BORN AGAIN AS SONS

Introduction & Review

This devotion continues the theme that we began on Father's Day, which has addressed what it means to be children of God. On June 20th, we looked at God's role as our heavenly Father. He loves and cares for us more than any earthly father ever could. On June 29th, God led me to write about how humanity lost its God-given birthright. Because of our sins, we are no longer children of God by birth. Rather, we were born into slavery—slavery to sin and to Satan. Because of our sins, we were unable to free ourselves from Satan's grip. Jesus, however, could not be held by Satan or by death because of the perfect life He lived. Through Jesus' perfect obedience to God the Father, He showed Himself to be the one true Son of God. Through His death, He defeated Satan and paid the price required to redeem all of God's lost children from their captivity within the kingdom of darkness. This is what I talked about on July 11th. In this week's devotion, I hope to explain how we are able to be adopted into God's family and what it means to be the adopted children of God.

Sons through Adoption

The New Testament is littered with the language of sonship: “adopted” / “adoption” (Romans 8:15 NLT, 8:23, 9:4, Ephesians 1:5), “sons of God” (Matthew 5:9, Romans 8:14,19, Galatians 3:26), “children of God” (John 1:12, 11:52, Romans 8:21, Philippians 2:15, 1 John 3:1-2,10, 5:2,19), “born of God” (John 1:13, 1 John 3:9, 4:7, 5:1,4,18), “born again” (John 3:3,7, 1 Peter 1:23), “heirs” (Romans 8:17, Galatians 3:29, Titus 3:7), “inheritance” (Matthew 25:34, Ephesians 1:14,18, 5:5, Colossians 1:12, 3:24, Hebrews 9:15, 1 Peter 1:4)... As you can see, many different phrases are used to express the same truth that God has extended an open invitation to all people to return to His family.

ccc John 1:11-13 tells us that “to all who received [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” We are all invited to be adopted into God's family, but we are not all children of God. The passage from John tells us how we are able to be adopted into God's family—through faith in His Son, Jesus. This truth is stated and restated throughout the New Testament. For example, Ephesians 1:5 says that God “predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ.” And Galatians 3:26 says “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” There is only one way to be adopted into God's family—one way for us to come to God the Father and regain our status as His children. As Jesus told His disciples: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the only way into God's family and the only way to obtain God's eternal inheritance.

ccc As we discussed in a previous devotion, there are two kingdoms and two fathers. All people belong to either the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of the devil. They are either sons of God or sons of Satan. From my studies of the Bible, I have come to the understanding that the word “kingdom” is synonymous with the word “family.” Therefore, to enter the kingdom of God is the same thing as entering God's family. In the section below, we are going to examine a passage that describes how we are able to enter the kingdom (i.e., family) of God.

Sons through a Spiritual Rebirth

We have already shown how a person is able to enter God's family / kingdom through faith in Christ. And yet there are many more things we could say about what it means to be a part of God's family / kingdom. For example, in John 3:3-6, Jesus says that “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again... no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” These verses tell us that we can only enter the kingdom of God by undergoing a spiritual birth. Furthermore, by saying that “the Spirit gives birth to spirit,” Jesus was telling us that this spiritual birth takes place by God's Holy Spirit. However, this spiritual birth is not a requirement of salvation (as faith is), but rather it is a consequence of it, as Paul describes in Ephesians 1:13-14: “you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession.” Jesus has given us a wonderful down payment (John 16:7), which is evidence of the inheritance that we have yet to receive. In Jesus' day, a seal signified ownership. Therefore, to be marked in Jesus with a seal is to belong to Him (and to His family and kingdom). The Holy Spirit is the seal that marks us as God's property. If we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit actually lives inside of us (1 Corinthians 3:16)!

ccc So we see that believing in Christ involves a second, spiritual birth. But, if this birth is by the Spirit of God, why then does Jesus say that we must be “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5)? First of all, I believe this passage refers to baptism. In Mark 16:16, Jesus says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Then later, Jesus said “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Jesus clearly intended for His followers to be baptized.

ccc Mark 1:8 sheds a little more light on what it means to be “born of water and the Spirit.” In this passage, John the baptist says of Jesus, “I baptize with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Later, Peter says, “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” (Acts 2:38). Although Jesus had no need for repentance or forgiveness, He too was baptized, at which time “the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove” (Luke 3:22).

