You Must Be Born Again!

     (Most of the following information comes from the Bible, and the book
     The World Tilting Gospel by Dan Phillips, plus I have some comments
     of my own).



     All of Jesus' words recorded in the Bible are important;  and when he
     uses the word "must," such as in John 3:7 (Do not marvel that I said to
     you, 'You must be born again"), we need to pay special attention to what
     He is saying.
    


     The beginning of the third chapter of John describes a meeting Jesus
     had with a man who approached Him at night to find out more about
     who He really was.  The man had heard of the miracles Jesus had per-
     formed, and he believed that Jesus' power had to come from God.


     The man was Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin,
     "the rulers of the Jews."  Nicodemus showed respect to Jesus by calling
     Him "Rabbi," and said, "...we know that you are a teacher from God,
     for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him" (John 3:2).

     Appearing to respond to a question Nicodemus hadn't asked, "Jesus
     answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he
     cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

     Jesus' abrupt response to his statement probably startled
     Nicodemus, who replied with what seemed to be a joke, "How can a
     man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his
     mother's womb and be born again" (John 3:4).


     To this, Jesus added, "Truly, truly, 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 that which 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 its sound, but you do not know
     where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of
     the Spirit" (John 3:5-8).


     To really understand what is going on here, we must go back to the end of
     John, chapter two.

     "Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed (or 
     trusted) in His name when they saw the signs He was doing.  But Jesus on his
     part did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people and needed
     no one to bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man." 

     "Now there was a man from the Pharisees, Nicodemus by name, a ruler of the
     Jews.  This one came to him at nighttime, and said to him, 'Rabbi, we know
     that it is from God that you came, a teacher.  For no one is able to do these 
     signs which you are doing, unless God be with him"  (John 2:23-3:2).


     So, Jesus knew what was in man (such as Nicodemus) and many had faith
     in Jesus because of the signs (miracles) they had seen, but they did NOT have
     saving faith.  Nicodemus was one of those men who had professed faith in
     Jesus because of the signs he had seen and heard about, but did not yet have
     a saving faith. 


     Simply recognizing who Jesus is, is not enough.  Even demons know who He is
     (Matthew 8:28-29).
     Jesus was looking for genuine conversion rather than enthusiasm for His
     miracles.  He knew they needed a trust that was more than just an intellectual
     one, but a faith that called for a whole-hearted commitment of one's life to Him.


     Going back to verse 6, when Jesus speaks of water and flesh and spirit - what is
     He talking about?
     Jesus is referring to a prophetic passage that Nicodemus, being a religious leader,
     should have known well.

     "I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring
     you into your own land.  I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean
     from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you."

     "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within 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" (Ezekiel 36:24-27).

     All the elements from Jesus' words to Nicodemus are here in this 600 year old
     prophecy:  water, Spirit, and new heart.  Here, water is a metaphor for spiritual
     cleansing from spiritual defilement.  It represents removal of guilt and impurity.

    The "new heart" and "new spirit" is a prediction of regeneration, of being born
    anew and from above.

    All of this is a supernatural, sovereign act of God - a miracle.  It is something
    that we with our human minds can't fully understand, but it is totally of God.
    We cannot earn it or work for it.  No effort, ritual, church, or work of any kind
    is enough.  All of it comes from God!


     *************************************************************************

    
     In part two, more on being born again, and we'll see how God is sovereign over
     everything, even salvation.