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There is a man who proclaims Christ to be Lord; yet he denies the doctrine Christ has given us to live by; the words of eternal life. How can a man escape damnation, how can a man live eternally? He must be born again, transformed from the man he is, to a new man. How can a man be born a second time? Nicodemus asked Jesus the same question. The reply Jesus gave is, ” Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

The water is baptism into Christ by receiving his Word, as Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” The Spirit is Christ in us fulfilling his Word, and us in the world fulfilling Christ’s Word. The flesh is the pattern of thought that opposes the Spirit. That which is born of flesh came forth from the will of man, but that which is born of the Spirit came forth from the will of God. Can you hear this? These are two different states of mind. Since we cannot enter into our mother’s womb a second time and we are not now receiving a brand new physical body, we no doubt have to enter into a new way of thinking.

Does this mean if we think we are saved, we are saved? Absolutely not, if merely thinking I am saved saves me, then Christ lived and died in vain. Since Christ died (and we know not in vain) does this mean that we are automatically saved? Not at all, for if the death of Christ could have saved our souls then he could have died immediately following his birth. Now we know scripture says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. This is saying that men walk by their pattern of thinking.” That is why in another place it is written, “If a man thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” That would not be faith, but the power of positive thinking. This is deceptive and suggestive thinking. When one simply suggests to ones self that something that is not, is, or something that is, is not; this is not the faith of God, but the power of positive thinking, rebellion; witchcraft. The scripture does not instruct man to walk in this way of thought.

Can a man deceive himself? Yes. Can a man be healed, by simply believing he is healed? No he cannot. That would be the power of his own mind, not to the glory of God. A man can however, believe that God through Christ Jesus can heal him, and thereby receive a healing from God. But what can a man have that he has not received? If he has not yet received anything, then to say that he has would be a lie. And we know according to scripture, that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire. If a man believes God can heal him of his physical infirmities, does this mean that he will? Not at all, Paul wrote that he had been given a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan had been sent to buffet him. He asked the Lord three times to let it depart from him. The Lord’s reply was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

The statement Christ made here was for Paul to be satisfied with Spiritual healing. We know that this infirmity was a physical ailment. We know this because, when Christ faced Satan’s messengers, it was in two varieties. Them that were physically bound, as the two blind men who called out to him when he passed or the woman with the blood problem, who touched the hem of his garment. And them that were bound spiritually, as the man with the many demons who did not call out for help, but asked by the voice of the evil spirits if Jesus had come to torment them before the appointed time. So them that were bound inwardly and them that were bound outwardly. Both were a manifestation of a spiritual enemy. One bound in his spirit and the other in the flesh.

James wrote, Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither does he tempt any man. So, by this we understand God would not put sin in Paul after commanding through his Son that he repent. So believing God can heal does not always mean you will receive that healing. Not when it pertains to the Physical body. That has not been promised in this life. The promise however is that Jesus would come and repair the breach between God and man. And of healing Jesus never said, do you believe I have done this? But, do you believe I can do this?

The blind man Jesus healed in John chapter 9 starting at verse 31 said this, “ We know that God does not hear sinners: but if any man is a worshipper of God, and does his will, him he hears”. So by this we know that Jesus did