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VINEYARD NEWS

GOD WITH US

THE  TWO “MUSTS”
Editorial-Mr. Koshy Zachariah

The Lord in His discourse with 
 Nicodemus makes use of the word “  must “ two times.( John 3:7,14) This word of one syllable, contains a volume of precious evangelical truth; a word of immense depth and moral power in both cases


    The first is in verse 7  which reads” do not marvel that I said to you” you must be born again “. To be born again necessitates a new life, yes a new nature. Man as he comes from his mother’s womb, bears the image and likeness of a fallen creature. That is why the Lord is emphatic in His expression “ you must be born again. The Lord did not say that Nicodemus must mend his ways, must try and be better, must change his mode of living etc . If that was so, Nicodemus being a Pharisee would never have asked “ how can these things be?”. He would have understood any or all of these things.


C H Mackintosh writes “ a change of conduct, a change of character, any moral reform, any self-improvement, is perfectly intelligible to a Pharisee of every age; but to be told “ you must be born-again “ can only be understood by one who has reached the end of himself and his doings; who has been brought to see that in him , that is in his flesh , dwells no good thing; who sees himself as a thorough bankrupt without a certificate, who can never again set up on his own account . He must get a new life to which the verdict of bankruptcy cannot apply , and he must trade in the wealth of another, on which creditors have no possible claim.“

There is immense force and power in this little word “ must “ . It speaks to everyone alike, the drunkard , the strict tea-totaller or any level of people. “It speaks to every class, to every condition, to every grade and shade of character, to a man in every rank and every  clime, to every creed and every denomination, in its own clear  emphatic , sweeping style, and says “ you must be born again. ….It does not interfere in the least with the moral question of reform, in any one of its many phases… It does not disturb the various distinctions which society, public opinion, law or equity has established. It leaves all these things perfectly untouched, but it raises its clear and commanding voice above them all and says to the sinner- to man as born of a woman- to the worst and to the best of men, “ you must be born again “. It demands not reformation, but regeneration; not amendment but a new life “(CHM)


     Now the second “ must “is in relation to the natural question “ what are we to do to get new life?” The Lord answers this in verses 14-16.And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up”, …..that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life “. A second man has entered the scene. Thus there are two men and two musts. The first man must be born again and as to the second Man, He must be lifted up; yes on the cross. It is simple and plain. The cross is the grand solution of the difficulty, the divine answer to the question “ what are we to do to get new life?”.
      When we are in desperation on the first “ must” of “ be born again “, the second “ must” of the Son of Man be lifted up” falls on our heart. The new life is in the Son. For us to get it , He should die as the death of the second Man is the only ground of life. One look at Christ, the second Man , is life eternal.
   Let me quote C H Mackintosh “ the soul that simply believes on the Son of God, as dead and risen, is “born of water and of the Spirit “ , he has everlasting life- he is passed from death unto life, from the old creation into the new , from the first man to the second, from guilt to righteousness, from condemnation to favour, from darkness to light, from Satan to God. May God the Spirit unfold to the reader’s heart, the beauty and power, the depth, the comprehensiveness, and the moral glory of the two “ musts”. “


    Paul wrote to Titus “ But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that having been justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life “ Titus 3:4-7
 

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