You Must Be Born Again to Walk in the Spirit

Chains to Freedom  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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John 3:1-21

John’s Gospel introduces the Holy Spirit’s role in spiritual growth.
God’s order is the salvation of souls, with those converts then baptized in the Holy Spirit.
The New Birth and the baptism with the Holy Spirit endow the believer with the life and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including the ability to pray in Spirit power. The Holy Spirit is our teacher.
Whenever the believer responds greatly to peripheral things done by the Lord, “falling out in the Spirit,” etc., such proclaims a very great spiritual immaturity.
John 3:3 NASB95
Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
The Biblical doctrine of regeneration--
Regeneration is a re-creating and transformation of the person (Ro. 12:2; Eph. 4:23-24) by God the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3:6; Titus 3:5).
Those who are truly born again are set free from sin’s bondage (Jo. 8:36; Ro. 6:14-23) and receive a spiritual desire and disposition to obey God and follow the leading of the Spirit (Ro. 8:13-14).
They cannot remain born again without a sincere desire and victorious endeavor to please God and to avoid evil (1 Jn. 1:5-7). This is accomplished only through the grace given to believers by Christ (1 Jn. 2:3-11, 15-17, 24-29; 3:6-24; 4:7-8, 20; 5:1), and through a dependence on the Holy Spirit (Ro. 8:2-14).
One can be born of the Spirit by receiving the life of God. Sin and the refusal to follow the Holy Spirit extinguish the life of God in the believer’s soul and cause spiritual death and exclusion from God’s kingdom (Mt. 12:31-32; 1 Co. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; Heb. 6:4-6; 1 Jn. 5:16).
“Except a man be born again,” refers to the basic foundation of the Gospel.
Jesus addresses the greatest need of the human family, the need to be “born again.”
“Born again,” means that man has already had a natural birth, but now must have a spiritual birth.
Man’s good works play no part whatsoever in the “born-again” experience.
Those who are truly born again have a completely different world view than those who aren’t.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the believer knows Jesus is coming again.
Those who aren’t “born again” have no knowledge of spiritual things. Every good thing that has happened to this world has been brought about by Jesus working in the hearts and lives of born-again believers.
Had Nicodemus truly been “born again,” he would have understood these terms.
Did he now know the language of the Prophets concerning a hard heart and right spirit? (Ps. 51:10; Ezek. 36:26-27).
When you open your heart and receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord, He comes into your heart through His Holy Spirit.
The Greek word translated again can also be rendered “from above.” To enter the Kingdom of God, one must be born again.
Nicodemus wouldn’t be a part of the kingdom unless he was personally born again.
Unless we are born again, we can never be part of the kingdom of God.
John 3:5 NASB95
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Jesus was probably referring to the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. In Titus 3:5 Paul speaks of “the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
“Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,” has been the source of great controversy. Being “born of the Spirit” speaks of a spiritual birth.
Nothing but the blood and Spirit of Christ could convey either remission or repentance to the souls of men.
John the Baptizer sharply discriminated the baptism with water from the baptism with the Spirit.
Before a person can “enter into the Kingdom of God,” he must be “born again,” which speaks of being “born of the Spirit.” (The very statement “born again” automatically means that one has already had a birth.)
The Holy Spirit’s works and wonders are believed and experienced.
Spirit refers to the spiritual birth brought about by the renewing and transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
John 3:6 NASB95
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
“And that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit,” has to do with that which is solely of God. The one (flesh) has no relationship to the other (Spirit). The great problem every Christian faces is the constant struggle between the “flesh and the Spirit.” If the “flesh” is mixed with the Spirit,” great difficulties ensue.
As one comes into the Kingdom of God by being “born of the Spirit,” one has victory over the flesh by following “after the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4).
“Born of the water and the Spirit” could refer to (1) the contrast between physical birth (water) and spiritual birth (Spirit) or (2) being regenerated by the Spirit. The water may also represent the cleansing action of God’s Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). Nicodemus undoubtedly would have been familiar with God’s promise to give a new heart and a new spirit to the faithful (Ezekiel 36:25-26).
