What exactly is the New Birth? What is the difference between being born of the Spirit and being baptised in the Spirit? And How can you tell if someone is born again? 

These are some very strong and foundational questions that we shall look at as we delve into the topic of The New Birth.

You Must Be Born Again

The first time that the words Born Again are used in the bible, is in the book of John chapter 3. We are told that a man named Nicodemus came to Jesus by night to speak to him. Nicodemus is referred to as a ruler of the Jews. But he was not an ordinary ruler. In verse 10, Jesus refers to Nicodemus as The Teacher of Israel. Meaning Nicodemus was considered the chief teacher in the nation of Israel. In Chapter 19 of the same book, we are told that Nicodemus was the one, who along with Joseph of Arimethea, took down Jesus body from the cross and buried him in the tomb.

During their conversation in the night, Jesus introduces the term, born again.

John 3:3-7 New International Version (NIV)

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’

When Jesus began to preach, his primary message was that the Kingdom of God was near, urging people to repent and believe the gospel. (Mark 1:14-15). When the Jews asked him when the kingdom was coming, he replied that the kingdom would not come in ways that man can see or observe. The Kingdom is not outside, but inside us.

Luke 17:20-21 New International Version (NIV)

20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

Now, in this conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus is explaining that the one and only way to see or enter this kingdom of God is to be born again. This was totally mind blowing to Nicodemus, who had been waiting for God to restore his Kingdom to Israel, by obeying and teaching the law. Now he is told that he would have to start all over and be born once more, in order to see or enter God’s kingdom.

Nicodemus asks whether being born again would require a person to go back into their mother’s womb. But Jesus responds by explaining that  the New Birth is a birth that comes from two things, Water and The Spirit. Jesus then further explains that the flesh can only give birth to flesh. Your mother being flesh, could only give birth to your flesh, but God being Spirit, will give birth to spirit.

So what’s being born agin, is not your flesh but your spirit. The New birth is an experience that happens to your spirit. Let’s continue with the conversation.

John 3:7-10 New International Version (NIV)

7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 

8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?

Jesus explains that a person who is born of the spirit is like a wind. You hear the sound, but you can not see him.  This is because the one who is born of the spirit, is the inner man (the spirit man), not the outter man (the man of flesh)

Now, Look at verse 7; Jesus says that Nicodemus should not be surprised at the concept of being born again and in verse 10 he says that Nicodemus being a teacher in Israel, was supposed to have known these things. This is because, the requirement and experience of being born again had already been promised and explained in the books of the prophets.

This takes us to the next issue.

How are you born of Water and Spirit?

Jesus says that one must be born of water and The Spirit. Yet as he continues, he only mentions Spirit. So what is this water. I am a firm believer in water baptism, but I have to say, this scripture does not say, “Unless you are baptised in water and Spirit.” It says born of water and Spirit. This scripture has nothing to do with either water or spirit baptism.

John 3:10 New King James Version (NKJV)

10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?

Nicodemus, as the teacher of Israel, who had been entrusted with the law, was expected to already know about being born of water and the spirit. God had already spoken of it through the mouths of the prophets.

Let’s rewind a bit.

As Israel was about to go into the Babylonian captivity, God made a promise through the prophet Jeremiah. He promised that he was going to introduce a whole new covenant (testament), totally different from the one he had given through Moses. Under this covenant, God himself would be able to put his law in people’s minds, and write it in their hearts. In this covenant, he would not only forgive people’s sins and iniquities, but he would not be able to remember these sins in any way.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 New King James Version (NKJV)

31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

A few years later, in the midst of Babylon, God visited Ezekiel to tell him exactly how he was going to totally transform the people under the coming new covenant. This transformation, was a new spiritual birth which involved water and spirit.

Ezekiel 36:25-27 New International Version (NIV)

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

This is the process of new birth, and there are five works of God that produce a new man, who is in God’s image. Note that it is God saying, I will, I will, I will, I will. Man has no part to play, it is God himself doing all the work. Just as, you do not contribute to your own physical birth. It is your parents who decided to give birth to you. 

John 1:13 New Living Translation (NLT)

13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

The five ‘I will’s of God can be grouped into three stages.

