Born Again

“Are you certain that you have been born again and made spiritually alive?”

This was a question posed in Henry & Richard Blackaby’s widely popular book, Experiencing God. I must admit, this question gave me pause and my reaction to it shocked me. At the time of reading the question, I had never thoughtfully considered what it meant to be born again. Though I had heard this statement numerous times, and had read about it even more, somehow I minimized its significance in my mind.

I am certain this happens often to believers. Our knowledge of God can become so commonplace and routine that his truth translates as slogans or catchphrases in our minds.

So I am thankful that this time in reading the words born again in the context of the question that was posed in the Blackaby’s book, I felt uncertain.

Uncertainty is not always a bad thing. Oftentimes where there is tension, it is a signal that there is something to learn or pay attention to. The tension and uncertainty I felt surrounding being born again was worth examining.

In John 3:3, we see Jesus conversing with a Pharisee by the name of Nicodemus. The Pharisees were primarily a society of scholars and pietists who combined the teachings of the Old Testament with their own ideas. Jesus often referred to the Pharisees as hypocrites. Hypocrite comes from the Greek term, Hupokrites, which means one who wears a mask, or in other words, someone who pretends to be what he is not. 

Hypocrisy can refer to looking down on others when we ourselves are flawed. But it can also refer to a misalignment between our words and actions versus who we say we believe in.

Pharisees were avid teachers of the law, but failed to recognize the one who came to fulfill the law.

Jesus. 

One evening, Nicodemus came to Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him” (John 3:2 CSB).

Jesus replied, "Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3 CSB).

Nicodemus was perplexed and couldn’t fathom how someone could be born again. But Jesus was speaking of a spiritual rebirth, not a physical one. Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6 CSB).

He then goes on to say, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15 CSB).

To be born again is a new birth. It is purely an act of God in which eternal life is graciously imparted to the person who believes. Even though Nicodemus was considered a teacher of Israel with a head knowledge of the scriptures, he clearly lacked an understanding of whom the scriptures were about. Our eternity is not based on our merit or our knowledge of Jesus, but rather our belief in him. We are saved by grace through faith, not by works, so no man can boast.

This idea of head knowledge not being enough has truly impacted me. In fact, a few months ago, a friend of mine and her close friend prayed for me. Through their conversations with me and even as they prayed, they sensed spiritually that I had a head knowledge of Christ, but not an experiential one. I must say, the reality of this hurt me pretty deeply. Here I was spending all this time with God, yet there was a disconnect in my mind regarding Christ.

I never wanted to admit this, but for the longest time I had always been aware of God’s triune nature, but I only inwardly accepted God and his Holy Spirit, with Jesus being the outlier in my mind. I often found it incredibly difficult to say Jesus’ name without smirking or a tinge of doubt in my mind. It was something about Jesus that I could not quite connect with even though I desperately wanted to.

Given this, I re-read the book of John three times last month. If ever you are doubting who Jesus is, the Bible itself testifies about Jesus because the scriptures are about him. But the book of John specifically is written so that “you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31 CSB).

In reading the book of John over and over and over, the concept that stood out to me the most is the fact that Jesus and God are one, not only because Jesus says this to be so, but because Jesus’ words and actions always line up with the Father’s words and actions. He only speaks what the Father says. This is repeated numerous times in the book of John:

John 5:19 CSB: “Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son likewise does these things.” 

John 7:16-18 CSB: “My teaching isn’t mine but is from the one who sent me. If anyone wants to do his will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. The one who speaks on his own seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

John 8:28-29 CSB: “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own. But just as the Father taught me, I say these things. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.”

John 8:42-27 CSB: “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and I am here. For I didn’t come on my own, but he sent me. Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to my word. You are of your father the devil and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Who among you can convict me of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.”

John 10:25-30 CSB: “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me. But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” 

John 10:37-38 CSB: “If I am not doing my Father’s works, don’t believe me. But I am doing them and you don’t believe me, believe the works. This way you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father.”

John 11:25-26 CSB: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

John 14:9-11 CSB: “How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who lives in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.”

You should know that the enemy is working overtime to shake our belief in Jesus. It is so obvious to me now. I had always had this strange doubt in the back of my mind regarding Jesus that I could not quite pinpoint, yet I am so drawn to the word of God, which are scriptures that testify and point to Jesus, the very one I was doubting. What the devil aims to do is diminish Christ in your mind that either you doubt his existence entirely, or you mentally rid him of his divinity, deducing him to a mere person. 

Satan aims to get us to view Jesus and God separately, instead of God existing in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

So this brings us back to why the question of “are you certain that you have been born again and made spiritually alive?” gave me pause. I wasn’t certain.

A portion from my uncertainty came from doubt.

But as I read the question and truly thought about it, surrender is what came to mind. I credit the Holy Spirit in enabling me to see that even though I surrendered parts of my life to God, I hadn’t submitted all of myself to him. Along with doubt, this is also why the notion of being born again felt foreign to me. For the longest time, I had one foot in worry and the other foot in God. In that moment, God helped me to see that I needed to place both feet on solid ground. I felt this strong desire to surrender all to God in that moment. My thoughts, my body, and my desires. Everything. I made a conscious decision that evening to truly give my life to Christ and to submit under his will fully. I decided to put my trust in him and let go of my remaining idols.

Though I felt I had submitted to his will numerous times before, this specific time felt different. This kind of surrender I experienced was a complete letting go of the doubts and the lingering idols in my life. I felt this surrender in my heart. I truly meant it. After I surrendered out loud to God, but first in my heart, I started to drift to sleep.

I promise you, as I drifted, I heard the sound of a newborn baby cry in my ear. The cry was loud, to the point that I jolted awake. I ignored it initially and chalked it up to nothing. But as I drifted to sleep again, I heard the same sound of a newborn baby cry in my ear yet again. This time, I couldn’t ignore it. In that moment, I knew God was teaching me that true surrender, repentance of sins, and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior is what it means to be born again. In being born again, we are dead to sin and made alive in Christ.

In him is eternal life.

Prayer:

If you are reading this and have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and are struggling to do so, consider the scriptures below:

“No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3 CSB).

“But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven (Matthew 16:17 CSB).

I reference these scriptures because they illustrate that no one can confess Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Considering that, one of the most pointed prayers you could pray in this moment is to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to you. It may sound strange to pray to the God you are doubting, but even in your doubts, God is still the answer.