ccc I take these passages to say that baptism is a means by which we receive the Holy Spirit and are, thus, spiritually reborn. (Note however that some people received the Holy Spirit prior to or after baptism, as in Acts 10:47, 8:14-17, and 19:5-6.) Titus 3:5-7 explains how baptism is connected with our spiritual rebirth: “...[God] saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” As you can see from these verses, the value of baptism is in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit at work within us.

ccc In summary, Jesus tells us that we cannot “enter the kingdom of God unless [we are] born of water and the Spirit.” He also tells us that those who believe and are baptized will be saved. When we believe in Jesus we are marked in Him with the seal of the Holy Spirit, who washes and renews us. Our faith in Jesus places us in God's family and motivates us to obey Jesus' command to be baptized. To believe and be baptized is to be spiritually reborn.

Spiritually Reborn to Live a New Life

What are the implications of this spiritual rebirth? And what does it mean to be “marked in [Christ] with the... Holy Spirit”? According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, “...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Romans 6:3-4 expounds upon this idea when it says, “...don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” These verses tell us that, through our spiritual rebirth, we are actually a new creation—that we have been given the power to live a new life. As we just heard, “the old has gone, the new has come!” But what exactly does this mean? What is “the old” and what is “the new”?

ccc In Romans 6:3-4 we discovered that we die and are buried with Jesus through our baptism. This baptism into death is necessary because, in order to be a new creation, we must die to “the old” way of things. Romans 6:6 tells us that “our old self was crucified with [Jesus] so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” According to this verse, “the old” that “has gone” is our sinful nature and, as a new creation, we have been freed from our slavery to sin. As Romans 6:10-11 says: “The death [Christ] died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Therefore, if “the old” is truly going to be gone, then we must die to our sinful nature. But how is this possible? If we could do it on our own, then we wouldn't be in need of God's help. As we will see, it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can truly live a new life.

ccc The Bible says that “if the Spirit of God lives in you” then you “are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit” (Romans 8:9). This is not a loss of free will (which is why—although we are freed from our enslavement to sin—we still inevitably end up sinning). Instead, being controlled by the Spirit is a choice. As Romans 8:12-14 says: “Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Even though we are a new creation, we still have the ability (or the choice) to sin. But as we submit our lives to God and ask for His help in overcoming our sins, we will find that we are indeed progressively more “in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). Then we will see that we are truly a new creation, and that “the old has gone, the new has come!”

ccc So we see that baptism is both life and death. It is death because, in baptism, our “body of sin” is crucified and buried with Christ. And yet, at the same time, baptism is life because it produces spiritual rebirth. We must, therefore, consider ourselves to be “dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” And this means that we must die to self, because we cannot live for ourselves and at the same time crucify our sinful nature. In Galatians 2:19-20, Paul expresses his own baptismal death like this: “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

ccc There is a subtle irony in this truth: In order to live we must die. This was true of Christ as well, but in a different way. In order for us to live, He had to die. And we are baptized into Christ's death “in order that... we too may live a new life.” And what is the nature of this “new life”? It is “that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:15). Ephesians 4:22-24 says it like this: “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” If we are born of God we will be like Him. As the old saying goes, “like father like son.”

Summary / Conclusion

We are all invited to be a part of God's family and kingdom as a result of Jesus' death and resurrection. He paid the price for our sins in order that we would be made right with God. He is the only way to God the Father. Through our beliefs, we either accept or reject God's generous invitation to join His family. If we believe in Jesus, then we admit our wrongdoing and rely on His strength and ability—rather than our own strength and ability—to save us. In obedience to Christ, we are baptized. And, through the working of the Holy Spirit, we are spiritually reborn as a new creation—empowered to live a new life, freed from our enslavement to sin. However, the fact that we are a new creation is a seeming paradox. The old has gone, and yet it remains. The new has come, and yet we still struggle to do what's right. Anyone who struggles with sin knows what I'm talking about. (And, don't we all struggle with sin?)

ccc We are not perfect, but we have a responsibility to follow the Holy Spirit's leading as best as we can in order to put to death our sinful nature and live our lives for God. We are not able to do this on our own, but the Holy Spirit helps us. Even so, we must cooperate with Him, since disobedience can lead to spiritual death. So you see that, although we cannot make ourselves holy on our own, we are not without responsibility in the matter. Both God and the individual play a part in the sanctification process, as described in Philippians 2:12-13: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” God willing, those who belong to Him will become progressively more like Him. And, in the end, we know we will be like Him, because Romans 8:29 promises that “...those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”