His Birth and My Rebirth

“Marvel not that I said unto thee, ‘Ye must be born again.’” (John 3:7)

A Pharisee named Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, curious to learn more in private of this miracle-working man from God. Jesus kept the conversation simple: Unless you are born of the Spirit, born again from above, you cannot enter God’s kingdom. Later we learn that he secretly believed in and followed Christ but came out of hiding to help prepare Jesus’ body for burial (19:39).

Believing Jesus’s miraculous birth, His death, and resurrection from the dead is not enough to enter God’s kingdom. Neither is believing in God (Satan believes and trembles). Knowledge cannot save us; confession of sins, turning away from them, and surrendering to Jesus gives us new life from above. Only then are we reborn. His birth, death, and resurrection made possible my rebirth. They were necessary to complete God’s salvation plan for humanity.

God loves us deeply, expressing His love by giving His only Son. Jesus is the gift of everlasting life that we didn’t earn, pay for, nor deserve, yet, was freely given for all people. But like other gifts, to own it, one must accept the gift. By receiving God’s one-of-a-kind offer and surrendering to His Lordship, we are born a second time, not a physical one but spiritual, rebirthed from above by God’s power. The twice-born die once, spending eternity with the Father in heaven. But those only physically birthed, born of the flesh, die twice. The second death is eternal separation from God in the place created for Satan and his followers, a place of suffering and torment. Have you been born twice?