Subject 16 : The Gospel According to JOHN
[Chapter 3-4] We Must Be Born Again By Believing in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit (John 3:1-15)
(John 3:1-15)
“There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus answered and said to Him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?’ Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 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 eternal life.”
There are people in this world who want to be born again by believing in Jesus. Also, there are so many people who put efforts into religious life in various shapes and colors in order to be born again from their sins. Some people try to be born again only emotionally, thinking that a person should receive cleansing of sins if the person were to offer prayers of repentance. Some Christians think that making substantial monetary donations would lead them to be born again, and therefore, they donate an amount of money, while some others, thinking that planting many churches would lead them to be approved by God, are busy constructing church buildings.
Some Christians are devoted to missionary work, thinking that a person would be born again if the person were to volunteer and train missionary work. Thus, they try to introduce Jesus to all nations by committing one’s own body, burning with passion, to the missionary work, no matter how dangerous the circumstances might be. Such people go on living by offering their entire life to God. All those people go on leading a life of faith with the thought that they would someday be born again. They think that God would have them born again someday because they themselves are living for God. However, thinking like that is never correct.
Yet, do you think only these sorts of people exist in this world? Besides these, ways in which to be born again from one’s sins continue to be. People have a tendency to think that they would receive the grace of being born again if they were to offer a lot of material things, to offer a lot of service, and to be loyal till death. People may think, “If I continue to do well before God, I will have become a born-again person at a time that even I do not know,” but although their thoughts may be as such, the promise of God isn’t so. What could we do, since God’s thoughts are different from those of humans? God’s thoughts are far different from human thoughts: He says to us that a person can only be born again by surely believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Being born again is not possible by whatever else it may be, except for by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
As our Lord has said, if one wishes to be born again from the state of being a sinner, it is only possible by his having faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Even if we were to offer God some lump of gold other than the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we would never be able to truly be born again. God tells us that not even a person’s own good deed, sacrifice, devotion, or material things could make that person be born again. No matter how much physical sweat, troubles and effort a person offers to God, the person cannot receive salvation from the sins that he or she has committed. A human soul cannot escape from sins by the efforts of the flesh.
Some people may think like this: As the Lord has said, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes” (John 3:8), people could think that being born again is a process that one cannot know as to how it is achieved and that it is something which only God knows. However, that is a thought that comes from not knowing about the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit that the Lord has given us. God knows everything about us. God clearly knows whether or not one has been born again from sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. God had planned and allowed for people to be born again within the gospel of the water and the Spirit. However, people who haven’t yet escaped from their own sins have a misunderstanding because they do not know the Truth about being born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. But still, these people keep on hoping for a lucky chance, thinking they would someday be born again.
When people hear the Words of the gospel of the water and the Spirit for the first time, they sometimes reject it, saying, “The Words are true, but they are different from what we have learned up to now. If so, what about the words that we had heard until now?” However, after hearing the gospel of the water and the Spirit for themselves, they go on to say, “Oh? My sins truly went away. Does this mean that I have received salvation from all my sins? Ah! These words are the gospel of the water and the Spirit that makes me born again from all my sins.” And, we could see their happiness. Yet, there isn’t that many people who comprehend and understand the gospel of the water and the Spirit once and for all, after hearing it for the first time. Hence, some people look for another way, besides the gospel of the water and the Spirit, to obtain the conviction of salvation from all sins.
Therefore, many Christians are prone to think that the words, “being born again,” “receiving salvation,” and “receiving the remission of sin” are somewhat different. If, at some time, I were to ask a person, “Have you been born again?” they then might respond saying that they have been born again. If I then were to ask, “If so, have you received the remission of sin? And, therefore, do you have no sin?” They then reply, “I have been born again, but I haven’t received the remission of sin, so I have sins now.” It is a truly comical response.
