Study 7
BORN AGAIN - INDWELT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
Before we begin our study, let us come before our God and pray,
Dear Heavenly Father,
I come before You in the Name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. I ask You to please bless this time with You. Lord, please extend Your Mercy to me and open my eyes and ears to be able to understand Your Words. Please grant me a true spirit of repentance and faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
The Bible teaches us that in order to be saved, that is escape from the consequences of our sins, which is the horror of Hell, and live in eternal joy and happiness with God, we must be born again. Given the seriousness of this event, that is the new birth, this study is devoted to this miraculous gift from God. To accomplish this we will:
1. Quickly review the necessity for our new birth.
2. Explore the conditions that must be present for the new birth to occur.
3. See that water baptism plays an important role in our new birth experience.
4. Find that once we are born again we now are a child of God with God the Holy Spirit living and dwelling within us.
WE MUST BE BORN AGAIN
So that there is no doubt in our mind for the necessity to be born again, we begin our study by reading the conversation Jesus Christ once had with Nicodemus. As we read this conversation it is important to note that Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council. He was very learned in the Jewish faith, and a respected teacher of the Holy Scriptures. With this short background let us read from,
John 3:1-8
"[1] Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. [2] He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." [3] In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." [4] "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" [5] Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. [6] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. [7] You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' [8] The wind blows 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." [9] “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. [10[ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?”
Let us notice the following verses,
3 … Jesus avoided Nicodemus’ observation and immediately addressed the issue of eternal life. Namely, to enter the Kingdom of God you must be born again.
4 … Nicodemus did not understand.
6 … Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. In other words, in the normal course of things, we are flesh descended from Adam. However, the Holy Spirit gives birth to the spirit. Namely, it is only the Holy Spirit, God Himself, who imparts His divine nature in us and makes us spiritually alive. This is the new birth or being born again.
9 … Nicodemus still did not understand.
10 … Jesus is surprised Nicodemus did not understand these things.
Let us stop for a moment and reflect upon this incredible conversation. Here we find that Nicodemus, a wise and respected teacher of the Scriptures and the Jewish faith, comes to the realization that Jesus was sent by God. Consequently, he goes to talk with Him. In response to Nicodemus’ inquiry, Jesus presents the whole key to eternal life and is surprised that Nicodemus was not aware of it. Why? Why was Jesus surprised? It is because the whole Old Testament, from the fall of Adam and Eve onward, talks about it. It foretells of the time when He, God, would come to heal us and bring us back to His Kingdom.
Before we move on, let us pay particular attention to what Jesus said to Nicodemus in,
John 3:8
"[8] The wind blows 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."
In other words, Jesus is also teaching us that our new birth is a sovereign work of God! It is He who extends His Grace to us (which is unmerited favor) and provides us the faith to be transformed. To see this more clearly, let us prayerfully consider,
Ephesians 2:4-9
"[4] But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. [6] And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, [7] in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. [8] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- [9] not by works, so that no one can boast."
Since the new birth is a sovereign work of God, we find that He deals with each one of us as He sees fit. Consequently, there is no precise formula or procedure for how and where we are born again. As Jesus told Nicodemus, it is like the blowing of the wind.
However, so that we are not deceived by the evil one with a false or deceptive spiritual experience, God has provided us key conditions that must be present for the new birth to take place and be genuine.
CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR THE NEW BIRTH
In reading the New Testament we find that the following five conditions are necessary for the new birth to occur:
1. We must believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God.
2. We must recognize that we are sinners and incapable of saving ourselves, that is we need a Savior.
3. We must believe that Jesus Christ came to save us. In other words Jesus Christ is our Savior.
4. We must believe that on the cross Jesus bore our sins and through His death and bodily resurrection He saved us from them.
5. We must exercise our belief and by faith call upon Jesus Christ to save us.
Even though the above conditions are presented in a particular sequence, it is noted that this was out of editorial necessity. However, God is sovereign and chooses the order and circumstances by which He brings those whom He calls to the required beliefs and actions for their new birth.