A) I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean; 

The first thing that God does is to sprinkle clean water on you so that you can be clean. He says that he will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.

This is the water that Jesus is referring to. This is the water that renews you. So what is this water, that God sprinkles on you in order to clean you.

The water is the word

The apostle Paul explains clearly that the church is washed and cleansed with water, by the word of God.

Ephesians 5:25-26 New King James Version (NKJV)

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

As Jesus was about to go to the cross, he tells his apostles that they had been cleansed, by his word.

John 15:3 New King James Version (NKJV)

3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

The apostle Peter them makes it clear that our new birth does not come through perishable things, but we are born again through the Word of God.

1 Peter 1:23

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

Literal water is perishable and therefore can not be what gives birth to sons of God. The scriptures have confirmed that the water that Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about, which is part of the new birth process, is the one mentioned in Ezekiel which represents the word.

B) I will give you a New Heart and a New Spirit

God then says he will put a New Heart and a new spirit in you.

When Adam ate of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, His spirit became disconnected from God. This disconnection is known as spiritual death. The heart, is the seat of the Soul And Spirit. 

God is saying, that he will give you a new heart. This is because, before you are born again, your heart is deceitful above all things because your spirit is dead and your soul is corrupt. 

Jeremiah 17:9 New King James Version (NKJV)

9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Jesus even says this…

Matthew 15:19 New King James Version (NKJV)

19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

But when you are born again, you receive a new heart because you get a new spirit. This new spirit is not the Holy Spirit. This is a New Human Spirit that is in the image of God.

Zechariah 12:1 New King James Version (NKJV)

12 …Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:

So the renewal process which comes from being cleansed by the word of God and the birth of a new human Spirit inside you is what is called being born of water and spirit. 

C) I will put my Spirit in you

After God has cleansed you with his word, and birthed a New Spirit in you, he then places His Spirit (The Holy Spirit) inside you.

The Holy Spirit lives inside your spirit. So the reason why you have to be born again, is so that God’s Holy Spirit can have a clean and holy place to live in.

This process of receiving the Spirit of God into your spirit is what is called seeing, and entering into the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is contained in the Holy Spirit. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and Joy which are found in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:17 New King James Version (NKJV)

17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:28 New King James Version (NKJV)

28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Some people think entering the kingdom, is entering heaven. You can actually be in heaven, without being in the kingdom. For example, in the book of Job, we see Satan in heaven yet, he was not part of God’s kingdom. Being in the Kingdom, is being in the Spirit of God, and you can’t be in the spirit of God unless the Spirit of God dwells in you.

So when Jesus is saying to Nicodemus, that unless you are born again, you can’t see or enter into the kingdom. He simply means, unless you are cleansed by the word, and receive a new spirit in you, The Holy Spirit can not live in you, and as a result, you can not enter into the righteousness, the peace and the Joy that is found in God.

The moment you are born again, you start to see and enter deeper and deeper into God’s righteousness, God’s peace and Gods joy. This is what God’s kingdom is about.

The Son of Man

There are two people in the bible who are specifically referred to by the title, Son of Man; Jesus Christ and Ezekiel. Jesus is the true Son of Man, but why did God keep referring to Ezekiel as Son of Man also? I believe there is a unique revelation of the redemptive work of Christ that is specifically revealed through Ezekiel.

In Ezekiel 36, we are told concerning the process of regeneration and re-creation of the people. After this, in the very next vision, God shows Ezekiel, the whole house of Israel as a valley of dry bones. Ezekiel is then asked to speak to them so that they can receive new life.

Ezekiel 37:7-11 New King James Version (NKJV)

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

9 Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’

While the prophecy seemed to address their physical exile from the Kingdom of Israel, it also spoke concerning man’s spiritual exile from God’s Kingdom. And Ezekiel was used to show the work that Jesus Christ would accomplish by his word, in bringing us from death to life.

John 5:24-27 New International Version (NIV)

24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal lifeand will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 

25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 

26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

How to Receive the New Birth?

We have looked at the process of the new birth. It is all God’s work. But how does one receive this new birth. Let’s continue with John 3.

