The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
Born Again, Part 1
When Nicodemus asked Jesus about being “born again” (John 3:4), he was possibly not the first nor was he, by any means, the last to ask that question. Jesus’ response is written in John 3:5-6:
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you; 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.”
Clearly Jesus speaks of the life of the Spirit in us, the spiritual rebirth of that which died when Adam sinned. Paul takes up the subject in Romans, beginning with the dissertation on sin-cancelling grace in chapter five:
“For as by one man’s disobedience [i.e. Adam’s disobedience] many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that sin abounds. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound that as sin has reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:19-21).
The sin of Adam corresponds to the spiritual death of himself and of all who came after him. The righteousness produced by the grace of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross corresponds to spiritual eternal life. But that does not mean that we are to sin even more so that grace may abound even more (Rom. 6:1-6) and here is the reason why:
“Know ye not that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death. Just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, henceforth we should not serve sin.”
Baptism by immersion as practiced among Christians is a representation of the spiritual baptism that takes place at the point of salvation. It demonstrates that we are dead to and are no longer allied with sin. Instead, we identify with death and resurrection of Christ to the new life of the Holy Spirit within us, born again, knowing that “he that is dead is freed from sin” (Rom. 6:7). Verse 8 continues with “if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Christ” (vs. 8) since He died once to sin and rose again, He will not die again but lives “unto” God (vs.10). We are instructed to consider ourselves also “dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (vs.11). Paul then points to the Holy Spirit-enabled progression of intentional decision that needs to follow our new birth in Christ:
“Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Do not yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin. But yield yourselves unto God, as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Rom. 6:12-13).
Further on, Paul states that “there is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom 8:1). Next week we’ll talk more about that concept and the grace of God that makes it possible.
