Section 16

significance of the ministry of Jesus, that is, to germinate people in the new creation. These two main concepts, water and Spirit, when put to gether, are the whole concept of the matter of regeneration. Regeneration, to be born anew, is the termination of the people of the old creation with all their deeds and their germination in the new creation with the divine life. What does it mean to be born again? It means to be terminated by John's ministry through water and to be ger minated by Jesus' ministry through the Spirit.

How can we have the ministry of John the Baptist today? We have it by repentance. When ever a person repents, confessing that he is a fallen being who is good for nothing, that is the acceptance of John's ministry. There is no need, of course, for John literally to be present, for his ministry is in the New Testament already. When we preach the gospel, we firstly preach the min istry of John. That is why we preach very much about sin and repentance. We are today's John the Baptist. I was a John the Baptist forty years ago, and many people repented as a result of that min istry. That was not my ministry; it was John's. Whoever accepts this ministry, in one sense, is terminated and, in another sense, is born of water. Following repentance, everyone must believe in

the Lord Jesus and accept His ministry of life in order to be germinated. In order to accept sal vation, we need both repentance and faith. To repent is to receive John's ministry, and to believe is to accept the ministry of the Lord Jesus. This is regeneration. As believers we all have passed through this process of regeneration. Now we understand what it means to be born of water and of the Spirit.

The Lord made Nicodemus' situation very clear to him. Everyone, whether he is good or bad, needs to be terminated through water and then germinated with the divine life. This is the second birth, a birth not of the mother's womb, but of water and of the Spirit.

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