Does it make any sense that a person having been born again and having received salvation from sins still has sins? If a person has received salvation from sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it is a fact that the person has been born again and has become a righteous person. So, all these words “being born again,” “receiving salvation,” and “receiving the remission of sin” are the same. Actually, the phrase, "being born again", means a person becoming anew by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Receiving salvation from sins means a person, having had sins, becoming someone who has nothing to do with sins. All these phrases differ only in their looks, and if we were to look into their meaning, they all have the same meaning. A person, having had sins, receiving the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is being born again. Being born again means that I once was a sinner in the past, but now, having received cleansing of sins, I have become a new person, the just one. When we came out of our mother’s womb, we were sinners, but we were born again by listening to the gospel of the water and the Spirit with our ears, getting to know it, and believing it in our hearts. It means that although our bodies and outer appearances remain the same, our inner beings have been born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Who is the one that moves the wind? It is God. Who is the one that raises the wind, creates high and low atmospheric pressures, changes the flow of the air and the water, stirs up all creation, and makes the winds rise up with energy, in this atmosphere of this earth inside this universe? It is Jesus. That is why, if we want to be born again, we must listen with our ears and believe with our hearts the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. To do so, we must believe with our hearts the Truth of salvation that came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
The Truth by which God saves us from sins is the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Some Christians say that they have received the Holy Spirit while offering prayers, but that is not the true Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the sacred Spirit that enters the hearts of those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Jesus took away all our sins when he was receiving the baptism by John the Baptist, and received the judgment for our sins on the Cross. Hence, because sins do not exist anymore within our hearts, we get to receive God’s Holy Spirit as a gift. It is the case that the Holy Spirit can only enter the hearts of such people who have received the remission of sin.
In Genesis chapter 1 verse 2, it is said, “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” God hovers over the face of the waters. The Holy Spirit wasn’t able to enter our hearts because our hearts were in disorder, filled with darkness. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. As such, when we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it is possible for the Holy Spirit to enter our hearts and be together with us. That is why God resides with us through our belief in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that Jesus has given us. Thus, by being born again by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can be together with God.
Concerning how to be born again from one’s sins, our Lord said to Nicodemus, “If a person is to be born again, the person has to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.” Then, Nicodemus asked, “If so, how can a person be born again by the water and the Spirit? Does the person have to enter the mother’s womb and come out once more?” Nicodemus understood being born again as first going back into the mother’s womb, and then coming out from the womb once more. That is why it didn’t make sense. How can Nicodemus’ mother make her son enter her womb again when her son is much bigger than herself? The Lord rebuked Nicodemus, “You are the teacher of Israel and an Israeli rabbi. Yet, you do not know of these things?”
Actually, in today’s Christianity, many ministers who are not born again try to lead people. Put differently, there are many Christian leaders like Nicodemus, a Pharisee. The title “the teacher of Israel” was usually given to a member of the Sanhedrin, the council of seventy-one Jewish sages who constituted the Supreme Court and legislative body in Judea during the Roman period. This person, Nicodemus, was one of the council members. Furthermore, religiously, he was a Pharisee. From a secular perspective, he was a member of the Sanhedrin council and a religious leader. Thus, he had worldly knowledge, moral repute, and honor, but he did not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit. During those days, in the nation of Israel, there were rabbis. To the nation, rabbis were held in supreme regard. These rabbis taught Israelites in the places like synagogues. In other words, they were the respected teachers of the nation of Israel. Though they had scholarship great enough to teach others, they did not know about being born again. As such, even in this day and age, there are many false teachers like Nicodemus. Even now, inside Christianity, there are many Christian leaders who reign over Christian communities without the knowledge of the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
One’s being born again is not brought about by some virtuous deeds carried out by the person. People have to know that one can only be born again by faith. A person is truly born again when he realizes and believes in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit. Jesus said to Nicodemus and us, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” (John 3:12) People do not realize that Jesus had all of us be born again from our sins by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Like this, even though people do not believe, even when Jesus tells them earthly things, how can they understand Him when He tells us about heavenly things or life of faith after being born again by the gospel of the water and the Spirit?
The Lord cleansed us of all sins by receiving the baptism of John the Baptist on His body, dying vicariously on the Cross, and being resurrected from the dead. Lastly, our Lord explained to Nicodemus, by using the Word from the Old Testament. “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 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 eternal life” (John 3:13-15). Just as Moses had lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted upward. And God bestows eternal life to those who believe in Jesus who had been lifted up just like the bronze serpent.
When our Lord said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,” our Lord was speaking about the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Our Lord died after having said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30) It was because our Lord took upon Himself the sins of the world in order to be crucified and to be lifted up from ground. Anyone who was sinless could never be hung on the wooden Cross of the curse. That is why our Lord took on all the sins of humankind once and for all by receiving the baptism by John the Baptist prior to being hung on the Cross. Thus, He had made it so that He had to shed blood on the Cross as the wages of all the sins of humankind in order to have the people, who believe in Jesus as their Savior, be born again of water and the Spirit. Now, the Lord was teaching this to Nicodemus through the Scriptures.
