We Have Received a New Life


	We Have Received a New Life Introduction The first marvelous thing that happened to us when we believed in Jesus Christ was that we received a new life. As human beings, all of us have a human life. Our human life is mortal, temporary, and fragile. But when we were born again, we received a new life. This new life we received is divine, eternal, and indestructible. In fact, it is the life of God Himself. We will cover nine separate points concerning the new life that we have received. 1. The Life of God According to the Bible, before we were born again we were "dead." Ephesians 2:1 says that we were "dead in our offenses and sins." Of course, we may have thought that we were very much alive. But from God's point of view we were dead, because we did not have His divine, eternal life. The life of God is the life that is "really life" (1 Tim. 6:19). Our human life is temporary, but the life of God is eternal. Our human life is fallen and sinful, but the life of God is divine and incorruptible. Our human life is weak and frail, but the life of God is indestructible. When we were born again, we received the life of God Himself. We were previously dead in all our offenses and sins, but then we were born again. We received a new life, the divine and eternal life of God. Now we are truly alive! On one hand we can say that the life of God came into us. Yet this life is inseparable from God Himself. We must realize that when this life came into us, the Triune God Himself came into us. God the Father came into us, God the Son came into us, and God the Spirit came into us. The Triune God came into us as the eternal life. Now God is no longer outside of us. The moment we believed in the Lord Jesus, the Triune God came into us. When we were born again, God came into us as life. There are many verses in the Bible which reveal this to us. First John 5:12 tells us, "He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life." This verse is obviously not talking about the human life. It is talking about God's divine and eternal life. If we do not have the Son, we do not have the life. After we are born again, we can say, "Yes, I have the life! I have the life of God Himself!" John 3:16 is a famous verse: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that every one who believes into Him would not perish, but have eternal life." Yet we have often misunderstood this verse to mean that after believing in the Lord Jesus we will one day go to heaven. But we should put it together with John 3:36, which says, "He who believes into the Son has eternal life." This verse doesn't say, "He who believes into the Son will one day go to heaven." Nor does it say, "He who believes into the Son will have eternal life in the next age." The verse says that once we believe into the Son, we have eternal life. We do not have to wait until the next age. Because we are born again, we have the eternal life of God. In John 10:10 the Lord Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly." This was the Lord's purpose in coming to the earth. He came with the divine, eternal life, and He came so that we would have this life abundantly. Then in John 14:6 the Lord said, "I am the way and the reality and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me." Jesus said this about Himself: "I am the life." When we believed in Christ, we received Him as our life. Finally, Colossians 3:4 says, "When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory." This verse shows us that because we have been born again, Christ is our life today. When we were born again we received a new life, the life of God Himself. 2. A New Heart In the moment we were born again and received a new life, we also received a new heart. "I will also give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh" (Ezek. 36:26). We must realize that before we were saved our heart was a heart of stone. Before we believed in the Lord, our human spirit was dead. As we shall see, it is in our human spirit that we receive the life of God. Before we were born again our spirit was dead, and our heart was like stone to the things of God. But after we were born again we received a new heart. This new heart is called a "heart of flesh." It is a heart that is tender and sensitive, and it is filled with feeling towards God. People who are not born again are often hard towards the things of God. This means that their heart is stone, because their spirit is dead. For example, non-Christians sometimes say, "Where is God? If you can't show me God, then I will never believe in Him." This is nonsensical. We don't need to see everything in order for it to exist. No one can say, "Show me the air. If you can't show me the air, then I don't believe it exists." We can't see the air, but if we stop breathing we will die. It is foolish to say, "I will only believe that air exists if you can prove it to me." Yet people say this about God. "If you can prove to me there is God, then I will believe in Him." If we hear this we should reply, "I don't have to show you God. If you just call on the Lord's name, then you will have Him. If you don't call on the Lord you are dead already. You may be alive as a human being, but your spirit is dead to God. Because your spirit is dead, your heart is as hard as stone. That is why you question God's existence." We need to have a heart of flesh. When we were born again, God gave us a new heart so that we could respond to His life within us. People who have a stony heart always think that they are right and everyone else is wrong. They do their best to gain their own profit at the expense of others. They are centered on themselves and have no interest in the things of God. Before we believed in the Lord, we also had such a heart. But after we were born again, we received a new heart. Our heart became a heart of flesh. Our heart became soft and tender towards God. Our new heart is sensitive to the new life we have within us. 3. A New Spirit This same verse from Ezekiel says that when we were born again, a new spirit was given to us. Not only do we have a new heart, but we also have a new spirit. Before we believed in the Lord Jesus, our human spirit was dead. But now we have a new spirit, which is a living spirit. When God first created man, He created him with a human spirit to contact God. But after the fall of man, and after man's continuous degradation, the human spirit within man became deadened. Every human being who has not believed in the Lord Jesus has a dead spirit. But once we are born again, we can say, "My spirit is living!" We have received a new spirit, a spirit filled with life. Before we were born again, whenever we heard about Jesus we got bothered. Whenever we went to a church service we felt it was too long. Whenever we saw a Bible we wanted to toss it aside. But when we were born again we received a new spirit, and everything changed. All of a sudden we began to enjoy meeting with Christian brothers and sisters. We loved reading the Bible. We loved hearing and talking about Jesus. Because our spirit was made alive, we became so interested in the things related to God. This is the result of being born again. 