Lesson: God’s People Here on Earth (Day 9) Let us continue our study of the word of God. Today, let us tackle John 3:3-5 and the passage is as follows: (3) Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (4) Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” (5) Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. (NABRE) In the previous posts of this series, we have PROVEN that the KINGDOM OF GOD has already been ESTABLISHED since A.D. 33 on the day of Pentecost. But have we RECOGNIZED it? Have we ENTERED into it? What SHOULD BE DONE to be able to SEE it or ENTER into it? Our text today (John 3:3-5) answers the above questions. According to Christ, NO ONE CAN SEE the kingdom of God WITHOUT BEING BORN FROM ABOVE. It is very possible that WE HAVE SEEN the kingdom of God already, but WE DID NOT PERCEIVE it because WE HAVE NOT BEEN BORN FROM ABOVE. Jesus also said in Matthew 13:11-14 that many people WOULD SEE the kingdom of heaven but NOT PERCEIVE it. When Jesus told His disciples about the kingdom of heaven, it was still a MYSTERY (Matthew 13:11) because IT WAS NOT YET ESTABLISHED. Jesus Christ used the Greek word “anothen” in John 3:3, which literally means “from above.” Many Bible translations render the word “anothen” as “again.” I think this translation is also correct because Nicodemus asked how could a man when he was old reenter his mother’s womb and be born again (verse 4). According to Christ, NO ONE CAN see the kingdom of God WITHOUT BEING BORN FROM ABOVE or BEING BORN AGAIN. How can we be born from above or be born again? Jesus Christ clearly said that we COULD NOT ENTER the kingdom of God WITHOUT BEING BORN OF WATER and SPIRIT (verse 5). This HAPPENS IN BAPTISM because in baptism ONE IS BURIED with Christ and IS RAISED TO A NEW LIFE. In Roman 6:4 we can read, “We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.” It is very clear that one can only have a NEW LIFE after he/she is BAPTIZED. So one is born again ONLY AFTER BAPTISM. In fact, ONLY THOSE WHO WERE BAPTIZED have clothed themselves with Christ. This is the reason that THEY BECOME SONS OF GOD through faith in Christ Jesus. In Galatians 3:26-27 we can read, “For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” So if people become children of God through faith in Christ Jesus because they were baptized and clothed themselves with Christ, then THEY ARE TRULY BORN FROM ABOVE. Many people, who believe in the “Saved by Faith Alone” doctrine, argue that being born of water happened when we were still in our mother’s womb. Therefore, what we need now is being born by the Spirit. If this argument is true, then WHY DID JESUS INCLUDE “being born of water” in His CONDITION FOR ENTERING the kingdom of God? He could have said, “No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of the Spirit.” Many people do not know that AFTER BAPTISM, they will RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT. In Acts 2:38 we can read, “Peter [said] to them, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.” Peter was very clear as to WHAT WOULD HAPPEN after one was baptized. He said that they should repent and be baptized FOR THE FORGIVENESS of their sins and they WOULD RECEIVE the gift of the Holy Spirit. So only those who have TRULY BEEN BORN AGAIN can enter the kingdom of God. One can be born again AFTER HE/SHE IS BAPTIZED (Romans 6:4; Galatians 3:26-27). But sad to say that those who claim to be “born-again Christians” are ALLERGIC to baptism and DO NOT BELIEVE that baptism is essential. The “born-again Christians” believe that ONE CAN BE BORN AGAIN WITHOUT BAPTISM as long as he/she accepts Jesus Christ as his/her personal Lord and Savior. Judge for yourselves!
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 02:29:29 +0000
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