Born Again: What Jesus Really Meant

A New Life from God

☐

Jesus told Nicodemus, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Those two words, born again, are some of the most important words Jesus ever spoke. So what did He mean?

Not a do-over. Nicodemus asked, “How can a man be born when he is old?” (John 3:4). He pictured starting life over as a baby. Jesus meant something very different: a second birth that comes from God.

Not a cleanup. Being born again is not the same as turning over a new leaf or trying harder. You can wash the outside of a cup and leave the inside dirty. Jesus was talking about the inside.

Two births. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). Your first birth gave you life in a family on earth. The second birth gives you life with God.

God's promise. Hundreds of years earlier, God said, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

A heart of stone. A stone heart is hard and cold toward God. It does not love Him or want to obey Him. Because of sin, every person starts with a heart like that.

A heart of flesh. A new heart of flesh is soft and alive toward God. It wants to know Him, listen to Him and please Him.

God's Spirit inside. God also promised, “I will put My Spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:27). When a person is born again, the Holy Spirit comes to live in that person's heart.

God's children. “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Being born again means being born into God's family.

Not by trying. God saves us “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy” (Titus 3:5). A baby does not earn being born. New life is a gift.

Brand new. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Jesus makes it possible. Jesus died for our sins and rose again. Because He is alive, He can give His life to us. God “has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

What we learn. Being born again means God gives you a new heart, His Spirit and a place in His family. It is the most important change that can ever happen to a person.

What to do. Ask yourself, Have I been born again? If you are not sure, talk with a parent or pastor, and tell God that you want the new life only He can give.

Jesus' words to Nicodemus are some of the clearest teaching in the Bible on how a person begins a life with God. Being born again is not religious improvement. It is a new life given by God.

From above (John 3:3, 31). Jesus' word for again can also mean from above, and John uses it that way in 3:31: “He who comes from above is above all.” The new birth is a second birth, and heaven is its source.

Born of God (John 1:12-13). John's Gospel opens with the same truth. Those who receive Jesus become children of God. They are born not by human birth or human effort, but of God (1:13).

Ezekiel 36:25-27. God promised to cleanse His people, give them a new heart and put His Spirit within them. The promise ends with the result: “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes” (36:27). The Spirit does not only forgive. He changes what we want.

Jeremiah 31:33. The same promise appears as the new covenant: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts.” A covenant is God's binding promise. In the new covenant God writes His will on the heart, not only on stone.

Titus 3:5. Paul calls the new birth “the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” The Greek word for regeneration is palingenesia (say: pah-lin-geh-neh-SEE-ah), which means a new birth or a new beginning. God does it “according to His mercy,” not because of our works.

Water and the Spirit (John 3:5). Jesus joined water and Spirit in one new birth, and Ezekiel 36 joined clean water and God's Spirit in one promise. Many Christians see Jesus pointing Nicodemus back to that promise. Baptism is the outward picture of this inward washing, but the new life itself is the Spirit's work.

2 Corinthians 5:17. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” Creation language takes us back to Genesis 1. Only God creates, and only God makes a new person.

1 Peter 1:3. God “has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” The new birth is tied to the risen Jesus. Because He lives, we receive His life.

Not a feeling. The new birth may come with strong feelings, or with very quiet ones. Either way, it is God's act, received by faith. You trust His promise, not your mood on a given day.

Application. If you have trusted Jesus, thank God that the change in you came from Him. If not, the invitation is open: receive Him, and He gives the right to become a child of God.

How Can These Things Be?

☐

Nicodemus asked Jesus, “How can these things be?” (John 3:9). Many kids wonder the same thing. How does a person get born again, and how can you tell it has happened?

God does it. Being born again is God's work, not ours. Jesus called it being “born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

We believe. Our part is to trust Jesus. Paul and Silas told a jailer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

We turn. To repent means to turn around: away from sin and toward God. Believing in Jesus and turning from sin go together.

Jesus knocks. Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him” (Revelation 3:20). Opening the door means saying yes to Him.

Like the wind. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes” (John 3:8). You may not know the exact minute God made you new, but you can see what the Spirit does.

A new love for God. People who are born again start to love God and want to talk with Him. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

A new way to live. God said His Spirit would “cause you to walk in My statutes” (Ezekiel 36:27). Statutes are God's rules. Born-again people still sin sometimes, but they want to obey, and they are sorry when they do wrong.

Coming back clean. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9). A child of God does not stop being God's child when he sins. He comes back to his Father.

Power to win. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world” (1 John 5:4). The Holy Spirit gives power to say no to sin and yes to God.

Baptism. After people believe, Jesus wants them to be baptized. Baptism is an outward picture of the new life inside, a little like a wedding ring is a picture of a marriage. The water does not make you born again. It shows that you have been.

You can know. Jesus said, “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life” (John 5:24). God's promise, not your feelings, tells you that you belong to Him.

What we learn. God gives the new birth through His Spirit when we trust Jesus, and the new life shows in a new love for God.

What to do. If you have never asked Jesus to save you, you can pray right now. Tell Him you know you have sinned, that you believe He died and rose again for you, and that you want Him to be your Lord.

The new birth is God's work from start to finish. It is received by faith, and it always shows itself in a changed life.

The Spirit's freedom (John 3:8). The wind “blows where it wishes.” No one can control the Holy Spirit, schedule Him or produce Him. That is humbling, and it is freeing: salvation does not depend on getting a ritual exactly right.

Faith receives (John 1:12; Acts 16:31). Receiving Jesus and believing in His name are the same act. Paul and Silas told the jailer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” Faith does not earn new life. It is the empty hand that takes the gift.

Repentance. The Greek word metanoia (say: meh-TAH-noy-ah) means a change of mind that turns a person around. Repentance and faith are two sides of one turning: away from sin and toward Jesus. Jesus preached, “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

Baptism (Acts 2:38). Peter told the crowd, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” Baptism follows repentance and faith. It pictures dying to the old life and rising to a new one. The new birth is the inward reality; baptism is the public sign.

Fruit, not root (Ezekiel 36:27). God promised that His Spirit would “cause you to walk in My statutes.” Obedience in a believer is the fruit of new life, not the root of it.

1 John 5:4. “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” John wrote his first letter so that believers could know they have eternal life. Its tests are simple: Do you trust Jesus? Do you love God's people? Do you want to obey Him?

1 John 1:9. Born-again people still sin. The difference is that they confess it and come back. “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Assurance (John 5:24). Jesus said the believer “has everlasting life” now and “has passed from death into life.” Assurance rests on Christ's promise, not on how strongly you feel on a given day.

The Helper (John 14:16-17). Jesus promised the Spirit, “that He may abide with you forever.” The Spirit who gives the new birth stays, and He gives power to live for Jesus and tell others (Acts 1:8).

Application. Look for the Spirit's work in your life: a growing love for Jesus, a hunger for His Word and sorrow over sin. If you are unsure, talk with a pastor or parent, and bring your questions to Jesus as Nicodemus did.

📖

Complete all sections to finish!

Read each section and answer the questions correctly.