate our
thoughts and imaginations, and treat them as if they are gospel
truths! Unless we know God, we cannot make Him known! Unless we
taste of His goodness, how are we able to tell others that He is
good? We can only declare what we have seen, heard and known!
Unless we live peacefully and lovingly with God here on earth,
are we able to
live peacefully and lovingly with Him there in heaven? Unless we trust and obey Him here
on earth, are we able to trust and obey Him there in heaven? Unless we
can testify that He is good here on earth, are we able to testify that He is good there in heaven? Unless we
acknowledge Him as God here on earth, are we able to do so there in
heaven? Unless we are faithful here on earth, will we be faithful
there in heaven?
Earthly things and heavenly things.
Here on earth and there in heaven.
Now and forever.
Written on 26 January 2023