Week 3 bible discussion notes

Notes from Week 3:  June 21:  Entrance Exam for the Kingdom of God

Important to note that — depending on your translation — Jesus either says, “unless you are born from above” OR ELSE “unless you are born again”.  (Entire denominations have created themselves out of one or the other of these translations.). In fact, the Greek word used by the author of the Gospel of John is a double meaning:  “unless you are born from above and born again”.   Translators choose one and note the other in footnote.  

Since multiple questions and discussions had come in via email - and since they seem to converge on the same question — we started there:  Does this mean you have to be a Christian to enter the Kingdom of God?   Does this mean you have to be baptized?

No, you don’t have to.  It can happen anywhere to anyone:  verse 8:  The wind blows where it pleases, you hear its sound but. you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.  The Trinity is in this passage.  Is the Trinity the Kingdom of God?  The teacher Nicodemus comes from God, Jesus is here, and He’s talking about the Holy Spirit.  It doesn’t say you have to be a Christian:  Jesus wasn’t a Christian; there weren’t any at this time!  Born of the water and Spirit is important in this reading.  People take it differently—if they take it the way Nicodemus does, they will never understand it.  Born again, thinking of new wine skins. 

We talked a lot about baptism:  some sects have baptism of only spirit, some of only water.  When we get baptized in Episcopal Churches, water and oil (oil represents the Spirit, water represents cleansing).  What about all those people who don’t have a bible?  The wind!  We have a God-created void within us:  there is a clear message when we see the stars and the heavens, and God fills that.  If we see creation, we see God, we are born again.  

We talked about dreams, people having them even without the knowledge of the Spirit.  (Like Nebuchadnezzar’s dream last week discussion.). What do we see or feel when we were baptized?  It should transform you, fill you with gifts of the Spirit.  Most of us were baptized as a baby.  Our adult/teenage baptized present didn’t feel then what they feel now.  See a difference when it’s an infant baptism, and the parents are the ones involved, making the commitment for their child; in adult baptisms you see a little bit of fear (what’s about to happen?) and after, relief, smiles.

Discussed the role of confirmation, does it give you the opportunity to refresh and understand your baptism vows?  No longer “required” to take communion.   Discussed “born again” in some sects, which is not seen as baptism at all, but a public declaration of faith, a dedication of children, a rite of passage.   When baptisms are done here in the church/chapel, there is a part where we get to renew our baptism vows—we get to do it as adults!  Talk about the wind, you feel it powerfully.  

Discussed the verse (John 3:11, Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen) and experiences of being born again/anew among us.  What the people in the Gospel had experienced were the miracles of Jesus. 

Do churches have custody over formal baptism?  It’s the first thing asked as we enter.  (Are you in or are you looking to get in?). Is it a requirement to get into the Kingdom (and this church)?  Why is that question so important?  We need to know where you are in your journey, meet the person where they’re at.  Same as asking “are you born again?”. Same as asking “Have you been saved?”. 

Seems like this reading says you can’t enter the Kingdom unless you’ve made some sort of commitment or statement recognizing that God is there, whatever language or concept you use. 

With five minutes remaining to the discussion, a (nameless) ministerial assistant arrived—just in time to give the final word on, baptism, being born from above, being born again and the Kingdom of God.  “Be baptized.  If you’re already baptized, remember your baptism.”