When a couple is expecting a baby there is a lot of preparation. They might take a class on natural childbirth. The mother-to-be will watch her diet and exercise, and try to get more rest. As the day gets closer they will prepare the bedroom, purchase furniture, and choose clothing for the new baby. At some point the parents will be able to hear the baby's heartbeat. The mother will feel the baby kick. There is eager anticipation for the birth of the child.
Another birth is expected. God the Father is looking forward to His children being born again!
Let us prove that being “born again” means a rebirth as a spirit being.
There is a teaching that Christians are already born again. We should see what the Bible says.
Much of the understanding (and misunderstanding) of the term “born again” is found in the third chapter of the Gospel of John. Please read John 3:1-3. Notice that, “'unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'” Read verses 4 and 5. “'Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.'” We would all agree that being born again is essential to being in God's kingdom.
The key to the meaning of “born again” is in verse 6. “'That which is born of the flesh is flesh.'” We are all born of the flesh, and we are all composed of flesh. We are physical beings. “'…and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'” None of us is composed of spirit yet, so we are not yet born of the spirit. We are not yet born again.
Continue reading verses 7 and 8. Verse 8 is a literal description of a spirit being. That is how we will be when we are born again as spirit beings.
In 1 Corinthians 15:50 Paul wrote that while we are still physical flesh and blood we cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
One of the beautiful thoughts of God that you have read about in lessons on this website is that there is a physical fulfillment and a spiritual fulfillment. We can learn from the physical in order to understand the spiritual. Romans 1:3-4 discusses the physical birth and the spiritual birth of Christ. Christ “was born of the seed of David according to the flesh” (verse 3). That was His physical birth. He was “declared to be the Son of God…by the resurrection from the dead” (verse 4). That was His spiritual rebirth when He was born again. These verses compare the two births - one from a human mother descended from David, and one by a resurrection as a spirit being as the Son of God.
Christ was “the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29), “the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15), and “the firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:18 and Revelation 1:5). Christ is our elder brother. “All shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) Just as Jesus was made alive again by a resurrection from the dead, we will be made alive by a resurrection. As Jesus was born again, we will be born again.
Let us understand what happens when we receive God's Holy Spirit after we are baptized (Acts 2:38). We read in Romans 8:11 that God will give us life through the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. That is, the Holy Spirit lives in us now while we are mortal beings, and the Holy Spirit will be used to change us to immortal spirit beings in the future. It is a similar process to being conceived. The sperm enters the egg, and the fetus begins to grow. It is eventually born.
If we are spiritual fetuses, what is our spiritual mother? The Church is compared to a woman in several Scriptures, including Ephesians 5:22-27. In Hebrews 12:22-23 the Church is called the heavenly Jerusalem. In Galatians 4:26 that same Jerusalem is called “the mother of us all.” These Scriptures are showing us that the Church is our spiritual mother. We are placed in the Church just as a fetus is in the mother.
Ephesians 4:11-13 describes the Church where we are built up until we become “a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” That is, until we are resurrected as spirit beings with the same perfect character as Christ has. Please see our Bible study “Our Potential” where we learn that we are to become immortal spirit beings with perfect righteous character.
We are begotten when we receive the Holy Spirit, but we are not yet born again.
Why is it important to know that we are not yet born again, and we will be born again in a resurrection? For one thing, God's truth is important. We have proven from the Holy Bible what it means to be born again.
In addition, if we think we are already born again, we might believe that we “have it made,” and there is nothing left for us to do. We might think that we are not required to keep the Ten Commandments. But in another Bible study we proved from the Bible that we must keep God's law. We would wrongly believe that we do not have to grow in character, and thus we could lose our reward and possibly our salvation!