The first condition necessary for our new birth is that we must believe that,
JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD
To see this, consider what the Holy Spirit wrote by the hand of the Apostle John with respect to Jesus. The Scripture of interest is,
John 3:16
""[16] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
As we found in previous studies the fact that Jesus is the one and only begotten Son of the living God means that Jesus is our Lord and God.
With this understanding of who Jesus Christ is, let us now read what He once said to the Jews as recorded in,
John 8:23-24
"[23] But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. [24] I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.""
As we read the Scriptures, we find that this belief in itself is not enough to save us. The reason for this is that the Bible shows that even the demons believe in who Jesus is. For example let us read what the demons said before Jesus cast them out of two men and sent them into a herd of pigs.
Matthew 8:28-29
"[28] When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. [29] "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?""
Notice the demons clearly knew and believed that Jesus is the Son of God. Obviously, for our salvation and new birth, more is needed.
This brings us to the second condition necessary for our new birth. Namely, we must recognize that you and I are sinners and need the Mercy of God to save us. In other words we must believe that,
WE CAN NOT SAVE OURSELVES
To see the importance of this truth, let us consider the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee.
Luke 18:9-14
"[9] To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: [10] "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' [13] "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' [14] "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.""
Let us notice the following verses,
11-12 … The Pharisees were very learned men in the Jewish faith and had good head knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. In addition, they were extremely careful and diligent to observe all the ordinances and laws of the Temple and Temple services. Consequently, this Pharisee did not consider himself to be a sinner. In fact, rather than humbly approaching God and asking for His Mercy, he was in effect boasting of his righteousness.
13 … The tax collector believed he was a sinner. Consequently, he humbly came before God to seek His Mercy.
14 … Notice how God views those who think more highly of themselves than they should.
This issue of recognizing that we, you and I, are sinners is the whole reason why God, through Moses, gave us the Law (which is the Ten Commandments). To see this, consider what the Holy Spirit says to us in,
Romans 3:19-20
"[19] Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. [20] Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."
Let us notice the following verses,
19 … The Law was not given so you and I might be able to justify ourselves through it, that is to show how good we are by complying with its demands. No, it was given to hold us accountable to God by showing us how short we fall to its demands. In other words, it was given to expose our sin.
Therefore,
20 … No one will be declared righteous by observing the law. Instead, through the law we become aware of sin in our lives. In other words, by the Law, we find out the things we have spoken thought or did that were offensive to God.
In summary we find that the Law was not put into effect so we, by trying to comply with it, could justify ourselves before God. Instead, the Law was placed into effect so through it we would recognize our sinful state and, as the tax collector, by faith ask God for His Mercy. To clearly see this let us read from,
Galatians 3:24
"[24] So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith."
This leads us to the third condition required for our new birth. Specifically, we must believe and accept the fact that,
JESUS CHRIST IS OUR SAVIOR
Because of God's Love and Mercy Jesus came to this earth to save you and I from the deadly disease called sin. To see this, let us carefully consider what Jesus once said to some of the self righteous Pharisees. It is recorded in,
Matthew 9:10-13
"[10] While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. [11] When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" [12] On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. [13] But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.""
There are many lessons to be learned from this encounter. However, for this particular study, let us focus on the principle that we must consider ourselves deathly ill with a disease called sin and in need of the doctor, Jesus Christ. If we believe that all is well and we are righteous then, as Jesus implied, He is of no value to us. Also notice that Jesus did not say we are to get better before we come to Him. No, He said we are to come to Him and He will heal our disease, which is save us from our sin. We must remember it was for this very purpose He came. To see this, consider the following words that Paul wrote to Timothy in,
1 Timothy 1:15-16
"[15] Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. [16] But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life."
