Born of God

In my previous article, I explained that You Must Be Born Again to see and enter the kingdom of God. I mainly focused on the passage in John 3, where Jesus explained this to Nicodemus. Now let's look at other Scriptures about being born of God.

Jesus Came Forth from God
First we begin with Jesus our Lord. “Jesus…had come forth from God and was going back to God…” (Joh 13:3). This does not mean He was born again. It simply establishes the fact that He came forth from God. He was God already before He came to earth, according to Scripture, which says that in the beginning "the Word was with God and the Word was God." (Jn 1:3). He did not need to be regenerated, since was the image of the invisible God, the radiance of His glory, and the exact representation of His nature (Col 1:15; Heb 1:3)

Jesus said, "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father." (Joh 16:28)

Jesus said to them, "…I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.” (Joh 8:42).

Therefore, it is clearly established in the Word that Jesus Christ came from God and was sent by Him into the world.

Jesus Came from Heaven Above
Secondly, since the Lord came from the Father Who is in heaven, Jesus came from heaven, hence He is from above. "He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.” (Joh 3:31). This clearly establishes the fact that Jesus is above all. Paul said, "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." (Col 1:16-17).

Jesus was Born of God
Having now established the fact that Jesus was God and came from God in heaven above, this makes it all the more wonderful that He was born of God. John the apostle referred to Him as He who was born of God. He said, "We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.” (1Jn 5:18). John said that Jesus is the child born of God. "…whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.” (1Jn 5:1b). The expression "the child born of Him" uses the singular expression "child", not the plural, so it is obviously talking about Jesus, since it does not say "the children."

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is Born of God
As we just read in John's epistle, whoever loves the Father loves the Child born of Him. Those who put their faith in Him as the Christ are born of God. “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…" (1Jn 5:1a). This is an amazing truth! We, too, may be born of God through faith in Christ. This expression "born of God" carries the meaning that one comes forth from God. It happens at the moment the Holy Spirit gives us the second birth. Just as flesh gives birth to flesh, so Spirit gives birth to spirit.

So does that mean that anyone who calls Jesus Lord is born of God? No. Jesus made this very clear when He said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter." (Mat 7:21).

Whoever Practices Righteousness is Born of God
John set the standard of living for those who are born of Him, when he said, “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.” (1Jn 2:29)

No One Who is Born of God Practices Sin
Not only does everyone born of Him practice righteousness, but nobody who is born of God practices sin. “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1Jn 3:9)

Everyone Who Loves is Born of God
Love is the defining characteristic of the person who is truly born of God. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” (1Jn 4:7)

Whatever Is Born of God Overcomes the World
Finally we have this amazing promise of overcoming the world, if we are truly born of God. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.” (1Jn 5:4)

Putting it All Together
Let this be an encouragement to you. If you have repented and put your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord, you are following the One who came from God the Father in heaven. You will submit your whole life to the lordship of the child born of Him, and you will love and obey Him. He is the One who created you.

Although Jesus was born of God, He was not regenerated, since He was God throughout eternity without sin. But He was born of God in the sense that He came forth from God out of heaven into the earth, where He was made in the likeness of men, and was found in appearance as a man.  Although He existed throughout eternity, His birth took place when He came from heaven into this world in human form.

The new birth for those who believe in Him is an amazing reality, because at the moment of regeneration, the Spirit gives birth to spirit, and a new creation is born. The person you once were is dead and gone. The new person is born, who is made after the image of the Man from heaven. The Lord Jesus comes and takes up residence inside that person's heart (Jn 14:20,23; 2 Cor 13:5).

The one who is born of God does not practice sin any more, but practices righteousness. The one who is born of God loves. And rather than being worldly, the one who is born of God overcomes the world. I hope this has helped you to understand and better appreciate what it truly means to be born of God.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.  "Born Again" painting © 2012 Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist.

Author's note: You are invited to read You Must Be Born Again, Evidence of the Second Birth, Where will you go when you die?, Few will be saved, Costly Grace, The Cost of Discipleship, Doulos Training School, By Grace Alone,  All Things Are New!, Holy Washings - Part I, Entering the Kingdom of God, The Obedience of Faith, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, Deleted Scriptures in the Bible?, The Law of Christ, Law of Love in the New Testament, The Judgment Seat of Christ, Is Obedience Optional?, and Led by the Spirit. The Home page of this blog also has more articles. You may access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Do You Want to Know Jesus?

