Scripture Reflections

In his sermon on Sunday, Justin+ mentioned that there were a variety of threads in John 3. He wisely avoided them (I probably wouldn’t have been able to avoid all of them, which is why Justin is capable of something I am not—a sub-20-minute sermon…) and kept his sights on the goal: living in the new creation through walking in the light. But the newsletter devotion presents me with a chance to chase one of those threads!
 
In John 3:5-6, Jesus puts three things together in the new birth—water, blood, and the Spirit. The consensus of the historic Church is that this reference to water is a reference to baptism. A few modern theologians argue for a metaphorical understanding of water, and a few believe it refers to the “water” in the womb of a natural birth, but by and large, this is understood as Jesus saying, “Unless one is born again through baptism and my blood; that is, unless one is born of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (That the water refers to baptism is made fairly obvious by the fact that, right after this discourse with Nicodemus, Jesus and his disciples went into the countryside and started baptizing people!)
 
The strange thing, though, is that only a few verses later, Jesus says, “whoever believes in [me has] eternal life.” We now have four things—baptism, the blood of Jesus, the Spirit, and belief—presented as essential for new birth and new life.
 
Modern analysis asks the question, “Which is it? Does new birth come in baptism? When we believe? When does the Spirit apply the blood of Jesus to us? When we are baptized? When we truly believe? How do these four fit together??” Denominations have split over the answers to these questions, and much theology has been written to describe the relationships between our belief, the sacraments, the blood of Jesus, and the work of the Spirit!
 
But Jesus doesn’t answer these questions. He never presents the sacraments, our faith, his blood, or the work of the Spirit in opposition to one another. He doesn’t arrange them logically. For example, in John 6, he says that we must “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood”—highly sacramental words!—and yet, in the same discourse, he says, “whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Which is it? The sacrament? Or our belief? Which truly brings the life of Jesus Christ to us?
 
Throughout John, Jesus speaks of these things—his blood, the work of the Spirit in us, the sacraments given to the Church, and our individual belief—as the door into the kingdom and the place where we receive Jesus’ own never-ending life. My point in this devotion is simple: do not discount any of them. Each of us likely prioritizes one or two of these things—either believing in Jesus, receiving the sacraments, the presence of the Spirit, or being cleansed by the blood of Lamb. But each of us is likely also a bit reserved—even skeptical—about one or two of these things. Whichever it is that you tend to overlook, remember that Jesus himself speaks of all four! By his blood, through the work of the Spirit, as we believe, in the sacraments, he offers life to us.
 
Steven+