John 3:10-13 New King James Version (NKJV)

10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

In verse 11, Jesus assures Nicodemus that this Spiritual Birth is not just a concept or a theory, it’s a living reality that he himself has seen and experienced, but the Jews don’t accept his witness.

In Verse 12, Jesus is explaining that all that he has been saying, is what happens here on earth, but now he is about to tell him what is happening in the havens. Jesus is about to get deep, so let’s pay attention or we’ll miss it.

Verse 13. No One Has Ascended

13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

What? Okay. In other words Jesus is saying, The Son of man who is in heaven, is the only one who has ascended to heaven. There are two problems with that statement. 1. Jesus had not yet ascended to heaven, and 2. Jesus was actually standing there in front of Nicodemus.

Note, something here, he does not even say son of God, he says son of Man. So he is speaking in his humanity, and not in his divinity.

Let’s remember that Jesus is answering Nicodemus question on what it means to be born again. He is explaining what it means to be born of the spirit. So the ascension he is talking about, is not a physical ascension but a spiritual ascension. Elijah was carried to heaven in a whirlwind but he never achieved this spiritual ascension. Enoch was translated to heaven but he never experienced this ascension.

Jesus the man was the only human being who had achieved this ascension, which causes you to be on earth and in heaven at the same time. And this is an ascension that would be achieved by Nicodemus, if he were to be born again. This is the ascension that we who have been born again achieve. A spiritual ascension that causes our spirits to be in heaven, while our bodies are on earth.

The Apostle Paul explains.

Ephesians 2:5-6 New International Version (NIV)

5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

So when you are born again, you are made alive in the spirit, and you ascend to be sitted with Christ in the heavenly places.

Let’s continue, with Jesus sermon to Nicodemus.

John 3:14-16 New International Version (NIV)

14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[a] 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life

Eternal Life

A New Birth produces a new life. This New Life that you receive is what The Lord is calling, eternal life. And the only requirement is that you must believe in what the Son of Man did when he was lifted up on the cross, and in believing you will not perish but have eternal life.

This is the only way to receive eternal life, which means it’s the only way to receive the new birth.

John 6:27-29 New International Version (NIV)

27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

What Should we Believe about Jesus?

Believing in Jesus is the only condition for being born again and receiving the eternal life of God in you. So what is it about Jesus must we believe. 

You must believe that Jesus is the Christ.

1 John 5:1 New International Version (NIV)

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.

The word Christ means The anointed one. This means that you must believe that Jesus is God’s chosen one. Chosen for what, anointed for what?

Soon after his baptism, and the Holy Spirit had come upon him, Jesus entered the synagogue to announce that the scripture of his anointing had been fulfilled.

Luke 4:18-21 New International Version (NIV)

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

To believe that Jesus is the Christ, is to believe that Jesus is God’s answer for your salvation. He is God’s answer for your blindness. He is God’s answer for all your oppression. He is God’s answer for your freedom and he is God’s answer for you to receive divine favour. 

The apostle Peter puts it much better as he preached the gospel to the Jews.

Acts 4:11-12 New International Version (NIV)

11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.

If you have any other person, prophet pastor or apostle, living or dead that you believe is necessary to follow for you to go to heaven, receive healing or access divine favour, then that man is your christ. If you have any spirit from heaven, earth or hell that you believe you won’t be able to go to heaven, receive healing, or freedom without it, then that spirit or angel is your Christ.

To believe that Jesus is The Christ, is to believe that Jesus is the only answer and solution for your life. Many people see Jesus as A Christ, and not as THE Christ. When you see him as a Christ, you see him as a solution among many other solutions. But scripture says you must believe that he is THE Christ. Some people believe they have to work their way to haven; they have made themselves their own saviour Christ. All salvation comes from him and him alone. 

You must believe that Jesus Christ is The Son of God.

John 20:31 New King James Version (NKJV)

31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Everything in the spirit can only be accessed by faith. If you can’t believe that God beget Jesus, then you can not believe that he can beget you. And if you can’t believe that God can beget you, then you can’t be born again. So it is necessary to Believe that Jesus was born of a virgin.