Because Nicodemus was well versed in the Old Testament, Jesus told him, “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 have eternal life.” By this passage, Jesus was telling him that He has saved all human beings by receiving the baptism from John the Baptist and by dying on the Cross. In other words, Jesus was speaking exactly about the salvation by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and Nicodemus understood it.
The account of the fiery serpents in Numbers chapter 21 is as follows: People of Israel, leading a life in the wilderness, became very discouraged on the way, and therefore, they spoke against Jehovah God and Moses because of the rough and difficult way. For this, God sent fiery serpents to kill these people. Those who were bitten by the fiery serpents swelled up instantly, and died with foam in their mouths, after screaming in agony for a while. Upon seeing the people of Israel dying in pain after having been bitten by the fiery serpents, Moses, the leader of the Israelites, prayed to God. When he prayed, “Dear God, save these people,” God said, “These people spoke against me so much that I, Myself, am giving them a punishment.” Moses begged again, “Even so, please save these people, God.” “Well then. If you want to save these people, set a bronze serpent on a pole, and lift it up high. And, tell the people that anyone who looks at it shall live.”
Moses delivered the Word exactly as God had told him to convey it to the people of Israel. And indeed, anyone who looked at the bronze serpent hung upon a pole was cured of the poison. Just as the bronze serpent was lifted up high on a pole, our Lord Jesus took upon Himself the curse for all sins for our sake by receiving the baptism and by being hung on the wooden Cross as the cursed. In the Bible, serpent implies Satan the Devil. In order to save those of us who had no choice but to die and receive the curse because of the sin injected by Satan the Devil, our Lord Jesus came to this earth, took upon Himself all the sins of mankind, gave eternal life to whoever that believes in His baptism and bloodshed, just as whoever anyone that had looked upon the bronze serpent hung on a pole was saved. He thus granted the grace of being born again to all those who believed accordingly. It is the case that God had our Lord take on the entire curse for the sins of this world.
It is written, “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). Paul the Apostle also proclaimed, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’)” (Galatians 3:13). Jesus has taken upon Himself all our curse by being baptized and being hung on the wooden Cross.
By receiving the baptism, dying on the Cross, and being resurrected, Jesus has saved all sinners sufficiently. The Lord said that no one has ascended to Heaven but He who came down from Heaven, that is, the Son of Man. It is the case that our Lord had opened the gates to Heaven by the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Due to our Lord having opened the gates to Heaven for the first time by taking on all the sins of humankind and by being hung on the Cross, whoever that believes in Jesus as one’s own Savior was enabled to enter the Kingdom of Heaven by such faith. The Lord has saved us with the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
It is written, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). What reason could there be for our Lord to be hung on the Cross? Did He sin like us? Is He weak like us? Is He lacking like us? It’s not so. Yet, our Lord had to be hung on the wooden Cross of the curse. His righteous act was to save you and me from all sins. Because He had personally taken on all the sins of all the people throughout the world, as well as yours and mine, at the Jordan River in order to save all of them, He could pay for all their sins by being crucified. And, He has made those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit receive salvation. God had us be born again by the water and the blood of the Lord (1 John 5:3-7).
One can be born again of water and the Spirit when the person believes in the gospel of the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross (John 3:5). The born-again become the children of God. The water in John 3:5 refers to the baptism that Jesus had received, and the Spirit refers to the truth that Jesus, who is God, has saved all humankind by coming this earth in human flesh, taking on all the sins of humankind by receiving the baptism, and receiving the punishment for the sins of humankind on the Cross. The Lord has saved us by the baptism that He had received and the blood of the Cross. Our Lord has saved us by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That only those who have been born again of water and the Spirit could enter the Kingdom of God is exactly what is meant by these words. Our Lord has saved you and me from all sins by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Dear fellow believers, do you believe this?
Being born again of water and the Spirit refers to being cleansed of all our sins by believing in the baptism that Jesus had received and the blood of the Cross. Jesus is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20). And, He, who is God and the Savior, came to this earth in human flesh, took on the sins of all humankind by receiving the baptism of and from John the Baptist, received the curse by giving His flesh on the Cross, blotted out all the sins of the world by being resurrected from the dead in three days, and providing for those who believe in Him to enter the Kingdom of God. That is why it is said that our Lord has become the High Priest of Heaven.
