Heavenly Illumination of the Water and Spirit.

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The “True Light” to all of the Living and Dead

One of the Master’s most beloved disciple John, while under the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit, records in his testimonial Gospel account, that Jesus from Nazareth was the heavenly light and Life-giving source that God deposited into a sin-laden, evil, dark and unloving world.

His Lord and Master as John write is the “True Light” to all of the living and dead souls that God made, despite the powerful distortion, and fatal effects sin has upon all human nature and creation. Seemingly, humanity and creation are painfully subjected to a directionless futile course by the will and hand of God after the fall of humanity in the Genesis account.

During this time of God’s gradual unfolding of His plan of redemption for humanity, John depicts Jesus as the heavenly spiritual illuminator of all fallen humans. The scriptural support of this reality is noted in : John 1:4, 5, 9: 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35, 36, 46; Acts 13:47.

The invisible God could have forced His will and might upon all fallen humanity to correct the powerful evil and fatal impact, power, and consequences of sin in our lives, but His nature and love that He offers are based upon the choice of one’s will instead of coercion.

At the appointed time, the Son of Man came from the abode of God to dwell among those of us who were separated from God and were due to sin, and in our fallen state, we all were enemies of God. In Him alone, the earth saw a glimmer of the eternal glory, truth, grace, mercy, and deliverance in the Master.

From His initial advent until His future return, all of God’s creation calls out boldly that all of humanity would be wise to receive Him and all of the glorious offerings that He alone can grant, namely, for us to become “Children of God.”

Such a once and a lifetime heavenly love offering is not granted to humanity out of our privileges, nor our wealth, fame, power, bloodlines, nor our human strength and will. No, Jesus is given to us because of our lostness and the tragedy of our soul damage due to the laws of sin and death upon our lives. Jesus is our heavenly gift to the world out of God’s love for us and His fulfillment and corrective measures to His own divine decrees.

As the second Adam for our sake, all others who came before Jesus only represented introduction aspects of God’s plan of redemption. Somewhat like a dress rehearsal before the main event.

God’s ultimate plan of redemption was to become open to all who believed, by identifying and then, entering into the death, burial, resurrection, and spiritual blessing of the Holy Spirit that comes because Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. He also for our sake, has indeed been raised from the dead, thus He only is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

The divine decree that was implemented by God in Genesis at the time of the Fall has now been released via the ministry of reconciliation found exclusively in the Messiah. He alone is the suitable and acceptable sacrifice for sins, evil, the works of Satan in the world, and all creation.

Now perhaps like never before, is there a loud crying out and inner groaning for the ministry of reconciliation to become the most important movement in our earth’s history. We and the fast-approaching future are closer to the return of Christ than any other previous generation. Now is the time that every nation in the world, must sit down with the Master just as Nicodemus did in John 3:5.

Jesus as the heavenly Light of all creation is confronting all humanity who deems themselves wise, secure, and free with this truth: “if you people don’t believe Me when I tell you about the things of the world, [see 1 John 1:15], in its fallen state, you will likewise remain in darkness and thoughtless when I inform you about My Father’s Kingdom.

Spiritual regeneration is made ready for all who are spiritually enlightened as to the greatest offering in the history of the world. This beautiful ministry of reconciliation is the will of God for all who now live. Through our Master, we now can become in one accord with the Father. If one will, our former lack of spiritual direction and understanding can be ended by self-denial and subjecting oneself into harmony, agreement, and in concordance of God’s will of spiritual rebirth.

“A man must be born of water and spirit.”  (John 3:5)

During John’s record of the unique dialog between the Master and Nicodemus in John 3:5, baptism or better stated, Mikvah was essentially a Jewish/Hebrew term and practice. A man who wants to become Jewish must undergo the two main requirements: circumcision and immersion. A woman, however, must only be immersed.

When Gentile converts go down into the waters of the mikvah, they leave behind their pagan ways—symbolically dying to their old life—and come up out of the water like a newborn child with an entirely new identity.  They are in essence reborn.

Understanding that the term “born again” referred to conversion to Judaism sheds light on the conversation between Yeshua (Jesus) and the sage Nicodemus in the Book of Yochanan (John). Nicodemus wondered, “How can a man be born when he is old?  He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”  (John 3:4)

From his Jewish perspective, Nicodemus essentially asked, “How can I convert to Judaism if I am already a Jew?” Yeshua answered, “A man must be born of water and spirit.”  (John 3:5) He was explaining to Nicodemus that we cannot rely on our “Jewishness” (or any other heritage) to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Conversion of our spiritual condition is necessary for salvation.

Judaism Regards the mikvah as a symbolic Expression of Rebirth.

The mikvah represents the mother’s womb, which is called in Hebrew rechem. This comes from the same root as the Hebrew word for mercy (rahamah). Immersing fully into the waters of the mikvah is like re-entering the womb, the place of mercy; of God’s creative power.  Emerging from the mikvah is like being born again.

Immersion in a mikvah also represents death and resurrection.  A person underwater enters a death-like state, like a person descending into a grave.  When he comes back out of the water, he comes back to life as a new creation.

When we are immersed into Yeshua Hamashiach (the Messiah), we also become a new creation:  “Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Paul understood this death and rebirth imagery of the immersion and compared it to the death and resurrection of Yeshua: “Don’t you know that all of us who were immersed into Messiah Yeshua were immersed into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through the baptism [immersion] into death so that, just as Messiah was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”  (Romans 6:3-4)

Jesus and Jesus alone is the only Hope for all Nations.

In Hebrew, the word mikvah has the same root letters as the word hope! The great Prophet Jeremiah used the word mikvah in the sense of hope:

“O Hashem, the Hope [mikvah] of Israel, all who forsake you will be ashamed … because they have forsaken Hashem, the fountain of living water.”  (Jeremiah 17:13)

When individuals who have confessed their sins and ask God for forgiveness, thus choosing Christ as Lord over their lives, they are immersed in the waters of the mikvah, as a declaration of faith in Yeshua, they have the hope of a new life, a new beginning in Him. Amen.

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope [tikvah] and a future.”  (Jeremiah 29:11) Special thanks to the Israel Magazine for this information if Mikvah. https://free.messianicbible.com/feature/mikvah-baptism-the-connection-between-immersion-conversion-and-being-born-again/

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Study material used for this blog post: Complete Jewish Bible, Lecture notes from Walking in the Messiah Discipleship Study Group. Material about Baptism/Mikvah was used and gleaned from Israel Magazine, article: Mikvah (Baptism): The Connection Between Immersion, Conversion, and Being Born Again.