The Conversion of the Rational to the Spiritual

God's beautiful love overwhelms me.  John 3:2-3: This man (Nicodemus) came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.  Jesus answered and said to him, most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 

We come at the stories of the Bible with the rational mind.  Nicodemus comes at Jesus with the rational mind.  Jesus, to him, is a teacher come from God because no one can "do" the signs unless God is with them.  The rational mind needs a conversion to the spiritual mind that allows you to see, feel, and hear the Savior.

The rational mind measures the external evidence...what has been done that can be seen by a man.  Jesus says that unless a  man is born again, he cannot "see" the Kingdom of God.  He is saying that the Kingdom of God is standing in front of you, Nicodemus, and you cannot see Him because the conversion to the spiritual mind has not yet happened.  The veil had not yet been taken off the eyes of Nicodemus.  Without the spiritual mind, the only approach we have is what Nicodemus had--the rational, the study of theology, the evidence of things done. 

John 3:5: "...unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot 'enter' the Kingdom of God."  Verse 3: Jesus said he cannot "see" the Kingdom of God.  Verse 5: Jesus said that without water and spirit, he cannot "enter" the Kingdom of God. We come by way of the water (the washing of water by the word. Ephesians 5:26). The model for this is the baptism of Jesus and the resulting blessing of Spirit in the descent of the dove. 

The word (Christ come down in the flesh and the words He spoke and still speaks to us) cleanses us -- brings us to conviction and repentance.  We have to have eyes that see our Savior as well as eyes that see/recognize our need of this Savior.   Our need will overwhelm us.  Then the rational mind has a conversion to the spiritual mind.

Nicodemus came to Jesus at night.  He was a ruler of the Jews.  His investment in who he was blurred his vision of who Jesus was.  He only gave Him credit for being a teacher who could do mighty signs.  We must see the Kingdom of God in Jesus Christ.  Then we will be able to enter the Kingdom of God -- the living out "on earth as it is in heaven."  If we can see Jesus modeling the Kingdom of heaven in all that He does and says, we can enter Kingdom living today.  We have Kingdom fullness in Christ.  We have the mind and heart of Christ.  We are complete in Him.

If we are living to escape the world for another place, we have missed the point.  The Kingdom is Jesus Christ.  The escape we need is from the rational mind to the spiritual mind so we can see, hear, feel, and love as God loves.  Exchange the self (rational) for the oneness/fullness in and of God.  He that worships must worship in Spirit and truth.