Back to the Basics - Born Again
"Yes, indeed," Yeshua answered him, "I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."
(John 3:3 CJB)
Every journey has a starting point, but not all who start on a journey arrive at their chosen destination. If you are not prepared for the journey and have the right supplies to undertake this journey, it could lead to a disastrous climax.
This journey, you will need the B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) then follow the instructions on how to reach your destination. In the pages of this book gives the Basics to guide you on your journey to truth, the way, and the life.
John 14:6 Yeshua said, "I AM the Way, and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.
Getting to the heart of what it is to be born again. We need to read how Yeshua the Messiah explained this to a Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The story is found in John, Chapter three. I have *paraphrased the scriptures to get to the point, but you need to do some research for yourself and test everything.
John 3: 1-2 *Nicodemus came to Yeshua by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be with him.
When we undertake a journey, it is beneficial to have a map and a compass. The following scriptures are here for your benefit to keep you on course to your destination.
John 19:38-42 - After Yeshua was crucified, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Yeshua, but secretly for fear of the Jews, met with Pilate that he might give them permission to take the body of Yeshua. Pilate gave them permission then they took the body of Yeshua, and wrapped it in linen cloth with the spices, as the manner of the Jews. There in the garden, this sepulcher had never been used; it was there they laid the body of Yeshua. It was getting late in the day, not yet the evening, and Jewish preparation day was coming that evening. They hurried and did what they could then left.
1. Nicodemus secret meeting with Yeshua in John chapter three, we see later that Nicodemus may have made the journey to be born again.
2. John 7:52 A meeting of the religious order of the Jews, Nicodemus gives a rebuttal that was not well received. This conversation is interesting because of the lack of knowledge of Yeshua. It appears they were unaware that Yeshua was born in Bethlehem but only knew he came from; “…out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.”
3. Matthew 27:57 Joseph of Arimathaea, a rich man, became a disciple of Yeshua.
4. Mark 15:43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honorable counselor, went in boldly unto Pilate, asking for the body of Yeshua.
5. John 19:38 Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate for the body of Yeshua.
Later these side notes will be helpful as you continue on this journey. Touching a dead body and what the Torah says:
Numbers 9:6-10 “And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the Passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel? And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you.
And the LORD Spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the Passover unto the LORD.
Jewish time for a day – For that is how the Torah describes it in:
Genesis 1:5 “God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. So there was evening, and there was morning, one day.”
The day begins with the onset of the night by the morning. According to Jewish teachers, night and morning begin with sunset and sunrise, respectively.
We now continue with the conversation between Yeshua and Nicodemus.* John 3: 3-9
Yes, indeed," Yeshua answered him, "I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."
Nicodemus replied, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Yeshua’s reply, “I say unto thee, Except a man is born of water and of the Spirit; he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto you, that you must be born again. The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where it's going. That's how it is with every-one who has been born from the Spirit."
Nicodemus answered and said unto him, how can these things be?
Yeshua explained what it is to be born again, and it seems to be made quite simple, and let’s keep it that way. First, we are born from our mothers when the water breaks forth, then we arrive born of the flesh. Seems straight forward, to be born of the Spirit is to receive the Spirit of God into your life.
Being born of the flesh has its problems:
Job 15:14 “What is man, that he should be clean? And he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?”
Romans 7:5, “For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.”
The solution is to be born of the Spirit or to be born again. King David, a man after Gods own heart said:
Psalms 51:10-12 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy Salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit.”
1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Messiah Yeshua, which according to his abundant mercy hath (be-gotten us again) born again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of the Messiah Yeshua from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Suggest that you read 1 Peter 1:3-12 to understand the full thought and context of this Scripture.
New heart – being born again of the Spirit, it is not a new idea it has been foretold by the prophets as shown in the following scriptures:
Ezekiel 18:31 “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”
Ezekiel 36:26 “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”
We continue the discussion as Yeshua challenges Nicodemus says in:
* John 3:10-15 Yeshua answered him, "You hold the office of teacher in Yisra’el (Israel), and you don't know this? Yes, indeed! I tell you that what we speak about, we know, and what we give evidence of, we have seen, but you people don't accept our evidence! If you people don't believe me when I tell you about the things of the world, how will you believe me when I tell you about the things of heaven? No one has gone up into heaven; there is only the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life.”
