Very Truly I Tell You No One Can See the Kingdom of God Unless They Are Born Again
You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be built-in over again.' John three:7
Y'all've probably heard the phrase, "You lot must be born over again," during a sermon. But what does this hateful exactly?
When Nicodemus, a prominent Pharisee and member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, came to Jesus with questions about His teaching and the nature of conservancy, Jesus provided the perfect synopsis of the Gospel, which included one of the nearly important metaphors and doctrines of the Christian religion. "Jesus answered and said to him (Nicodemus), ' no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born over again." (John 3:iii, bold emphasis added).
At the time, the idea of existence "born again" confounded the inquisitive Nicodemus, who asked, "how can someone exist born when they are sometime? Surely they cannot enter a second fourth dimension into their mother's womb to be born!" (John three:four). Though educated in matters of the Old Testament and Jewish law, Nicodemus struggled to grasp the deeper meaning of Jesus's words. He was not alone. Many take wrestled with the spiritual truths of Jesus's educational activity and the implications of Christ'south call to discipleship in their lives. So what does it actually hateful to be born once more and what does this look similar for Christians and those chosen to follow Christ?
First, let's read this poetry in context: Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again." "How tin can someone be born when they are old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely they cannot enter a 2d time into their mother's womb to be built-in!" Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives nascency to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my maxim, 'You must be born again.'(John 3:3-vii)
What Did Jesus Mean by 'You lot Must Be Built-in Over again'? (John iii:7)
When Jesus said we must be "built-in again" He was non referring to any kind of literal or physical rebirth. He used the term "reborn" to assert our need equally individuals to be redeemed and spiritually transformed, refashioned, and remade through God's saving grace and His eventual death on the cross. To explain this concept to Nicodemus, Jesus continued His mission on globe to an Onetime Testament story that Nicodemus would have been familiar with.
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness," Jesus said, "even so must the Son of Human being be lifted up; so that whoever believes volition in Him accept eternal life." (John three:14-xv)
Jesus was of course referring to Numbers 21 and the plague of fiery serpents that spread through the camp of Israel as a outcome of their frequent lament and lack of faith. To save those infected, Moses was instructed by God to place a bronze ophidian on a flagpole at the center of the camp. All who looked upon the bronze ophidian would be miraculously healed from the poison coursing through their veins (Numbers 21). The point of comparison Jesus was making to Nicodemus was that, at our core, we too are corrupted by the mortiferous poison of personal sin. Every bit the apostle Paul writes, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23, assuming accent added). Unfortunately, the consequences of this sin are spiritual decease and eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23).
Thankfully, equally God provided a fashion out for the Israelites, He provided the perfect Savior and healer through His Son, Jesus Christ. As the bronze serpent was raised up to salve the children of Israel, so Jesus Christ was raised on the cross to be our saving grace. In his letter of the alphabet to the Romans, Paul writes, "but God demonstrates his ain love for us in this: While nosotros were nonetheless sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
He went on to argue that, "considering of his corking love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were expressionless in transgressions—it is by grace you take been saved." (Ephesians two:4). Jesus made information technology clear: to enter the kingdom of God and experience true transformation, forgiveness, and healing, complete renewal and regeneration are required. The poison of sin is besides neat to overcome by any quick fix or man antidote. We must be born once again.
According to Matthew Henry, "corruption and sin are woven into our nature; nosotros are shapen in iniquity, which makes it necessary that the nature exist inverse. Information technology is not plenty to put on a new coat or a new face up, but we must put on the new man, nosotros must be new creatures."
Jesus argued that we must start over and exist "born again" into a new life "of water and the Spirit." (John three:5)
Several passages of the New Testament repeat this thought.
"He saved united states of america, not on the basis of human action which we accept done in righteousness, just co-ordinate to His mercy past the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon u.s.a. richly through Jesus Christ." (Titus 3:5-6)
"If yous know that He is righteous, you know that anybody also who practices righteousness is born of Him." (1 John two:29)
"Blest exist the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born over again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (ane Peter 1:3)
The Bible makes it clear. You must be born once again, in order to be saved.
How Are Christians Born Over again?
