1 John 5:1a, “everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God...”
John 3:5-8, "Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit...'"
When we believe in Christ, we are born
again... not through the blood and water of the flesh again but of
the blood and water of Christ and of the Spirit.
1 John 5 goes on to say in versus 6-11,
“This is the one who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ. He
did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the
Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are
three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the
three are in agreement..Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts
this testimony... And this is the testimony: God has given us
eternal life, and this life is in the Son...”
The water, blood and Spirit are
represented throughout the life of Jesus on earth through His
baptism, the Spirit descending upon Him, and His death. Blood and
water also flowed from His side after He gave up the Spirit and died
as He was pierced through on the cross before they took him down.
Jesus says about a woman giving birth
in John 16:21, “Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because
her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no
longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been
born into the world.”
While He was on the earth, He spoke
several times that His “time” or “hour” (speaking of the
anguish of His death) had not yet come. His anguishing death that
He walked into “for the joy set before Him” was a giving birth of
sorts as He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins once for all
(Hebrews 7:27).
According to Hebrews 7:10, Levi paid
tithes through Abraham as Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of all he
had, “for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek
met him.” In the same way, we fulfilled the law as we were in the
loins of Christ as we pass with Him and through Him from death to new
life.[3]
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" And 1 Peter 1:23 says, “Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God,
which liveth and abideth for ever.”
Perhaps a woman giving birth is a
shadow of sorts of Jesus bringing forth eternal life. A woman
brings forth life into this world willingly for the joy set before
her through 'an hour/time' of severe pain and anguish (Gen. 3:16)
that lead up to the moment of birth, where blood and water flow forth
as life is being brought forth.
As we believe in Christ, we are born of
the Spirit through the blood and water of Christ. The purpose of
the blood and water is to remove the stain of sin and cleanse one's
conscience.
Hebrews 10:22 says, “Let us draw near
to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith
brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty
conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
The water, blood and Spirit are
represented throughout the Old Testament as a shadow of what was to
come in the New Testament through Jesus. Hebrews 9:19 says, “When Moses had proclaimed every command
of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together
with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the
scroll and all the people.”
David proclaimed in Psalm 51:7, “Purify
me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter
than snow.”
Before entering the Most Holy Place,
the high priest would cleanse himself with water before entering the
inner room, “and that only once a year, and never without blood,
which he offered for himself and for the sins of the people had
committed in ignorance.”
Hebrews 9:9 goes on to note that
through the Old Testament shadow “that the gifts and sacrifices
being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.
They were external regulations applied until the time of the new
order” (vs. 10).
Hebrews 9:14 says, “How much more,
then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences form acts
that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God. For this
reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are
called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that he
has died as a ransom to set them free form the sins committed under
the first covenant.”
Commentary notes, “If
the ashes
of a heifer had such power to cleanse from one of the most serious
forms of outward defilement, how much more
powerful
is the blood of Christ
to
cleanse from
inward sins of the deepest dye! His offering was through the eternal
Spirit... He made His sacrifice in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
[1]
To
be born again in God, born is the Greek word gennao,
Strongs #1080, and it means to regenerate - to be formed again, and
to procreate - brought forth, conceived and to be made a child of
God. [2]
John goes on to explain what it looks
like to be born again by giving some examples:
- A disposition that moves towards righteousness. 1 John 2:29 says, “If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.”
- A disposition of holiness that desires not to sin. 1
John 3:9-10 says , “Whosoever is born of
God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot
sin, because he is born of God. In
this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil:
whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that
loveth not his brother.”
And 1 John 5:18 says, “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.” - A disposition of love towards others and of being loved by God. 1
John 4:7-9 says, “Beloved, let us love one
another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born
of God, and knoweth God. He
that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
- Faith that results in overcoming sin and difficulty. 1 John 5:4-5 says, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Being born again changes our whole disposition. A devotional I read this morning noted, "What are you known for? When people think of you, how would they describe you? Jesus' descriptions of the citizens of God's kingdom include these three characteristics: being merciful, pure in heart, and working for peace. These characteristics describe Jesus, our leader. He wants them to describe us in our relationships with others. Is this how you are known?
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. "—Matthew 5:7-9 " [4]
Being born of the Spirit and of God, we
are children of God and fellow heirs of Christ (Romans 8:17). We
have eternal life (1 John 5:11) and we have an eternal inheritance.
''
Eternal life is something that we can
experience now through the Spirit of God. John 17:3 says, “And
this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom you have sent.” It is as we are one with Christ that
we experience and walk out this eternal life.
Paul tells Timothy
in 1 Timothy 6:12 to “lay hold of the eternal life to which you
were summoned and [for which] you confessed ...” This life is the
Greek word zoe which means the fullness or abundance of life. Jesus
said that He had come so that we would have life and have it
abundantly.
Through Jesus we
have eternal life now, and we also have a future eternal inheritance.
1 Peter 1:3-5 says about our future
inheritance, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born
again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and
undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are
protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to
be revealed in the last time.…”
Lord, we long to walk more in the
fullness of this new life that you have sacrificed Your life to give
us. May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal
covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great
Shepherd of the sheep, equip us with everything good for doing his
will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus
Christ, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. (Hebrews 13:20-21)
From The Start
The earth was in darkness, desolate and waste
As the Spirit of Life brooded over it's fate
Waters covered the face of the earth
Enveloped in love, the world was being birthed
With a gleam in His eye, creation began to form
Day after day, more life came bursting forth.
He had a plan and a purpose for it all
Out of emptiness and void, creation did He call
In His heart of love, He saw His work was exceedingly good
With each setting and dawning, all that He made was as it should.
On the seventh day great joy filled His heart
He rested from all His working and blessed the earth
These are the begettings of heaven and earth
How out of desolation, life He did birth.
Giver of Life and Maker of All
You bring beauty and goodness out of the fall
Life your birth forth out of our ashes and waste
As we look to You, You change our fate
With a purpose You planned from the start
You formed us in love out of the center of Your heart.
All of our days ordained in Your book
Deserts and wastlands becoming a fruitful garden nook.
Joy and gladness my life to be filled
With thanksgiving, I'm lost at the goodness of Your will.
Picture Source: http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/AGF/8632.jpg
- MacDonald, William ; Farstad,
Arthur: Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments.
Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Heb 9:14
2. Strong, James: The New Strong's Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1996, S. H8674
3. Sievers, Susan.
4. Lead Like Jesus. A Leader's Reputation. May 28, 2014.
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