Article March 4, 1922 Issue

The New Birth

ROBERT STANLEY ROSS

When Jesus told Nicodemus that a man must be reborn if he would see the kingdom of God, Nicodemus was astonished. And why not, since he knew that from the viewpoint of human experience it was impossible for one literally to be born again? To this truth-seeking Pharisee, the customary appearance of an infant was the only sense of birth he was then capable of entertaining; hence, his earthbound question, "How can a man be born when he is old?" But it was not a human birth to which Jesus was referring. If Nicodemus eventually became a student of Christ Jesus, and it is probable that he did, he learned that the new birth is not a material, but a spiritual process,—even the putting off of the "old man" and the putting on of the "new man," later referred to by Paul. Indicating the wholly spiritual nature of this new birth, Paul exhorted the Ephesians to be renewed in the spirit of their minds,—that is, to replace a false with the true concept of being.

Jesus knew, better than all others before or since, that God's man is already created, and that that which begins at birth and appears to end in death is not immortal, but mortal. Since God, who is Spirit, is the only creator, how could the creation of God be other than spiritual? To uncover the error of believing in a man whom God did not create, and to teach us how, by way of the new birth, to acquaint ourselves here and now with God's man, was the motive of our Master's mission among mortals. That mortal existence is comprised of material or wrong thinking and doing, and that immortal being includes spiritual or right thinking and acting, were clearly demonstrated in the life of our Master. In his final demonstration, called the ascension, Jesus did not take his earthly body with him; nor did he leave it behind. When his human belief had completely surrendered to spiritual understanding, the Master's corporeal selfhood disappeared.

To-day, Christian Science is teaching us that God is infinite good or divine Principle, and that man, His image and likeness, is the infinite expression of His goodness and perfection. In order, however, for us to follow the Master's example and reach this perfect state of being, human thought must daily, yes, hourly, become more spiritual and Christlike. Nothing less than a consciousness wholly purged of selfishness, hypocrisy, hate, sin, disease, and death can approximate the divine ideal. Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God," good.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Poem

The Shadow of the Almighty