What exactly does it mean to be born again?

Question

Humans cannot go to heaven with bodies of flesh and blood

1 Cor. 15:50: “This I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom, neither does corruption inherit incorruption.”

John 3:6: “What has been born from the flesh is flesh, and what has been born from the spirit is spirit.”

Only persons who have been “born again,” thus becoming God’s sons, can share in the heavenly Kingdom

John 1:12, 13: “As many as did receive him [Jesus Christ], to them he gave authority to become God’s children, because they were exercising faith in his name; and they were born, not from blood or from a fleshly will or from man’s will, but from God.” (“As many as did receive him” does not mean all humans who have put faith in Christ. Notice who is being referred to, as indicated by verse 11 [“his own people,” the Jews]. The same privilege has been extended to others of mankind, but only to a “little flock.”)

Rom. 8:16, 17: “The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children. If, then, we are children, we are also heirs: heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ, provided we suffer together that we may also be glorified together.”

1 Pet. 1:3, 4: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for according to his great mercy he gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance. It is reserved in the heavens for you.”

What will they do in heaven?

Rev. 20:6: “They will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings with him for the thousand years.”

1 Cor. 6:2: “Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world?”

Answer 1

Being born the first time means coming out of your mother, for life on earth.
Being born-again refers to those of that small group that go to heaven to work with Jesus in his heavenly kingdom (government).
While on earth, they are 'born again', in the sense God puts it in their minds and hearts that their eternal life is not earthly.

Answer 2

So many think being reborn is about confession then affirming that Jesus is God and then struggling to live up to the law.

The birth is of the spirit, where we stop being ego based and become love motivated. Only those of God can truly Love the Agape love of Christ. By becoming a spirit of love one also becomes a vessel of the Holy Spirit and then we become even more loving.

What passes as salvation today is shallow and of little consequence no matter how convinced the person is. Without GREAT love there is no new creature in Christ.

At that day you will know that we are all one with God and we are siblings of Christ. When we realize the power of what we become then the righteousness you think of is like dirty rags.

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1 Cor. 6:2: “Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world?”

Does not mean what people think it means.
If you judge now and you think this is a reward then you'll not judge then because you are not Holy now or then.

Judgment is divisive and Christ is that which holds all things together. I can prove it all by scripture but since I have become scripture why not speak plainly of WHY these things are so?

Answer 3

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every" one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…" (Acts 2:38).

To quote....

We must stress that the new birth is a single whole. One is either born again or not; there is no such thing as being half born. Although Jesus identified two components - water and Spirit - He nevertheless spoke of one new birth. The Spirit, water, and blood all agree in one (I John 5:8). There is only one baptism (Ephesians 4:5), comprised of both water and Spirit. The Scripture encompasses both water baptism and Spirit baptism when it teaches that we are buried with Christ in baptism to rise in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4), that we are baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:27), and that we receive spiritual circumcision by baptism (Colossians 2:11-13). Whatever repentance, water baptism, and the Spirit baptism accomplish individually, we must always remember that the total work of salvation is completed at the union of the three. We should never attach so much importance to one element that we deem the others to be unnecessary.

The Bible pattern is to experience all three - repentance, water baptism, and the gift of the Spirit (Acts 2:38). Even though the Samaritans had been baptized in Jesus' name, they still needed to receive the Spirit (Acts 8:15-17). Even though Cornelius had already received the Spirit, Peter commanded him to be baptized in Jesus' name (Acts 10:44-48).

Since Jesus divided the new birth into two components in order to explain it, we must bear in mind that the new birth is a single experience consisting of two parts; one part is incomplete without the other. There is only one birth, not two.

The fullfillment is the New Birth or Born Again experience is capsulated in obeying the following scripture...

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every" one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…" (Acts 2:38).

Answer 4

Think of the 8 people saved in Noah's ark. Eight is the number of resurection. There was not enough room in the ark for all the world if they repented anyway. The calvinist says..... it's God's right to choose 8 and we cannot question Him. the arminian says God looked forward in time to see who would repent and told Noah to build an appropriately sized ark. I beleive God knows everthing!!! Even all the possibilities that did not happen. God knew who would trust Him whereeever he placed you in human history.(no accidenst shere). he uses this infinite knowledge to plan out all things according to His will. We all get what we deserve and what we choose. When adam was fornmed "god breahed into his nostrels the breathe of life and man BECAME a living soul"..... in the same way God chooses which soul to breathe into each baby in the womb. those who may die in the flood would not have trusted god were they placed in the best christian household. Otherwise mant could complain they did not have as good a chance as others. This also removes all guilt about earthquakes etc as no one dies innocently in God's eyes as not only are all sinners by practice and nature, but God knew how they would respond no matter where he placed them. I call this "soul placing"

Answer 5

I concur with "luv's" answer- I notice she got a thumbs down right away too.

