The
Spiritual Birth
By
Nick Bibile
‘He
came unto his own, and his own received him not; but as many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh - but
of God.’’ — John 1:11-13
There is one who is born of
blood and the other is born of God. What do you mean by born of blood? It means that you are born of the flesh.
Means you had a physical birth. Jews were very proud to say that they were
descendents of Abraham; they said Abraham was our father.
When Jesus said “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are offspring of
Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You
will become free’?” (John 8:32-33)
Scriptures
say, which were born of blood. Meaning
a physical birth. Some say, “I am a Christian as I am born into a Christian
country.” My family is Christian therefore I am a Christian. Every Sunday I go
to Church, therefore I am Christian. I have a Bible at home and therefore I am
a Christian. Just because you are born to a religion it doesn’t mean you are a
Christian. Nor of the will of man, will of man is earthly, it is not your
earthly traditions or you’re earthly teachings or your own opinions. But you need to be born of God.
Jesus
said to Nicodemus 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless one is born again he cannot
see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
John Bunyan said, “Suppose
it be the gospel, he cannot see it before he be brought into a state of
regeneration. Believing is the consequence of the new birth; ‘not of blood, nor of the will of man, but
of God.’
Let me make it easy to
understand the quote of John Bunyan, unless you are regenerated (Born again)
first you will not understand the gospel. Believing is the result of the new
birth, believing is not of the will of man but of God. Now remember even the demons
believe in one God but the demons don’t trust and obey. This belief is the
saving faith, that your believing will show fruits of salvation.
Born of God, this is
compared to a birth. A
child, before it be born into the world, is in the dark dungeon of its mother’s
womb: so a child of God, before he be born again, is in the dark dungeon of
sin, sees nothing of the kingdom of God; therefore it is called a new birth.
Jesus is called the first born
of the dead. Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ the
faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
Jesus is the first one to be
raised from the dead. In the same way we were all born of the blood to this
world as we all came from the fallen Adam, then our earthly parents gave birth
to us, we were born in sin.
Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.
But the true Christians had
a spiritual resurrection from the dead. They were dead to sins, dead to the
word of God, alive to the world but when they heard the gospel they had a spiritual
resurrection and they are truly born of God. It is not of your will, that you
make a decision for God but God born of God. You are born from earthly kingdom
to God’s Kingdom. You were delivered from your mother’s womb by the help of a
doctor or a nurse but now you are delivered out of this dark sinful world by
the Spirit of God.
How do you know that you are
born of God?
When
a child is born to this world, you will hear the baby crying. It is a good sign
for the baby to cry, it means the baby is alive. If the baby is not crying the
infant could be dead. In the same way the child of God, when born of God, he
cries unto God. Remember the Philippian jailor, he said, “Sirs, what must I do
to be saved?” (Acts 16:30) When you are born of God, you will cry unto God for
repentance, and then you realized how deeply you have sinned against God.
Before you were born of the blood, carnal and you had no conviction of sin.
Ungodly man cannot repent but only a man who is born of God can repent. He will
cry unto God.
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation. (2
Cor 7:10)
Also the newborn child will
crave for pure spiritual milk. 1 Peter 2:2 - Like newborn infants, long for the
pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.
If you are born of God you
will thirst for God’s word. You cannot be without God’s word. Jesus said,
Matthew 4:4 ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Psalm
42:1 As
a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living
God.
Job
with all his wealth gone, all his children dead, with great pains of boils on
his body, yet he said, “I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I
have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food. (Job 23:12)
When
a child that is born into this world, they don’t understand everything yet they
trust in their parents. They cling to their parents, they get comfort from
their parents, and without them they are lost. In the same way when you have a
spiritual birth, you don’t understand all of the Bible as you are still growing
in the Lord but you will trust in God. You will call him “abba” meaning
intimate word for Father.
Romans 8: 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to
fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by
whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Now you cling to God, you
have the love of Mary Magdalene, she felt miserable without Jesus, early
morning she went to the tomb to see the missing Lord, when she saw him, she was
overjoyed and wanted to cling to him. The true Christian who is born of God
cannot be without God, God becomes his portion.
When
a child his born, the friends and relatives will say, the child looks like the
father or the mother or both of them, when the child is growing, the child
would like to be his father or the mother. In the same way when you are born of
God, you will grow into his image.
Genesis 1: 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
That image was shattered
because of sin, but Jesus restored that image back again.
1 Corinthians 15: 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust,
we shall also bear the image of the man of
heaven.
Colossians 3: 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed
in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Application.
Are you crying for God? Crying
for his spiritual milk. Crying in your helplessness in prayer. Are you growing
in the Lord? Are you becoming more and more like him? Do you love him, you
cannot be without him. You desire to see him. Are you craving for the world or
for God? If you love him, do you meditate upon him, do you think of him? If you
know him do you glorify him? Jesus said,
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will
of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will
say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons
in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And
then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of
lawlessness.’
Beloved, when
you love your parents you are obedient to them. In the same way are you
obedient to your heavenly Father. When you are a child of God your conversation
is holy, do you have a holy conversation, pleasing to God. Yes, beloved, live
like the children of God. The man who is born of God will live unto God.