This now brings us to the fourth condition necessary for our new birth or the salvation of our souls. Specifically, we must believe that,
ON THE CROSS JESUS CARRIED OUR SINS
In other words, as we saw in an earlier study, we must believe that through Jesus’ death and resurrection He made the perfect atonement for you and me. His resurrection assures us that He is truly the Son of God, is alive and interceding to God the Father for us. To see this let us read from,
Hebrews 7:25
[25] Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
In addition, His resurrection assures us that His death on the cross was accepted and made the perfect and complete amends for the forgiveness of our sins. As we discovered in an earlier study, so we could be released from our bondage to sin, He also paid the price for our redemption. For us to better understand this glorious gift from God let us return to Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus and read what else Jesus had to say about the new birth.
John 3:14-15
"[14] Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, [15] that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
Even though we explored this example in Study 5, it is worthwhile for us to do it again. Thus, to better understand what Jesus meant by lifting up the snake and how it applies to His saving us from our sins, let us go to the Old Testament and read about the incident He referred to.
The incident concerning the snake occurred during the later portion of Israel's exodus from Egypt. At the time of the incident the people of Israel had been travelling in the desert for many years. In fact, by this time Aaron, Moses' brother, had already died. Their journey had been a very difficult one. The majority of the time the only solid food they had for nourishment was the thin wafers of manna that each morning God miraculously provided for them. With this background, let us now read what happened.
Numbers 21:4-9
"[4] They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; [5] they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" [6] Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. [7] The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. [8] The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." [9] So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived."
Let us notice the following verses,
4-5 … The people grew impatient and sinned against God and Moses. Rather than believing and trusting that God delivered them from Egypt to save them from Pharaoh’s tyranny, they believed God brought them to the desert to kill them by starvation. Not only did they lose or not have faith in God, but also felt He meant to harm them.
6 … As a result of their terrible sin, God became angry and because of their sin He sent poisonous snakes to bite the people.
7 … The people confessed their sin, that is admitted that they were in grave error, and asked Moses to ask God to have mercy and forgive them.
8 … To save them God told Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole. He also told Moses that whoever would look up at the snake would live.
9 … Moses followed God’s command and God fulfilled His promise.
How does all this relate to us and Jesus? To see the analogy, let us remember that because of the people’s sin, they were bitten by a snake and would die. The same with us when we are bitten or fall into sin … we die,
Romans 6:23
"[23] For the wages of sin is death … "
In the above incident, after the people confessed their sin and asked for mercy, Moses was told to put a snake, which was a symbol of their sin, on a pole for the people to look at. When Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and lifted up, it was our sin that was placed upon His flesh for us, by faith, to see. To confirm this let us read the following Scripture,
1 Peter 2:24
"[24] He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."
In returning to the incident with Israel, remember that when they looked upon the snake they were healed. It is the same for us. When you and I, through faith, see that Jesus took upon Himself our own personal sins to the cross we too are healed, that is forgiven. Another way to see this is by reading the instruction given in,
1 John 8-9
[8] If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Let us notice the last part of verse 9. Specifically, it states that to be forgiven we, as it was with the people with Moses, must confess our sins(s) and ask for forgiveness.
This brings us to the fifth and last condition for our new birth which is,
WITH FAITH IN JESUS WE MUST PRAY TO HIM FOR HELP
We must be so sorry for our sins that we not only ask Jesus Christ to forgive us but also save us from the power that sin has over us. In other words, we must have a real true desire to live our life in a manner that is pleasing to God. When we truly pray for His help to cause us to live in this manner, then Jesus Christ will send the Holy Spirit to live and dwell inside us. This is the new birth, which is being born again of the Holy Spirit. When this happens, we become a child of God and by His Grace and Mercy are saved. This is exactly what Jesus was telling the Jews during the great Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. To see this we go to,
John 7:37-39
"[37] On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." [39] By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive…"
Let us notice the following verses,
37(a) … The thirst Jesus is talking about is not the thirst for physical water but is the thirst for righteousness, holiness and for God.
If you thirst for these things and sincerely want to live your life pleasing to God, then
37(b) … Go to Jesus and drink, that is ask Him for this spiritual water.
