John 3:1-3 "Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews..."

"Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, 'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.' Jesus answered him, 'Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above" (John 3:1-3).

Question:

I was raised in the Southern Baptist faith and later attended Pentecostal/Charismatic churches. As part of their evangelical outreach this scripture is often used. Was Jesus speaking of a "conversion experience" as traditionally taught or was he speaking of becoming aware of our spiritual basis?

Comment:

Well, I'm not sure there's a lot of difference between a “conversion experience” and “becoming aware of our spiritual basis.” Jesus himself was “born again” when he was baptized by John and somehow, in that process, awakened to his true spiritual identity and spiritual purpose. John didn't impart that new awareness to him; it had been in him all along, just as it is within us. Jesus calls us all to “convert” our lives from a belief system centered on separation from a punishing God to a new awareness of our intimate Oneness with the Power of God. "What is born of the flesh is flesh," he explains—when we are born into mortal bodies, we assume the mindset of collective consciousness that tells us we are sinners living separately from our Source. "What is born of the Spirit is spirit." When we realize our true identity as the Christ, then we embrace a new consciousness—a Christ consciousness—and we begin to discover the wonderful, creative, healing things we can accomplish. The 'rebirth' isn't bestowed on us from without; it's about discovering who we truly are.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed