John 3: 107 says "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
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.
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?
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.
6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."
Being born again is a transformation of a person who lives almost entirely in the flesh, in the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride (self-esteem) of life (I John 2: 16), and leans to his own understanding (Proverbs 3: 5-6), to a person who lives to a great extent in the Spirit. Leaning to one's own understanding can mean leaning to man-made understanding as false doctrines. Being born again is a major change in a person, and being born again may happen more than once in one's life, as the Holy Spirit re-creates him or her over time. Being born again does not happen automatically when one joins a church or when one goes to church regularly over the years.
After the falling away (II Thessalonians 2: 3) of the churches from the truth (II Thessalonians 2: 10-12) and the leavening of the church over a period of time (Luke 13: 21), following the doctrines of the churches can prevent one from being born again, and the call then is to "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Revelation 18: 4
Christ in John 3: 1-7 does not tell us exactly what being born again as a change from the flesh to the spiritual means. But the New Testament does elaborate on this spiritual transformation, and tells us in more detail what that change involves.
Having a love of the truth of God's word is one part of being born again. Having a love of the truth means a person, in joy of obeying the Lord, gives up man-made understandings and one's own peculiar understandings and comes to love, know and accept that understanding given by revelation to the Apostles by Christ, and to one by the Holy Spirit.
II Thessalonians 2: 10-12 "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12.That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
In developing a love of the truth of scripture a person has a zeal for the word of God. Revelation 3: 16: "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
Having a zeal for the word of God means one is not lukewarm.
Having a zeal for the word of God is a change of coming to believe the word, and to having a strong faith.
Romans 3: 22: "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:"
Galatians 2: 16; "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
Romans 4: 3 "For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
I Corinthians 1: 21 "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."
Having a strong faith means knowing that all scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit, who does not contradict himself.
Being born again means one moves from some acceptance of legalism, as in Judaism or Roman Catholicism, to being in the Spirit, inspired by the Holy Spirit and directed by the Spirit and not by the letter of the law. Romans 2: 29
"But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." Romans 7: 6
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
6. Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
7. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
8. How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
9. For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory." II Coriinthians 3: 5-9
Paul is saying that the service (diakonia) of the letter of the law equals death, but the service of the Holy Spirit is glory, and being the opposite of death the service of the Holy Spirit is life - in being born again in Christ.
Those who live entirely in the flesh do not understand many of the specific transformations that take place when one is changed by the Holy Spirit. In fact, coming to understand the things of the Spirit of God is another mark of being born again "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (I Corinthians 2: 14)
Under the New Covenant being in Christ, born again, means one has the moral law written in is heart and is led by the Spirit to want to obey it.
Hebrews 8: 10 "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:"
Romans 8: 1-7 "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."
Those who are changed by Christ through the Spirit have some of the mind of Christ in them. Phillipians 2: 5 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:"
Colossians 1: 27 "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"
And Paul in Romans 12: 2 uses the Greek word metamorphoo, or transformed in describing a person transformed in Christ Jesus by his power. Romans 12: 2 says: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Of course, such a person transformed in Christ by the Spirit is a new person, or as Paul phrases it, a new creation. II Corinthians 5: 17: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." The Greek word is ktisis, creation or creature. Such a person begins life anew. He is a different person in Christ than he was before he became a new creation.
Galatians 6: 15 "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature."
Circumcision under the Old Covenant was one of the shadows (Hebrews 10: 1, Colossians 2: 17) as part of old physical Israel Paul calls the Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage (Galatians 4; 25-26).
For those who have been re-created in Christ, there is not the danger that Christ will reject them because of where they have positioned themselves in their doctrines. If one is fully in Christ he wants the doctrines of Christ and has them.
Luke 13: 25-27: "When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity."
So much good scholarship here that it truly amazes me that the most basic implications are missed.
"Being born again is a major change in a person, and being born again may happen more than once in one's life, "
Being born happens once to everyone - being born again also happens once but only for some. It is not about any human effort but rather an entirely sovereign of God through His Spirit.
"For those who have been re-created in Christ, there is not the danger that Christ will reject them because of where they have positioned themselves in their doctrines"
Things like this miss the mark. Why? because they suggest that it's through human effort that one positions themselves in Christ and not God's sovereign predetermining act of election.
I appreciate you brother. Your diligence is praiseworthy. I just don't understand the necessity of denying God His glory in Rebirth, Sanctification and Preservation.
Correction: Being born happens once to everyone - being born again also happens once but only for some. It is not about any human effort but rather an entirely sovereign ACT of God through His Spirit.
Does any one on Christian Dating For Free realize that without being born again, without having a love of the truth of the Word, without becoming a new creation, without having something of the mind of Christ in you, that you are not saved?
Because church theology at this point in time does not teach all of this and especially does not teach that those in false doctrines are in danger of
Luke 13: 25-27, that Christ does not know you where you have positioned yourself, does not mean this is all true.
From our point of view it can appear that we take part in this process of regeneration, of having enough of the Spirit and mind of Christ to be counted worthy of entering the kingdom of God (flesh cannot enter).
"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Philippians 2: 12-13
If you pray to Christ to have a love of the truth, to know the truth, to be more fully born again in Him and to have some of his mind in you, is this necessarily you trying to create your own salvation or could it be God working in you?
Then, the question is what does church theology say being born again is?
Where does scripture say that it must be a one time experience and not a process? And that at that one time experience you all of a sudden take on a love for the truth or zeal for the truth, take into yourself the mind of Christ, have such an indwelling of the Holy Spirit that you thereafter live almost entirely in the Spirit, give up legalism, receive the Spirit to the extent that you then understand the scriptures, including those presented as metaphors, and are able to position yourself in the doctrines of Christ and not in false doctrines?
There are many more scriptures on salvation other than those like Romans 10: 13 or John 3: 16. The institutional church makes salvation appear easier than it is in order to increase its membership.
There is no implication that it ever happens again. Furthermore, "23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God"...speaks of something that doesn't need to be duplicated. Do you have any evidence that someone is born again multiple times?
Once you are birthed, you are a babe. You then go on to become a child, then a young man, then mature. Looks a lot like real life growth doesn't it?
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby 1 Peter 2:2
1 AND I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able 1 Cor. 3
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age (mature) " Hebrews 5:12-14.
Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men 1 Cor. 14:20
I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. 1 John 2:14
Halfback, being born again and again and again and again.. not Biblical. Nor, does nature itself support such a concept. Hopefully, this will help to rectify your thinking. It's not meant to be an all encompassing examination of spiritual maturing, just a simple explanation.
