This term “born again”
first appears in the Bible in John chapter three...
“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the
Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that
thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou
doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus
saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second
time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily,
I say unto thee, 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;
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said
unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:1-7).
An unsaved man once said
to me, “That born again stuff makes no sense to me.” Perhaps you feel the same.
There are “How To Be Saved” articles all over the internet (and I am thankful
for them all), but many people want a complete explanation of what it means to
be “born-again.” Why do we need to be born again? What does it mean? That is my
purpose in this article, that is, to explain this great Biblical doctrine in
layman's terms. Please give me a moment and I will make it as plain as you've
ever heard. Most people have religion, but very few people have ever been
Biblically born-again. Unless you are born again, you absolutely cannot go to
Heaven (John 3:5).
Simply put, to be “born
again” means to have He (Jesus) Who is the beginning born in you. In Revelation 1:8 Jesus said, “I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and
which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Alpha and Omega are the first and
last letters of the Greek alphabet, respectively. Man by birth is spiritually
dead, which I will explain further in a moment. To be born-again is a miracle
of God, by which Jesus Christ comes into your body to live, literally in the
form of the Spirit of God. Romans
8:9, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit
of God dwell in you. Now if
any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
To understand what it
means to be born-again, it is necessary to understand that there are TWO
BIRTHS. The “first” birth is the PHYSICAL BIRTH when you were born into
this world from your mother and father. When the Bible speaks of being
“born of water,” it is speaking about the physical birth (NOT
baptism). The “second” birth is a SPIRITUAL BIRTH, which means to be born
of the “Spirit” (that is, God's Holy Spirit). Why does a person need to be
born spiritually? What is a “spiritual” birth?
The Bible teaches that man
is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). There is one God
according to Deuteronomy 6:4; but He exists in the three Persons of God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Bible refers to this triune
nature of God as the Godhead (Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20, Colossians
2:9 - King James Bible only). Colossians 2:2 refers to the Godhead as “the mystery of God, and of the
Father, and of Christ.” The
Godhead wasn't meant to be understood; but rather, believed as sound Biblical
doctrine by God's children.
Likewise, mankind is
created in God's image in the form of a body, soul and spirit. Our earthly
body is the tabernacle (2nd Corinthians 5:1-4) of the soul and spirit. The body
is a temporary dwelling place of man's soul and spirit. Our soul is
composed of the heart (to feel), the mind (to think), and the will (to
decide). Hebrews 4:12 makes
a distinction between man's soul and spirit, “For
the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Animals have souls, but
not a spirit. Man's spirit returns to God upon death. Ecclesiastes 12:7, “Then
shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God
who gave it.” Animals
have a mind to think, and a heart to feel and a will to decide; but animals do
not have a spirit to discern spiritual matters. This is why humans have an
inherent need for religion (God). It is the spirit of man that makes humans
totally different and unique from animals.
Man's spirit is dead in sin when we are
born; that is, we are born void of God with an inherited sin nature from Adam.
The only exception is the Lord Jesus Christ Who came as God in the flesh (1st
Timothy 3:16). Our spirit is dead in trespasses and sin the Bible says...
“And you hath he
quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience”
(Ephesians 2:1,2)
The unsaved person cannot
understand God, nor His Words, because they are spiritually discerned...
“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” (1st
Corinthians 2:14)
The reason why you need to
be “spiritually” born is because you have never been spiritually born to begin
with. So when the Bible speaks of being “born again,” it actually means
“born for the second time.” You were born physically into this world, but
you were born without the Spirit of God in your soul (spiritually
dead). Yes, God created you, but He gave you a freewill to decide for
yourself where you will spend eternity.
God never forces anyone to
accept Jesus as their Savior. He simply offers a warm invitation to anyone who
wants to have their sins forgiven and go to Heaven. Salvation is a free gift (Romans 5:15; 6:23), paid for by the precious blood of
Jesus Christ (1st Peter 1:18,19; Revelation 1:5). We must accept God's
gift of eternal life or it WILL be forever forfeited when we leave this world
(die).
God commanded Adam and Eve
not to eat of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:17, “But of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Notice, God said they would die “the
day that thou eatest thereof.” Interestingly, Adam and Eve DIDN'T die
physically the day they ate the fruit and disobeyed God's command. Why?
The reason is because they
died SPIRITUALLY instead of physically. When Adam sinned, sin and death entered
the human race. The Bible teaches that from Adam until present time, mankind
has been born spiritually dead, inherited down from Adam's sin. This is why
humanity MUST be born-again. This is only possible through the Holy Spirit of
God, which makes us alive again (quickened the Bible says) by faith in Jesus
Christ as our Savior. We are saved by repenting of our unbelief and believing
the Gospel that Jesus DIED, was BURIED and RAISED up three days later.
To be “spiritually” born
means that God's Holy Spirit “quickens” us (or makes us alive). When a
sinner believes on the Lord Jesus as the Christ—trusting Him alone to forgive
all sins—then God the Father and God
the Son come into one's heart
in the form of God the Holy
Spirit (John 14:23). The
“Holy Spirit” is “God within us.” The old man is the flesh. The old man
cannot be tamed. There is nothing good about the flesh. When we get saved (born
again), the old man doesn't change. Rather, the new man (which is Jesus Christ)
comes to indwell (live) within our body. 1st
Corinthians 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the
Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
I have God living in my
body in the form of the Holy Spirit. I was born-again at age 13. Romans
8:9 tells us that the Spirit
of Christdwells within every believer. I am not God, but I have God's
Spirit living in my body. The Godhead indwells every believer. The Holy
Spirit of God guides me, comforts me, teaches me, rebukes me, chastises me,
convicts me, encourages me, empowers me, loves me, strengthens me, and so much
more. The Holy Spirit uses the Word
of God to do these things.
This is why it is critically important for every believer to live in their
Bible (and make sure you have a reliable Bible—I only use the faithful King James Bible).
A person cannot understand
the Bible without the presence of the Author, and God is the Author. When
you become born-again (or born for the second time), God's Holy Spirit comes
into your body (1st Corinthians 3:16), never to leave (Hebrews 13:5), and you
will begin to understand many new things for the first time in your life...
“Therefore if any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new.” —2nd Corinthians 5:17
It is ONLY through the
Precious Word of God that anyone can be born-again. Surely, no one can be
born into this world again physically. There is no turning back the hands of
time. However, you most certainly can be born again, spiritually, into God's
family through the Spirit of Christ... “But
ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. Now if any man
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9).
SOURCE: Pastor Harry A. Ironside
Pastor Rolando Ramos
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