Have You Been Born Again?

“For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” Col. 1:13-20

Jesus came to be our Savior. The salvation experience is what Jesus called being “born again.” What a wonderfully descriptive term. He used it originally in His nighttime conversation with Nicodemus. The term is still as misunderstood today as it was when Jesus first used it with this ruler of the Jews.

Advertisers have attributed the term “born again” to a new product design. Artists, musicians, politicians, and entertainers who have made a comeback are said to have been “born again.” Many have tried to use the term in effort to gain approval and acceptance by those in the religious world. But all of these are empty copies of the real meaning of being “born again.”

What does it really mean? It’s a beautifully descriptive term for the transformation which takes place in a person’s life when they come into the kingdom of God. It’s an accurate description also and one which conveys a dynamic spiritual truth: Life comes through birth, and without spiritual birth, there can be no spiritual life.

Paul tells us that the “natural man (the one who has not been born again) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Corinthians 2:13).

Friend, have you been “born again”?