A Question of Understanding Earthly and Heavenly Things
By Rev. Paul Booth
Lessons: John 3: 3 - 13 Arcana C&œ;lestia 1255
By Rev. Paul Booth
Lessons: John 3: 3 - 13 Arcana C&œ;lestia 1255
"If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe, if I tell you of Heavenly things? And no man has ascended up to Heaven, but he that came down from Heaven, even the Son of man, which is in Heaven."
(John 3:12, 13)
(John 3:12, 13)
We probably all know the story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus one night to inquire more about Him. He had heard of the miracles Jesus was doing. Jesus tells him that he must be born again and Nicodemus thinks only about a natural physical birth and wonders how this can be possible. Of course, Jesus tells him that there is a natural birth and a spiritual birth. Jesus goes on explaining that Nicodemus must be born again spiritually. But Nicodemus does not understand when He tells him about natural and spiritual birth and uses the wind as an illustration of what is spiritual. Today, we probably can understand the comparison of the wind blowing and our feeling and hearing it as something that illustrates something spiritual, something that is not seen with the natural eye, but its effect is still measurable, but, unless we are educated in meteorology and know spiritual correspondences, we will not understand what natural forces cause the wind, or, therefore, how they correspond to the spiritual world. Nonetheless, we will still know that it exists and, so too, does spiritual re-birth, for it is measurable in one's reformation.
So it is with knowing spiritual things, that if we do not believe natural things, then how will we believe spiritual things? Are we as Nicodemus, not understanding what the Lord wants to teach us and perhaps wanted proof that He was truly come from God. All Christians know today that Jesus has somehow come from God and that He has now returned, but not how, and like Nicodemus we hear Him say that He came from Heaven and that He will return. (Though most Christians believe He is to still come again.) Though, the difference is, today, that Christians have the written Word - the New Testament - as a witness to what happen to Jesus, and, so, what He said was written or claimed, though the Lord's New Church has the Third Testament in which is seen His coming again revealing to those in regeneration genuine or spiritual truths. Nicodemus had some doubts, even after he heard of and maybe witnessed some of the miracles and he probably wanted to see first hand and to confirm for himself whether Jesus was the Messiah. Anyway, he asks, 'how can these things be' not understanding what Jesus was telling him about needing to be reborn. This is like the Christian today not understanding the Word, but still wanting to believe Him, but only because He has performed miracles and perhaps, like Nicodemus, wants to see first hand.
It is at this point that Jesus says to him, "We speak what We know and testify what We have seen and you do not receive our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe, if I tell you of Heavenly things?" (John 3: 12). The Lord has come on earth and speaks and testifies of the things of Heaven and Nicodemus and those like him doubt Him. Now, let us take this from the point that the Lord has told us these earthly things in the Word of the New Testament. If we do not understand, (in this case, of our need to be spiritual reborn) then how then can we believe spiritual things? The fact is that most people do not understand what is spiritual and, so, claim them for themselves. Of course, when this is done, they rob God and place themselves first. However, from this alone, we can understand that there is a spiritual sense by which we can come to understand the Word, and then, we can come to understand spiritual things such as 'ascending up to Heaven', having first come down from Heaven.
Jesus had said to Nicodemus that, "No man has ascended up to Heaven, but he who came down from Heaven, even the Son of man which is in Heaven" (John 3: 13). To understand this one needs to understand what this means in the spiritual sense or else he will think that in order to come into Heaven he would need to have first come down from Heaven. However, in thinking about this, he might come to realize that he is spiritual or has a spirit as well as being natural with a natural body. We see that the Lord uses the phrase 'Son of man' about Himself and Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, knew this referred to the Messiah that was to come. And, thus, we see that even Jesus the 'Son of God' had to be born on earth according to the natural order. But, if the Son of man is in Heaven as we have just read, then how can He come down and still be in Heaven? We read, ". . . even the Son of man which is Heaven." Unless the spiritual sense is known this cannot be understood. Of course, this, Nicodemus and anyone else in order to understand would need to have faith in what Jesus says, though not understanding what He says would be a blind faith, not knowing the truth and would be a faith in what is not understood. However, if one's faith is from a love for truth for truth's sake and, likewise, for good for good's sake, then the Lord will enlighten him and genuine truth will be revealed to him where he comes to see internal or spiritual truths.
