Day Eleven - John 3: Believe & See

Eternal Life Begins Now

Jesus is the Logos Made Flesh
Jesus shares about Communion from the get go. Jesus is the Logos made flesh and He will tell us that we must eat His flesh to have life. That is a reference to Communion not Bible reading.

His Glory is filled with the Wine of Grace and Truth
When we encounter the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ things happen. They must because it is the power of His presence. When we experience the glory we encounter the full flow of grace and truth. It is eternal truth. Truth is His eternal presence. In His presence we are bathed in the light shine of His glory!

Revealing His Glory the Water Turns to Wine 
When Jesus revealed His glory in Cana, what happened? The water became Heaven's Vintage Wine - He saved the best for last. Considering this, remember that we are living in the last days.

He says Destroy My Body and I will Raise It Up in 3 Days
Turning tables to cleanse the temple, His Father's House, The crowds ask for a sign to confirm who He says He is. He does. Then He says, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days!" They did nor know He was speaking about His physical body.  

The new birth in John 3 is the first communion experience we have in seeing and hearing Jesus. He knows how to assure us that it is Him who comes into our life when we open the door of our heart to receive Him. What we encounter in those first few moments becomes the pattern for our ongoing and eternal communion with Him. He constantly reassures us how much he loves us and cares for us and wants us to know Him. The more you leave with Him of yourself the more He multiplies His blessings in your life!

In the natural we can only see in the natural. 

When we read we see in the realm of our imagination. Imagination is a mental faculty. The imagination is generally in use when we try to use our senses to grasp something that is beyond natural eyesight. 

Then there is another form of seeing. It is more powerful yet more subtle than seeing with our eyes or imagination. It is seeing with the eyes of our spirit. When these eyes open we see "in the spirit". Seeing in the spirit doesn't necessarily mean that what we see is from heaven however. There is a spiritual realm where there are angels and demons, varying degrees of different types of beings and where we encounter the glory of God in the face off Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the Lord. (see 2 Corinthians 3:18). 

The realm of dreams can also be influenced wither spiritually or by an active imagination but these are not the same.

Jesus is telling the very learned Nicodemus that 
in order to "see the Kingdom of Heaven" you must be born again, spiritually. Believe and See! 

This is the first consideration of Communion. Flesh gives birth to flesh and what is seen with our physical eyes is what is visible in this world. On the other hand, Spirit gives birth to spirit! What the Holy Spirit shows us can be revealed and shown to the eyes of our spirit when opened by the Holy Spirit. 

When the Holy Spirit speaks it is spiritual. We hear Him with spiritual hearing. Jesus said blessed are those whose eyes are opened to see (spiritually) and whose ears are opened to hear (spiritually). 

Jesus likes to share His life with us and He made it very easy for us to encounter His presence to see what He has prepared for us and to hear what He wants to tell us. Jesus says, "If I tell you about earthly things and you don't believe me then how will you believe me when I speak of heavenly things?'

He also says the key is to believe that He died on the Cross for the full forgiveness of our sins and that He has the ability to give us eternal life. He says that His love is the evidence. His love was revealed when He suffered and died on the Cross to pay our sin debt in full to satisfy the law that judges us to be guilty. Once paid He gives us a mustard seed of faith so that we can believe this. When we believe the miracle of the new birth happens. We are forgiven in full and free from the weight of all associated guilt, shame and condemnation. 

His presence confirms this. Things happen that we can't explain except that He is demonstrating His love, care, forgiveness and peace to us. There are ways that He makes it clear to us that it is Him. It is Jesus! He lets us know in very clear intimate and undeniable ways. He may share or show something to us within our own world of understanding. He may speak to us in a quiet whisper or in a dramatic way that makes us respond with , "Wow Lord!". Whatever it is it is Jesus letting us know that He has accepted us as we are, where we are, for who we are at that moment just like we have accepted Him into our heart and life.

His light comes into our world of darkness. His love comes into our hearts with a new sense of assurance. His peace settles over us like a warm blanket or the wind of His Holy Spirit crosses over us like a breeze. He lets you know it is Him, that He loves you and that He will never leave you. He is revealed in very simple, clear and plainly.

Jesus boyhood friend John the Baptizer understands this. John knew Jesus as a boyhood friend but He also knew Jesus as the Son of God sent from heaven to bring all men the good news that God loves them. It is when John hears the Voice of the Son of God coming from the Son of man  that His heart beat quickens. His presence and His voice excite him spiritually. He understands that the Creator has come to bring the possibility of a new creation to mankind. John and Jesus prepare others by baptizing them as those who are willing to accept the Messiah when they realize it is Him!

Just as Jesus was baptized those around Him followed Him into the waters of baptism. In effect baptism is a sign that they want the Kingdom of God and are willing to give up their citizenship to this world to become a citizen of the Kingdom of God. They believe and demonstrate their faith by being baptized! But we are also told by John that he baptized with water but that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire.

When we hear Jesus calling our name and the sound of Him knocking at the door of our spirit and let Him in He comes in to dine with us and us with Him. (Revelation 3:20) Jesus shares what heaven looks like, feels like and sounds like. If we accept what He says it is certified and confirmed by the Holy Spirit.

If we believe we can see and receive all that He died and rose to give us, have eternal life and hear the voice of the Word of God. We can feed upon His presence. If we reject Him we will not see Him or the life He wants to share with us. Ask and receive that your joy may be full. This table of salvation become the Table of Eternal Life. It is where we know we can come every day and receive our 'daily bread'. By eating the bread of life and drinking the wine of salvation our eyes are opened to see what He wants to share with us and to hear what He wants to tell us. In His glory we are transformed from glory to glory. 

John 3
NIV Jesus Shares With Nicodemus

No One Can See Unless Born Again

1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you do not accept our testimony. 

12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

Believe Jesus and Encounter God's Love

16 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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
 
The Light of God's Glory In The Face Of Jesus

19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Only What Is Given From Heaven

22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. 24 (This was before John was put in prison.) 

25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan--the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

27 To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 

29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 

30 He must become greater; I must become less.”

31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 

32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God... 

for God gives the Spirit without limit. 

35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

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