As Jesus talked with Nicodemus, He said "...Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again...." (John 3:3-7).

The phrase "born again" literally means "born from above."

Answer 6

What does it mean to be a born again Christian? The classic passage from the Bible that answers this question is John 3:1-21. The Lord Jesus Christ is talking to Nicodemus, a prominent Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin (a ruler of the Jews). Nicodemus had come to Jesus at night. Nicodemus had questions to ask Jesus.

As Jesus talked with Nicodemus, He said "...Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again...." (John 3:3-7).

The phrase "born again" literally means "born from above." Nicodemus had a real need. He needed a change of his heart--a spiritual transformation. New birth, being born again, is an act of God whereby eternal life is imparted to the person who believes (2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1-4, 18). John 1:12,13 indicates that "born again" also carries the idea "to become children of God" through trust in the name of Jesus Christ.

The question logically comes, "Why does a person need to be born again?" The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:1 says, "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins..." To the Romans in Romans 3:23, the Apostle wrote, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." So, a person needs to be born again in order to have their sins forgiven and have a relationship with God.

How does that come to be? Ephesians 2:8,9 states, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast." When one is "saved," he/she has been born again, spiritually renewed, and is now a child of God by right of new birth. Trusting in Jesus Christ, the One who paid the penalty of sin when He died on the cross, is what it means to be "born again" spiritually. "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation..." (2 Corinthians 5:17a).

If you have never trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, will you consider the prompting of the Holy Spirit as He speaks to your heart? You need to be born again. Will you pray the prayer of repentance and become a new creation in Christ, today? "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe on His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-13).

Answer 7

If you have asked the holy spirit of God into you, with" Faith "and ask of it and listen for the answers and then try to do Gods will then you are born again. in the spirit.we came from spirit. so then we make a decision to go back to the spirit and live spiritual life's, is all that means.

Answer 8

Dear Ruth,

"Born-again" (John 3) refers to the spiritual birth that one must have in order to go to heaven. Man has no power to become "born-again" just as a person has no say in their physical birth.....we cannot choose our day of birth, we cannot choose our gender, we cannot choose our eye or hair color, etc. The Lord is the only One who can physical life and the only One who can eternal life.

In order for a person to have eternal life, ALL their sins must be paid for. The Bible tells us that just 1 sin makes a person guilty of breaking the law of God. The penalty for breaking or transgressing the law of God is eternal damnation. Since every human being is born in sin, ALL of mankind is guilty of breaking God's law and therefore under the judgment of God.

However, the Lord, in His great mercy and lovingkindness determined that He would make some of these rebels His children and heirs. Because God is absolutely just and righteous, He could not allow sinners into heaven. So He took on a human nature and became the substitute for those whom He chose to save (Ephesians 1:3-5). This meant that Christ would have to endure the equivalent of spending eternity in hell condensed into the hours between the Garden of Gethsemanae and when He said from the cross, "It is finished." Int aht period, Jesus Christ made the atonement (paid the sin debt) for all those whom He chose to save. Our minds cannot fathom the tremendous suffering Christ endured to save these individuals (called the elect).

When a person is born-again, the Lord applies His word to the person and they receive a "new resurrected soul." You will not find this term in the Bible but see Ezekiel 36:24-27. The "water" that God speaks of here is the word of God. You may say where do you get that from? In Ephesians 5:26 where we read, "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." Also see Titus 3:5-the "washing of regeneration" means to be born-again or saved.

God can save a person whenever He desires. He can save a little baby (as evidenced by John the Baptist) or He can save a person who is hours away from death (evidenced by the thief on the cross). Salvation occurs through the hearing of God's word. In Romans 10:17 we read, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Incidently "FAITH" is a synonym for the Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 19:11). Go through Hebrews 11 and everywhere you see the word "faith" replace it with Christ. I hope you can see the marvelous truth here.

For more info see my sources.

Answer 9

Well it's said that when you accept Jesus and follow his ways your old self dies and you live a new life in him, thus born again in Jesus.

But some other religions (you know who you are) think they have to have a second baptism, thus born again...doesn't make much sense, because it's not being born again, it's a second baptism

Answer 10

being born again is what Jesus said to Nicodemus. Nicodemus was confused, asking how he could go back into his mothers womb. but Jesus was talking about a spiritual rebirth, being born again of the spirit.