According to Jesus, the new birth is the only way into the kingdom of God.
Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 (NASB)
Two questions immediately arise: what is the new birth and how can we know if we have been? It all sounds rather mysterious and mystical. It certainly did to a certain Pharisee named Nicodemus, who visited Jesus at night, most likely to avoid being seen consorting with Jesus, who was openly spurned by other Jewish religious leaders. He wanted to learn more about this miracle working teacher.
His opening statement revealed to Jesus his deepest need.
…”Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” John 3:2 (NASB)
Because Nicodemus had an open mind and heart, he correctly reasoned that Jesus must be sent by God. The miracles our Lord performed required God’s help. It would be unreasonable for God to affirm and use a person who did not please him. This was good logic that should have been obvious to all the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders. Most of us would applaud such clear thinking, openness, humility, and hunger to know more. Jesus, who never used flattery to manipulate people, rather than congratulate him for what he understood, quickly confronted this man’s ignorance of crucial spiritual matters.
We do not show love to people when we coddle their feelings at the expense of their eternal destiny.
Nicodemus was thoroughly trained in the Bible and the Jewish religious traditions. He obviously was hungry for more of God. He took the initiative to visit Jesus, but what our Lord wanted him to understand was that if we have not been born again, we cannot enter God’s kingdom. This brings us to a very big truth regarding the new birth, our first key to knowing if we have been born again.
Key #1. Revelation Is the Only Gate into the New Birth
Jesus knew that Nicodemus would have no idea of what he meant by being born again. Our Lord wanted this well-educated man to immediately grasp that his religious training and knowledge of the Bible was insufficient. Nicodemus was woefully ignorant of what mattered most. This is the case with many churchgoers who have grown up in and around Christianity, who have a fair grasp of the Bible, who know how to talk the Christian talk, but who have never been born again. They, like Nicodemus, are in a very precarious situation, thinking that they are secure with God, when they are actually outside of God’s family and in danger of spending an eternity separated from God.
Jesus also wanted Nicodemus to understand that human reasoning is insufficient when it comes to the things of God.
Nicodemus’ opening statement revealed that he knew Jesus was from God, but he did not yet really see who Jesus was and is. It is not enough to simply know about Jesus. We must see him with our spiritual eyes by revelation from the Holy Spirit. Even the demons know that Jesus is God’s Son and someone great, but they are certainly not born again.
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! James 2:19 (ESV)
A good indicator that we are born again is that we clearly see and understand that Jesus is the Savior and Lord of Lords.
Key #2. Revelation Produces Faith and Allegiance to Christ
Just knowing about Jesus is never enough.
Revelation from God not only opens our eyes to our Lord’s true identity, but also sparks faith in our hearts that enables us to receive from him and give ourselves to him.
Revelation from God causes faith to explode inside us. Suddenly we know who Jesus is in a way that causes us to worship and serve him as the Lord. We also receive forgiveness and eternal life.
A great example of this happening is the account of Thomas’ encounter with Jesus after his resurrection. Apparently Thomas had never previously really known Jesus, except as team leader and as a great teacher and prophet. But when Jesus appeared to him in his resurrection body, Thomas realized something he had never understood before.
Then he [Jesus] said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:27-29 (ESV)
Thomas had the distinct privilege of beholding, touching, and talking to the resurrected Jesus. We cannot do that, but we are not at a disadvantage, however.
We may not physically see Jesus, but we can definitely behold him by revelation from the Spirit of God, and when we see who he truly is, it will always produce faith. Such allegiance to Christ is a clear indicator of the new birth.
"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." John 6:40 (NASB)
Jesus was continually on the lookout for those who had received such revelation and faith from God. One of the first such persons he found was unexpectedly a Gentile. The Roman centurion who asked Jesus to come to his home to his heal his servant understood in his heart who Jesus is. We know this because of his words.
But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. Matthew 8:8-10 (ESV)
Key #3. Revelation Produces Action and a Lifestyle Change
One way we can know that we have been born again is if our faith in Christ changes us. The centurion’s faith prompted him to come to Jesus for help and to declare that all he needed to do was to simply say the word for his servant to be healed. Jesus saw the faith through his words and actions, and that is what we can expect from any born-again person.
Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. Matthew 12:33 (ESV)
Being born again should produce a change in how we think, talk, and live. Faith coupled with repentance (changing our thinking to agree with God and his Word) ought to result in a life dedicated to God and his kingdom.
If believing in Jesus has not made any appreciable difference in my life, it is safe to say that most likely I have not been born again.
Key #4. Revelation Produces a Confession of Allegiance to the Lord
Later in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus asked his disciples a probing question designed to reveal if any of them had yet received such a life changing revelation regarding his true identity.
He [Jesus] *said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 16:15-17 (NASB)
Notice that our Lord did not coach them in what to say. He also did not do what many well meaning preachers do: he did not put the words in their mouths by leading them in a “sinner’s prayer.” Jesus did not tell his disciples, “Now say after me: Jesus is the Messiah.” No, he waited for the Spirit of God to reveal this to them.
Perhaps if we make things too easy for people by putting our words into their mouths, we may prevent their receiving eternal life!
Paul understood the importance of believing from the heart, the place where faith resides after we receive revelation from the Holy Spirit.
But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:8-10 (NASB)
The new birth is precipitated by the Spirit’s showing us who Jesus truly is – the Lord of Lords and Messiah King of Israel. Seeing with the eyes of revelation is believing. The one automatically follows the other.
What we believe in our hearts, we naturally speak.
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45 (ESV)
When we publicly profess our allegiance to Jesus our Lord, it gives strong evidence of the internal work of the Spirit.
I put this key last because it is the one that is easiest to fake. We can say anything, but if what we say agrees with how we live, we can be more sure that what we say is genuine.
Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? Luke 6:46 (NASB)
Summary
It is vital that we grasp that the new birth is not simply a poetic sounding theological term.
The new birth is an actual experience every child of God must have.
It is initiated and carried out by the Holy Spirit as we participate by faith. The new birth depends on our receiving a revelation of Jesus’ true identity as Savior and Lord. This means that God opens our spiritual eyes and makes us alive in our spirits by supernaturally connecting us to his Spirit. Through the amazing process called the new birth, we receive an entirely new spiritual identity. We become a new creation in the spirit, that deepest part of us which died because of sin.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1:3 (NASB) Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB)
Being different in the core of our being will change our thinking, words, and actions. If we still think as unsaved people do, if our words sound exactly like those of our friends and neighbors who don’t profess allegiance to Christ, and if our actions do not reflect a loyalty to Christ and his teachings, we should question if we ever have been born again and seek God until we know for sure.
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. John 6:37 (ESV)
