13 October 2024
It's time for some more distinctions. People are misreading what we've been saying.
Spiritual birth has always been a part of peace with God. It was never mentioned specifically in the context of the Old Covenant until Jesus had that interview with Nicodemas. It was there all the time; many of the Old Testament saints were "born again".
However, from within the Hebrew culture, it was approached differently than it has been for Gentiles from the West. That should surprise no one. In the Old Testament, you were supposed to embrace the full depth of Hebrew mysticism in order to discover your birth into the Spirit Realm (AKA Unseen Realm). And as always, it was limited to the Elect. Still, it took some time; mysticism is seldom natural to humans. That is, while it is woven into our being as a natural capability of the Elect, it is not easy to discover because the fleshly nature resists it.
By the time Nicodemas came to visit Jesus that night, Judaism had buried it under fleshly concerns. It had become quite rare, and the explicit grasp of the idea was forgotten. Thus, those few who had been born again by the time Jesus began His ministry probably didn't have a conscious awareness of how to discuss it. They simply knew God's Presence in their lives.
Jews had lost the divine mystical background; the Gentiles never had it. Jesus came to open the Covenant to the Gentiles. That meant the true mysticism of the ancient Hebrew outlook was open to them, but they would have to overcome the flesh, just the same as the Hebrews of old. The barriers were huge for Jews; they were utterly impossible for Gentiles.
As part of what happened on the Cross, Jesus won for His followers the anointing of the Holy Spirit -- spiritual birth. That is, He won for them the gift of spiritual birth up-front, not after some protracted process of embracing the Spirit Realm. Thus, instead of entering the Covenant for a long journey to Flaming Sword of self-death, they could receive the gift and then learn self-death afterward.
It is still a hard journey, if not a long one. Some people seem to get it right away; others take a lot longer. Good Christian minds have undertaken the study of how this looks in terms of psychology, and there is a specific point at which you realize you can't get enough of prayer and withdrawal from the fleshly world. That's more or less the point at which you know beyond all doubt that you are Elect.
This is why we emphasize listening to your convictions. That is where you will discover those things in your soul that must die for you to walk free. The writer of Hebrews tells us in this week's lesson that the birth of your spirit is the death of the flesh -- it "perfects" the believer. That's why the sacrifice of Christ was a one-time event. Once you embrace that, it's over. Your fleshly nature has been fatally broken, and you are free.
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