Except a man be Born Again, he Cannot see the Kingdom of God

 

• Which is Born of the Flesh is flesh – All men are spiritually dead in their natural state because of man’s rebellion and God’s curse upon the whole human race in the Garden of Eden. The Bible differentiates between the “spirit” and the “flesh”. To be “in the flesh” or being “carnal minded” or having a “stony heart” is not merely defining one’s physical existence, but is a statement of one’s spiritual condition – to be unsaved. In Rom 8:13 we find these words, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die”. Mat 26:41 adds, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”. This is the accurately painful description that Eph 2:3 paints: “Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others”. The word “conversation” means “lifestyle”. Gal 5:19–21 itemizes the works of the flesh. Even if a person were to refrain from committing these particular sins outwardly, they would still remain guilty for having committed these in their minds. All sin carries with it the punishment of eternal death, as we see from Jam 1:14–15: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death”. Rom 8:7 explains the warfare that exists between the unsaved person and God, and it underscores man’s inherent inability to be under, or obedient to, God’s Word prior to salvation: “Because the carnal mind is enmity [or hatred] against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be”. A “stony heart” is also a vivid description of man’s spiritual deadness. The Bible also makes reference to a dead heart as a “hard (or unbelieving) heart”, or a “hardened heart”. And the thrust of these words has to do with rebellion or stubbornness against God and His Word, the Bible. Rom 2:5 teaches, “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God”. Gal 6:7–8 enunciates an exceedingly vital principle: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting”.

Gal 5:19–21 “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Rom 8:5–8 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”

• Which is Born of the Spirit is spirit – On the other hand, to be “in the spirit” or “spiritually minded” refers to someone who has become saved by the will and Word of God. This distinction is evident in the following examples: John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”. If one has not been born “of the Spirit”, they are, by biblical definition still “of the flesh”, and hence they are not saved. Rom 8:13 declares, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live”. Thus, we are introduced to the principle of sowing and reaping. This principle is inherently active in the life of any person. They will either be sowing and reaping “to the flesh”, or they will be doing the same “to the spirit”. The outcome is also spelled out in Gal 6:8, “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting”. Now, what did Jesus mean by this statement in John 11:25, “… he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live”? He is speaking about the fact that all men are spiritually dead in trespasses and sins before God “quickens” some of them (the elect) by giving them eternal life, as we read in Eph 2:56. We read this in Col 2:13: “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses”. We see that these parallel verses are tied together with the Greek words for being spiritually quickened (that is, made alive) together with Christ and for being spiritually raised from the dead (or resurrected) together with Christ. These terms both refer to God’s work of resurrecting and energizing the souls of the elect with the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit. John 6:63 states, “It is the spirit that quickeneth [or makes alive]; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life”. He uses the power of His Word to “quicken” His people, which means to “make alive” or “give life”. Also, God must “raise up” His people together with Christ in order to restore them from spiritual deadness unto a right standing with Himself. If we have a dead, or “stony”, heart by nature, how can we obey? The only way is that God has to do it for us as Eze 36:26 affirms, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh”. One cannot help but notice the numerous references to God’s use of the personal pronoun “I” in the above verse in describing His initiative in one’s salvation. A “heart of flesh” means a living heart. This is also corroborated by the language found in Deu 30:6, “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live”. Using the analogy of spiritual circumcision, “Spiritual Jews” are thusly defined by Rom 2:28–29: “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God”.

John 11:23–26 “Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

Eph 2:56 “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened [make alive] us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”

Rom 8:9–10 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

• Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye Must be Born Again – A term that is similar to “True Gospel” by its redundancy is “born–again Christian”. Actually, the only people who are true Christians are those who have become “born again”, or spiritually regenerated (Tit 3:5), by the power of God. In John 3:3–6 we are confronted with the late night conversation between Jesus and a Pharisee named Nicodemus on the subject of the New Birth: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of 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”. John 3:7 says, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again”. When Jesus referred to being “born again”, the Greek word translated as “again” is anothen (G509), which literally means “from above” – that is, “from heaven” or “from God”. For instance, we find it used in Jam 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above [anothen], and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning”. We need to keep in mind that the gift of salvation, which comes “down” from God Himself, is entirely undeserved and is only by God’s grace. It is no accident that Jesus pointed out in Mark 10:26–27: “And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible”. The reason it is impossible by human achievement is due to the fact that man is spiritually dead by nature, as Eph 2:1–3 maintains. Remember, the Scriptures state that man cannot save himself. God has to give him salvation (or faith) as a gift, as Eph 2:8–9 declares, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast”. Rom 6:23 further notes, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. John 1:12–13 points out the fact that salvation is not dependent on anything that man does, and specifies Who the author of salvation is in verse 13: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”. When a person is “born of God” he becomes a “new creature” in Christ through the miraculous creative power of God, as 2 Cor 5:17 explains: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. Nothing short of birth “from above” will suffice for someone to “see” the Kingdom of God. As we have seen above, God uses the power of His Word to “quicken” His people as also seen in 1 Pet 1:23, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever”. Jesus often called Himself the “Son of Man” because as the “Last Adam” (or the “Second Man”) He represented the human beings He came to save and endured the equivalent of eternal damnation for them in the Atonement at the Cross, as we read in 1 Cor 15:45–47: “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [Christ] was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man [Christ] is the Lord from heaven”.

Eze 36:26–28 “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

Heb 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

1 Pet 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again [born again] unto a lively [living] hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

Php 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

• Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall Not fulfil the lust of the Flesh – 2 Cor 5:17 describes a born–again believers new nature: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. At this point in our discussion, I think it would be helpful to remind ourselves of each believer’s dual nature. Quite possibly the tendency to emphasize one aspect more than the other can shape how we look at ourselves in terms of possessing or lacking assurance of salvation. Let us consider each “side” of a Christian’s whole personality. Even after a person is redeemed he struggles with sin because his body still remains unsaved, even though in his soul he has received eternal life. This is clearly seen in a number of verses like Rom 7:20, “Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me”. The apostle Paul, under divine inspiration, reveals in Rom 7:25 the Scriptural assessment that a child of God must constantly keep in mind, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin”. But Gal 5:16–18 and verses 24–25 further add: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh [our bodies]… And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”. This internal dualism is the true Christian’s greatest spiritual struggle, bar none, as Rom 7:24 pinpoints, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” The deliverance that Paul refers to is found in the words of 2 Cor 5:1–4, which expresses the believer’s yearning to be forever clothed with his glorified spiritual body. 1 John 3:1–3 highlights this as well, adding the dimension of hope with regard to glorification, which is the final stage of salvation.

Rom 7:21–25 “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22For I delight in the law of God after the inward man [or the soul]: 23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members [or my body]. 24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin… ”

Gal 5:16–18, 24–25 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh [our bodies]. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law… And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”

Rom 8:1–2 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”