Thus, we read that Jesus later told His disciples that He would send the Spirit of truth which would teach them, and that they would no longer wonder what He meant. He had even said that He would return and in addition, we, today, have the book of Revelation in which His return and judgment is revealed, though it is still confusing to most Christians. Some have even used their own literal understanding of what they think is meant there, teaching others how they believe that He will come again. However, in doing this they have not been taught by the Holy Spirit which has revealed through the Third Testament those spiritual truths spoken of by the Lord.
Now, since there is an internal sense - a spiritual sense - in the Word, then the things written in the literal sense has an internal meaning which are hidden within its literal sense. Example: we have read that the Son of man is in Heaven, and yet Jesus, the Son of Man, has come on earth. Now, we know that Jesus referred Himself as the Son of man, just as the Prophets often did and were also called the son of man. So, we can properly think that He is referring to Himself as coming down from Heaven and, yet, others may, like Nicodemus, think He is just another prophet. In other times, He calls Himself the Son of God, whom we know and believe, has come down on earth through a physical birth through Mary. Anyone may see that these names mean something more than just names that Jesus called Himself and others called Him; they refer to something more internal than its mere literal sense. In this case, a name that Jesus was called. If that is accepted, then the sense of the Word and its meaning is changed and seen in a different sense. This is what Jesus is telling His disciples and is telling us too. This is what is meant by the coming of the Spirit of truth that He mentions and, it is also of His coming again that He speaks of. Or is it the physical person of Jesus before us 'as it were' that we have the truths somehow in our understanding?
In our text, we see that the word 'Son of man' is used, not 'Son of God'. Literally, we see that these refer to Jesus the Christ and never seem to question why. Now, it was said that the Prophets often called themselves 'son of man' and we know that they had said that Jehovah or the Lord had spoken and revealed to them things that they were to reveal and tell the people. These things we call truths and we have accepted them as the Word of God, and we also know that Jesus called Himself the 'Truth' and that He is spoken of as the 'Word'. The Prophets' message spoke of the Lord's passion for the people and His judgment of the people, of His coming to the people, and in general, the redemption of His people, and, we realize that the Lord fulfilled these when He came.
From this, we can now begin to see it is not just Jesus, a person, who came on earth, but the Truth, both the living and the written Word. Thus, by Jesus saying "no man has ascended up to Heaven, but he that has came down from Heaven", He is telling Nicodemus and us that a new spiritual birth comes from Heaven and He adds that even the Son of man who is the Truth itself ascends up or returns to Heaven. So it is with all men: they came from God, fell from their conjunction with Heaven because of sin, and ascend up to Heaven through their spiritual rebirth. Nicodemus wondered if Jesus was the Messiah that was prophesied to come and who was the Divine Truth so that he could believe that Jesus was the Son of man, plus the fact, he believed that Jesus had come from God and that God was with Him. However, Nicodemus had believed Jesus came from God only because of the miracles that He did. Jesus told Nicodemus that a man's redemption is in his new birth - a spiritual birth - that comes from within him from God through the truth that comes from Heaven, and not through any miracle that He performed. However, miracles persuade, and so, take-away one's freedom of choice and only in freedom is one saved.
It is the truth that needs to be lifted up in a man's mind, that is, that he comes to understand spiritually and thus, sees genuine truth in order that he ascends to Heaven. We have shown two things - first, in order to understand we need to be taught by the Lord through the Word and, so, come to understand that the Lord had promised that the Word would come again and, second, that that Word comes again into a man's mind spiritually and not just to him in the literal sense. Now, here, we have Jesus saying that if we do not believe what He tells us literally or through the natural understanding, how, then, can we believe the spiritual truths He wants to tell us. He then goes on and tells us that these truths are from the Son of Man which is in Heaven, that is, from God and that they, when in man, ascend even as the Son of Man does. Not from what we, of ourselves, have discovered and believe as the truth, for these have come from ourselves and not from the Lord God who wills to dwell within us as the Truth and Good.
