"You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world." John 8:23
"I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be." 24
One way to better understand Jesus' word is to compare a man commuting to work by air free of traffic with a man driving to work in down town by car fighting heavy traffic.
For over a decade I used to work in down town LA. To report to work before 9:00 a.m., I had to leave home in Long Beach around 7:30 a.m. The route was to go Lakewood blvd. north, hit 405 n. then 110 n. and then get off at 6th street. And I had to fight the traffic, worrying about the possibility to get moving violation tickets. So I thought how good would it be to own a flying machine (like helicopter or a flying wing set) to travel by air, for if I did I would get into a flying machine, take off the ground, fly up into the air, and cruise above the ground without worrying about cops giving me tickets. I can enjoy the scene of people esp. cops fighting the traffic down below!
Travel by air or car takes place in a physical dimension. But life here on earth in a physical body takes place first on a spiritual dimension which is reflected in and dictates the conditions of the life that is manifested in the physical dimension.
So compare: 1) cops to Satan, also known as the Devil or the ruler of the air (this world); 2) a man traveling by means of ground transportation like car to a man living as a man born from below; and 3) a man traveling by air like a flying machine (that is Jesus Christ) to a man born from above.
Who get the tickets, who don't? Who categorically remain condemned to keep committing sins (and therefore constantly are in need of getting 'disciplined', having to endure hardships all the time) and who don't? The answer is obvious.
Christian means a man who belongs to Jesus Christ. The new reality for them is that they are from above. John 1:12-13 Therefore they are not of this world, for upon turning to Christ, Jesus saves them "out of" this world, "into" His kingdom. [Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:3]Then he sends them back to this world, for the work He prepared them to do! (Ephesians 2:10)
Speaking of the new reality, Hebrews says in 12:22, "You have come to:
1) the heavenly Jerusalem;
2) the city of the living God;
3) thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly;
4) the church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven;
5) God, the judge of all men;
6) the spirits of righteous men made perfect;
7) Jesus the mediator of a new covenant; and
8) sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Combine the new reality for a believer with what the Lord Jesus the Son of the Living God revealed in the book of Revelation:
1) To him who overcomes Jesus will write on him -
a) the name of His God
b) the name of the city of his God, the new Jerusalem
c) Jesus' new name! 3:12
2) The heavenly choir (5:11-12)
3) The holy city (the new Jerusalem) (21:2,10; 22:19).
So remember: "you have come" [not you will].
God never does what is not needed. He made everything for a purpose. In Hebrews the word 'discipline' is used in 6 places (12:5,6,7,8,10,11) to address the problem of sins. Hardship has a purpose as is written: endure hardship as discipline (12:7a). [Read Mark 9:48 also.] Where the need is gone, means designed to meet the need becomes obsolete. Life that is from above is free of sin and therefore is free from the means designed to address it. Then the saying, "When perfection comes the imperfect disappears" will be the order of life. 1Co 13:10
Speaking of the same reality Paul says, "Body for the stomach, and the stomach for food - but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body." 1Co 6:13
So there is the life to live here and now that is the life from above not from below.
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