Born of God, Part V

1 Peter 1:23: “You have been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.”

Having examined the new birth in some detail, we conclude by providing now a Scriptural summary of the answers to the questions we have discussed. What does it mean to be born of God? What is the process of this new birth? What is the product or produce of this new birth? We will summarise the answers to these questions under two headings: the process of the new birth and the product or produce of the new birth.

The Process of the New Birth
How does the new birth take place? As Nicodemus asked Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” (John 3:4).

Jesus’ plain answer to Nicodemus regarding the process of the new birth is that the new birth is a spiritual process, distinguishing it from a natural or human process of birth or change. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6).

It is important for us to appreciate the distinction made by Jesus between the natural process of birth and the spiritual process of birth. According to Jesus, the flesh, which is the original nature of man, can only produce flesh and not spirit. Therefore, even if a man were to return to his mother’s womb and be born again, he would still be born in the same carnal nature. No psychological, sociological, or physical process can change man into a spiritual being. Only the Spirit of God produces spiritual beings. Therefore, the new birth is a birth of the Spirit and by it one is born again into a spiritual being.

To confirm that the new birth does not involve any earthly process and is not just a reproduction of the same old nature of man, Jesus refers to it as being born again. To be born again does not mean another birth of the same kind in terms of repetition. The word again used in the Scripture passage means to be of a different kind and is translated from a Greek word, anothen, meaning 'from above,' distinguishing it from that which is earthly or of humanity. Therefore, to be born again is to be born from above of a different nature from one’s earthly nature.

We pointed out that a basic principle of birth in nature is that species reproduce after their kinds and that cross-breeding between species are the result of manipulation or interference by man. According to the Scriptures, the same principle exists in the new birth, but at a supernatural or divine level. The new birth is one purely of kind producing kind. It does not involve anyone else but God. God without even any contribution from man reproduces of Himself in the new birth. The Bible describes this unique and miraculous principle of the new birth as “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). Therefore, through the new birth God reproduces of His kind, of the divine nature, of the life of God.

The new birth involves the incorruptible living word of God. Peter refers to the process of the new birth as to be “born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:23). We read in James 1:18: “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” This is powerful. You will recall all of creation came into existence by the creative power of the living word of God. Now we are dealing with not just the creative power of the word of God but with the life producing power of the word of God. Jesus Christ was conceived by the word of God. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). In the same way, one who is born again is born into a new existence by the life producing power of the living word of God. The origin of the born again offspring of God is in the incorruptible seed of the living word of God, the same divine seed sperm that gave birth to Jesus.

The Produce of the New Birth
We now will address the question of the outcome or produce of the new birth. What is the nature of one who is born of God, born of the Spirit, born of the incorruptible seed of the living word of God, or born again?

Underlain by the God-designed reproduction principle of kind reproducing kind, brought about of God alone by the incorruptible seed of the living word of God, the produce of the new birth are characteristically offspring of God – pure children of God. By the divine miracle of the new birth, man, first born a natural man, is born again into a supernatural being; first born of the flesh a carnal man, is born again of the Spirit a spiritual being; first born in a state of spiritual death, is born again by the incorruptible living word of God into eternal spiritual life. This is amazing. And it’s all the work of the amazing grace of God.

The new birth marks the beginning of spiritual life for any human who hears the living word of the Gospel and accepts Jesus Christ, the Son of God. By a mysterious metamorphosis or change sons of men, dead in sins and trespasses, are born again of God to become sons of God alive unto God through Jesus Christ. While this does not make us little independent gods, it brings us into a mysterious union with Christ in God. “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). We become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

If there is a divine truth the adversary the devil has sought to cheat man from accepting its reality and benefit is the truth that by the new birth man is born into real offspring or children of God. In fact, the term children of God has been used so superficially to include nearly all of mankind that it makes the concept of the new birth obsolete. But all mankind are not born naturally children of God, regardless what poets and philosophers may imagine. Whereas the Bible tells us the first man was created of the earth by God in the image of God, the first man was no where in the Bible said to be born of God or born from above. Moreover, at the fall in the Garden of Eden, man became spiritually dead, losing whatever spirituality God had breathed into him at creation. And hence, without the new birth, no amount of religious practices, civilization, or rehabilitation can bring humanity from this original state of spiritual death into spiritual life. This is why Jesus said to the high ranking religious leader, Nicodemus, in order to enter the Kingdom of God, “you must be born again.”

Paul gives us a vivid explanation of the truth that the image of the first man Adam and his descendants are of a completely different image from that of the second Man Jesus Christ, whose image all who are born again from above bear. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:45-49: “And so it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”

That we who have heard and believed the Gospel and accepted Christ Jesus are born of God into spiritual beings who are offspring of God, children of God, or sons of God is a profound truth. Many professing Christians are reluctant to boldly affirm this truth. But to come to its realization is to be awakened to the powerful reality of the amazing being that we, who are born of God, really are – offspring of the living God. It is no figment of human imagination. It is the outcome of God’s predestined purpose that chosen men be conformed to the image of His First-born Son Jesus Christ and share in His divine life and nature. We read in Romans 8:29: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be the First-born among many brothers.”

Thus, to be born of God is to become real siblings of Jesus the First-born Son of God or sons of God. “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). If we believe the word of God, let us accept the Spirit of His Son and declare to Him, Abba, Father, and go forth to live in the grace and power of sons of the living God.

Jesus prayed: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20-21).