Memo 976: Born Again Again

This week, let's move on from the stories of Jesus feeding the multitudes to Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel. In this story, we read that Nicodemus approached Jesus to find the most recent word from this man of God. John reported,

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 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.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “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!” Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 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" (John 3:1-7).

Let's look at some of the highlights of this story and then see how they contribute to our current theme of how to unlock the power of your thinking.

WHAT WE KNOW

Here are some things to consider about this story:

1. Jesus was accessible. We don't know how Nicodemus came to or found Him, but Jesus was willing to meet with him after His regular "office hours." All teachers and preachers should model their connection with the people after this because people need help connecting with or comprehending the messages and words they hear.
2. Nicodemus did not ask any questions to start. He simply came and affirmed that Jesus was a man from God. He had come perhaps to receive the latest word from the Lord to add to his own body of knowledge from which he taught.
3. Nicodemus was the teacher in Israel. In verse 10, Jesus said, “You are Israel’s teacher.” In the Greek, there is a definite article before teacher, which should be translated, "You are the teacher of Israel." Nicodemus had a lot of experience and a reputation as a gifted teacher of the Law. He must have had a following and a reputation for Jesus to know who he was.
4. After Jesus spoke, Nicodemus had a lot of how questions. Jesus said he had to be born again of water and spirit and the great teacher responded with "how can? . . . he cannot? . . . can he? . . . how can?" (John 3:4, 9). When confronted with a teaching that did not fit his system, Nicodemus desperately looked for any way not to have to relearn what he had given his life to learn, apply, and teach.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, who had over a period of 125 years of their existence as a movement, made the Law a conglomeration of rules that were to be followed with external acts of righteousness. Jesus basically told him his system was worthless and incomplete without an encounter with the "church" who would eventually water baptize Jesus' followers and the Spirit who would lead and guide Jesus' followers.

THE LESSONS

What can we learn from this story to help us unlock the power of our thinking?

1. You must often unlearn what you have previously learned. An incomplete teaching or a good teaching you incompletely processed will lodge in your brain and build a supporting cast of characters that will act to prevent you from getting to the whole truth. Nicodemus had to unlearn how he had processed the Law and relearn it in the power of the Spirit.
2. You must be willing to unlearn and then relearn. This requires a process of being born again again where your mind is concerned. Over the years, I have had to re-evaluate my conclusions where women in ministry, giving, and the role of the church are concerned. I had two choices: stubbornly maintain outdated or erroneous conclusions (asking like Nicodemus, 'how can this be?') or accept the fact that my original thinking needed to be "baptized" (drowned even) in Jesus' name and examined and restated by and through the Spirit. In order to be right, sometimes I had to admit I was wrong.
3. You must be willing to take what you know to Jesus and allow Him to speak into it. Be careful not to over-spiritualize that process. This requires you do more than listen to a weekly sermon and read the latest fad book on some spiritual discipline. This means you are always on the hunt for renegade thoughts and attitudes that need to be corralled and tamed: ". . . we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5b).

There is no easy way to take every thought captive except to become child in your thinking again and again. You must constantly realize you are always the learner, never finished. The good news is that God is with you in the process because the Spirit lives in you. Where have you become like Nicodemus, confident in what you know and your reputation for that knowledge? Where are you confronted with positions and conclusions contrary to what you think? Is your response "how can?" or "speak, Lord, for Your servant listens"? If you want to unlock the power of your thinking, then you will need to pay attention to where it may currently be locked into incomplete or stale thoughts so you can free it to think new ones. Have a blessed week!