John 3 - What Does It Mean to Be Born Again?
John 3 - NIV
Key Verses - John 3:3-8
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[c] 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.”
Commentary
This is one of my favorite stories of the bible, although I always say that. We so often hear someone say, "He or she is a born-again Christian"! I almost want to say, "Is there any other type of Christian?" I was part of a large megachurch for four years and came to know Christ through groups like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and Youth for Christ (YFC). So, I get the idea behind being the concept of being a "born again Christian".
But if we look at Jesus' teaching on what it means to be born again, I think we might have a deeper understanding of what it means to be a, "Born-again Christian". Do I need to say I'm a born-again Christian to be a real Christian?
So what does Jesus says about what it means to be born again? Most importantly the Greek word used for "born again" can also be translated "born from above". One might say we have a physical birth and a spiritual birth. If someone is born from above you could say they are a "child of God". You might say we were born to our earthly parents but also born of God.
When we baptize someone in the Lutheran church, part of the service is we anoint the person with oil on their forehead in the shape of the crross and say to them, "(Name), you are a child of God and marked with the cross of Christ forever." When we are baptized, we are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But we could also say we are baptized into the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When we are bapized we come part of the family of God.
Often in the evangelical world one becomes "born again" when they "accept Jesus as their "personal Savior". Of course, there is nothing wrong with this understanding, but I am not sure that is what Jesus is teaching here. However John does say in John 1:12-13
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
So there is a sense in which our believing in Jesus is part of being born of God. But the initial action is God coming down to us in the person of Jesus to save us. Importantly it is the Holy Spirit who is the agent of being born again. Jesus describes a person who is led by the Spirit, as being "born of the Spirit".
"He emphasizes that this change is a supernatural act initiated by God, rather than a human effort or physical process." - John Piper
We didn’t make our first birth. We don’t make our second birth. We don’t raise ourselves from the dead. We don’t create new life in our souls. It is a gift. It’s a miracle of God. We don’t initiate it. We don’t control it. It’s the sovereign mysterious work of the Holy Spirit of God. - John Piper\
Application
1. What do you think it means to be born again? Does one have to be a certain age? Is there something they must do or say to prove they are born again? Can young children be born again? Is someone falls away from the faith, does that they were never born again in the first place?
2. If being born again is God's work through the Holy Spirit, what role do we play in it? If faith is a gift from God in what ways do we receive it.
3. Read Ephesians 1:3-10 and observe the language Paul uses to describe how God has predestined, chosen, and adopted us to be his sons and daughers.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Is the emphasis here on what we do or what God does? Paul says the same thing in a slightly different in the next chapter!
"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith not by works, lest anyone should boast!" Ephesians 2:8
Prayer
Jesus we thank you for choosing us to be your sons and daughters before the beginning of time. When we heard the gospel, Your Spirit enabled us to believe and accept Your Son, Jesus. As those who have been chosen and set apart by You, may our lives relfect this new idenity in all we say and do. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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