We can see that there is a correspondence of the Son of man with the Word or Truth. Thus, Jesus as the Son of God has also a relation with the Son of man, for one time He speaks as if He were one with the Father and at other times as separate from the Father. However, in John 4: 19, we read that the Son can do only what the Father does. In other words, the Son is and signifies a Proceeding of Truth, a coming down or descending from God who is in Heaven accommodated to mankind on earth, though also to angels in Heaven. Thus, the Lord, as the Word, as the Divine Truth, descends and, so, is both spiritual and natural; it has an internal sense and an external or literal sense. Here, our Lord is teaching Nicodemus and those like him, that is, those who have not accepted that the Word has an internal or spiritual sense and who cannot understand how they must be born again spiritually and thus, become regenerated so that they come into Heaven.
Amen.
So it is with knowing spiritual things, that if we do not believe natural things, then how will we believe spiritual things? Are we as Nicodemus, not understanding what the Lord wants to teach us and perhaps wanted proof that He was truly come from God. All Christians know today that Jesus has somehow come from God and that He has now returned, but not how, and like Nicodemus we hear Him say that He came from Heaven and that He will return. (Though most Christians believe He is to still come again.) Though, the difference is, today, that Christians have the written Word - the New Testament - as a witness to what happen to Jesus, and, so, what He said was written or claimed, though the Lord's New Church has the Third Testament in which is seen His coming again revealing to those in regeneration genuine or spiritual truths. Nicodemus had some doubts, even after he heard of and maybe witnessed some of the miracles and he probably wanted to see first hand and to confirm for himself whether Jesus was the Messiah. Anyway, he asks, 'how can these things be' not understanding what Jesus was telling him about needing to be reborn. This is like the Christian today not understanding the Word, but still wanting to believe Him, but only because He has performed miracles and perhaps, like Nicodemus, wants to see first hand.
It is at this point that Jesus says to him, "We speak what We know and testify what We have seen and you do not receive our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe, if I tell you of Heavenly things?" (John 3: 12). The Lord has come on earth and speaks and testifies of the things of Heaven and Nicodemus and those like him doubt Him. Now, let us take this from the point that the Lord has told us these earthly things in the Word of the New Testament. If we do not understand, (in this case, of our need to be spiritual reborn) then how then can we believe spiritual things? The fact is that most people do not understand what is spiritual and, so, claim them for themselves. Of course, when this is done, they rob God and place themselves first. However, from this alone, we can understand that there is a spiritual sense by which we can come to understand the Word, and then, we can come to understand spiritual things such as 'ascending up to Heaven', having first come down from Heaven.
Jesus had said to Nicodemus that, "No man has ascended up to Heaven, but he who came down from Heaven, even the Son of man which is in Heaven" (John 3: 13). To understand this one needs to understand what this means in the spiritual sense or else he will think that in order to come into Heaven he would need to have first come down from Heaven. However, in thinking about this, he might come to realize that he is spiritual or has a spirit as well as being natural with a natural body. We see that the Lord uses the phrase 'Son of man' about Himself and Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, knew this referred to the Messiah that was to come. And, thus, we see that even Jesus the 'Son of God' had to be born on earth according to the natural order. But, if the Son of man is in Heaven as we have just read, then how can He come down and still be in Heaven? We read, ". . . even the Son of man which is Heaven." Unless the spiritual sense is known this cannot be understood. Of course, this, Nicodemus and anyone else in order to understand would need to have faith in what Jesus says, though not understanding what He says would be a blind faith, not knowing the truth and would be a faith in what is not understood. However, if one's faith is from a love for truth for truth's sake and, likewise, for good for good's sake, then the Lord will enlighten him and genuine truth will be revealed to him where he comes to see internal or spiritual truths.
Thus, we read that Jesus later told His disciples that He would send the Spirit of truth which would teach them, and that they would no longer wonder what He meant. He had even said that He would return and in addition, we, today, have the book of Revelation in which His return and judgment is revealed, though it is still confusing to most Christians. Some have even used their own literal understanding of what they think is meant there, teaching others how they believe that He will come again. However, in doing this they have not been taught by the Holy Spirit which has revealed through the Third Testament those spiritual truths spoken of by the Lord.
