John
10-28-2015, 12:36 AM
Chuck,
When were you born-again as in this passage?
[Jhn 3:3-8 KJV] 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
I was born-again January, 2001.
The only hard part of this passage is what does the water represent?
For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. (Ezek. 36:24–27 (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Ezek.%2036.24%E2%80%9327))
It was surely this passage that Jesus had in mind, showing regeneration to be an Old Testament truth (cf. Deut. 30:6 (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Deut.%2030.6); Jer. 31:31–34 (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Jer.%2031.31%E2%80%9334); Ezek. 11:18–20 (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Ezek.%2011.18%E2%80%9320)) with which Nicodemus would have been acquainted. Against this Old Testament backdrop, Christ’s point was unmistakable: Without the spiritual washing of the soul, a cleansing accomplished only by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5 (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Titus%203.5)) through the Word of God (Eph. 5:26 (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Eph.%205.26)), no one can enter God’s kingdom.
http://www.gtycanada.org/resources/bible-qna/BQ072413/what-does-it-mean-to-be-born-of-water-and-spirit
When were you born-again as in this passage?
[Jhn 3:3-8 KJV] 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
I was born-again January, 2001.
The only hard part of this passage is what does the water represent?
For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. (Ezek. 36:24–27 (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Ezek.%2036.24%E2%80%9327))
It was surely this passage that Jesus had in mind, showing regeneration to be an Old Testament truth (cf. Deut. 30:6 (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Deut.%2030.6); Jer. 31:31–34 (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Jer.%2031.31%E2%80%9334); Ezek. 11:18–20 (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Ezek.%2011.18%E2%80%9320)) with which Nicodemus would have been acquainted. Against this Old Testament backdrop, Christ’s point was unmistakable: Without the spiritual washing of the soul, a cleansing accomplished only by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5 (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Titus%203.5)) through the Word of God (Eph. 5:26 (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Eph.%205.26)), no one can enter God’s kingdom.
http://www.gtycanada.org/resources/bible-qna/BQ072413/what-does-it-mean-to-be-born-of-water-and-spirit