Luke 1:34-35 New King James Version (NKJV)

34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

So those who do not believe in the virgin birth, do not believe that God is able to have children. And because the don’t believe God is able to have children, they can’t access the new birth because it is accessed by your faith.

Believe that Jesus Died and Resurrected from the Dead

1 Peter 1:3 New International Version (NIV)

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

We received our New Birth directly through the resurrection of Jesus. You must believe that Jesus resurrected from the dead, which by extension means Jesus died on the cross. When you are reborn, by your faith, you die to your old self, and are resurrected with Christ. If you do not believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, then you can’t believe that God is able to raise you from death.

Believe that Jesus is Lord

Romans 10:9-10 New International Version (NIV)
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved

To believe that Jesus is Lord, is to believe that Jesus is the master of your life. This means you are willing with your heart to serve and obey whatever he tells you. 

THE GOSPEL

This package of things that we must believe about Jesus in order to be born again, is called the gospel.

The apostle Paul tells the Corinthians that they had been begotten, or born again through the gospel.

1 Corinthians 4:15 New King James Version (NKJV)

_5 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

The apostle Paul then makes clear exactly what is that gospel, that you need to believe in order to be saved.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 New International Version (NIV)

15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.

We can have disagreements on eschatology, food, dressing, role of women, Godhead and many other topics. As long as those issues are not affecting a person’s faith in the core message of the gospel, then it has no bearing on people’s salvation.

Perversion of The Gospel

In the church of Galatia, we have an example of a perverted gospel that was now being preached. Paul warns them strongly.

Galatians 1:6-7 New International Version (NIV)

⁶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷ which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

In Galatia, a gospel was being preached which told them that they can’t be saved unless they were circumsised according to the way of Moses, and followed the law of Moses. This means, effectively they were no longer preaching Christ as the only saviour. It was now Christ and the law. It was no longer the death and resurrection of Christ that saved you. It was now your ability to follow the law.

While it may seem like a small addition to the gospel, this misdirection of faith, was enough to make Christ of no value to those who believed this lie.

Galatians 2:21 New King James Version (NKJV)

²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died ^[a]in vain.”

Paul now had to preach the gospel so that those who had believed the perverted gospel could receive the New Birth.

Galatians 4:19 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

Back To Nicodemus

Jesus then continues with Nicodemus, by emphasising the necessity of believing in The Son of God.

John 3:16-18 New International Version (NIV)

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

The message of the gospel, is not a message of condemnation, but a message of salvation. It’s good news. It’s a message of life and of hope. Preachers that preach condemnation, do not know the gospel.

Hindrances to the Faith

There’s only one condition of being born again, and that’s to believe in Jesus Christ. To Believe that Jesus is the Son of God, who came in the flesh, died for our sins and was resurrected so that we could be saved.

You don’t even need to have an understanding of the theology and mechanics of our salvation. You don’t need to have a knowledge of the whole bible from Genesis to Revelation. You just need to hear that and believe in Jesus as your lord and savior.

All Your Heart

The word Faith comes from the greek word PISTIS, which means to be completely convinced. You have to be completely convinced, for it to be true faith, you have to believe in him as savior with all your heart.

Acts 8:36-37 New King James Version (NKJV)

36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”

37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

Matthew 22:37 New King James Version (NKJV)

37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

However, some people in the churches don’t actually believe with all their hearts that Jesus is their only saviour Christ. They are not yet fully convinced. God can not transform your heart, unless you have completely surrendered your current heart to him. He can’t give you a New Life if you are still in love with your old life.

John 12:25 New King James Version (NKJV)

25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Jesus had many people who followed him and were called his disciples, but he began to teach them about what he considered a true disciple, and things that can hinder some from being his true disciples.

Loving your Life

Luke 14:26 New King James Version (NKJV)

25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them,26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

Matthew 10:37 New International Version (NIV)

37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

A disciple of Jesus, is someone who has the spirit of Christ living in him.

Romans 8:9 New International Version (NIV)

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

So when Jesus is saying, you cannot be my disciple, he is saying you can not have my spirit living in you.

