THURSDAY June 3, 2021
Are You Born Again?
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3
Remember, the Church is not a building. The true church is made up of people. In fact, you do not join the Church, you are born into it. This is the difference between religion and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Nicodemus came and spoke to Jesus at night. He was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews. He perceived that Jesus was a teacher come from God; for no man could do the signs He performed unless God was with him (John 3:2). Jesus said to him: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Nicodemus did not understand. He wrestled with the thought that he had to go through natural birth again (John 3:4).
Jesus clarified this spiritual truth to Nicodemus, saying, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). This does not mean a person is to be immediately baptized with water. Throughout the Scriptures, water is used as an analogy of the Word of God. Just as water breaks forth when a child is born, a person becomes born again of the Word of God, which they accept by faith, and the Spirit of God now dwells within them.
The meaning of a person who is born again simply means that regeneration has taken place in their life: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). When a person becomes born again of the Holy Spirit, they become a part of the Church. The Church is made up of people who have become born again of the Holy Spirit from around the entire world!
No new Christian is born in a vacuum. He is delivered into the fellowship of the Church. He is baptized by the one Spirit into the body of Christ. He joins the society of the saints.
~Arthur Skevington Wood~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