The Lord said, “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7). Who stands at the door of Heaven? Our Lord stands there. Who opens the door? Our Lord opens it. To pass through the door of Heaven, one has to believe in the salvation that Jesus has fulfilled with His baptism and blood. Those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are allowed to pass through the door, but those who are not born again by denying the gospel truth of the water and the Spirit are not allowed to pass through. Those who deny the divinity of Jesus or the water that implies the baptism of Jesus can neither be born again nor pass through the door of Heaven. However, those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are granted Heaven, and they get to enjoy eternally blessings and happiness by taking part in Heaven. This is none other than the power of the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Just like the bronze serpent that was hung high up on a pole, having received the baptism by John the Baptist, our Lord vicariously received the judgment for all sins by being hung high up on the Cross. This is the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. Believing in this Truth leads us to salvation from sins and being born again. This gospel is the salvation of the Truth by which humankind could receive the remission of sins.
Dear fellow believers, do you now see what being born again by the water and the Spirit is? Being born again, going through rebirth, being reborn, becoming a new person, being saved from sins, and becoming a sinless person after having had sins,―all these are of the same concept granted to whoever believes in the gospel of Jesus’ baptism and the blood of the Cross. In other words, people who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are exactly those who believe in the gospel of the baptism and the blood of the Cross that Jesus has given us.
Yet, people of the world today believe in Jesus without knowing about this. Then, how deplorable is this? They are so hypocritical in believing in Jesus that it is truly distressing to see their pathetic efforts. As Nicodemus did not know, theologians, ministers, and laymen these days do not even know about being born again of water and the Spirit. In a secular world, how great was Nicodemus? And yet, he did not understand Jesus’ Word at all. In the flesh, he might have been a great man, but spiritually, he was a blind man.
In John 3:1-21, the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus is written. Jesus taught those words in order to open up the eyes of a spiritually blind man. Only then, did Nicodemus perceive the Truth, saying, “Ah! I knew Jesus wasn’t an ordinary man, but it really is true.” After this event, Nicodemus was able to open up true spiritual eyes and possess a true faith. Now, this Nicodemus became a born-again by having heard Jesus’ Word. And thus, when Jesus died on the Cross, this Nicodemus came to bury His body bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes: about one hundred pounds. Then, Nicodemus with Joseph of Arimathea placed the body of Jesus in a tomb in which no one had yet been laid (John 19:38-41).
Dear fellow believers, being born again is perfecting one’s own salvation by believing in Jesus’ baptism and His blood. Through the faith of believing in the baptism that Jesus received and His blood of the Cross, we get to be born again. Jesus provided for us to be born again, and also, He made it possible for all the people of the world be born again. By what had He done so? By the faith of believing in the water, the blood, and the Spirit: The water means the baptism that Jesus received from John the Baptist; the blood refers to His death on the Cross; and the Spirit tells that Jesus is the true God who came to the world as the Lamb. In short, Jesus makes us be born again when we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
In the Gospel of John chapter 1 verses 1-3, it is said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” Who is He? He is Jesus who has saved us by the baptism that He Himself received and the blood He shed on the Cross. Jesus has allowed us to be born again through the salvation He fulfilled by coming to this earth in human flesh, receiving the baptism, dying on the Cross and being resurrected.
Once, a person was said to have retorted frantically, saying, “Water is just water and a mountain is just a mountain,” when told that the water of Jesus is an antitype that saves us (1 Peter 3:21). Instead of retorting like that, it is wiser to listen to the Word carefully and then to believe in the Word if it proves to be right. If not hearing the Truth from the just who have been born again by the water and the Spirit, from whom would such a person hear this Truth? The born-again who can teach the Truth that Jesus has saved us from all sins by having received the baptism from John the Baptist are very rare.
“That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:15). By believing in the Truth, you and I have received eternal life and have been born again. We became the born-again by believing in the Lord. Whoever believes that our Lord has saved sinners by the water and the Spirit can be born again. This is the Truth. So, if you do not believe in the water and the blood of Jesus, you cannot enjoy all of its great effect. Only when you believe in the Word of God, will you be able to enjoy all the blessings promised in it. This salvation, which was fulfilled with our Lord’s coming to this earth in human flesh, receiving His baptism, vicariously dying on the Cross, and being resurrected from the dead, is truly the work that Jesus has done. This is the clear Truth by which we get to live an eternal life, be born again, and receive our personal salvation, provided that we believe. This is why our Lord said to Nicodemus, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things” (John 3:12).