Yeshua knowing Nicodemus’s heart appeals to his position and status in Israel. Then Yeshua reveals an age-old mystery to Nicodemus, which had been an object of many discussions of the Jewish leaders and Rabbis over the years. This mystery was related to the serpent of brass Moses made reference in *Numbers 21:4-9 “Then they traveled from Mount Hor on the road toward the Sea of Suf (Red Sea) to go around the land of Edom, but the people's tempers grew short because of the detour. The people spoke against God and against Moshe: "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? To die in the desert? There's no real food, there's no water, and we're sick of this miserable stuff we're eating!" In response, Adonai (the word Adonai - LORD is often used instead of the proper name of God) sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit the people, and many of Isra'el's people died. The people came to Moshe and said; "We sinned by speaking against Adonai and against you. Pray to Adonai that he rid us of these snakes." Moshe prayed for the people, and Adonai answered Moshe: "Make a poisonous snake and put it on a pole. When anyone who has been bitten sees it, he will live." Moshe made a bronze snake and put it on the pole; if a snake had bitten someone, then, when he looked toward the bronze snake, he stayed alive.”
The story opens the eyes of Nicodemus, being a teacher and a student of the Torah. This made a world of since. Unfortunately for us in western society, we tend to read over this, not understanding the Jewish background and historical story of the children of Israel in the desert after leaving Egypt.
The point of the story is that after the children of Israel complained to Moses. Adonai (Used in place of God’s Holy Name) in this story, which simply means LORD – Master. God sent poisonous snakes to bite the complaining people who are sinning against God’s appointed deliverer Moses who led the people out of Egypt.
This is most important for us today. That all people of all Nations who sin against God not following the deliverer our Saviour from Sin; Man has been bitten by his old nature, which is sinful, and the serpent of old Satan leads us off the path of our journey in the desert.
Our Saviour Yeshua, the Messiah, took our Sin upon himself, and he was placed on a cross, dies then rose again from the dead. This is the picture of Moses placing the bronze serpent on the pole. When the people looked upon it, they were saved from the serpent’s poison, which represents Sin.
Taking a closer look at these scriptures in John 3:14-19; Yeshua explains the importance of why we must be born again, and what that means:
John 3:14-19 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him. He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.”
It is imperative that we know we must be born again. But, this is only the first step on the journey to our destination. There will be mountains to climb and valleys to cross. Along the way, there will be many obstacles which we will be faced. Just how we handle these obstacles determines if our heart is focused on our devotion and, most of all, our commitment to God.
Sin:
“To him, therefore, that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
(James 4:17 ASV)
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the (teachings – Instructions) law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
(Hosea 4:6 ASV)
What is Sin, and how does it affect my life? This question must be resolved to continue on our journey to the desired destination. Having instructions, a map, and a compass is a good thing. Not having the knowledge to use them, we can get lost. The understanding of what Sin is and how to use this knowledge to navigate without getting lost, this is paramount in our journey. To make this journey, we will encounter many obstacles. The first obstacle which takes many forms is Sin.
Sin, what is a sin? Let’s see what the instruction manual for life has to say:
(Genesis 4:7) “If you are doing what is good, shouldn't you hold your head high? And if you don't do what is good, Sin is crouching at the door; it wants you, but you can rule over it."
(James 1:13-15) “No one being tempted should say, "I am being tempted by God." For God cannot be tempted by evil, and God himself tempts no one. Instead, each person is being tempted whenever he is being dragged off and enticed by the bait of his own desire. Then, having conceived, the desire gives birth to Sin; and when Sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.”
(James 4:17) “So then, anyone who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it is committing a sin.
The word Sin has been in use for thousands of years; it is a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God. If we continue in Sin, it leads to death, which is not the desired destination of our journey.
Sin or the sinful nature of man has a hold on our lives. This is why Yeshua said, “I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."
Sin originated through disobedience to God's instructions on how Adam and Eve were to conduct them in the garden. Sin began to grow in the next generation, when Cain killed Able out of anger.
The condition of mankind has not improved over time; it has become worse in the many ways man has found to disobey God and openly defy God, even to the point to say there is no God. The justification for this is if there is no God, then I can do what I want, and there is no penalty. I find this liked to a man who says I do not believe in gravity and walks off a ten-story building to prove this law of gravity has no power over him, The results, Death!
(Romans 5:12) “Here is how it works: it was through one individual that sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and in this way death passed through to the whole human race, since everyone sinned.”
As we continue on our journey, we must identify the temptations of Sin that lead us off the desired path to our destination? If we can identify the pitfalls of Sin, then we can avoid these dangerous detours leading to the wrong destination. It is clear, at this point, to be born again is the first step on our journey to the desired destination.
(James 1:12) “How blessed is the man who perseveres through temptation! For after he has passed the test, he will receive as his crown the Life which God has promised to those who love him.”
(Romans 3:23) “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Knowing that this condition of Sin has infected all mankind, we must investigate where Sin first entered the lives of humanity. Look to the Instruction Manual of life, the Bible, we will find the answers to avoid this obstacle in our path on this journey. I encourage you to read Chapter Three of Genesis to further your knowledge of this subject. Using the Bible, I will break down the strategy that the enemy (The Adversary – Satan) has been using effectively on all mankind since that time, in the garden, where Sin entered the lives of all mankind. As I *paraphrase the scriptures in Genesis 3:1-6, I encourage you to test everything and dig deeper into the Word of God.
* Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent (The Adversary) was very clever more than any wild animal which (The true Name of God is used herein Hebrew), God, had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You are not to eat from any tree in the garden'?"
1. Doubting the instructions of God is a real temptation. This should always be a red flag that there is danger ahead in our journey. This minefield you are about to enter is full of hazards that the Adversary has placed in your path, beware.
* Genesis 3:2-3 “The woman said to the serpent (the Adversary), "We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden, but the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, 'You are neither to eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.' "
At this point, it appears that the woman indeed knew that they were not to eat of the tree, and the punishment was death. The instructions were in her head, but the understanding was not in her heart. Which leaves her open to the temptation.
*Genesis 3:4-5 The serpent (the Adversary) reply, "It is not true that you will surely die; because God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
Now the doubt and the possibilities that God was wrong and the serpent (the Adversary) might be right, leads to her into the minefield of uncertainty. This is a dangerous area, be warned, follow the Word of God. It leads to life.
*Proverbs 3:18 “She (the Word of God, His Instruction) is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her (the Word of God, His Instruction): and happy is every one that retained her.
*Genesis 3:6 the woman looked at the tree and thought it was good for food, that it had a pleasing appearance and that the tree was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.
Let us break this down so we can identify temptation before it becomes a sin. The Adversary, the enemy, uses this strategy from the very beginning of mankind on this earth, and it has been deadly.
1. Doubting God's instructions and thus thinking we are smarter than God. We take matters into our own hands.
2. We tend to dwell on the idea until the desire is more important than God.
3. Then Sin is born when we give in to our own desires, which have become more important than obeying God's instructions.
To fight off this temptation, we must resist our own ideas of what is right and wrong.
*Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but this leads to the ways of death.
To identify the minefield of doubt that leads to destruction, God's instructions are vital to our journey.
(Proverbs 3:5-8) “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.”
We can now see how essential it is to read and understand the instructions that God has for us to follow, that we will complete our journey to the desired destination. The Bible (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) is the instructions for life. I find it interesting that the word “Law “used in most Bibles is an inferior translation. The word is “Torah,” which means “Instruction or Teaching” in Hebrew, and the meaning has been lost due to a Greek and a Western mindset. Over some time, the idea that Torah means the law has developed and has soured mother’s milk.
*Matthew 22:36-40 “Rabbi, (asking Yeshua referring to him as a teacher) which of the mitzvot (commandment) in the Torah (Teaching – Instructions) is the most important? Yeshua’s reply, " 'you are to love Adonai (Referring to the proper name of God), your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.' This is the most significant and most important mitzvah (commandment). And the second is similar to it, 'You are to love your neighbor as yourself.' All of the Torah (teachings –instructions) along with the Prophets is dependent on these two mitzvot (commandments)."
Yeshua has summarized for us how to follow God's Commandments. We can see that it starts with the condition of the heart (mind). What we dwell on or meditate on is very important to be obedient to God.
The word picture in Psalms 1:1-6 demonstrates this very idea. It shows us how to follow God's instructions of the mind.
*Psalms 1:1-3 Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, or stands in the way of sinners, or sits on the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law (instructions) of the LORD, and in his law (Instructions) doth he meditates day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he shall do will prosper.
But in contrast, the person who does not take God's word into his life is expounded on in *Psalms 1:4-6 the ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind drifts away. Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish (Death).
The next item Yeshua expounded on is to Love God with all our Soul. The Soul is who we are, the very depths of our very existence. The Soul is outwardly demonstrated in what we do and how we do it.
*Galatians 5:24-25 “And they that are the Messiah's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
The final but not least of these is strength. This is the Key to our journey to have victory in the path that leads us on our journey to our right destination.
Psalms 140:7 “O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.”
The spiritual battle, as well as the troubles and trials of this world, are real. Ephesians 6:10-18 uses a word picture of putting on Armour, which comes from God. In the scriptures, it describes the spiritual war and battles we are faced with daily. We must apply the Armour to defend ourselves from the Adversary and the darkness of the spiritual realm.
Ephesians 6:10-18 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of Salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
I suggest you read the Book of Ephesians to become more equip with God’s Word to proceed on the journey. The more we know about God’s Word, it will build your defenses for this spiritual battle we are all in. The war is raging right now for the Souls of all mankind.
Listed here are the items covered in Ephesians 6:10-18, which we need to understand and become experts in using each one. The armor is not complete without one of the items, we must use them all. We must also understand that this fight does not include people (Humans). But, the battle is against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.