Weekly Devotional 3-9-15 Born Again By The Will of God
Jesus said to Nicodemus and indirectly to us, “3unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God….5 unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:3; 5-8 NKJV).
The term born again means to be born above. This is substantiated by Jesus’ explanation that “8The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” The Spirit is the Holy Spirit of God and Jesus said that for a person to see or enter the kingdom of God he or she must be born of the Spirit.
What then does it mean to be born of the Spirit? John gives the answer earlier in the Gospel. “6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:6-13 NKJV). John writes that a person is born from above by the will of God. Such a birth is not based on heredity, self-will, or the will of another, but by the will of God.”
The next question logically is how does the Spirit bring this about? It is by His efficacious call; And, His convicting and convincing work (Romans 29-30; Ephesians 2:1-5; and John 16:7-11). As a person senses this working of God in his or her life the Holy Spirit causes a person to turn to Jesus for their new birth, their salvation. He said; “14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:14-21 NKJV).
Being born again, being born from above therefore is the work of God. He calls a person to Himself, convicts him or her of their sin, and convinces a person that to be born again, to be saved, he or must turn to Jesus.
Because of a great desire for certain friends to come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, I add this paragraph. There are those who hold that being born again can occur in one’s infancy, as a baby. This, they say, is what happens when a baby is baptized; however, the above cited passages refute such a claim. A person must come to God by faith, trusting in His provision if he or she is to be saved, born again. This cannot occur in the heart and mind of an infant, it is beyond his or her capability.
God Bless
stevelampman@comcast.net stevelampman.com
Transforming Power; The work of God on Behalf of Man
www.gbchurch.us www.foundationscounseling.org