38 … If we believe and have faith in Him and ask Him to quench our thirst for righteousness and holiness, Jesus will provide you streams of living water to flow from within you.
39 … This living water is not physical water but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is the new birth!
We now come to the topic of,
WATER BAPTISM
Once we are born again, that is God the Holy Spirit is now living within us, we are to be baptized. To see this, let us read what Jesus told His disciples when He commissioned them to go to all the nations and present the good news of His coming.
Mark 16:15-16
"[15] He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. [16] Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
Since the subject of water baptism is another study, for this study the following two points must be made: (1) It is by faith in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross we are saved and not the mere act of baptism and (2) Water baptism with faith in Jesus Christ plays an important role in our salvation and new birth.
The fact that we are saved by faith and not the mere act of baptism is best illustrated by the encounter Jesus had with one of the criminals on the cross.
Luke 23:39-43
"[39] One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" [40] But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? [41] We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." [42] Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." [43] Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.""
Let us notice the following verses,
40 … Basically this criminal was professing his reverent fear of God, in other words he believed in God.
41a … By the criminal stating that he was getting what his deeds deserved, he was admitting or confessing that he was a sinner.
41b … The criminal, by stating that Jesus did no wrong, was saying that Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God, which is why He is being crucified, is true. In other words he is proclaiming Jesus to be Lord.
42 … The criminal recognized Jesus was not from a kingdom of this earth and hence called out to Jesus to save him.
43 … Jesus assured the criminal he will be with Him in paradise. In other words Jesus told the criminal that he will not be doomed to Hades (Hell) but instead will be with Him in Paradise.
The second point to be made is that baptism, with faith in Jesus Christ, is an important element of our new birth and the salvation of our souls. This is best illustrated by reading what the Apostle Peter said as he was relating our baptism to Noah and the flood.
1 Peter 3:20-22
"[20] … God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, [21] and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, [22] who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him."
In other words, when we are baptized with faith in Jesus Christ we are demonstrating that our old self (the one without the Holy Spirit) has been crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6). Thus, in the water of baptism we bury it. As we come up out of the water of baptism we demonstrate or proclaim that we have been born again with a new life. This new life is the one in which through faith in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit has come to live and dwell within us. To see this let us read what the Holy Spirit said about baptism in,
Romans 6:3-4
"[3] … don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
CONCLUSION
As we saw earlier in this study, by being born again, that is by the Holy Spirit coming to live inside us, we become a new creature, a new and different person. To refresh our memory let us read from,
2 Corinthians 5:17
"[17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
As a new creature or new being, we find the following profound miracles happened to us: (1) We became a child of God and (2) We now have the God Holy Spirit living inside us.
To see this we begin by confirming that,
THE BORN AGAIN BELIEVR IS A CHILD OF GOD
To see this let us consider the following Scripture,
John 1:12-13
"[12] Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- [13] children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."
Another way to see this is by reading,
Ephesians 1:3-6
"[3] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. [4] For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love [5] he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- [6] to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves."
Let us pay particular attention to the following verses,
3 … We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Note that these are spiritual and not earthy or carnal blessings.
4 … We have been chosen to be holy and blameless in His sight. In other words, in Jesus Christ our sins are forgiven and forgotten.
5 … Through Jesus Christ God the Father, with pleasure, adopted us to be His sons/daughters.
6 … Because of His glorious Grace and Mercy, He, through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, has freely given us these things. In other words, we cannot earn or work for these blessings. When we became born again they were freely given to us.
However, God did not stop here. There is another miraculous blessing of our new birth. To help us overcome sin,
God the Holy Spirit Lives Within Us
To see this, let us prayerfully consider the following question,
1 Corinthians 3:16
[16] Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Let us now close this chapter by reading the following Psalm,
Psalm 32:1-7
"[1] Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. [2] Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. [3] When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. [4] For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah [5] Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah [6] Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. [7] You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."
Blessed be the Lord forever!
AMEN and AMEN
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