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Mustard Seed July/August 2003
Born Again! What Does It Really Mean?
Born Again! What Does It Really Mean?
Mustard Seed - July/August 2003
In John 3, Jesus talks about
being Born Again. Let's turn there. In verse 3 Jesus plainly told Nicodemus, a
ruler of the Jews "Verily, verily, I say unto you. Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God." Notice what Nicodemus said in verse 4 . .
"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 replied in verse 5 "Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born of
water
[we'll talk the significance of water a little later] and the Spirit he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh
is flesh
and that which is born of the Spirit is SPIRIT. Then in verse 8 He said, "The
wind blows where it lists and you hear the sound but can not tell whence it
comes and whither it goes: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."
There you have it in Jesus own words. Anyone who is born again is born of spirit and is invisible like the wind!
Yet evangelical Protestantism believes that your conversion experience is the same as born again. But is it? Or is it a begettal--or a conception. The Greek word for born and beget are the same, but it is the context that determines which it is. We read in Romans 8:16 The Spirit (Holy Spirit) itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together!
Glorified Together! Remember that!
So what occurs at conversion and subsequent baptism is a picture of what happens to us and what we will become. It is even pictured in our physical conception and birth! The sperm unites with an egg in our mother's womb and produces a brand new human being. The newborn is pushed out of the womb by water! So the same thing happens when we receive the Holy Spirit. Our baptism pictures our death in a watery grave and our resurrection as spirit beings in the Family of God as we come up out of the water. Instead of being born again in this life, we are but embryos. We are born again when we are raised from the dead by Christ at his return.
No, being born again is not some sort of esoteric mystic feeling or meaningless expression. Jesus was actually describing to Nicodemus what his full potential was! How most Christians view born again can lead to false doctrine, lawlessness, and a lot of confusion. Consider 1John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God.
Protestants take this to mean that in some esoteric ethereal sense even though we obviously sin, we don't really. Well, taking it this way thoroughly contradicts what John said earlier in 1John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Verse 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we (Christians) have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. Yes, even with all of Jesus' and the apostles exhortation we still sin if we are still mortal, albeit not habitually. Yet when we are really born again we will not sin. Not ever!
But the true born again doctrine tells us something even MORE profound-- completely lost with the traditional born again doctrine. Jesus Christ, who had ALWAYS existed with the Father did a miraculous unique thing in all of recorded history. He volunteered to allow the Father to beget him into a woman's womb and be born as a human being in order to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He lived as a human being, was tempted in ALL points as we are, and he died a hideous torturous death. It was THEN at His resurrection and ascension that he became the "firstborn of many brethren (Rom 8:29)
CHRIST was the first one to be born again. He lowered himself to become a human being (Phil 2:6), died, and was raised from the dead (born again), so all who believe on and obey God the Father and Jesus Christ will have the opportunity to be born again into the very family of GOD!!!!
Can you grasp the full significance of this!! Our God is even more awesome than most people have been led to believe!
- Mary Wendt
Updated Audio Version