The issue of being ‘born again’ featured in the discussion between Jesus, and a Pharisee, Nicodemus, who came to Jesus at night. The Pharisees were a sect of religious, powerful men, who taught the Law, but never approved of Jesus or his teachings for political reasons, and eventually schemed His execution. Nicodemus showed he approved of Jesus by calling Him, “Rabbi”, and came by night because He did not want to be seen with Jesus. He did not ask Jesus how to be saved like the rich, young ruler that came to Jesus. Nevertheless, Jesus addressed his personal and spiritual problem. This was a practice of Jesus as can be seen in (a) the story of the brother who complained about his brother sharing the inheritance with him (Luke 12:13-15); the episode of Martha complaining about Mary not helping her with serving (Luke 10:38-42); and (c) the story of those who told Jesus about Pilate mingling the blood of Galileans with pagan sacrifices (Luke 13:1-5). He addressed the core spiritual problems of each of the person(s) in the stories.
Therefore in John 3:3, we see Jesus addressing the core spiritual problem of Nicodemus – He declared to him that he could not see the kingdom of God except he was born again! To see the kingdom of God has been interpreted narrowly by most people as going to heaven. While is true that ultimately this would happen for the man born again, it also has a different facet. Col 1:13 speaks of us being conveyed into the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God speaks of is domain – a real where except you are born again you cannot even perceive or see it. So Jesus addressed Nicodemus, at a personal and fundamental level – the necessity of being born again.
The word, “again” in the phrase, has been misunderstood, by people, with Nicodemus being the first. From the Greek, it can mean two different things – it can mean (a)From above, or it can mean (b)Again(second time or repeated).Nicodemus mistakenly thought it meant the second time, a mere physical rebirth by entering his mother’s womb and being physically born again – and as such saw it as impossible, prompting the logical question he asked Jesus (John 3:4).Jesus clarified his misunderstanding by letting him know it was a spiritual birth – about being born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5).That it was not about being born physically (of flesh) the second time (John 3:6), but about being born of the Spirit (John 3:6,8). Without being born of the Spirit (born of water and the Spirit, there is no admittance into God’s kingdom, or ability to stand in His presence, and ultimately heaven. In light of such awful implications, it should not be seen as something relative or inconsequential when a person says He is not born again (2 Cor 5:11).
Some erroneously make a distinction between being born again, and being born of water and the Spirit – saying thereby asserting that being born again enable you to see the kingdom of God, while being born of water and the Spirit enables you to enter. Therefore, they claim it is possible to see the kingdom of God and not enter – the they even wrongly cite the example of Moses of seeing the promised land and not entering it, as if it meant Moses went to hell!(Mt 17:1-5, Jude 1:9). However, to be born again is the same as being born of the Spirit. Therefore seeing and entering the kingdom are one and the same thing! Jesus was not teaching two different things in John 3:3 and John 3:5, rather he was simply explaining what He said in John 3:3 to Nicodemus, in John 3:5 because he did not understand (John 3:4). You cannot see or perceive the kingdom except you are within it. You need to meet God to see or enter the kingdom – and that becomes a reality through the new birth/being born again/born of water and the Spirit.
Some think that Jesus was talking about water baptism in John 3:5, when he spoke about being born of water and the Spirit. But as already stated, to be born again is to be born of water and the Spirit. The Greek root of the phrase does not separate “water” from “the Spirit” Being born of water and the Spirit figuratively speaks of cleansing, not water baptism that does not save. The baptism that saves is spiritual baptism, the answer of a good conscience towards God which happened at the new birth (1 Cor 12:13, 1 Pet 3:21). Nicodemus understood it to mean cleansing, because the Jews were conversant with washings (Heb 6:2). However, while previous ones was water baptism and were symbolic, the one Jesus referred to is spiritual and actual baptism which happens when one is born again. It is the same in Heb 10:22, Titus 3:4-5,Eph 5:26) where the phrases “washed with pure water”, “washing of regeneration”, and “washing of water by the word”. People openly did water baptism to demonstrate the reality that happened. If that reality has not taken place, such water baptism is meaningless.
To be born again to have our hitherto dead human spirits to be born of the Spirit of God (John 3:6,8), through faith in God’s word (1 Pt 1:23-25,Eph 5:26,James 1:18, Eph 1:13). Man is a spirit, who has a soul and lives in a body. When God told Adam he was going to die if he ate the fruit, Adam did die, not physically, but spiritually – though he died physically later. The part of Adam that died was his spirit – not that death meant the spirit ceased to exist. There is spiritual death, physical death, and eternal death, and none of this involves the cessation of the spirit but that the spirit exists in separation from God. Spiritual death is the state of separation from God, which every person in the world is born into – otherwise called “dead in sins” or alienated from (the life of) God (Eph 2:1,4:18, Col 1:21, Cor 15:22, Rom 5:11-14). Physical death is the separation of the spirit and soul from the body, which every one, saved or otherwise would experience, except caught up to be with Jesus at the rapture. Eternal death (or second death) is the conscious and permanent separation of a sinner from God in hell. The spirit we got from our Adamic lineage is the spirit of disobedience, in rebellion against God, and cannot appreciate the things of God. Naturally therefore, the man not born again is detestable to God – not his person, but his nature within (Eph 2:3, 1 Cor 2:14 Rom 8:5-8,).
Being born again is a work of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), the agency of the new birth, through the word of God. It was what happened to the disciples in Acts 2, in fulfilment of the promise Jesus made (John 7:37-39,Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8). This is what happened at Pentecost when they began to speak in tongues – the Holy Spirit got their sprits born again. It is not a physical or emotional experience, or reformation or better manners, but a spiritual phenomenon. It is not having a religion like Cornelius (who had several fine qualities which even Christians struggle to have, but needed the gospel to be born again), but the reception of a new nature, a new spirit and a new life, and the emergence of the new creature/man (2 Pt 1:4, 1 Jn 3:9, 2 Cor 5:17).It is our spirits made alive to God, and brought into sonship with the Father of spirits(Heb 12:9), with whom we can communicate in other tongues(1 Cor 14:2,14-15). It is an irreversible change which takes place in our spirits when a man believes the word of the gospel.
How can we appropriate this reality? First, being born again is annexed to our calling into the ministry(2 Cor 5:17-20).Ministry should be the lifestyle of the believer. Secondly, Our new spirits bear the characteristics of the Spirit that brought it forth. They are holy, righteous, and perfect (Eph 4:24,Col 3:10, Heb 12:23), and never prompt us to sin or cannot sin (1 Jn3 :9). The way to appropriate the reality within is to make our bodies/members subject to/ruled by the spirit within, through continuous renewal of our minds by God’s word (Rom 12:2), and walking in obedience to its dictates (Rom 12:1-2, Eph 4:22-24,Col 3:10, James 1:22-25). This would allow the seed of God within to dominate, make the difference, and yield the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Finally, we appropriate this reality by acknowledging what God has done, looking on to the new nature, to Jesus, and as a result transformation will ensue (Heb 12:2, Philemon 1:6,2 Cor 3:18).
Pastor Teju Fagbeja