Be Born Again

"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."
John 3:7

My first response when I found out which command had been assigned to me was a complaining attitude. "Why do I have to do the command, Born Again? Why can't I do an easier one like Repent or Go the Extra Mile?" But when I got into studying this command and scratching the surface of what it means to be born again and how I can apply it, I found many rewards of studying it and reasons for getting a deep understanding for the amazing and glorious transformation that occurs when we are born again through Christ's redemptive work on the cross. I have only begun to be able to study this command with the weeks notice that I received and now I'm looking forward to continuing to meditate on this command. I have written here the insights and applications that the Lord gave me these last few days.

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. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

John 3:1-8

A couple insights I wanted to share with you right away was that Jesus said that we MUST be born again to see [know, be acquainted with, and experience] the kingdom. Also, I found that the Holy Spirit of God and water are often spoken of together in the Bible. See Ezekiel 36:25-26

One of the questions that I asked is, "What does it mean to be born again?" Being born again is a fundamental of the message of the Gospel and needs to be understood fully and clearly so that we are not confused and so we can clearly explain it to someone else. Something that I noticed is that Jesus seemed to expect Nicodemus to already understand what it means to be born again so it must be pretty simple.

Jesus pointed out that which is born of the flesh is flesh and what is born of the spirit is spirit. He isn't saying that our bodies need to be reborn, but our spirits. We are born with a dead spirit because we are born of Adam. This dead spirit separates us from God because he is Righteous and Holy. Our spirit has to be born anew through belief in Christ Jesus who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Before we were part of the world, but now we are translated into God's kingdom. We are then no longer part of the world, but we are born into God's family.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 1:12-13

Most importantly being born again is a work which God does not something we do. All we have to do is...

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Rom 10 :9-10

So why is this significant to us? This is another question I asked. How are we to obey this command if we are already born again? Isn't it a one time happening? Isn't our being born again something God does when we believe in Jesus Christ? So what's our responsibility?

1. Examine Ourselves

We need to examine ourselves and make sure that we are born again. If we aren't, then we need to repent and then become born again. We need to ask ourselves if our lives are showing evidence that we belong to the family of God.

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?

2 Corinthians 13:5

2. Appreciate His Work

If we have been born anew then we need to appreciate the wonderful and glorious work that Jesus has done and realize that we are part of the family of God. This is amazing.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:3

3. Bring Others Into God's Family

When we appreciate the magnitude of Christ's redemption, then we want others to be able to appreciate it too. Before I started studying this command if someone who was not a Christian was to ask me what being born again meant I would have stumbled over the answer. We need to be able to explain clearly to others what it means to be born again so they too can experience the kingdom of God.

4. Walk it out

There is an amazing metamorphosis that occurs when our spirits are born of God. There is an old man which is thrown away and a new man which is put on. We need to grow in the light of this transformation and continue to conform to the image of Christ. This is only done through God's enabling power that this is possible.



That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Eph 4:22-24

My encouragement to you is to take the time to study this command on your own.

You'll find the rewards are rich!