Dear fellow believers, what is the work that God did unto us? The work that God has done is the salvation of Jesus that was fulfilled by His baptism and crucifixion. He has taken all the sins of the world through the baptism that He has received, and received the judgment on our behalf by being hung on the Cross and shedding blood. The work of creating the universe and every thing in it is also a work that God has done, but He who has also done the work of blotting out the sins of our souls is precisely Jesus, our Savior. The gospel by which Jesus has saved us from the sins of the world is the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As such, the work of God that saved us by the water and the Spirit from the sins of the world and from Satan the Devil is the salvation that Jesus has carried out. The grace of salvation is such that, all we have to do is to believe in the water and the blood that the Lord has realized for us.
There are two kinds of grace: Common grace and special grace. The Lord-given common grace refers to the grace of God in which He has given us the sun, the air, all the creations of nature, all plants, and food. This is a grace granted universally to everyone, to the just as well as to the sinners. However, the special grace is precisely the work in which Jesus came to this earth in human flesh, received His baptism by John the Baptist, took on sins of the world, and blotted out all those sins by being hung on the Cross. It is the case that we must receive this special grace in order to be born again by the water and the Spirit and to receive salvation. Dear fellow believers, do you believe this?
Whenever I gave a sermon, was there ever a time when I did not preach about the baptism of Jesus and the blood of the Cross? Never. Jesus has saved all of us with His special grace. Whatever part that I open in the Bible, even when I open the Book of Genesis and even when I open the Book of Revelation, the conclusion was always the same. It was because it is the most definite work that Jesus, who is God, had done. In the past, prior to having been born again, I had lived as if I were an angel of light, having been truly deceived by the angel of the light. When people should cough up blood, I would clean them of blood. When the wounds should boil and ooze out pus, I would suck it out with my mouth. Even though I wasn’t a born-again believer back then, I was a great person, overflowing with such love. And so, Catholic priests and nuns could not stop complimenting me, and recommended me to go to a Catholic seminary. I knew later that they as well as I myself did so because the angel of the light had deceived us then. As such, the false angels are so powerful. Without even knowing that the false angels are prone to deceiving them, people speak of abnormal experiences as if they were great signs from God. Surprisingly, there are many people who believe in the false angel’s deceptions, who say that sins all went away after having offered fervent prayers of repentance, and who say that a certain sick person was healed after having received prayer by the laying on of hands. They are all liars. Such are the people who are like Nicodemus, prior to his being born again.
By the Word of power, the Lord has eradicated all our sins (Hebrews 1:3). When we believe in the Lord having saved us by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we get to receive the special grace from God. False miracles or wonders that are going around in the world and doctrines or theories from human thoughts are nothing. Just believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has saved us with the special grace. By the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Lord has made us into those who have been saved from sins, having nothing to do with sins. Do you believe this? Have you then become so? Yes, you have. This is what the salvation of the water and the Spirit is. This is the gospel that enables us to be born again by the water and the Spirit. I truly give thanks to the Lord who has allowed us to receive salvation.
I would like to finish up now. It is truly disheartening to see that so many people in the world do not know about being born again of water and the Spirit. Now, there are so many people who believe in Jesus, but it has only been 500 years since the outburst of the Reformation. Do you know what it means? Please don’t say that your denomination has a 2,000-year history. We who now have the gospel of the water and the Spirit can say that we have the tradition of faith that is 2,000 years old. It is because we are the ones that have the same faith as that of the Apostles.
In looking at the history of Protestantism throughout the world, it has been only about 500 years since the Reformation. Yet, whether it has been 500 or 1,000 years, people do not know the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. In this world, however, among the famous leaders of every Christian denomination, those who have received the special grace of being born again of the gospel of the water and the Spirit are so rare in current Christianity.
We must therefore believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that people had believed in since the days of the Apostles, and go on living for the spreading of the gospel throughout the world by faith. We must realize the spreading of this gospel to those who do not yet know the gospel of the water and the Spirit as our life’s goal, and go on leading a life of putting forth all our hearts into this work.
Preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit has become a glory in our lives.
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