Good morning John,
I want to make sure I understand today’s Pearl. Jesus never made anybody get the holy ghost, but he did say “You must be born again”. Does the fact that the person, in this case, is asking if they have to have the holy ghost mean that they really don’t want it? And your father was pointing out to them that if they don’t want the holy ghost, then they don’t want eternal life? So in a roundabout way, he really was telling them that, yes, you do have to have the holy ghost (if you want to escape damnation and have eternal life)?
Vince
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Hi Vince.
This is a distinction that I have tried to get across many times, and it is an important one to make.
To communicate faithfully what Jesus said to Nicodemus, we have to add in brackets what he and Nicodemus understood was the case: What Jesus was really saying is this: “(If you all want to live forever in peace with God, then ‘Ye must be born again.)’” He was not making a demand that they receive it; he was making them a loving offer.
Part of what God considers to be truly fasting (Isa. 58) is that we “put away the yoke”; that is, we stop demanding that others do what we want them to do. Our will for people, even if ti is the best thing for them, becomes evil when we try to impose it on them. God does not do that, and neither do those who are like Him. When Jesus told Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again”, it was his attitude that made what he said good. He spoke from the heart of a servant, not of a master.
My father’s point was that God gives people a choice. People do not have to repent and receive God’s Spirit. But it will help them make the right choice if they are told the truth; namely, if they want eternal life and peace, then they “must be born again”. And it is only when we repeat those words with the same humble attitude which Jesus had that we are really saying what Jesus said.
Pastor John
