We Must Be Born Again

How would you like to live forever in the Kingdom of God? The Lord Jesus stated clearly that in order to enter the Kingdom of God we must first be “born again”. Here are the verses that deal with this topic, from the gospel (gospel means “good news”) of John in the Bible:

John 3:1-7
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.’

 

To be “born again” means for our minds to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit, to be made alive to God. When God the Father calls us to be his children, he first opens our minds to enable us to put our trust in Jesus Christ. Then, when we entrust ourselves to Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, God gives us his Holy Spirit to live in us. The regeneration of our minds through the power of the Holy Spirit is a spiritual rebirth. Previously we were spiritually dead, but now we are alive. Now we begin a relationship with God that we did not have before. We are drawn to study the Bible, and we begin to understand the Scriptures in a way that we did not before. We begin to pray with heartfelt prayers. We enjoy the company of other Christians. We look forward to the second coming of Jesus Christ and we have the assurance that when he comes we will be resurrected and live with him forever.

Here are some scriptures that touch on the subject of being born again. You might want to look them up and read more about this topic:

John 1:12-13
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.

1 John 4:7
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

1 Peter 1:3
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…

Romans 8:9-11
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

1 John 5:1
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…

1 Pet 1:23
23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

 

Here are scriptures that show that people who are not born again are spiritually dead:

Ephesians 2:1
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

Colossians 2:13-14

13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
Here are two prophecies from the Old Testament that looked forward to the giving of the Holy Spirit to men and women. These prophecies were fulfilled after the death on the cross and subsequent resurrection of Jesus. The prophecies were written about 500 to 900 years before the coming of Jesus that occurred 2000 years ago. The same Holy Spirit is available to those of us now who are called by God and have faith in Jesus as personal Saviour and Lord.

Ezekiel 36: 25-27

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Joel 2:28-29

28 “And afterward,    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy,    your old men will dream dreams,    your young men will see visions.29 Even on my servants, both men and women,    I will pour out my Spirit in those days.