If you don’t hate this worldly life that you are living, with your wife, children and parents, you will not be able to receive the life that Jesus has to offer. If your heart is still holding on to this current life, then you won’t have complete faith to receive new life.

If you still love this life more than you want Christ, then it will be a hindrance to your faith.

Die to Self

Jesus immediately repeats the same point in other words.

Luke 14:27 New King James Version (NKJV)

27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

To bear your cross means to be willing to have your current life crucified, so you can have a new life. This is because the process of the New Birth requires you to die to your old life, passions and desires. If you are not willing to have your old life crucified, then you can’t have the faith, to receive the new life.

Paul explains what happens when we are born again.

Galatians 5:24 New International Version (NIV)

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Romans 6:6 New International Version (NIV)

6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—

Galatians 2:20 New International Version (NIV)

20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Jesus repeats this same point again in other words

Luke 14:33 New King James Version (NKJV)

33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Luke 9:23 New International Version (NIV)

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Forsaking all, is not about literally leaving your car and home. You can physically leave your home and car, and still carry them with you in your heart and mind.

It’s about having your heart let go of all your wordly possessions. Getting to a point, where Christ is more important to you than anything that the world can offer.

When the gospel is preached, the Holy Spirit gives people conviction and you just get to this point where you just feel that you want this Jesus Christ. And you feel like, they can take away everything I have, I don’t care as long as I have Christ. This happens by the conviction of the spirit.

That moment, where you say in your heart, I want Christ above all things, is the moment that your heart has renounced all. It happens by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, but we should not resist it.

Double Mind

All the scriptures we quoted above are simply talking about someone having their whole mind and heart convinced that Christ is their only savior. 

A double mind is the greatest hindrance to your faith. And when we have a double mind, our faith is hindered.

James 1:6-8 New King James Version (NKJV)

6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

James here was talking in the context of using faith to ask God for things. However, the same principle of faith applies in our faith for salvation. We can not be double minded in our faith. Some people want Christ, they want what he has to offer, they want prosperity, healing, heaven, but they also want to hold on to their old life. Their hearts still hold on to spirit mediums. Some have their hearts still holding on to their old sex life. Some are still holding on to human idols. Some have their hearts set on money. 

Such people are double minded. Double minded people cannot have the faith to receive eternal life, because they are not willing to lose their current life.

Matthew 16:25 New King James Version (NKJV)

25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Born of The Spirit vs Baptised in the Spirit

The Bible speaks of being born of the Spirit, but it also speaks of being Baptised by the spirit. 

When a person is born of the Spirit, they manifest The Fruit of the Spirit. And when a person is baptised in the Spirit they manifest the gifts of the Spirit. Everyone who has heard the gospel and desires the promise of the spirit can receive the Baptism of the Spirit. But Only those who have completely believed in Jesus as Their One and only Savior Christ can be born of the Spirit.

In order to understand the difference, we will first look at how these two things were accomplished in the lives of the apostles.

Remember the three main steps of the New Birth. 

A)Sprinkling of clean water, which is the word.

B)New heart and New Spirit (The Birth of The Spirit)

C)God’s Spirit placed in you. (The Seal of God that causes you to do his will)

Apostles Born Again

The Night that Jesus was to be captured and taken to the cross, he speaks to the apostles and tells them that they were now clean because they had heard his word.

A)Sprinkled Clean Water

John 15:3 New International Version (NIV)

3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

b)Born of God

However, The day that Jesus resurrected from the dead, is the day that the 12 apostles were born again. For the first time, Jesus calls them brothers, and for the first time, he tells them that His Father was now their father.

John 20:17 New International Version (NIV)

17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Apostle Peter confirms this.

1 Peter 1:3 New International Version (NIV)

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Even the Old Testament saints, who had died, who could not be born again because Jesus had not yet paid for their sins, received New Life at his resurrection.

The book of Hebrews makes a list of the many great men and women of faith from Abel to the prophets, and then explains that they could not be perfected in their time.

