What Does It Mean to Be Born—Again?

Read John 3:1–7. 

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.—John 3:7

When you receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Bible declares you to be “born again.” Jesus told Nicodemus that we must be born again. Nicodemus did not understand how a person could go back into his mother’s womb and be born, again. He was thinking about a physical rebirth; Jesus was talking about a spiritual rebirth. You are a spirit being; you have a soul (mind, will, and emotions); you live in a physi- cal body. The spirit of man, or the real you, can be born again from death to life (Ephesians 2:1) by making a decision to choose Jesus as his (your) Lord. When this happens, you become born of the Spirit and born of God (John 3:6). Your spirit is instantly born into the image and likeness of God Himself, with authority and dominion to rule on this earth (Genesis 1:26–28). You can then see the kingdom of God (John 3:3) and enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). This brings a whole new lifestyle and a new position to a person. You can now claim and choose what is legally yours, because you have been born into the family of God. Right now, you are either born again or you are not—there is nothing in between. Going to church will not save you, being good will not save you, your denomination will not get you into the Kingdom. You personally and individually must be born again. You must understand that Jesus freely paid the price for your deliverance from death to life and confess Him as your Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9–10). You must be born again!

Pastor Tom Kehres

The Qualifying Key

. . . except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. —John 3:3

Nicodemus came and asked, “How can You do such miracles? How can You do such mighty works? Why is God with You and not with us? We are religious! We wear the right clothing! . . . eat clean food! . . . keep all the rituals and traditions we know! We pray the right prayers! We spend hours in the synagogue! Why You and not me? Why is God with You and so far away from me?” Jesus replied, “You must be born again.” It seems here that Jesus avoided the question, that He completely ignored poor Nicodemus. Yet He was giving him the answer to the question, to the cry of his heart. Do you, Nicodemus, want to have God with you? Do you want to do these miracles? Then you must be born again. Why? Because this new birth qualifies you for the signs and wonders and miracles. Because when you are born again, God is with you. You may go to a church, you may serve there faithfully—but you must be born again. You may be at every church function, you may serve as an usher, greet at the door, be an elder in the church—but you must be born again. You may be Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, nondenominational—but you must be born again. It is the new birth that allows God to be with you, and once He is with you, His power will also be with you! What is the key to spiritual living? It is this—you must be born again! Are you? If you aren’t, what are you waiting for?

Pastor Tom Kehres

Become Aware of Him

No man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
—John 3:2

Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. Even though he was a member of the Pharisees, the group of religious leaders who were seeking to destroy Jesus, he still knew there was something special about Jesus. He saw the miracles that Jesus did, and he desired in his heart to do the same. He came to ask how Jesus was doing what He was doing. He knew that in order to do such mighty deeds, God had to be with Him. Not only was God with Jesus, but God is now with you in the Person of the Holy Ghost. You can ignore Him, but He is still with you. You can forget He is there, but He is. You can stop acting like a Christian, stop talking like a victorious person, stop thinking right, but He is still with you. If you don’t seek Him, spend time with Him, or talk to Him for days, that does not change the fact that He is with you. He is eternally committed to you! He will abide with you forever. He will never leave you, nor forsake you. He is always trying to get your attention, to bring your heart into a place of constant awareness of Him and a place of expecting His ability to perform. He will never quit, never give up on you. He is God with you. Spend some time right now, if only for a couple of minutes, to think about and acknowledge His presence. Thank Him for His faithfulness and love toward you. Become aware of the Holy Ghost.

Pastor Tom Kehres

Freely Receive

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. —Matthew 10:7–8

This is a description of the life of a person who has been born again, a person whom God is now with. He will tell others of the Good News. He will heal the sick, cast out devils, and freely give because he has freely received. Notice the receiving comes first. You cannot give anything that you do not have to give. How did you get it? “Freely.” The new birth was given to you freely—but you had to receive it. It is the same way with the power and presence of God. God has freely given it to you—but you must receive it. When you were born again and received Christ, you received everything you will ever need. If you still feel like you have come up short or are lacking in anything, it is because you are not understanding that it has already been freely given to you. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things” (Romans 8:32, emphasis added). When He became with you, He brought with Him all things. Whatever you receive, you will then be able to give. Receive the power—give the power; receive the peace, spread the peace; receive the joy, give the joy. Freely receive—so you can freely give. Many try to work for or qualify for the things of God—if you could earn them, they would not be free. Religious works are not the answer to living with God— freely receiving His presence and power leads to miracles. He said He is with you—so He is!