“How can a man be born when he is old?”, he asked Jesus and added, . “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” (John 3:1-9)
The greatest sign and wonder ever is being born again. It is the only miracle that Satan cannot copy and a clear evidence of God’s holiness as the One who does what no one else can do. Nicodemus, a Pharisee and Israel’s teacher, was baffled by the concept (see John 3:1-9).
Adam, the father of humankind, was alive, then he died but continued living and finally he died when his spirit left his body. Here we refer to both spiritual death (separation from God) and physical death (separation from the body). Please note the cruelty of death in that it separates people forever. It is important to understand that every human being is born separated from God or spiritually dead.
The following verses are noteworthy:
- Ephesians 2:3-4, “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.”
- John 1:12, “Yet, all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God -children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will but born of God.”
Let’s make the following observations:
Ephesians 2:3-4 links transgressions (sin) to death. This is consistent with Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and in this way death [both spiritual & physical] came to all men, because all [in Adam] sinned.”
Ephesians 2:3-4 also has as evidence of our being dead (before we believed in Jesus) the fact that we also “lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires.” In other words, we were dead when we used to live according to the sinful nature. Or, we used to live according to our sinful nature because we were dead, but God changed all that by making us alive with Christ (verse 5).
John 1:12 makes the process of being born again very personal, a matter of the heart. No man can bring it about or negotiate on behalf of another to have it. It is not about religion or cultural background. It is not about religious status or rank and not about education or social status. It is at the heart of the human condition or predicament. One does not have it by laying claim on it. It is a God-given right to all who receive and believe in Jesus Christ.
True, no one can see it at the very moment it happens as in the case of the natural birth. Jesus likens it to the wind blowing wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit (John 3:8). We cannot see the exact moment someone is born again, but we cannot fail to notice that it happened.
Are you born again?
What is the evidence of your being born again? For Apostle Paul, the evidence of his being born again was clear: He became a changed person who no longer lived to gratify the cravings of the sinful nature and following its thoughts and desires. As a born again person Paul stated, “For to me to live is Christ t and to die is gain..” (Philippians 1:14)
May God help us all, in Jesus Christ’s name.
