Now Jesus explains why we need to be born again: flesh gives birth to flesh, the Spirit to spirit. This has enormous implications. It means that purely human effort cannot produce true life. For churches it means that relying on techniques, organisational structures, religious activities or rituals etc cannot on their own produce true life. On a scientific perspective it means that there is only so far that science can go. Science studies the material world, and when science is carried out within its proper boundaries it is good, indeed it is a God given activity. But there are things that science cannot tell us.
Jesus tells Nicodemus that he should not be surprised about this. Likewise the view that science can explain everything is clearly nonsense. Consider your emotions, your reactions to great events in life (whether ones of joy or sorrow and pain). It only needs half a brain cell to realise that there is far more to life than science can explain (to readers who don't know me I speak as someone with a degree in mathematics, a PhD in engineering, as an academic, and as someone who loves science).
The work of the Spirit is beyond understanding (Isaiah 40:28, 55:9). There are aspects of His ways that we cannot fathom. Jesus then says that it is the same with those who are born of the Spirit. This means that we cannot live our own lives based purely on our own intellect. This emphatically does not mean we should not think! It does mean that we should recognise that God's workings in our life will go beyond our own understanding. As it says in Proverbs 3:5:
Jesus tells Nicodemus that he should not be surprised about this. Likewise the view that science can explain everything is clearly nonsense. Consider your emotions, your reactions to great events in life (whether ones of joy or sorrow and pain). It only needs half a brain cell to realise that there is far more to life than science can explain (to readers who don't know me I speak as someone with a degree in mathematics, a PhD in engineering, as an academic, and as someone who loves science).
The work of the Spirit is beyond understanding (Isaiah 40:28, 55:9). There are aspects of His ways that we cannot fathom. Jesus then says that it is the same with those who are born of the Spirit. This means that we cannot live our own lives based purely on our own intellect. This emphatically does not mean we should not think! It does mean that we should recognise that God's workings in our life will go beyond our own understanding. As it says in Proverbs 3:5:
Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding.
No comments:
Post a Comment