Hebrews 11:39-40 New International Version (NIV)

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Matthew 27:52-53 New King James Version (NKJV)

52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

c) Indwelling of the Spirit

The third and last stage of the New Birth is that God places his spirit in you. As Jesus was going to the cross, he made a promise to the apostles that he would come to place the Holy Spirit inside them. 

John 14:16-17 New Living Translation (NLT)

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

In order to seal up the process of the New Birth, Jesus then met the apostles on the day that he resurrected from the dead and placed the Spirit of God inside them.

John 20:19-22 New King James Version (NKJV)

19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

This is How the Father sent Jesus. He sent Jesus to carry and manifest his spirit in the body. This is how Jesus was now sending the apostles. So the apostles were now Born again, and received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in them. This reception of the Spirit did not come with any outward manifestations. Jesus simply breathed on them the Holy Spirit.

After this, Jesus then promised them the Baptism of the Spirit. 

Apostles Baptised in the Spirit

Acts 1:5 New King James Version (NKJV)

5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

The purpose of the Baptism was not so that they could be sons of God. They were already born again. But he tells them that they will receive power, when the Holy Spirit comes UPON them. 

Acts 1:8 New King James Version (NKJV)

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The Baptism would empower them for the work of ministry. But they were already born again. However, notice this, when the Baptism of the Spirit came, it did not come upon the apostles only. There were 120 believers waiting together with the apostles.

Acts 1:12-15 New International Version (NIV)

12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk[a] from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)

When the Holy Spirit came, everyone who was waiting in the upper room received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2 New International Version (NIV)

2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

Note that the Baptism of the Spirit came with outward manifestations of gifts such as speaking in tongues and prophecy. Indeed the Apostle Peter explains.

Acts 2:16-18 New International Version (NIV)

16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

Notice that the outpouring of the Spirit is on ALL people. Not just on God’s sons, but on all people.

So all 120 people who waited for the promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit received the Baptism of the Spirit upon them. Notice, the sign of the baptism is visions, tongues, dreams and prophecy. So the baptism of the spirit gives manifests the gifts of the Spirit.

Baptism of Spirit can come by Laying on Of Hands.

Acts 19:6 New International Version (NIV)

6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

You can not be born again through the laying on of hands. If baptism of the Spirit was equivalent to being born again, it would mean, that people could be born again by laying on of hands. However, You can only be born again by believing in Jesus Christ.

Baptism of The Spirit can Come by Hearing the Gospel.

Acts 10:44-46 New International Version (NIV)

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Everyone who was there hearing the gospel, received the baptism of the Spirit. Just by hearing the gospel. Of course these were not random people walking by. These were people who were waiting to receive the words of salvation. Cornelius was the main subject of the word, but when The Baptism came, even his servants and children and their wives who were there also received the baptism.

Signs of the New Birth

Is it possible to tell that this person is born again, or not born again. Yes. The New Birth is made manifest by the fruit that comes out of a person.

You are a New Creation

2 Corinthians 5:17 New Living Translation (NLT)

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

A new birth brings forth a new Life. This new life is the life of Christ. So the main sign of a new birth is a changed life. When a person is born again, they change. It is impossible for them to remain the same because they are now a whole new person. This new person is in the image of christ.

Scripture here says, anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person, anyone. So you can’t have some people who says they belong to Christ but have failed to change. 

You Can No longer Live in sin

I am not saying that you can never sin. I am saying you can not live in sin.

The scripture shows that children of God can commit sin. But it reassures us that they can’t continue to live in sin.

1 John 2:1 New International Version (NIV)

2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

When the apostle Paul was accused of preaching sin, he gives a very interesting response. He responds by showing that it is impossible for some someone who has died to sin, to continue living in sin.

Romans 6:1-2 New International Version (NIV)

6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

The apostle John puts the same point in a different way

1 John 3:6-9 New International Version (NIV)

⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.

So there is a balance here. Children of God can sin, but it is impossible for them to continue to live in sin because they have God’s spirit in them, causing and directing them to do his will.

The apostle Paul puts it this way

Philippians 2:13 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹³ For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

This is in line, with the promise given to Ezekiel concerning the new birth. God’s Spirit will cause you to follow God’s will. So it is impossible for you to continue living in sin.

