So Yesterday, I explained what being born of water means. You can check it out here
Today, I want to do some explanation on the very popular phrase "born again"...
It is so popular in Christianity yet I must confess, it wasn't until some 5 or 6 years ago I got to really understand what it meant.
Worse still, as a Christian, I didn't even know where it was in the bible. I feel ashamed talking about this. But the good news is that ignorance is now in the past.
I once heard a preacher say something that has never left me, he said...
Ignorance doesn't look good on you as a believer
That is a phenomenal statement.
Even the apostle Peter said...
...and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear... 1 Peter 3 vs 15.
Well, this is why I am constantly devoted to understanding the scriptures.
So, what does it mean to be born again?
First, the phrase was gotten from John 3 vs 3,
Jesus answered and said unto him (to Nicodemus), Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
So, what did Jesus mean by "born again"
Like I said in my post yesterday, the new testament scriptures were initially written in greek and anyone who knows language will know that different languages have their peculiarities.
Let's examine the word "again" in that verse...
In greek, it is a word that could mean...
'anew', 'again' or 'from above', 'from a higher place'
Only the speaker and the context of his speech can clearly tell us what the word again means.
Going back to John 3... if we read verse 4, from the question Nicodemus asks, it is obvious that he thought Jesus referred to being born 'anew', again.
But when we see Jesus' explanation, we see that Jesus wasn't referring to being born a second time, rather he was referring to being born of the spirit.
I can hear you saying...
"but it is still another birth, not just what Nicodemus thought it was"
... and you are correct.
it is a birth from above, that's what Jesus was referring to...
ok, at this point permit me to make reference to what the word is in greek, just for ease of reference...
so, the word 'again' is the word anothen in greek.
Like I said earlier, "anothen" can mean, "again, anew, from above"
Anothen is used for things that come from God, from heaven.
So, if we input that meaning into the context that we are currently examining, we would find that Born again refers to being born of God, or from heaven
Like I said yesterday,
Born again=Born of the spirit
So, now that equation would read,
Born again = Born of the Spirit = Born of God = Born from heaven
So, effectively, Jesus was saying to Nicodemus,
...except a man is "born of God" he can't see the kingdom of God
The apostle Peter used the same phrase in addressing Christians in 1 Peter 1 vs 18
Being "born again", not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
So when you say you are born again, you know what it means.
God has blessed you.