Born again – Part 1

•Synonyms: “New birth;” “Spiritual rebirth;” “Regeneration;” “Born of God;” “In-Christ”

• Definition: New Birth (NB) is the re-creating of spiritual life in the human heart by God the Holy Spirit (Eph4: 23, 24)

• Key Verses
“Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (Jn 3:3)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2Cor 5:17)

Christians are brand-new people on the inside. The Holy Spirit gives them new life, and they are not the same anymore. We are not reformed, rehabilitated, or reeducated—we are re-created (new creations), living in vital union with Christ (Colossians 2:6,7). At conversion, we are not merely turning over a new leaf; we are beginning a new life under a new Master.

“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Tit 3:4-6)

“washing of regeneration.” This refers to the new birth of believers, symbolically pictured in Christian baptism. “Renewing of the Holy Spirit” points to the constant imparting of His life to believers, as they surrender their lives to God through Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 8:11; 12:2)

“Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Rom8: 9)
Have you ever worried about whether or not you really are a Christian? A Christian is anyone who has the Spirit of God living in him or her. If you have sincerely trusted Christ for your salvation and acknowledged Him as Lord, then the Holy Spirit has come into your life, and you are a Christian. You won’t know that the Holy Spirit has come, if you are waiting for a certain feeling. You will know He has come because Jesus promised He would. When the Holy Spirit is working within you, you will believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and that eternal life comes through Him (1John 5:5); you will begin to act as Christ directs (Romans8: 5; Galatians5: 22,23); you will find help in your daily problems and in your praying (Romans8: 26, 27); you will be empowered to serve God and do His Will (Acts1: 8; Romans 12:6ff); and you will become part of God’s plan to build up His church (Ephesians4: 12,13).

• How does this New Birth occur?
It occurs when Jesus Christ breathes on us, “And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (Jn 20:22)

There is life in the breath of God. Man was created but did not come alive until God breathed into him the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). God’s first breath made man different from all other forms of creation. Now, through the breath of Jesus, God imparted eternal, spiritual life. With this inbreathing came the power to do God’s will on earth.

• Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ and is imparted to us through the breath of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit is in reality Christ not clothed in human body. Jesus said, “where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Mt 18:28). Jesus looked ahead to a new day, when He would be present with His followers not in body, but through His Holy Spirit.

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