INCENTIVIZED TO OVERCOME | WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BORN AGAIN?

Mike Balloun teaches on 10-26-2019.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BORN AGAIN?

Genesis 1:11-12; John 1:1-14; 3:1-21, 4:24; Colossians 1:14; Micah 6:8

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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE “BORN-AGAIN”?

Today is the beginning of a new cycle of teaching the Torah of Moses (first five books of the Bible) within the Jewish community. The portion of Scripture for the lesson is from Genesis 1:1 through 2:3 and is entitled Bereishit / Beginnings. This is from where we set forth some critical truths again. To begin with, Man’s creation or beginning is realized last, after the other 3 kingdom divisions, that of mineral, of vegetable, and of animal (the animal having a measure of intelligence or light). And then over all of these is Man, who is a superior being filled with the far greater characteristics of reason, reflection, self examination, self-control, and will. He additionally has the unique ability of speech, all of which speaks to man being made in the image of God. Man is the crowning of all that God did before the 7th Day of Rest. The Law of these Kingdom Beginnings is that none of these kingdoms may pass from one to another, save only by the act of the Creator (as when prideful Nebuchadnezzar was relegated to the nature of the animal kingdom, being controlled by that nature of that life force, and being darkened and unaware, (grew his nails and behaved as an animal) seemingly satisfied within that life’s nature. And afterwards, being again enlightened into the kingdom of man, he gratefully recognized God’s sovereignty in praise and worship. “…and excellent majesty was added unto…” him. This sets forth before us an example of loss and gain of different kingdoms’ life (see Daniel 4:30-37).

ABOVE AND SUPERIOR TO THE KINGDOMS OF MAN’S REALM, THERE IS ANOTHER KINGDOM; THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
That Kingdom, Christ declares as “spirit” in that God is spirit (John 4:24). There is no article a before the word spirit in the Greek. Now it is understood from Scripture that Adam was not the man in his kingdom life and its nature as he now is, in that before his fall from that higher life and nature, due to sin he was able to see and experience the spirit realm, in that he communed with God in the Garden. But having determined to serve himself instead of his Creator, he disobeyed his Creator and lost the spiritual faculty to see or enter into the Kingdom of God. (Genesis 2:17, 3:6) It is the loss of that higher life in his spirit’s “death” that has naturally barred man from seeing or entering into the Kingdom of God. So now being in the flesh, which is to be only capable of being carnally minded, and now quite satisfied, not acutely aware of his loss, if at all, it is impossible for man to please God in this state. (Romans 8:6-8) No longer is man a heavenly-minded earthly being, he is now fallen from that lofty state of his “beginning” to a spiritless soul man, a life-less man, a cursed and doomed creation of his own making. Now fallen man is bound in the Law of Genesis: that seed produce after its own kind… which restricts entrance into any other kingdom but by birth only. (Genesis 1:11-12, 24) It is in these verses that the necessity for being Born-Again is found.

The Apostle John’s words of “In the beginning….” in the Book of John verse 1 are surely reflective of Genesis 1:1 and as such are then the first recorded New Testament commentary on the Torah of Moses as it relates to creative events. It is where he presents to us Christians that the Word of God was essential to Creation, and was manifest incarnate in the flesh. That is in human form, as Jesus Christ, the 2nd Adam, dwelt among us. And in…. That all things were made by Him, in Him was life; and the life was the light of men…” He came unto His own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” [John 1:1-14] The point of verses 11-12 (“He came to His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God.”) is pressed forward with that meeting at night with a Jewish Pharisee leader; Nicodemus, as recorded by John in the 3rd Chapter, verses 1-21.

It is here that Christ rebukes the supposed teacher of Israel for his lack of understanding that a man must be “born-again” in that a man who is not “born-again “cannot see the Kingdom of God”. See verse 3….“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” [John 3:3] The Kingdom of Israel, to be established by the Messiah of God, is that which the Jew of Christ’s day was.........

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