The Standards Of Heaven

𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟏𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐀𝐜 𝟒:𝟑𝟐-𝟑𝟕

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟗𝟑:𝟏-𝟐, 𝟓 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠; 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟑:𝟕-𝟏𝟓

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “…𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦

𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟓) 

Today’s Gospel passage reminds me of the time some years back when we went to Dumaguete City to give a series of teachings to help empower the members of a charismatic community in that city and keep the fire of the Spirit burning in their hearts.

This came about after the community I belong to launched what we called the F.I.R.E. Revival Conference which encourages Christian Disciples to embrace a life that is Fruitful, Inspired, Renewed and Empowered. This revival conference was launched seven years ago and it is to the credit of the community elders to continue fanning the fire of the spirit.

In addition, our group facilitated a series of teachings on prayer leadership and how to stand as witness to proclaim what the Lord has done to transform us into becoming a better version of ourselves. I also gave a teaching on how Christians with the gift of teaching can exercise and practice their gift.

To sum it up, the reason I am writing about this is because I felt a compelling need to relate the Gospel passage of today which speaks of the need to be born anew with some of the topics that we presented to that community in Dumaguete.

As my role was to critique and offer suggestions to each of the presentations made by some 35 potential teacher-candidates who were divided into four groups, I commented that Worship in essence is “worthship” because the objective of our worship is worth worshipping.

It presupposes that if the object of worship is someone worthy of praise and worship, then the source of worship or the one who is engaged in the act of worship should also be a worthy vessel if we are to worship God in Spirit and in truth.

And to be a worthy vessel of worship that will rise like incense to the altar of Grace, we must be born anew (𝐯.𝟕) and this state of being was at the heart of the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus a respected teacher of the law in those days who told Jesus: "𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞?" (𝐯.𝟗)

And Jesus laid down the principle that would be at the heart of Christianity beginning at the Upper Room up to today where Christian revival is present through the different charismatic movements throughout the world when he said: "𝐃𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, `𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐰.' 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬; 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭.” (𝐯𝐯.𝟕-𝟖)

What Jesus told Nicodemus was indeed true for we cannot control how the Holy Spirit works as he works in ways we cannot predict and understand. Just as we were not in control of our physical birth, so it is also with our spiritual birth (𝐯.𝟖) which is a gift from God who acts through his Holy Spirit and this spiritual action is what makes us children of God (𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟖:𝟏𝟔).

It is also this Spirit of God that gives us the power to understand those things that come from God (𝟏 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟐:𝟏𝟐) and it is by this same Spirit that we have received that empowers us to accept our spiritual rebirth in spite of the sufferings we face as imitators of Jesus Christ (𝟏 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝟏:𝟔).

Jesus in this Gospel passage emphasizes that spiritual rebirth or being born again is a prerequisite to admission to the heavenly Kingdom because knowledge alone like what the teachers of the law such as Nicodemus had will not lead to salvation.

While it is important for us to know what the Bible says, it is equally imperative that we must understand and know in a very personal way the God who offered his life for us that we may also have life.

Just as when he spoke in parables before, Jesus also compared his crucifixion as an atonement for sins with the bronze serpent that Moses lifted in the desert that brought healing and deliverance to the Jews who looked up at the serpent.

What he was telling Nicodemus at that time and what Jesus is telling us now is that anyone who will believe in his death and resurrection will bring upon himself the new birth in the Spirit that will fill us with his own divine life by the power of His Spirit.

And let us not make any mistake about it. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us that provides us the courage, confidence and the boldness to share the Good News and to defend our faith by our words and action and never to be ashamed of the Cross of Christ.

As with the Israelites who looked up at the bronze serpent with the belief that God will heal them if they did, so must we also look up to the Cross of Jesus to remind us of our salvation and by believing we are healed of the deadly bite of sin.

Nicodemus knew from experience that anyone who wants to be changed, can't change himself and this was what Jesus explained to him that this change could only come about through the work and action of the Holy Spirit.

And we who have experienced this rebirth in the Spirit know this is not only experiential but very real like the wind that we can feel and hear yet we cannot see.

This new life in the Holy Spirit prequalifies us into admission in God's kingdom which is a society of men and women who acknowledge God as their Lord and who live according to his will on earth as it is in heaven (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟔:𝟏𝟎).

           What Jesus also impressed upon Nicodemus is that citizenship in the heavenly Kingdom depends on whether we qualify under the standards of the Kingdom. Being born again is the start of this journey towards achieving the requirements needed to acquire our heavenly inheritance.

To be reborn is to enter that society where God is honored and obeyed and where we live as His sons and daughters. To be born again is to gain possession of that life which comes from God himself, a life of never-ending love, peace, joy, and freedom from sin and the fear of death. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 14, 2026)