You Have Love for Christ and for the Church

The New birth comes with it, a love for Jesus Christ. The New Heart and New Spirit in you, will fill you with a desire and a love for Jesus Christ and his church.

1 John 5:1 New International Version (NIV)

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.

1 John 4:7 New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

This love for Christ manifests itself as obedience to the Lord Jesus

John 14:23-24 New International Version (NIV)

²³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴ Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me

You desire to follow the teaching of Jesus

When Jesus was leaving, in Mathew 20:19. He commands the apostles to make disciples of all nations, and to teach the believers to obey his commandments.

When the Holy Spirit comes to live in your New Spirit, you develop a desire to obey the teaching of Christ that he gave us, through his apostles. The Holy Spirit will never teach you to disregard what Christ taught.

1 John 4:6 New International Version (NIV)

⁶ We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit^[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood

John 16:13-14 New International Version (NIV)

¹³ But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.¹⁴ He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

The Spirit of truth does not come to glorify you, or an angel or a prophet. He comes to glorify Christ by delivering the words of Christ to you. So when someone is renewed, they will have a desire from the spirit, to follow the words of Christ.

Fruit of The Spirit

Jesus warned us that in the church, we will have wolves in sheep clothing. Meaning they have an outward show of being born again, but inside they are not sons of God.

He said, we can be able to identify these people by their fruit.

Matthew 7:15-18 New King James Version (NKJV)

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

Jesus does not live room for middle grounds. A good tree bears good fruit. If you see bad fruit, then it’s a sign that the tree is bad. A person who has been born again, will bear the fruit of the Spirit. It means as time passes, they grow more and more towards the character and nature of Christ.

The fruit is described here.

Galatians 5:22-24 New King James Version (NKJV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires

When a person is recently born again, they don’t immediately manifest these things. But their spirits are born with a hunger for the things of God. A hunger that can only be satisfied by the word of God. With time, they grow and grow in these things. They grow in love, in self control, in goodness, in peace, in long suffering, in faithfulness, and in gentleness.

When you have a person who says I have been born again for 20 years, yet they continue to bring out the works of the flesh, then it’s a sign that they are not yet born again.

The apostle John puts it clearly.

1 John 3:10 International Standard Version (ISV)

10 This is how God’s children and the Devil’s children are distinguished. No person who fails to practice righteousness and to love his brother is from God.

Apostle Paul puts it this way:

Ephesians 5:5-6 New English Translation (NET Bible)

5 For you can be confident of this one thing: that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

They may have the baptism of the spirit, and operate in the gifts of God, but they are not born of God yet.

Jesus speaks of such people here.

Matthew 7:22-23 New International Version (NIV)

22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Conclusion

Maybe, you know people who are prophesying in Jesus name, they are casting out demons in church, or even performing many wonderful miracles such as healing and raising the sick in Jesus name. That is not a guarantee that they are born again. 

There is only one guarantee of eternal salvation, and that is to be born again. This new birth produces the fruit of the spirit. There is only one condition; you must give your heart and place your faith for salvation in Jesus alone. 

Salvation is not in your prophet, no matter how great he is, its not in the law, no mater how holy it is, it’s not in your own works, no matter how good they are, its not in your money, no matter how rich you are, but in Jesus alone. Place your complete faith for your salvation, in Jesus alone and you will be born again into the kingdom of God. But in order to receive his eternal life, which comes with a new birth, your heart has to have enough faith in Jesus, to be willing to let go of your current life.

And to those of us who believe in Jesus alone for our salvation, scripture says this:

1 John 5:11-13 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

11 This is what God told us: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

13 I write this letter to you who believe in the Son of God. I write so that you will know that you have eternal life now.

Stay Blessed. Amen. 

For those who desire to give their lives to Christ and can not find the words, here is a prayer you can make:

Lord Jesus Christ, I believe you are the son of God. I believe that you died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. I believe that you resurrected on the third day and were seen by many. I give my heart, and my life into your hands. Make me into the person that you want me to be. Place a new heart and a new spirit within me. I thank you for dying for me, and for the work that you have done for me to be saved. You have taken me from death into life. Amen.