Born Again | John 3
John 3
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Chapter Notables:
Nicodemus learns about being born again - verses 1-14
For God so loved the world - verses 16-21
John the Baptist commends the work of Jesus - verses 22-36
The Second Birth | Lemuel Ayudtud
We were born not by our choice nor by our will. Our moms and dads did some fun, biology experiment one day and lo and behold we were born a few months later. None of that was our choice. Our natural birth was not of our making or intention.
At our birth we were delivered into the world wet, naked, crying and unaware. Our significant yet volatile and fragile life hung in the balance of the decisions and actions of grown folks around us. We had no choice in our existence or in the environment we were born in, but neither did our mothers or our fathers.
Our parents had no choice if we were a boy or a girl. (Neither did we.) They had no choice if we were to tall or short. (Neither did we.) They didn’t have the option to order themselves a child of their design. (And we didn’t have the option of choosing our parents.) We were thrust to each other without a manual or a design schematic.
Neither of us were in the planning phase of this new, beautiful yet highly stressful relationship. There in those initial moments and days, neither of us knew anything about each other. We were merely existing through instincts and maybe some cultural or traditional training of our parents. Both of us had to accept circumstances we did not choose. (And that’s for the “usual” parent to child relationship. We don’t have the time in this blog to breakdown births that are in totally dire circumstances, environments or unhealthy, social dynamics.)
Out of all of the confusion and instinctual acceptance on our part and biological acceptance on our parents’ part, there was God who allowed it all. He knew our birth and also our parents. He knew the circumstances surrounding our existence including the struggles and the benefits of it for both us and our parents (even our extended families). He was sovereign and did not miss a thing. He was there in the delivery room, in the nursery or NICU and He was there when we went home. He knew the struggles we’d meet and the joys we’d experience. He knew us because He formed us in our mothers’ wombs. So no matter how or where we grew up, God was always present.
Why was God so about our lives? Why did He keep His eyes on us? I believe it’s because we are His offsprings. His breath resides in our breathing. We animate by His Spirit. We exist because He exists … and because we were born in the world of sin that only He can deal with.
The true issue of our initial birth was not just the fact that we had no choice in the matter. The true issue was that we were born into a world of people separated from God due to sin. Yes, on top of all the challenges that we and our parents met when we were just babies, there was the issue of sin that only God could handle. This issue God addressed through the second birth.
Nicodemus asked Jesus how can man enter the kingdom of God. Jesus answered that in order for men to enter or even see the kingdom of God, they must be born again. Of course, never hearing of such a thing before, Nicodemus was very confused. He thought Jesus was talking about a natural birth—a second chance for a biological new start. But Jesus was about the spiritual birth, the one that you and I have a choice in; and the one that would answer the sin issue that our initial birth brought in.
Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born of water and of the spirit in order to enter the kingdom of God. Much like our natural birth where we were enclosed in a sack of water and then punctuated by our outward cry upon delivery—a sign of breathing; man must be born again of water and spirit. This is the second birth.
How does one become born again?
Accept your separation from God through sin. Because of God’s holiness, sin created a gap between you and God. This gap must be bridged in order for you to enter into the Kingdom of God.
Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He has addressed the gap caused by sin by giving His life as a ransom for us at Calvary. The death of Jesus at the cross and His subsequent resurrection, answered the judgment of God against sin. At Calvary, Jesus took our place for the sins we have no personal answer for. Believing that Jesus bridged the gap is our only hope for reconciling with God.
Confess your faith in Him. Verbally declare Jesus as the Lord of your life. It means you have surrendered your life to Him and have placed your trust for your eternal life into His hands. You are no longer the master of your own life; you have submitted Your life to the leading of God.
Declare your faith in Him by being baptized in water in His Name. Await and receive His Holy Spirit like the Apostles did in the Book of Acts. Water baptism is the visible sign of being born again of water; while receiving the Holy Spirit is the audible sign of being born again of the Spirit.
This second birth is a response to the call by God for reconciliation or reconnection to Him. In the second birth we become children of God by faith. In the second birth the biological and physiological issues of our natural birth may not addressed, but the spiritual, eternal issues are—namely: our propensity for sin and our emotional and mental limitations and hindrances (which is our spiritual condition).
The second birth also addresses our love and forgiveness issues. Those issues that give us challenges in dealing with people, our hurts and our heart struggles, among other things are addressed by the new birth experience.
But the greatest of all the issues the second birth addresses is our relationship with our Heavenly Father. The second birth brings us back into fellowship with Him. So while our earthly, first birth leads to a relationship with our willing (or maybe resistant) parents (or guardians), the second birth connects us back to our Father who loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that anyone who would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life.
Lord, thank You for the first birth. Though it was not my choice or my making, I know that You’re making all things work out for my good through my second birth. Thank You, Lord, for such an incredible gift of new life and new direction. Where I was once heading to judgment, the gift of being born again allowed me back into relationship with You. Lord, teach me to always be mindful of my second chance; my real, spiritual chance at the life You intend for me. Thank You for the grace that has allowed me to become a son or daughter of You; because of this I now am living an eternal life. Help me to be a honorable son or daughter of You. In Your name Jesus, I pray, amen.