*THE NEW BIRTH: BEING BORN OF THE SPIRIT*
*The first fact that we need to examine with regard to the indwelling spirit as explained by “residence” and “permanence” is the new birth.*
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Vs 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Vs 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Vs 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Vs 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Vs 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Jesus’ explanation of the new birth (being born again) was in response to a question posed by Nicodemus.
In verse 3 he stated that a man cannot see the kingdom of God except he is “born again.” This led Nicodemus to ask if a man can be born a second time by his mother (verse 4) pointing to how he must have assumed that being born “again” should have referred to being born “a second time.” However Jesus’ explanation in the next set of verses clarified this thought pattern.
Jesus in verse 5 explained that except a man is born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God, in line with what he had said in verse 3. The word “water” here was used by Jesus to symbolically refer to the work of the spirit at the new birth. This is very similar to how he spoke in John 4:14 and John 7:37-39.
Recall also, that Ezekiel in his prophecy employed the use of water to explain the work of the spirit. Thus for John 3:5, we can understand the word “and” as explanatory (where one term describes the other) rather than as a conjunction (for two distinct things).
Hence John 3:5 can be better understood as saying “except a man be born of water and (THAT IS or WHICH IS) the spirit…”
This is seen further in the proceeding verses in which the term “spirit” was emphasized:
Verse 6: “…that which is born of the spirit is spirit”
Verse 8: “….such is every one that is born of the spirit”
Thus we can understand that being born again as used by Jesus (verse 3) refers to being born of the spirit. This is the NEW BIRTH,
Moreover, the word “again” as applied by Jesus refers to being born from above. This implies that being born again has to do with a different, new kind of birth, and not being born (in/of the flesh) a second time as assumed by Nicodemus. The new birth therefore is to be born of the spirit. The believer therefore, is one who is born of the spirit.
Paul also elucidated this reality in his letter to Titus:
Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
He used the terms: “the washing of regeneration” and “renewing of the Holy Ghost” not to describe two events or concepts but one and the same thing.
The word “washing” here implies a cleansing, while the word “regeneration” implies new beginning; this he also referred to as the renewing of the Holy Ghost. The word “renewing” implies that what is being spoken about had no prior existence.
These are terms or concepts that describe the new birth or being born again which is to be born of the spirit. We can therefore see that every believer has been born again and that the new birth actually implies to be born of the spirit.
The implication of this will be seen in the fact that at the new birth, a man receives the spirit and this is an eternal reality!
*Confession:*
*I am born again, I am born anew, I am born of the spirit. Therefore I have the spirit, which lives in me forever*
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