What Does it Mean to be "Born Again"?

Introduction

At the moment we first believed in the Lord Jesus and received Him as our Savior, something wonderful happened to us. The Bible describes it by saying that we were "born again": "Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). The term "born again" has been used so many times that it carries little impact. But even though so many people use this term, and so many Christian teachers have spoken about this subject, very few of us understand how rich and wonderful it is to be born again.

"When we were born again, Christ Himself came into us."

The Lord's purpose in saving us was much higher than our understanding. In fact, only in eternity will all the riches we received at our salvation be completely revealed to us. Only in eternity will we fully realize how deep and how precious it is to be "born again." When we were born again, something marvelous happened that is almost beyond comprehension.

"Born Again" Does Not Mean "Going to Heaven"

Being "born again" has often been misunderstood. We ourselves may think that to be born again means that one day we will go to heaven. We will either go to heaven when we die, or when the Lord comes back. Yet this teaching is one-hundred percent wrong. In the Bible there is no such thing as "going to heaven." Instead the Bible tells us that at the end of this age, the heavenly city New Jerusalem will come down to earth (Rev. 21:2). We are not going to heaven. The New Jerusalem will come down to earth, where we will be with the Lord for eternity.

"Born Again" Means that Christ Lives in Us

We may think that when we were born again the Holy Spirit came into us, but Christ Himself remained outside of us. This is also a wrong concept. Because God is Triune, we usually divide Him into God the Father, God the Son, and God the Sprit. Yet we often neglect the oneness of the Triune God. When we were born again, who was it that came into our spirit to live within us? We might answer, "The Holy Spirit." This is certainly true, but we should not separate the Spirit from Christ Himself. If we say that only the Spirit came into us, but not Christ Himself, then being born again has nothing to do with the person of the living Christ. If we were asked, "Where is the Spirit," we might say, "The Spirit is inside me as the representative of Christ." Then if we were asked, "Where is Christ," we might say, "He is sitting on the throne in the heavens." But this is not accurate. We must remember that God is Triune. Not only is the Spirit in us, but Christ is also in us. When we were born again, Christ Himself came into us.

Why is it so important to realize that Christ Himself now lives in us? Because He wants to be subjective to us. It is not enough just to know about Him objectively. Christ wants to be real to us in our experience, and that is why He saved us.

Being "Born Again" Leads to Three Wonderful Results

"The Lord Jesus said that we are greater than John the Baptist, who in turn was greater than all of God's people who came before him."

Three marvelous things happened to us when we were born again. First, we received a change of life. The life of the Triune God came into us and revived our spirit. Second, we received a change of position. We were no longer earthly, but were seated with Christ in the heavenly places. Third, we received the necessity of a changed living. We were born into the Body of Christ, to live the Body life. These were the three wonderful results when we were born again. The moment we received the Lord everything changed in an instant. Our life, our position, and our living became new.

Being "Born Again" Makes us Great in the Lord's Eyes

None of this ever happened to God's people in the Old Testament. No matter how wonderful the patriarchs and prophets from the Old Testament were, they never had the experience of being born again. They never had a change of life, or a change of position, or the necessity of a changed living. For example, in Genesis God appeared many times to Jacob, but he was still Jacob. His name was changed to Israel, but his life was still the same. He never received a change of life, or a change of position, or the necessity of a changed living. Jacob could never be born again.

We often consider ourselves to be small and insignificant, but we should not look down on ourselves. The Lord Jesus said that we are greater than John the Baptist, who in turn was greater than all of God's people who came before him. Even if we have only been saved a short time, we are extremely special to the Lord. We are greater than all of the Old Testament forefathers. We are greater than John the Baptist ever was. Praise the Lord, we have been born again! We have a new life, a new position, and the necessity of a new living. That is why we are so great and so precious in the Lord's eyes.

Back to top

         

Do you have a question or comment about this message?

Long version of this message

To purchase the book Born Again