Just What is Being Born in the Spirit?

Tom:

We’re reading through the gospel of John…going through it verse by verse…and we are especially interested in what the apostle has to say about the gospel and the salvation we have in Christ.Our hope in this, both for ourselves and our listeners, is to understand the gospel better…that those who are unfamiliar with it may know what Jesus taught is necessary to believe for eternal life…and that those who have received the gospel may be better equipped to share it with others.Dave last week we got through John 3, I think we finished verse 5 so we’ll pick right up here with verse 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.We ought to explain that for the people.“That which is born of flesh…”

Dave:

Yes, it’s very basic Tom and it’s very important.It kind of relates to what we were talking about with sacramentalism.Because sacraments being physical, cannot give you any spiritual benefit.Man is not just a body, but he is soul and spirit.Now some people try to say that man’s only two parts, his soul and body, or his spirit and his body.Paul in 1Thessalonians 5 said I pray God that your spirit, soul and body will be preserved blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.So we are spirit, soul and body.

Tom:

Dave let’s go back to sacraments.Most people out there, if they really understand what their church—the churches that are very much into sacraments—what they say about those is that the grace is inherent within the sacrament itself.The ritual itself is efficacious.That’s flesh!As you say, it can’t be.

Dave:

The Bible denies that.For example in John 6 where Jesus even talks about if except you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in you and people say oh this wafer will turn into the body and blood of Jesus.Jesus goes on and says, “the flesh profits nothing, the words that I speak unto you are spirit and they are life.”Peter tells us we are born-again by the Word, the Word of God.So Jesus is trying to explain something to Nicodemus and basically what He is saying is “that which is born of the flesh is flesh,” okay?When you were born into this world, you became the child of your earthly parents.But if you are going to be in the family of God you have to be born there.You can’t make yourself be in the family of God.Well I thought we are all the children of God!The Unity School of Christianity for example, if you go to a Unity church, they will have everybody repeat “I am a child of God, I am a child of God.”Wait a minute!Paul says we become the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.Christ is explaining to Nicodemus when Adam and Eve sinned they died spiritually.We are then dead in trespasses and sins.Jesus in fact said to the Jews, but he is talking to us all of us natural people, “you are of your father the devil.”Something happened when Eve believed the devil and she rebelled against God.The Spirit of God left, where He had been indwelling her spirit.That brought death to her body.We don’t even know, doctors can’t tell you why do we die?We start to die as soon as we’re born, but when you look at it, it shouldn’t happen.So there was a spiritual death that then affected our bodies.We became the children of our father the devil.It’s a horrible thought.Now if I’m going to be a child of God I have to born of the Spirit of God into the family of God and I become alive.Your mortal bodies in the resurrection will be quickened because you’ve been made alive in your spirit Paul tells us.The Spirit of Him who raised up Christ from the dead has now come to live in you again.So this is what he’s talking about, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh but that which is born of the spirit is Spirit.So we become alive spiritually.Now Jesus is going to explain to Nicodemus how this happens.How does it happen?Is it something that I can do?Is it some operation that I can sign up for?No, it’s going to come about by faith and only because Christ paid the penalty for our sins that took us out of the family of God.

Tom:

Dave I just want to point this out: Jesus doesn’t say it might be a good idea or it might be helpful if you were.He says you MUST be born-again.And this born-again idea has been trivialized, over-used and over worked without any of the real understanding, without really the content and without the emphasis that Jesus makes about it.

Dave:

Yes, they talk about born-again Christianity and sometimes rather disparagingly because of people who are supposedly born-again and the way they act and so forth.And they talk about it as though there are different kinds of Christianity.Well there’s this kind of Christianity, but then there’s that born-again kind.Wait a minute; if you are a Christian then you must follow what Jesus said.He’s the Christ, he’s the originator. You can’t be a Christian if you disagree with Jesus Christ.Jesus Christ said you must be born again.So born-again Christianity is the only kind of Christianity.You can call yourself a Christian—you better check it out with Jesus because when you die and you stand before Him, you’ll find out you weren’t a Christian at all.So it’s not your word or my word Tom.It’s the Word of God and again I wish every program we could prove that the Bible is God’s Word; we can prove that Jesus Christ is the true and only Savior of sinners.We don’t have time to do that every program, but here’s the authority:This is the Christ after whom Christianity is named and He says “Ye must be born again.”Nicodemus I’m giving you the straight stuff.You will not even see much less enter in to the kingdom of God unless you are born again.Now Tom, there are preachers out there, there are pastors—clergymen, reverends they call themselves, who head churches, even entire denominations who don’t believe this.Don’t follow them; follow Jesus Christ.Now He’s going to explain it to Nicodemus how you will be in the kingdom of God.

Tom:

Dave this next verse, verse 8, Jesus is using a metaphor here, but I’d like to understand it better.But let me read it first.

Dave:

Well it’s because Nicodemus asked Him a question.How can this be?And now Jesus is going to try and explain it.

Tom:

“The wind bloweth where it liseth…

Dave:

List-eth

Tom:

I’m sorry…

Dave:

It’s like a ship listing you know?

Tom:

Okay, “…and thou hearest the sound thereof but can’t not tell whence it cometh and wither it goeth.So is everyone that is born of the Spirit.”Why is that metaphor or analogy so important?

Dave:

Well it’s rather interesting because as competent as our meteorologists are today they still can’t tell you where the wind comes from and where it is going.So Jesus was saying something we still haven’t caught up to.It’s the wind—how do know?And this is what He is saying of those who are born of the Spirit.You can’t put this in a test tube.You can’t work this out.This is something that God does.I don’t know what a spirit is.Jesus said to the woman at the well God is a Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth and if you’re not born of the Spirit of God into the family of God you can not worship God.That can only be done by those who are born of the Spirit of God.Jesus is saying Look I couldn’t explain to you what a spirit is.Well look today we don’t know what gravity is, we don’t know what an electron is; we don’t know what anything is.We don’t know what energy is…

Tom:

It’s not that Jesus didn’t know.

Dave:

Right, but how’s He going to explain it to our peanut brains?And in fact, it’s interesting, just jumping ahead verse 12 he says, “If I had told you of earthly things and you believe not, how will you believe if I tell you of heavenly things?Tom, this is so fantastic.Jesus is saying Look I cannot even explain to you the atom.I cannot even explain to you energy.Well because God created it out of nothing.Now Nicodemus if I cannot explain the physical things you can see, the wind and so forth because you don’t have the capacity to understand it, don’t think you can just put everything in a test tube.Nicodemus, then how can I tell you of heavenly things?How can I explain to you what a spirit is?But believe me Nicodemus I’m telling you that you must be born again.And then Jesus....

Tom:

Now hold on a second Dave, let me throw this out first, because we have been encouraging people, and I want to make a distinction here.We want them to understand the gospel.God said “come let us reason together,” and now how does that match up with what you’re saying about Jesus and Nicodemus.

Dave:

It’s very simple.I can understand that I must be born-again without knowing what being born-again means.I can understand that I must be born of the spirit of God into the family of God that makes sense.I can understand that Christ paid the penalty for my sins.I don’t know what that penalty entailed to satisfy His justice.So even though I don’t know what a spirit is, I don’t know what being born of the spirit is, but it makes sense.So yes I have to understand that part of it.