Page 8 - Principles for Discipling Others-Student textbook

listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so
is every one that is born of the Spirit.

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9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him,
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Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that
we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly
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things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath
ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in
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heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted
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up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.

Christ said “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (or spiritual). The problem most people have with
The Bible, Jesus Christ, and the church is that it deals with a spiritual dimension and we are “carnal” or
“of the flesh.” Man has a difficult time understanding spiritual things when he has no spiritual life in
him. Paul said in I Cor. 2:14…“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they
are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Even young
Christians have difficulty with understanding spiritual things being so much more familiar with the
physical things of this world.

The problem goes back to the beginning….at Creation. There, in the Garden of Eden, God created man
“in His image” (Gen. 1:26). What does the phrase “created in the image of God” mean? Does it mean
having a head, a body, arms, legs, eyes, ears, nose and mouth? Maybe….because the Bible talks of the
“arm of the Lord” and “the eyes of the Lord”, etc. But it is probably more than that…..

The Bible also teaches that God is Triune….that is….three persons co-existing as one…..God, the Father;
God, the Son; and God, The Holy Spirit. The Triune God created man to be triune….having a Body, Soul,
and Spirit. The Bible says “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole
spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Thess. 5:23)

I like to diagram spiritual things, if I can, in order to help folks visualize the spiritual concept. Here we
use two triangles to illustrate the triune nature of both God and of the original man at creation…..

GOD MAN

FATHER BODY

SON SPIRIT SOUL SPIRIT

Everything was great in the Garden of Eden! Adam and Eve had only to help care for it, enjoy its fruits,
fellowship with God and avoid eating of the tree in the midst of the Garden…the Tree of the Knowledge

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