Our New Birth
By Barry Adams
John 3:1-8
1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” NIV
1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” NIV
In this passage of Scripture, Jesus clearly describes to Nicodemus, one of the foremost religious leaders of Israel, how to see the Kingdom of God. Jesus doesn't mince His words here, but very clearly tells Nicodemus that the only way to perceive into the realm of God's Kingdom is through a new birth process where we become born anew by the Spirit of God.
And it is in this divine transformation process, where we pass from darkness into light (Colossians 1:13), where we are resurrected and given new life in Christ (Romans 6:5), and where the Spirit of God makes His home in us (1 Corinthians 6:19) and bears witness with our spirit that we are indeed children of God (Romans 8:15-17).
As Jesus said to Nicodemus... Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. If we can see the glorious simplicity in these words, it will dismantle much of the confusion that religious, theological, double speak can cause.
Jesus said we need to be born of water and the Spirit to be able to enter into God's Kingdom realities. It is that simple. Religion and overthinking can bring complexities that are simply not necessary. We have all had a physical birth and we all need a spiritual birth as well. This is the wonderful metamorphosis where God gives us a new heart, and a new spirit and He places His own Spirit in us as was prophesied in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
The truth is that God fathered every one of us in the physical realm (Isaiah 64:8) when He fashioned us in His own image (Genesis 1:27). And it was God Himself who knit us together in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13) and brought us forth on the day we were born (Psalm 71:6). While this is biblically clear, for some reason, the idea of God fathering the human race seems to be controversial. It is as if we are afraid to acknowledge God's fathering of humanity in case it negates our need for salvation.
But my question is, if we all didn't originate in the heart of God, where did we come from? In Acts 17:28, the Apostle Paul tells his listeners on Mars Hill that we are all God's offspring through the creation process and as such, we have all been born of water. But as Jesus said, we all need to be born again by the Spirit in order to be fully restored to God's original intent for our lives as well.
1 John 3:9 tells us that God's 'seed' remains in those who are born of God. The Greek word used to describe the Father's seed is 'sperma', which in English is sperm. When we begin to comprehend what it actually means to be born of God, it will change everything! Because of the finished work of Christ, we are actually partakers of His divine nature (1 Peter 1:3-4) and co-heirs with Jesus in His amazing Kingdom (Romans 8:15-17) when we simply dare to believe this to be true (Ephesians 2:8-9).
John 1:12-13
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. NIV
And it is in this divine transformation process, where we pass from darkness into light (Colossians 1:13), where we are resurrected and given new life in Christ (Romans 6:5), and where the Spirit of God makes His home in us (1 Corinthians 6:19) and bears witness with our spirit that we are indeed children of God (Romans 8:15-17).
As Jesus said to Nicodemus... Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. If we can see the glorious simplicity in these words, it will dismantle much of the confusion that religious, theological, double speak can cause.
Jesus said we need to be born of water and the Spirit to be able to enter into God's Kingdom realities. It is that simple. Religion and overthinking can bring complexities that are simply not necessary. We have all had a physical birth and we all need a spiritual birth as well. This is the wonderful metamorphosis where God gives us a new heart, and a new spirit and He places His own Spirit in us as was prophesied in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
The truth is that God fathered every one of us in the physical realm (Isaiah 64:8) when He fashioned us in His own image (Genesis 1:27). And it was God Himself who knit us together in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13) and brought us forth on the day we were born (Psalm 71:6). While this is biblically clear, for some reason, the idea of God fathering the human race seems to be controversial. It is as if we are afraid to acknowledge God's fathering of humanity in case it negates our need for salvation.
But my question is, if we all didn't originate in the heart of God, where did we come from? In Acts 17:28, the Apostle Paul tells his listeners on Mars Hill that we are all God's offspring through the creation process and as such, we have all been born of water. But as Jesus said, we all need to be born again by the Spirit in order to be fully restored to God's original intent for our lives as well.
1 John 3:9 tells us that God's 'seed' remains in those who are born of God. The Greek word used to describe the Father's seed is 'sperma', which in English is sperm. When we begin to comprehend what it actually means to be born of God, it will change everything! Because of the finished work of Christ, we are actually partakers of His divine nature (1 Peter 1:3-4) and co-heirs with Jesus in His amazing Kingdom (Romans 8:15-17) when we simply dare to believe this to be true (Ephesians 2:8-9).
John 1:12-13
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. NIV