Curator’s Note: This article is a part of our Adult Sunday School literature for 2019.
Why is the new birth necessary?
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
1 Peter 1:23 (KJV)
It gives eternal life.
This verse concludes the section (vv. 13-23) which is an exhortation to holy living and it reminds the readers who they are and how they came to where they are in Christ. “You are new creatures”—he is saying, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible.” Your first birth was natural, of corruptible seed, but your new birth is spiritual and of incorruptible seed. The new birth has taken place by the power of the Word of God. That is, we have been brought to know Christ through the Word and to receive the truth of God’s love and the very life that is in Christ, and the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost by the Word. It is through the Word that we come to know God’s love and His provision for the new birth through Christ. The actual accomplishment of the new birth is wrought through the Holy Ghost (cf. Jn. 3:5-8), through the medium of the preached Word (cf. 1 Cor. 4:15).
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.
Romans 8:16 (KJV)
It bears witness.
Assurance of salvation need not be indefinite. There is the authority of the Word of God, which says, “...if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom. 10:9); and there is the inner assurance spoken of in this verse now under consideration—the mutual witness of both the Holy Ghost and one’s own conscience. First the Holy Ghost witnesses to the new Christian that he is a child of God.
Many testimonies have been given by people who after having the witness of the Spirit that they are truly Christian, have indicated that they were for years going along claiming to be saved because they were church members and active in the church. Then, they experienced an inner awakening in a revival service, or in a private devotional experience, and for the first time they had the inner assurance that had been missing. Those who teach that experience has little to do with salvation should study more carefully the truth contained in this verse.
We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
1 John 3:14 (KJV)
It creates love.
Cain hated his brother Abel and slew him; likewise, the world hates Christians and would slay them. This should not be surprising when we understand that it was the same spirit of the world which caused men to put our Lord Jesus to death. Hatred and violence are the hallmarks of the spirit of the age. One of the reasons we know that we have passed from death unto life is “because we love the brethren.” Love, not hatred, is the mark of the Christian’s life.
For what purpose is the new birth?
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
1 John 3:9 (KJV)
It stops sin.
John says two things in this verse regarding sin in believers: he does not commit sin; and, he cannot commit sin. Is he saying that those who are born again are living in spotless perfection and that it is impossible for them to backslide? Surely not, for the New Testament is clear on the fact that any transgression or omission of what is right must be classified as a sin of transgression (see Jas. 2:10; 4:17), and it is; also, clear that Christians can backslide (see Gal. 1:6, 7; 2 Tim. 4:10; 2 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 2:5; etc.).
John’s statement in verse 4 helps to put verse 9 in focus. There he says, “Whosoever committeth [practices] sin transgresseth also, the law [also practices lawlessness]: for sin is the transgression of the law [sin is lawlessness].” In other words, a sinner is one who lives in a condition of sin. It is impossible for a Christian to commit sin and be a Christian at the same time.
This does not mean that when a person fails to pray as much as he should or if he thinks thoughts he should not think or if he speaks in a way to grieve the Holy Ghost within him, that he has backslidden and is no longer a Christian. He would be in danger of losing out with God if he approved that negative conduct in his will, if in his will he chose that rather than holiness. In such an event, he would be a willful practitioner of sin, and that is contradictory.
One cannot be a Christian and a sinner at the same time. So long as “his seed remaineth in him,” that is, so long as God’s nature, the divine nature, is in him he cannot be a sinner, too. The nature of God and the nature of sin are mutually exclusive of one another. Where you have one, you cannot have the other.
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
1 John 3:10 (KJV)
It reveals.
There is no middle ground between children of God and children of the devil. W e belong to one or the other. How is the distinction made? If he commits sin, he is of the devil; if he works righteousness, he is of God. A fundamental test of whether one is a child of God is whether or not he loves his brother. If he does not, that is proof that he does not belong to God.
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.
Galatians 4:19 (KJV)
It restores.
Paul had suffered for the Galatians as a mother giving birth to her child. He had watched over them and yearned for their welfare as a loving and devoted parent. Now, he addresses them as “My little children” with deep meaning. Since they had been tempted to turn away from Christ to revert to the old legalism, he travails all over for them again, “until Christ be formed in you.” Here the notion that one can never fall from grace is clearly refuted. These had once had Christ formed in them, but they had turned away from Him; now the Apostle travails for them all over again that they might come again to the saving knowledge of Christ.
Conclusion
To be born of water deals with the fleshly birth. This begins the process of living on earth. Since all men are spiritually dead, it is necessary that a new birth (spiritual) take place. Without this spiritual birth, there can be no understanding of the spiritual realm even as without a fleshly birth there is no understanding of the earthly world.
The natural body is composed of genes, chromosomes, etc., which determine the nature and eventual representation of the human. In like manner there are spiritual genes, chromosomes, etc., which come from God that reflects the image of the spiritual Father.
As a further assurance of a new life, we know we are different because the things we once hated, even people, we now love. This is a sign to us and everyone that we are His children. The entire concept of the new birth is anchored in the fact that all men are dead in their trespasses and sins and must be revived or brought back to spiritual life (Eph. 2:1-10). Thus, the new birth brings a changing in lifestyle, identifies the offspring of God, and reconciles or restores the individual to the fellowship and communion of the Creator.
