KINGDOM MEANING OF BORN AGAIN (John 3.3-5)

[Harmony Ngafeeson]

Born again is not a religious term or a church. Born again is a legal term. I was born in Cameroon by Cameroonian parents. That makes me a citizen of Cameroon. If you are born in America then you are an American citizen. There are two ways in which one can be a citizen of a country; i.e. by birth and naturalization (adoption). If you are born in your country of origin, you are automatically a citizen with rights and privileges. Naturalization is an adoption process where a person who is not born in a country is adopted in that country as a citizen base on certain modalities.

Heaven is a country and not a church. The kingdom of Heaven is a nation and not a religion. And how does one become a citizen of a country? He must be born in that country. To freely enjoy and benefit the rights and privileges of a country, you must be born in that country. Equally, to enjoy the rights and privileges of the kingdom of Heaven, you must be born spiritually in it. Jesus used the word AGAIN because man (Adam) was once a citizen of the kingdom of Heaven and lost his citizenship when He disobeyed the government of God. Jesus came to restore citizenship authority to man (you and I), and for that to be possible, man (you and I) must first be born AGAIN. We must first regain our citizenship status in the kingdom of Heaven.

So my friend, Heaven is your original country. You are here on earth as ambassador. To enjoy the privileges and benefits of the government of Heaven, you must first regained you citizenship status.—be born again. Secondly, study the constitution and laws to know your rights and benefits then obey the laws—be righteous and lastly begin to relate and make demands from the government of Heaven. Thanks. Please ask questions. Watch out for part 3.

 

[Ann Brown]

We are not "Born Agan" until the resurrection:

When Will the New Birth Occur?

The biblical illustration of being "born again" is analogous to the physical birth process. The spiritual regeneration that occurs at baptism is compared to begettal by one's father. Following begettal, we must grow and develop as Christians just as a fetus must grow and develop inside the mother before it is ready to be born. The Bible compares the actual birth to the resurrection. This is made clear in John 3:6 when Jesus told Nicodemus: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 15:50–53 that, while flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, we will be changed into immortal spirit at the resurrection.

Just as the wind possesses great power yet is invisible, so also will those be who have actually been born of the Spirit (John 3:8). In this life we have been like Adam—having a physical, mortal body. After the resurrection from the dead, we will have a glorified spirit body—just like Jesus Christ following His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:43–49; Revelation 1:13–15). Our "vile body" will be changed to be like His "glorious body" (Philippians 3:21). Jesus Christ no longer grows tired or hungry. He is no longer subject to pain or death. Rather, He emerged from the grave never to die again! Jesus was restored to the glory that He shared with the Father before the world was, and now sits at the Father's right hand as our Intercessor and soon-coming King (John 17:4; Hebrews 4:14–16).

In Colossians 1:18 and Revelation 1:5, Jesus Christ is called the "firstborn from the dead." In Romans 8:29, He is termed the "firstborn among many brethren." This clearly implies that we will also be "born from the dead"! The Greek term translated "firstborn" is prototokos. Protos is a Greek word meaning "first in order and importance." This meaning is demonstrated by its use as a prefix in English words such as "prototype."

While the Bible uses many analogies to characterize true Christians—such as new-born babes in 1 Peter 2:2, adolescent children in Hebrews 12:6–7, living stones to be constructed into a spiritual temple in 1 Peter 2:5 or parts of the human body in 1 Corinthians 12:12—the new birth nevertheless remains the most powerful and complete description of what is literally involved in our entrance into the Kingdom of God. It explains what salvation is really all about—becoming literal sons of God (Hebrews 2:10).

Right now, true Christians are heirs, but not yet inheritors. Christ makes it plain that it is only at the resurrection, "When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him..." that He will say to the resurrected saints, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom" (Matthew 25:31, 34). Jesus Christ clearly revealed to His disciples in Matthew 24:13 that only those who endure and persevere to the very end will be saved. God has a great ultimate purpose. He is reproducing Himself in us! We can be in God's Family as fully born children—younger brothers of Jesus Christ who was the firstborn of many brethren (Romans 8:29).

In the ceremony of baptism, Christians prefigure the resurrection itself (Romans 6:1–5). It is at the resurrection that we will finally put on immortality and actually inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50–53). We are symbolically buried in a watery grave, and then emerge out of the water to walk in newness of life. In John 3:5, Christ referred to the necessity of being born both of water and of the Spirit. In the Bible, water is often used as a type of the Holy Spirit (John 7:38–39). Emerging from the waters of baptism is a symbolic birth—a type of our actual rebirth at the resurrection.

To equate the biblical "born again" with conversion, or an emotional experience at baptism, is to miss the entire point that salvation is a process! Salvation begins with our receiving God's Holy Spirit after baptism and thus becoming a partaker "of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). Christians then grow in grace and knowledge throughout the rest of their physical lives. The salvation process will culminate at the resurrection with the Christian's full arrival into the glorious Kingdom of God as a fully glorified, Spirit-born son of God. Truly, God is "bringing many sons to glory" (Hebrews 2:10)! Will you be one of them? If so, you must be "born again"!