John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Bumper stickers. Religious sermons. Billboards. All stating we must be born again. The Pharisee Nicodemus wanted to know what Jesus meant by “born again”. How is this possible? What does it mean to be “born again” and when does this happen? Most of professing Christianity believes one is born again now, at this time. This is clearly NOT what Jesus was saying. We need to understand what Jesus meant by being “born again.”
Jesus answers the questions of how, what and when while speaking to Nicodemus. In John 3:3 he states it happens at the kingdom of God. This is a clear reference to His return to earth to set up His kingdom in the future. In verse 5 He states, “Except a man be born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” This is a reference to the spiritual birth of a Christian from the physical body to the spiritual body at the return of Jesus. Verse 6 Jesus makes the distinction between being born of the flesh (which we are now flesh) and being born of the spirit (which our bodies will become at the return of Jesus). Verse 8 Jesus contrasts the difference between the physical and the spiritual. Verse 12 Jesus asks the question we must answer, “If I have told you of earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?”
First: Why does God even care about humanity? Because He is adopting us into His spiritual family (Heb. 2:6; Psalm 8:4-6; Rom. 8:12-18). We are God’s children.
Second: Are today’s Christians already born again? Answer, no (Rom. 8:18-21; I Cor. 15:50). Today’s Christians are “begotten” (Greek “gannao” see Strong’s #1080) of the spirit but not yet born of the spirit (I Pet. 1:22-23). According to Peter we are “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible…” This putting on of the incorruptible only happens at the return of Jesus and the resurrection of the saints. The Greek word for “born” in I Pet. 1:22-23 is anagennao meaning a spiritual rebirth…from above (Strong’s #313).
Third: When does being born again take place? At the return of Jesus (John 3:5-6; I Thes. 4:13-17; I Cor 15:50-54).
Fourth: When does corruptible mortal man put on a spiritual incorruptible body? Answer, at the return of Jesus and the resurrection (I Cor. 15:42-54; Phil 3:20-21; I John 3:2).
Fifth: What will “born again” Christians be like? Answer, we will be like Jesus! A. Incorruptible (I Cor. 15:35-37; I Pet. 1:22-23. B. Like Jesus (I John 3:1-2). C. What is Jesus like? He is spiritual and incorruptible (Rev. 1:14-16; 19:12-13; Matt. 17:2). D. Jesus has ALL power in the universe (Matt. 28:18; 11:27; John 3:35; 13:3; I Cor. 15:27-28). E. Jesus is the first to be born again from a physical to spiritual body (Col. 1:15-19; Rom. 8:29). F. Christians are born again into a spiritual incorruptible body AT HIS COMING (I Cor. 15:22-24; Rom. 1:4).
Jesus was telling Nicodemus about His plan for mankind. He was telling him of the coming kingdom of God and how He loves mankind so much that He was willing to die to save us and to change us from the corruptible sinful nature into incorruptible spiritual being like He was going to be. To be “born again” means to be born into God’s spiritual family in our new spiritual bodies at His return.
Born again is analogous to human gestation. A child is “begotten” but not yet born until the actual physical birth. To be spiritually born again a human is impregnated (begotten) with God’s Holy Spirit and grows spiritually until born of spirit and water, incorruptible just like Jesus. The Greek word used for “born” in John 3:3 is gannao. The word gannao covers from physical conception to the birth of a child. It is more properly translated as “begotten” rather than “born” in the KJV. The American Revised Version correctly uses “begotten” in John 1:3; I John 2:29; I John 4:7 and I John 5:1. The KJV renders gannao as begotten in I Cor. 4:15. Translating John 3:3 correctly as “begotten” rather than as “born” clears up the misunderstanding of when one is born again.