Information technology'due south important to affirm what the Bible says about salvation and that Christians are NOT built-in over again by their own work or merits. Unlike many world religions, salvation is non obtained by annihilation nosotros do only rather what Christ does in us. We are not capable of saving ourselves from our sin, nor are we able to buy our fashion into heaven.
" For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a upshot of works, so that no ane may boast." (Ephesians two:8-9)
True Christians must accept the foundational truth of the Gospel, that is, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross, was buried, and rose again three days later. In doing so, He alone interceded before God on our behalf, paying the ultimate price for our sin once and for all so that we might exist saved (Hebrews 7:25).
"And there is salvation in no i else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind past which we must be saved." (Acts iv:12)
Jesus said it best in His conversation with Nicodemus: "for God so loved the earth, that He gave His only Son, and so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the globe to approximate the world, but and then that the world might exist saved through Him." (John 3:16-17). Human wisdom may claim that there are many paths to God and heaven. Jesus, however, speedily dispelled this lie, saying, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Male parent except through Me." (John 14:half dozen)
Those who wish to be born again must believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and was resurrected. They must acknowledge that they take sinned and are in demand of saving. They must confess their sin and accept the free gift of salvation offered through Jesus Christ. As it is written, "if we confess our sins, He is true-blue and righteous, so that He volition forgive u.s. our sins and cleanse united states from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:ix)
What Is the Significance of 'You lot Must Be Born Again'?
In response to Nicodemus's confusion about the meaning of being built-in once more, Jesus answered, "truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is built-in of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the mankind is flesh, and that which has been built-in of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:5-six)
The 1 who is built-in again exchanges the decadent, sinful life for a new life born from above. That person receives a fresh start in the form of forgiveness, eternal salvation, and spiritual renewal. Without, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. The apostle Paul writes, " if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the quondam things passed away; behold, new things accept come up." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Paul also writes in his letter to the Galatians that, "I accept been crucified with Christ; and information technology is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I alive by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself upward for me." (Galatians 2:20).The one who is built-in again is freed from the shackles of sin and death. Paul laid it out in this way, "knowing this, that our old cocky was crucified with Him (Christ), in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for the one who has died is freed from sin." (Romans 6:6-7)
The apostle John also argued that, " no i who has been born of God practices sin, considering His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God." (1 John 3:nine). Does this mean that we will never sin or brand mistakes? No. Jesus paid the price for our sin. Through His death, our previous life of sin has been crucified with Him (Romans half-dozen:x). Nosotros volition still brand mistakes. Nosotros are not perfect. However, upon being born again, sin and the things of this world no longer hold mastery over us, for Christ overcame sin and the earth, we have been born anew in Him (1 John 5:1-4).
In doing and so, those who are born again are given a new heart, a new heed, and eventually a new torso in eternity, singled-out from the polluted, corrupt things of this world. As information technology is written, " practise non be conformed to this world, only exist transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that yous may prove what the will of God is, that which is adept and adequate and perfect."(Romans 12:2). Nicodemus's inability to understand what Jesus meant by being "born again" proved Jesus's point perfectly.
To the earthly heed, the spiritual wonders of God and eternity oftentimes seem like foolishness. Understanding can only come from a spiritual transformation and re-forging of the mind through Christ (one Corinthians 2:16). According to Matthew Henry, "the natural man must become a spiritual man, earlier he is capable of receiving and agreement them." The one who is born once again is transformed from the within out. Their desires alter, their attitudes and actions are reformed, and their life begins to produce new fruit, built-in of the spirit (Ephesians five:22-26).
More importantly, Jesus paid the price for our sin so that we might become "children of God" and heirs to His kingdom, welcomed, "into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade." (one Peter ane:4). This inheritance, Jesus argued is our eternal treasure and reward (Matthew 6:19-21).
Every bit information technology is written in book of Jeremiah, "y ou will seek me and observe me when you lot seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13). And find Him Nicodemus did. Nicodemus may have come to Jesus in private, but he, like many, would eventually ostend his belief in Jesus publicly. He too would be born over again and made new through Christ's piece of work on the cross, proving that Christ came and died for all and that "whoever will call on the name of the Lord volition exist saved." (Romans ten:13)
Further Reading
What Does "Born Again" Mean? Why Did Jesus Say "You Must Be Born Over again"?
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