"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.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."
John 3:5-8
The division between flesh and spirit is emphasized here, and the symbolism of baptism is explained. Baptism is the idea of being born of the spirit rather than of the flesh... of becoming a new creature, devoted to God and his spiritual pursuits and goals rather than following our own desires which are typically motivated by the flesh. It's the idea of living a higher way. Not that bodies are bad, because they totally aren't. They are an incredible gift. ... Only they have a tendency to drown out our spiritual selves if we let them, and so it is important to keep them in check, and learn to be united with our spirits ruling our bodies rather than the other way around.
I like the last verse talking about how you can tell the wind is there even though you can't see it... kind of an early primer on listening to the spirit, which is something that also happens in conjunction with baptism--receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost so that we can have that greater spiritual influence in our lives.
Today, let's make sure we are dedicated to our new spiritual lives, and if we haven't committed to that yet through baptism, then let's be willing to do so. Let's listen to God before we listen to our own desires, and make sure we are thinking with our spirits rather than our flesh. :)
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."
John 3:5-8
The division between flesh and spirit is emphasized here, and the symbolism of baptism is explained. Baptism is the idea of being born of the spirit rather than of the flesh... of becoming a new creature, devoted to God and his spiritual pursuits and goals rather than following our own desires which are typically motivated by the flesh. It's the idea of living a higher way. Not that bodies are bad, because they totally aren't. They are an incredible gift. ... Only they have a tendency to drown out our spiritual selves if we let them, and so it is important to keep them in check, and learn to be united with our spirits ruling our bodies rather than the other way around.
I like the last verse talking about how you can tell the wind is there even though you can't see it... kind of an early primer on listening to the spirit, which is something that also happens in conjunction with baptism--receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost so that we can have that greater spiritual influence in our lives.
Today, let's make sure we are dedicated to our new spiritual lives, and if we haven't committed to that yet through baptism, then let's be willing to do so. Let's listen to God before we listen to our own desires, and make sure we are thinking with our spirits rather than our flesh. :)
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