Living the Christian Life Magazine

The need for spiritual transformation or regeneration produced by the Holy Spirit

It is the need of every person that has ever lived; Nicodemus was unaware of his need. His position as a leader of the Jews should have made him receptive to the teachings of Jesus. But as a Jew he supposed that by his birth he was entitled to all the privileges of the people of God.

 

    A New Creation - John 3:1-21

“Ye must be born again”

Man's religion

Nicodemus Came to Jesus by night.  His words to Jesus was "We know"  

Man's religion will always be based on his own knowledge or concept, this concept is based upon his own perception, has to what is morally right.

The necessity of the new birth grows out of the incapacity of the natural man to see or enter the kingdom of God, However gifted, moral, or refined he may be the natural man is absolutely blind to spiritual truth and incapable of entering the kingdom  Jesus goes beyond mans concept and comes to the very heart of man's problem, the need for spiritual transformation or regeneration produced by the Holy Spirit

The new birth is not a reformation of the old nature but a creative act of the Holy Spirit. The expression "old man" has its meaning in all that man was in Adam, both morally and judicially, i.e. the corrupt human nature, the inborn tendency to evil in all men

The Epistle to the Romans exhorts us to make good in experience, reckoning that our old nature has now no hold on us, it has been crucified at Calvary, the crucifixion with Christ has intervened to free the sinner from his double bondage to sin

Rom.6.v5  says    For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death , we  shall be also in the likeness  of his resurrection.  .

 v7   For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Planted together means, “causing us to grow  together as a graft”, so that life and  nature merge into one. “The old man”  i.e the body of sin is made inoperative. We have been delivered from dominion of sin and enabled to live a holy life in resurrection power.

We have been united to the risen Christ who won a judicial victory for us over sin in the flesh.  it is to be renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him  

Read  Col. 3 v10  & Eph 4.24

The new man has become a partaker of the divine nature and life. It is Christ formed in the Christian.    

Read   Gal 2.20  Gal 4.19   Col 1.2   1John 4.12

The new birth is of God whereby eternal life is imparted to the believer

Read.  2Cor 5.17, Titus 3.5, 1Peter 1.3, 1John 2.29, 3.9 ,  4.7 ,5.1-17

John 1 v 12-13   But as many as received Him to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

This verse not only indicates that "born again" but also carries with it the idea

 "to become the children of God" through trust in the name of the incarnate Word.

See  Sonship and Adoption for the 2nd half of this article >>>>>>>