You Must Be Born Again

[Proof]

Saying you believe in Christ, and saying you follow Christ are two different things completely. "I go to church" doesn't cut the mustard.

[Your closest friendnt]

Very ofen I have been ask these questions.

Do we need a Christ?

Does Christ had to be like us?

Does Christ had to be a Jew?

Did Davit call his Lord God the Christ to be?

Can we say that the Christ is the same as the Lord God of David?

What does Emanuel means?

Does it mean our God with us?

How may we understand who are the people refereed in the word "our"?

[FresnoJoe]

What does Emanuel means?

Does it mean our God with us?

 

 

Why

 

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

 

Yes~!

 

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:23

 

Yes Beloved, It Does~!

 

And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

 

Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

 

And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

 

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

 

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

 

But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. John 20:26-31

[Kan]

I don't know about you, but when I was born, I had no say in it, I did not have any control or contribution, I had no choice in it and I have no recollection.

 

But apparently when you are born again, you are supposed to have this experience where, you have a say in it, you have some control and contribution, and choice in it, and what is more a recollection, which for some people is so dramatic that they can talk about it as a milestone in their lives.

 

"Unless you become as little children." 

Children rarely analyse their lives, they just live in the moment, not conscious of their vulnerability. we might say?

 

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, this means he was self conscious, and self assured. Children are neither of those until they get older.

 

Somehow we want this born again thing under our knowing, so some congregations have even worked out how to convince people that they are experiencing such a thing, and there is shouting and hallelujahs, lots of music, and hair raising responses.

 

I did not know that I was born of a woman until years after it happened. But it seems like the born againers can pinpoint the day and hour of their rebirth.

 

We don't think of our natural birth as children, because we are absorbed with the life it gave, maybe the new birth begins when we are so absorbed with the source of Life given, that we don't even think about having been born into it?

 

Could it be that being born again is an experience we cannot have a calendar or report on?

 

"The wind blows where it wills and you hear the sound of it, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it's going: so is everyone born of the Spirit."

[thereselittleflower]

I don't know about you, but when I was born, I had no say in it, I did not have any control or contribution, I had no choice in it and I have no recollection.

 

But apparently when you are born again, you are supposed to have this experience where, you have a say in it, you have some control and contribution, and choice in it, and what is more a recollection, which for some people is so dramatic that they can talk about it as a milestone in their lives.

 

"Unless you become as little children." 

Children rarely analyse their lives, they just live in the moment, not conscious of their vulnerability. we might say?

 

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, this means he was self conscious, and self assured. Children are neither of those until they get older.

 

Somehow we want this born again thing under our knowing, so some congregations have even worked out how to convince people that they are experiencing such a thing, and there is shouting and hallelujahs, lots of music, and hair raising responses.

 

I did not know that I was born of a woman until years after it happened. But it seems like the born againers can pinpoint the day and hour of their rebirth.

 

We don't think of our natural birth as children, because we are absorbed with the life it gave, maybe the new birth begins when we are so absorbed with the source of Life given, that we don't even think about having been born into it?

 

Could it be that being born again is an experience we cannot have a calendar or report on?

 

"The wind blows where it wills and you hear the sound of it, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it's going: so is everyone born of the Spirit."

 

I would say just as you have the exact day, hour, minute and second of your natural birth and can easily know it, so can one know the same when they are born again.

 

Twinc said something interesting earlier in the thread, about how some are born again over and over and over.  i know some believe this can happen,   But from all I have learned, one can only be born again once;  but one may experience several moments of deep conversion, where, if they have strayed from God, they experience a moment of profound conversion in returning to God.  Some may view this as being born again - again, but that would not be the right way to describe this spiritual experience.

 

When we are born again, we enter into the covenental relationship with God in the New Covenant.  Just as circumcision in the Old Covenant was the "rite," with which, upon completion of, one entered into the covenantal relationship of the Old Covenant, so being born again, seen by many tied to the rite of water baptism - the new circumcision made without hands, is the moment of entrance into the New Covenant relationship with God and God's people. Just as the rite of circumcision could only happen once, so the rite of baptism only happens once, and one is born again only once.   From that point, our life is to be one of continual conversion to God, growing closer to God, dying to self - and this is not something that happens at a smooth constant rate as I think all of us who have been walking the christian path for years can attest to.   I would expect that pretty much all of us have experienced at least one period in our lives where we became more distant from God and God graced us with a moment of conversion back to Him.  

[Kan]

Thanks for that, now I see both sides of the coin.

I like the Q and A on your post, it's true of the whole Christian experience.