4. The Light of Life John 1:4 tells us, concerning the Lord Jesus, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." Then the Lord Himself said, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). When we were born again, we also received the light of life. This indicates that before we were born again, we were in darkness. We know this from our own experience. Before we believed in the Lord we didn't know who God was, or if He even existed. We didn't know the meaning or the purpose of our own human life. We didn't even know right from wrong, and we didn't really care. But after being born again we received the light of life. The new life we received enlightened us. God became real to us. Our human existence became meaningful. This light also exposed the darkness within us. We began to realize what was right and what was wrong. We even learned that some things were wrong even though they appeared normal. Concerning many things, the light of life made us realize, "I can't do this anymore. It used to be okay, and it seems normal outwardly, but I just sense that God is not pleased." By receiving the life of God, we also received the light of life. Now that we are born again, the light of life constantly shines within us and enlightens us. 5. The Law of Life When we were born again we also received the law of life. "For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2). What is the law of life? Every kind of life - whether it be vegetable life, animal life, or human life - has its law. To name just one example, our human life demands sleep. If we don't get enough sleep over a long period of time, we easily become irritable. When we are overly exhausted we become ill-tempered. There is nothing wrong about this. Our human life simply must have enough sleep, and once we sleep everything will be fine. We have to fulfill the law of our human life. But now that we are born again, we have the life of God. That means that within us there is also another law, the law of the divine life. Under that law something strange happens. We find out that we are limited and restricted by a law that is deep within us. Under this new law there are many things we cannot do. Formerly if we were driving somewhere in our car and a person cut us off, we would be tempted to react. We might have even done the same thing to him. But after we are born again, we are no longer so free. If someone cuts us off while we are driving and we are about to react, immediately something within us says, "I'm not happy with this. Don't do it." The law of life within us disagrees with anything that does not correspond to God Himself. That is why the more we do things that are according to the life of God, the happier we become. The more we learn to live by the law of life, the more we sense the Lord's presence. 6. Sealed with the Holy Spirit Ephesians 1:13 says, "In whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in Him also believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise." We were sealed with the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? It is very similar to what a farmer does to his cattle - he brands them with his seal so that everyone knows who they belong to. For us to be sealed means that from now on we belong to someone else. Of course, that "someone else" is the Lord. When we were first born again, other Christians may have told us, "Now that you are saved you have to give yourself to the Lord." But actually that was not necessary. After being born again, no one needs to tell us anything. Why? Because the Lord has sealed us. We now belong to Him. Because we were sealed with the Holy Spirit, we will be encouraged and strengthened to live for the Lord by the divine life within us. After being born again, there is a seal on us that testifies to whom we belong. We have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. It is no longer possible for us to belong to someone else. We cannot even belong to ourselves. The life within us will always remind us that we belong to the Lord. Second Timothy 2:19 tells us, "However the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, The Lord knows those who are His…." Before we were born again we may have thought that we belonged to ourselves. Actually, we belonged to Satan's kingdom. But when we were born again we were sealed with the Holy Spirit. We became the Lord's possession. If Satan were to come and try to take us away from the Lord, the Lord would say, "Don't touch him. He belongs to Me." The moment we opened our heart and the Lord came into us, at that very moment we were sealed. The seal of the Holy Spirit testifies that we belong to God Himself. 