You MUST be born again

[Checkpoint]

You MUST be born again".

That is a very emphatic statement, made to Nicodemus, a Jewish teacher.

Here now is the whole passage, from John 3:

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 b 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.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?
11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

An interesting exchange, and an interesting subject.

How do you understand what Jesus taught in these verses?

What do you say being born again, or being born of the Spirit, actually is?

Is this for every follower of Jesus, or only for some believers?

Does it take place in this life, or in the one to come, or both?

Why is it so important?

Could it be similar to, or the result of, repentance and/or saving faith?

How would you explain verse 8?

[JehovahsWitness]

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 b gives birth to spirit.

• What do you say being born again, or being born of the Spirit, actually is? It is the adoption of humans as sons of God to join His spirit family in heaven.

• Is this for every follower of Jesus, or only for some believers?It is only for some believers.

• Does it take place in this life, or in the one to come, or both?It takes place in this life.

• Why is it so important? Because It is part of God's purpose for vindicating His holy name ( see Mat 6:9, 10) .

• Could it be similar to, or the result of, repentance and/or saving faith?Not directly, no. Jesus did not connect being born again to repentance or even directly to faith but rather to Gods will.

• How would you explain verse 8?Unlike a physical birth which is dependent of predictable biological constraints, spiritual adoption is invisible to man and dictated only by God's will and purpose.

JEHOVAHS WITNESS

To learn more please go to other posts related to...

HEAVEN , BORN AGAIN and ... THE 144, 000

[JehovahsWitness]

Re: This Generation Will Not Pass Away:

Out of curiosity, why did you entitle this thread "This Generation Will Not Pass Away"?



JW

[PinSeeker]

How do you understand what Jesus taught in these verses?

Well, it can't be any clearer... One must be born again for that person to enter God's Kingdom. And unless that person is born again (of God, by the Holy Spirit) he/she remains dead in his/her sin. Verse 3 is very clear: regeneration is absolutely necessary if a person is to enter the kingdom of heaven. This is because no one is born a child of God, which is the case with all men and women (except Jesus, of course, because He is God incarnate) because of Adam's sin in Eden. So, a change of heart effected by the Holy Spirit must first take place.

As sort of a side comment, the label “born-again Christian” is redundant, for it is impossible to be a Christian unless one is born again.

What do you say being born again, or being born of the Spirit, actually is?

I'm being a little bit repetitive here, but again, to be born again of the Spirit is a changing of the heart effected by the Holy Spirit, and the result is spiritual life. Unless this happens, the person remains spiritually dead. Now, the actual experience of the new birth can be difficult to put into words. There is a great deal of mystery concerning the working of the Spirit in our lives. We know that He works, but we cannot always explain how He works. In fact, the actual process of regeneration takes place within and is not visible to our physical eyes.

Is this for every follower of Jesus, or only for some believers?

If any person is truly heart-regenerate of the Spirit, he/she is born again of the Spirit. So it's true for every believer in Christ -- true belief in the heart is a result of having been born again of the Spirit, not the other way around.

Does it take place in this life, or in the one to come, or both?

In this life, but only for those whom God has chosen... His Elect. As Paul says:

• "...God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ..."

And as Peter says:

• "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..."

Why is it so important?

Because otherwise, one cannot see -- enter into -- God's Kingdom, as Jesus clearly says in verse 3. And if that's the case then that person will be sent away, which, perhaps, doesn't sound unappealing, but...

Could it be similar to, or the result of, repentance and/or saving faith?

Yes, in a way, but of the three (being born again, saving faith, and repentance) -- well, I'll say it this way: The first two (spiritual birth, the gift of faith) are works of God (John 3, Ephesians 2), while the third (repentance) is a work of the believer which inevitably results from the first two. Maybe an even better way of saying it is that the first two are direct works of God, while the third is an indirect work of God. After all, God's kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4), and it is God Who works in us by His Spirit so that we will and work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). It's all a great mystery, not in the sense that it can't be understood conceptually but that God would do things the way He does, having such great mercy and compassion on us, even though we deserve quite the opposite... and also as I said above, in that, again, we know that God does these things, but we can't explain how He does them. At any rate, this is truly amazing grace,

How would you explain verse 8?

As I said above, the actual experience of the new birth can be -- really is -- difficult at best to put into words. There is a great deal of mystery concerning the working of the Spirit in our lives. We know that He works, but we cannot always explain how He works. In fact, the actual process of regeneration takes place within and is not visible to our physical eyes. So, for those of us who are born again, we know it happened and perhaps when we became aware that it had happened. But knowing how it happened or why... not so much.

[PinSeeker]

Out of curiosity, who did you entitle this thread "This Generation Will Not Pass Away"? JW

You mean, why did he, I guess... I'm just speculating, but it seems to me that with that title, Checkpoint is preemptively answering at least part of the question, particularly, "Does it take place in this life, or in the one to come, or both?"

[JehovahsWitness]

Out of curiosity, who did you entitle this thread "This Generation Will Not Pass Away"? JW

You mean, why did he, I guess... I'm just speculating, but it seems to me that with that title, Checkpoint is preemptively answering at least part of the question, particularly, "Does it take place in this life, or in the one to come, or both?"

Humm.. . can't say I understand.


Yes typo. Fixed, thanks

[nobspeople]

[Replying to Checkpoint in post #1]

You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.

A side note: This is not true. You can tell where the wind comes from and where it's going, without even speaking scientifically.
While I understand metaphor and all, but come on.

[theophile]

[Replying to Checkpoint in post #1]

Jesus is making a point here that is cosmic in scope. The kingdom of God is the end. The beginning, which is to say the birth / rebirth, is what we see in Genesis 1. And it is precisely Genesis 1 that Jesus is riffing on here.

Note verse 5:

"Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit."

Now compare this to Genesis 1, verse 2 where "the spirit of God was hovering over the waters."

This is the moment of creation. The moment of birth / rebirth that Jesus is calling us all back to.

Further note that the spirit of God = ruach Elohim = wind / breath of God. And truly, per verse 8, we do not know from where it comes or where it is going...

But more to the point, what Jesus is telling us is that we need to be reborn in the image of Genesis 1. To the image of God in Genesis 1.

We need to overcome our fallen nature / life of the flesh (which is focused on pursuing the desires of the flesh) and restore our original calling. That is the only way any of us will see the kingdom of God.

[Checkpoint]

[Replying to theophile in post #8]

We need to overcome our fallen nature / life of the flesh (which is focused on pursuing the desires of the flesh) and restore our original calling. That is the only way any of us will see the kingdom of God.

Very good point.

We need to, yes, overcome our fallen nature. So, how can we do that?

What do you think Jesus meant by "see the kingdom of God"?

[theophile]

We need to, yes, overcome our fallen nature. So, how can we do that?

[Replying to Checkpoint in post #9]

We should do what God does in Genesis 1. (And not what Adam and Eve do in Genesis 3, and most of humankind after them.)

That is, we should work to create the conditions for life in this world. Daylight. Dry land. Vegetation... So that life can flourish.

This is contrary to Adam and Eve, who create barriers to life (or between life) and pursue only what is in their own self interest. E.g., hiding from God, hiding from each other, pointing fingers at each other and the serpent, creating enmities, walls and rifts.

What do you think Jesus meant by "see the kingdom of God"?

It is a world where life of every kind can be itself to the fullest, and flourish. Again, per the vision set forth in Genesis 1. Like the lilies of the field.