If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him. 

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

You must repent, because God is perfectly holy, and He is love.  We were created to know Him. But you and I have a problem called sin that separates us from God.  Because of your sin, you deserve an eternity of punishment in hell, where there is no joy, but only torment.

Jesus Christ is God's Son, who came in the flesh and gave His life for you on the cross, in order to pay the penalty for your sin.  He did that, because He loves you with an everlasting love.  Someone needed to pay the price for our sin, and He was the only One qualified to do so, since He was sinless.  He wants you to have a relationship with Him, and live with Him forever in heaven.  He doesn't want you to perish on account of your sin.  But He will not repent of your sin for you.  You must do this yourself.

If you repent, it means you turn from your sin by changing your mind completely about it. You cannot repent unless the Holy Spirit convicts you of your sinful condition.  It is His role to convince you of your sinful predicament. So if you do not feel convicted, you should cry out to God, and ask the Lord to reveal to you the true nature of the sinful state you are in. Then I suggest you read His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's gospel, chapters 5 - 7, as well as His Sermon on the Plain in Luke's gospel, chapter 6. As you read, ask Him for true contrition for sin and to bring you to sincere repentance.  

Once He does that, then you should take as long as necessary to repent of all your sins. I recommend repenting for every sin you have ever committed from the youngest age you can remember until the present, and repent by confessing each one specifically to the Lord, turning away from it, and asking the Lord to forgive you.  Repent also in general for the sins you cannot remember.  For one person, that could be an hour, and for someone else it could take longer. Others may repent in a moment of time. The important thing is that you respond to that conviction from the Holy Spirit, and pray through completely until you have an assurance of your salvation. Ask the Lord to cleanse you.  Receive His cleansing and forgiveness.

Then surrender your whole life to Him, committing to live for righteousness for the rest of your days. After that you should invite Jesus to come live inside your heart, and take up His rightful place on the throne there.

To believe in Jesus means to put all your trust in Him to save you.  If you trust Him to save you, then you will ask Him to forgive your sin and invite Him to come and live inside your heart. Please pray this prayer out loud to God from your heart:

Heavenly Father,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart.  This I ask in Jesus' name.  Amen.

When I gave my life to Jesus, I simply read a sinner's prayer from the back of a gospel tract, while sitting in a chair in my military barracks room. My friend who led me to Christ was standing behind me with his hand on my shoulder. I did not repent for every single sin individually, and I didn't shed any tears. However, I prayed with sincerity from my heart to God, confessing with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believing in my heart that God raised Him from the dead.

But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."  (Rom 10:8-11)

This means we need to confess what we believe.  If you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord of your life, you must confess Him publicly.  Here's how to do it.  Confess your belief in Christ publicly by stating your answer to the following question out loud to someone: "Who do you say Jesus is?" Tell someone who you believe Jesus is! Tell them that you have given your life to Jesus. Once you have repented, placed your trust in Jesus, and confessed Him publicly, you will have entered into a covenant with Him and be a new person!

This is how you become a child of God and enter into a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship.  It’s absolutely essential that you produce the fruit of repentance! I cannot emphasize this enough. This means you need to show by your actions that you really have changed your mind, and that Jesus Christ is now Lord of your whole life.  Otherwise your repentance will only be an emotion or a good intention that did not result in a change in your actions.

After you have repented and believed in Jesus Christ, confessing Him publicly, one of the things you should seek to do as soon as possible is to be water baptized in His name. When the people came to the apostle Peter, asking what they should do, Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Act 2:38).  In addition to being water baptized, you should also ask the Lord to baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him in order for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus' name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, and find a place of service in that loving community.  Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life.

Once you have given your life to the Lord, please contact me to let me know by leaving a comment on this page. I invite you to attend Doulos Training School.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's Note: For other blogs about coming to know Jesus, please see Entering the Kingdom of God, Knowing the Lord, Holy Washings - Part I, All Things Are New!,  The Loving God Who Bids Us Come, By Faith Alone, By Grace Alone, Christ Alone, and Where Will You Go When You Die?  I also recommend my article, The Name of Jesus.

For more helpful information on how to grow in God, please see Baptized with the Spirit, Being a Witness for Christ, Salvation with Fear and Trembling, and my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

  ____________________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.