Exploring New Life in Christ: The Born Again Experience

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? John 3:3-10 NKJV.

Understanding?

There are only two kinds of misunderstanding –

• Those who have not reached a state of knowledge and experience needed to grasp the truth.
• Those unwilling to understand. Their failure stems from their ultimate refusal to see. They deliberately shut their minds to the truth.

Nicodemus misunderstands. Even though he is the teacher of Israel, he has not yet attained a state of knowledge that enables him to grasp the truth. He had yet to accept that here was not just a man who was a teacher from God. Here was the Son of God telling him the will and way of God.

Jesus wants Nicodemus to understand. He says, “Most assuredly.” Most assuredly means definitely, without a doubt, or with the utmost confidence.

You must be born again!

The Truth:

In the world, there are only two kinds of people: once-born or twice-born. Most assuredly, with utmost confidence, we glean the truth from Nicodemus’ conversation with Jesus:

Believers:

• Believe in the Son
• Have eternal life
• Not condemned
• Love light
• Live in the truth

Unbelievers:

• Do not believe in the Son
• Shall perish
• Condemned already
• Love darkness, hate the light
• Do what is not right in God’s eyes

To be born again is imperative.

We must be born again. We’re born once, made in God’s image, and yet born exiles, utterly alienated from the kingdom of God. We’re cursed to live separated from Him, dripping with death. Who will rescue us from ourselves? How can we live?

We must be born again

Jesus Gets to the Point

Without your history as a believer and the many sermons you’ve heard on this subject, how would you have responded to this new revelation?

The Spirit would remind John of this critical conversation and would write this gospel.

Newness of life can only come from the Holy. Once we understand this concept, we must then believe with our whole hearts that we can be reborn. Born into the kingdom of God, born into eternity, and born into a lifetime relationship with the Holy: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Born again! This is the first step in living the “with-God” life.

Rebirth: A transformation that enables us to enter another world and adapt to its conditions. To belong to the heavenly kingdom, we must be born again.

Rebirth is only possible with the Spirit of God – the gift indwelling every believer.

The Spirit – The New Covenant

The Spirit comes to reconcile, redeem, and restore us to a loving relationship with God. The reborn soul is truly a child of God. The Spirit brings newness of life and makes us vessels of honor—a vessel for His dwelling place. The Spirit dwells in the reborn soul. We’re given a new heart – a heart that beats in harmony with God’s heart.

Water is a perfect example of how the Spirit works in regeneration. Water refreshes and cleanses as it washes away the filthy stench of sin. Jesus, through His death and resurrection, opened the pathway to eternal life in the New Covenant.

Nicodemus was familiar with the Word and even taught it. What Jesus was telling him should have reminded him of the prophet Ezekiel’s words:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols. I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put in you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules. Ez 36:25-27 ESV.

In God’s enduring love, God made a way where there was no other way. Christ came to give us life and life more abundantly. Because we are children of God, we are holy, and Immanuel allows us to walk with God presently. The Holy Spirit comes to sustain, teach, guide, correct, and help us.

We are born again.

I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put My Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by My commands. Ez 36:25-27 The Message.

Newness of Life

The rebirth is as radical as dying with Christ and rising again to new life! We are created anew. The new self walks with God until we walk with Him into eternity. It is impossible to live the with-God life unless we’re born anew. A radical life has a radical love, and we are now made to know God and to know Him intimately.

This is nothing new to you, a believer. But did you know that there were Gentiles who converted to Judaism? They became Jewish by being accepted through prayer, sacrifice, and baptism. But the Jewish community did not fully embrace them. The temple reserved a court just for them, and the Jews regarded them as being “reborn.”

The idea of rebirth was not foreign to the Jews.

Nicodemus needed to understand. There’s no getting into the kingdom of God unless you’re born again. This includes every Jew and every Gentile. The hand of God not only changes our lives, but it also secures our destiny.

No one can snatch you out of God’s hand. We’re destined for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Kingdom of Heaven

The Kingdom of Heaven is a society or community where people perfectly do God’s will on earth as it is in heaven.

To be in the Kingdom of God, here on earth, requires that we lead a life willingly submitted to God – everything under the will of God. Without a king, there is no kingdom. We walk with the King and trust His will.

To rebel against God’s will is traitorous.

Being a child of God—a member of the kingdom of God—is a tremendous privilege. To believe is to become His child. The nature of a child of God is obedience. The essence of this relationship is love. We cannot claim to love Father God and yet grieve His heart.

The once-born are hell-bent – the twice-born are heaven-bent.

Being born again is to be lifted above being merely human, transient beings, to enter the joy and peace of God. And this lasts for eternity. Now, our new life is a life of devotion, reverence, and obedience. We freely fellowship with Him, walk in the Spirit, and live the “with-God” life.

Need an Example?

In Texas, there was a murderer. Her name was Tammy Fay Tucker. She was born again in prison. She lived in death row, but her light shone so clearly that it became “life row”. The murderer was reborn.

Tammy was a walking, breathing witness to the power of God. They loved her so much that the authorities and the community tried to change her sentence to life in prison, but nothing could stop them from executing her.

On the day of her death, she died humming the song, “It is Well With My Soul.”

Tammy, the child of the Living God, entered the kingdom of God.

Conclusion

When confronted with this truth, there are only two options: believe or not believe. I suppose you could say that you don’t understand. But my prayer is that by now you’ve reached the state of knowledge and experience to grasp the truth. Come and join the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. He’s waiting to welcome you in.

Most assuredly, we must be born again. The witness of God is in the souls of men and women. Being born again is a mystery—a beautiful one.

It’s an encounter with the living God.

May the Lord bless and keep you…