Now, since there is an internal sense - a spiritual sense - in the Word, then the things written in the literal sense has an internal meaning which are hidden within its literal sense. Example: we have read that the Son of man is in Heaven, and yet Jesus, the Son of Man, has come on earth. Now, we know that Jesus referred Himself as the Son of man, just as the Prophets often did and were also called the son of man. So, we can properly think that He is referring to Himself as coming down from Heaven and, yet, others may, like Nicodemus, think He is just another prophet. In other times, He calls Himself the Son of God, whom we know and believe, has come down on earth through a physical birth through Mary. Anyone may see that these names mean something more than just names that Jesus called Himself and others called Him; they refer to something more internal than its mere literal sense. In this case, a name that Jesus was called. If that is accepted, then the sense of the Word and its meaning is changed and seen in a different sense. This is what Jesus is telling His disciples and is telling us too. This is what is meant by the coming of the Spirit of truth that He mentions and, it is also of His coming again that He speaks of. Or is it the physical person of Jesus before us 'as it were' that we have the truths somehow in our understanding?
In our text, we see that the word 'Son of man' is used, not 'Son of God'. Literally, we see that these refer to Jesus the Christ and never seem to question why. Now, it was said that the Prophets often called themselves 'son of man' and we know that they had said that Jehovah or the Lord had spoken and revealed to them things that they were to reveal and tell the people. These things we call truths and we have accepted them as the Word of God, and we also know that Jesus called Himself the 'Truth' and that He is spoken of as the 'Word'. The Prophets' message spoke of the Lord's passion for the people and His judgment of the people, of His coming to the people, and in general, the redemption of His people, and, we realize that the Lord fulfilled these when He came.
From this, we can now begin to see it is not just Jesus, a person, who came on earth, but the Truth, both the living and the written Word. Thus, by Jesus saying "no man has ascended up to Heaven, but he that has came down from Heaven", He is telling Nicodemus and us that a new spiritual birth comes from Heaven and He adds that even the Son of man who is the Truth itself ascends up or returns to Heaven. So it is with all men: they came from God, fell from their conjunction with Heaven because of sin, and ascend up to Heaven through their spiritual rebirth. Nicodemus wondered if Jesus was the Messiah that was prophesied to come and who was the Divine Truth so that he could believe that Jesus was the Son of man, plus the fact, he believed that Jesus had come from God and that God was with Him. However, Nicodemus had believed Jesus came from God only because of the miracles that He did. Jesus told Nicodemus that a man's redemption is in his new birth - a spiritual birth - that comes from within him from God through the truth that comes from Heaven, and not through any miracle that He performed. However, miracles persuade, and so, take-away one's freedom of choice and only in freedom is one saved.
It is the truth that needs to be lifted up in a man's mind, that is, that he comes to understand spiritually and thus, sees genuine truth in order that he ascends to Heaven. We have shown two things - first, in order to understand we need to be taught by the Lord through the Word and, so, come to understand that the Lord had promised that the Word would come again and, second, that that Word comes again into a man's mind spiritually and not just to him in the literal sense. Now, here, we have Jesus saying that if we do not believe what He tells us literally or through the natural understanding, how, then, can we believe the spiritual truths He wants to tell us. He then goes on and tells us that these truths are from the Son of Man which is in Heaven, that is, from God and that they, when in man, ascend even as the Son of Man does. Not from what we, of ourselves, have discovered and believe as the truth, for these have come from ourselves and not from the Lord God who wills to dwell within us as the Truth and Good.
We can see that there is a correspondence of the Son of man with the Word or Truth. Thus, Jesus as the Son of God has also a relation with the Son of man, for one time He speaks as if He were one with the Father and at other times as separate from the Father. However, in John 4: 19, we read that the Son can do only what the Father does. In other words, the Son is and signifies a Proceeding of Truth, a coming down or descending from God who is in Heaven accommodated to mankind on earth, though also to angels in Heaven. Thus, the Lord, as the Word, as the Divine Truth, descends and, so, is both spiritual and natural; it has an internal sense and an external or literal sense. Here, our Lord is teaching Nicodemus and those like him, that is, those who have not accepted that the Word has an internal or spiritual sense and who cannot understand how they must be born again spiritually and thus, become regenerated so that they come into Heaven.
Amen.
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