Who is the Holy Spirit? God is three persons in one—the Father, the on, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised to spend the Holy Spirit so that His spiritual presence would still be among humankind (see Luke 24:49). The Holy Spirit first became available to all believers at Pentecost (Acts 2). Whereas in Old Testament days the Holy Spirit empowered specific individuals for specific purposes at specific times, now all believers have the power of the Holy Spirit available to them all the time. (For more on the Holy Spirit, see John 14:6-28; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; and 2 Corinthians 1:22).
John 3:7 NASB95
“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
“Ye must be born again,” says it all!
John 3:8 NASB95
“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit is observed by His activity in and effect on those who are born again.
In this verse Jesus explains the “born-again” experience.
God carries out salvation by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus explained that we cannot control the work of the Holy Spirit. Your spiritual birth is a gift from God through the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16; 1 Corinthians 2:10-12; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6).
Jn. 3:9—Not being “born again” at this particular time, Nicodemus has no understanding of this great truth.
No one is beyond the touch of God’s Spirit. God, through His Holy Spirit, can reach anyone.
Jn. 3:10—The Holy Spirit had little opportunity to speak to Nicodemus’ heart This blinded position of religion is probably the hardest for the Holy Spirit to penetrate. The Spirit of God dealt with him greatly.
Jn. 3:11—The Holy Spirit spoke through Paul:
Ephesians 2:19–22 NASB95
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
Jn. 3:12—it is unbelief of which the Holy Spirit convicts (Jn. 16:8-9).
Jesus is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit.
Jn. 3:14—the Holy Spirit operates the great miracle of the new birth.
Jn. 3:16--“Eternal life” is the gift God bestows on us when we are born again.
The person needs a life fit for the Kingdom of God, which is found only in the “born-again” experience.
This is what Jesus was addressing when He said, “That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit” (vs. 6).
When He said, “Ye must be born again,” the word “Ye” is plural.
He was making it plain to Nicodemus that not only was it necessary for him to be born again, but that all his associates also needed to be regenerated.
The Holy Spirit has to break through this shell of darkness of religion as the Word of God is preached.
Can a born-again believer be lost?
Can a born-again Christian cease being a born-again Christian? The born-again can turn his back on salvation.
In Acts 5:3-9, Ananias and Sapphira lied to God and the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 6:4–6 NASB95
For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
It is very difficult to apply these verses to the actions of a born-again believer or of a sinner merely under conviction.
Once a person who was saved walks away from their salvation, they are no longer born again. It is impossible for a born-again believer to lose his salvation; but it is not impossible for a born-again Christian to stop believing; they are no longer “born again.”
Righteousness in the believer’s life is a matter of spiritual growth in cooperation with God’s Holy Spirit (Rom. 6:12; 2 Pet. 1:5-7).
It is unnatural for a born-again believer to sin habitually and deliberately.
The Apostle Paul, speaking under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, states in Romans 8:1, that the child of God is free from condemnation.
A believer can be lost if he disregards the continued checks of the Holy Spirit and can even reach the point where he rejects Jesus as his Savior and no longer believes.
The Bible extends continuing hope for anyone who wants to respond to the call of the Holy Spirit.
Jn. 3:17—There are well over 100,000,000 people in America who claim to be born again.
Jn. 3:19--Truly born-again persons love righteousness and hate wickedness (Heb. 1:9).
Jn. 3:20—because of the power and revelation of the Holy Spirit upon the Word of God, those who have had the privilege of hearing the Gospel must make the decision that they want to rid themselves of evil.
If the Gospel is truly preached under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, it will always expose sin.
If one desires the Light, one will have one’s life gloriously and wondrously changed by the Holy Spirit.
Jn. 3:21—this is what the “born-again” experience brings about.
Jesus completely changes people, and that change is so radical that it can only be described by the spiritual term, “born again.”
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