7. The Spirit as a Pledge Not only were we sealed, but we also received the pledge of the Spirit. Ephesians 1:14 says that the Holy Spirit is "the pledge of our inheritance unto the redemption of the acquired possession, to the praise of His glory." This understanding is also found in 2 Corinthians 1:22: "He [God] who has also sealed us and given the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge." What is the difference between being sealed with the Holy Spirit and having the Spirit as a pledge? For us to be sealed means that we belong to God. For us to receive the Spirit as a pledge means that God belongs to us. The word "pledge" can also be translated as "foretaste" or "guarantee." The Spirit as a pledge is actually a foretaste, a guarantee, of what our enjoyment will be in eternity. We often try to imagine what things will be like in eternity. But we don't have to imagine it, because we already have a foretaste. Often when we are enjoying the Lord, especially when we are with other believers, we experience an incredible joy. No matter how wonderful that joy is, it is only a foretaste of our enjoyment in eternity. Our foretaste is the Spirit as a pledge to us. If someone asks us, "What will it be like in the next age?" we should say, "Have you ever enjoyed the Lord in your spirit? That is the foretaste of our enjoyment in the age to come." When we enjoy the Lord in this age, that is to experience a pledge. The overwhelming joy and peace we experience at such times is a pledge to tell us what we will experience constantly in the next age. Whenever we enjoy the Lord in our spirit we get so excited. We realize, "Hallelujah! I have the Lord's presence! Oh, it is so good! It is so wonderful!" This is the foretaste the Lord has given to us. It is the pledge of our inheritance, for us to realize that in eternity we will be joyful and satisfied. Our enjoyment in eternity will be even richer, higher, and fuller than what we are experiencing now. 8. The Anointing When we were born again we received what the Bible calls "the anointing": "And as for you, the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone teach you; but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true and is not a lie, and even as it has taught you, abide in Him" (1 John 2:27). The word "anointing" is a gerund, a verbal noun. It is something active. Ever since we were born again, something within us is active. The life of God that we received actually moves within us all the time. The moving of God's life within us is the anointing. What does the anointing do? According to this verse in 1 John, the anointing teaches us to abide in Him. To follow the Lord after we are born again is not to live by doctrinal teachings, but to experience the Lord within through the anointing. This anointing teaches us how to abide in Him. Not only does it teach us, but it anoints the essence of God Himself into us. When we were born again we received the very life of God. The anointing works the essence of that life with all the riches of God into our being. The more we experience the anointing, the more God Himself is being worked into us. 9. The Life-giving Spirit Finally, when we were born again we received the life-giving Spirit. Actually this point is the same as the first one, receiving God Himself as life. But it is as the life-giving Spirit that God comes into us and brings us into all the reality of His life within us. There are several verses which testify of this. "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified" (John 7:37-39). This verse shows us that it was not until after Jesus was resurrected (or "glorified") that God could come into us as "the Spirit" to be our life within. Another verse that speaks of the Spirit after Christ's resurrection is 1 Corinthians 15:45: "So also it is written, 'The first man, Adam, became a living soul'; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit." Christ, the last Adam, became "a life-giving Spirit" in resurrection. When we were born again, we received Him as the life-giving Spirit. It is this same Spirit that Christ spoke of to the disciples. "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever, even the Spirit of reality, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you" (John 14:16-17). "But when He, the Spirit of reality, comes, He will guide you into all the reality" (John 16:13a). Christ as the life-giving Spirit has come into our human spirit and will guide us into all the reality of what we have received. We can only experience the life of God by touching the Spirit within our human spirit. "The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom. 8:16). It is the Spirit that brings us into all the reality of what we have received when we were born again. Before we were born again God was very objective, theoretical, and untouchable. We didn't know God and could not see God. God cannot be seen with human eyes, but He can be realized in our human spirit! The life-giving Spirit has one function, which is to impart the life of God into us. Whenever we exercise our human spirit, the life-giving Spirit begins to operate. And the more the Spirit operates, the more we partake of the riches of the life of God within us. How is it that God Himself can come into us? It seems impossible, because we know that God created the whole universe. He even testified in the Bible, "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is a footstool for My feet" (Acts 7:49). But where is this great God today? He is not only in the heavens, and He is not only on the earth, but He is within us. Do we realize that God is within us as life to be enjoyed and received? In resurrection the Lord Jesus became the life-giving Spirit who lives in our spirit and imparts God as life. According to our concept, God is too great to be within us. But according to the Bible the great Creator now lives in our human spirit. Now we can say, "God lives inside of me! He is in my human spirit!" He is there as the life-giving Spirit, imparting His life and His riches to us. As the Spirit He will bring us into all the reality of what we received when we were born again. Conclusion Isn't it surprising how much we received at the moment we were born again? We will probably never fully comprehend it. When we first opened to the Lord and received Him as our Savior, we actually received a new life with so many wonderful items. At that moment the Triune God entered into us to be our very life. We received a new heart and a new spirit. We received the light of life and the law of life. We were sealed with the Holy Spirit and received the Spirit as a pledge. The life of God began to move within us as the anointing. Also we received the life-giving Spirit who brings us into all the reality. We treasure what the Lord has done for us and all the riches He has given to us. All of these wonderful items are now for us to enjoy, because we have been born again! To purchase the book Born Again