Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 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."
John 3:3-8 (NIV)
In the story, Jesus was teaching Nicodemus, a follower of the law and a Pharisee. Born into a religion which he upheld up to his adult life.
And yet, when Jesus met this man, he said to him "You must be born again."
This is a truth to Christianity. In fact, it came from the words of Jesus Himself. We all must be born again.
The Bible tells us that before Christ, we were spiritually dead in our transgressions. As a result, our old nature was fundamentally dead to the ways of God.
Before Christ, our nature was bound to disobedience. We were by our old nature incapable of following God. Instead of running by His ways, we were running in the ways of the world and our own ways.
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.
God desired it in His heart for us to receive a new nature. It was God's work that made us alive again in Christ.
What does it mean when Jesus said: 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 (John 3:8 NIV).
I believe it simply means that our old nature could not comprehend the true nature of the Spirit unless we have been truly born again.
A new life and a new heart has taken over. One that God bestows Himself when a person becomes a believer (he has received Jesus Christ in his heart as his Savior and Lord).
To be born again is not a doctrine that man made up. It is not a change in religion. It means we have to be made new as to our nature which is a work of God Himself.
God does an inward working in a person's life once a person becomes a believer. That person becomes born again and he becomes a different person, starting from the inside where Christ begins to take home. And when Christ is inside a heart, obedience becomes part of his new nature.
"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 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."
John 3:3-8 (NIV)
In the story, Jesus was teaching Nicodemus, a follower of the law and a Pharisee. Born into a religion which he upheld up to his adult life.
And yet, when Jesus met this man, he said to him "You must be born again."
This is a truth to Christianity. In fact, it came from the words of Jesus Himself. We all must be born again.
The Bible tells us that before Christ, we were spiritually dead in our transgressions. As a result, our old nature was fundamentally dead to the ways of God.
Before Christ, our nature was bound to disobedience. We were by our old nature incapable of following God. Instead of running by His ways, we were running in the ways of the world and our own ways.
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (NIV)
God desired it in His heart for us to receive a new nature. It was God's work that made us alive again in Christ.
What does it mean when Jesus said: 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 (John 3:8 NIV).
I believe it simply means that our old nature could not comprehend the true nature of the Spirit unless we have been truly born again.
A new life and a new heart has taken over. One that God bestows Himself when a person becomes a believer (he has received Jesus Christ in his heart as his Savior and Lord).
To be born again is not a doctrine that man made up. It is not a change in religion. It means we have to be made new as to our nature which is a work of God Himself.
God does an inward working in a person's life once a person becomes a believer. That person becomes born again and he becomes a different person, starting from the inside where Christ begins to take home. And when Christ is inside a heart, obedience becomes part of his new nature.
"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)
Now, you can see the kingdom of God.
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