The New Birth

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Upon your confession of faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you invited his Spirit to come into your heart. In response to your sincere invitation God enacted a spiritual transformation in your life. The Holy Spirit moved into your heart (conscience) to take up His permanent residence. At that moment you were born again. The spiritual reality of rebirth (being born again) is introduced and described by Jesus in John 3: 1-8.

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 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.”

At this new birth the Holy Spirit begins his ministry in our lives. His ministry is to help us become more like Christ. The Spirit’s work is mysteriously performed in the life of the believer. The Spirit counsels, John 14:15; He comforts, John 16:7; He convicts of sin, John 16:8; He guides us into righteousness, John 16:13; He informs us regarding the things of God, John 16:14; He motivates and enables us to do the will of God, Philippians 2:13; He empowers us to witness, Acts 1:8; He shapes the believer’s character, Galatians 5:22; He gives life to the believer, Galatians 5:25.


In spiritual rebirth the Spirit of God comes up along side the human spirit and speaks to us concerning our lifestyles and behavior because we are born into the family of God. The Bible says in Romans 8:14-15, “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God… And by him we cry “Abba Father”, which is a term of affection a child uses to address his parent.

Jesus emphasizes in the lesson on the new birth that without it one can neither see nor enter the kingdom of God. These two statements are extremely important. Without the new birth one cannot see the kingdom of God. We can interpret the word “see” to mean understand. Consequently, one cannot understand the spiritual principles at work in the kingdom of God without the help of the Holy Spirit. The difficulty with understanding the principles of the kingdom of God comes because they are opposite worldly principles. For example, Jesus taught that in the kingdom the least is the greatest, we forgive those who have wronged us; we gain by giving away and give leadership by serving. It takes spiritual power to even will to apply these principles in our lives.

Without the new birth one cannot enter the kingdom. This suggests that in order for an individual to participate in the kingdom in a way that is spiritually productive and pleasing to God that person must have the Spirit of God present. It is the Spirit of God that directs their activities. While it is possible for a person to participate in the activities of the church and in some cases even hold an office in the church, unless that person is born again he or she is spiritually unproductive and unrecognized by God. (See Luke 13: 25-27)

Jesus compared spiritual birth with physical birth. Notice that in order for spiritual birth to take place, physical birth is prerequisite. Some biblical scholars
and teachers interpret “to be born of water” to mean one has to be washed by the word of God. However, in light of the question asked of Nicodemus in verse 4, “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” I interpret “being born of water” to mean a physical birth. Therefore, physical birth is prerequisite to spiritual birth.

Similar to a physically new born, a spiritual new born baby requires certain conditions in order to thrive. The infant needs nourishment from the mother or some specific formula depending on the need. A healthy, loving and nurturing environment is crucial. The infant learns how to relate to and trust others from positive interaction with people in his life. The spiritual new born also needs nourishment, loving interaction with other Christians and an environment conducive to growth and maturity.

God expects for us to mature spiritually and to fulfill the purpose for which he called us into fellowship. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Here are five areas that require your attention if you are going to mature spiritually.

1. You must have a consistent prayer life. I Thessalonians 5:16-18 Prayer is vital to spiritual growth and maturity. It is always recommended that believers make time during the day for prayer. Most say a quick prayer when they awake in the morning, during the morning commute, and periodically all during the day. What is being suggested here is that time is set aside every day specifically to sit in the presence of God for one purpose, at that is to talk to God in prayer. Finding time and becoming consistent with a designated prayer time may be a challenge at first but, the benefits of prayer outweigh the challenges of getting to your prayer time.

2. You must take time to study the Bible. Ephesians 4:11-14 The Bible is referred to as milk and solid food in Hebrews 5:13-14 because it is from the Word that we gain spiritual nutrients. Our faith is strengthened through the study of the word of God. “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17. It is absolutely impossible to grow spiritually without reading and studying the Word of God. As a spiritual new born you might find some of the Bible difficult to understand, and that’s expected. Just as no reasonable person would expect an infant to eat a steak or a chicken drumstick, one should not expect a spiritual new born to understand the Bible at a mature level. You begin with a consistent diet of the milk of the Word.

At Union there are a wide range of Bible study opportunities. There is Saturday church school, Tuesday New Member’s Orientation, Tuesday Adult Bible Study, Wednesday Adult Bible Study, Thursday Youth Bible Study, Sunday Adult Bible Study and Sunday Children’s Bible Study (11:00 a.m. only). We offer the annual L.W. Hughes Christian Education Institute and Vacation Bible School. The church school makes available the Sunday School Quarterly which offers a systematic study of the Bible complete with commentary and lessons.

3. You must be consistent in attending worship. John 4:23 Very often over time the emotional response which brings a person to confess Christ subsides. The person is saved, but sometimes has to be reminded of the necessity of consistency in worship. It is God’s will that his people come together and worship Him. Worship is an important spiritual activity for the individual and the community of faith. Through the worship experience God brings the community together, strengthens the bonds of fellowship and addresses the needs of the community as well as the needs of individuals. God expects believers to worship Him. In John 4:23 the Bible says, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” Worship gives us opportunity to gather in God’s presence, bring tithe and offerings for His work and to give God praise for who He is and for what He has done. In worship we are encouraged by the love of God, enlightened by the word of God, and empowered by the Spirit of God.

There are times when work schedules or some other situation may keep you from worship. However, when your schedule permits, on Sunday mornings make your way to worship.

4. You must fellowship with other believers. Hebrews 10:25 Usually when you confess Christ you find that your activities change. The Holy Spirit leads us to be more involved with spiritual activities. The Holy Spirit has led you to the church family in which he wants you to participate with other believers. To be sure, none of us is perfect but we are all “born again”. Fellowshipping together gives us the opportunity to pray for each other, study together, to learn to forgive and to love one another. No one can grow spiritually mature in isolation, growth can only happen as we fellowship in community.

5. You must put into practice what you have learned. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive your selves. Do what it says.” A person can go to college and earn an undergraduate degree, finish law school with honors, and even pass the bar exam, but that person is not really a lawyer until he/she actually practices law. In the same way a believer can have much knowledge about what the Bible says and may understand the spiritual principles of the kingdom of God, but until you actually put into practice what you have learned you are of little use to the kingdom of God and will never reach the level of maturity that God desires for you.

Review Exercise:

Jesus compared the _____________birth to the _________________birth.


What does it mean to see the kingdom of God?



What does it mean to enter the kingdom of God?


What is the prerequisite of seeing and entering the kingdom of God?


List the five areas of Christian growth:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.


What in your life gives evidence of your spiritual rebirth?


Tell the when and where of your spiritual rebirth. When did it happen for you?