Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Those who receive Christ and believe in His name are given power to become the sons of God by a birth that is from God, not from blood, nor from the will of the flesh, nor from the will of man. Grace and sonship are not inherited from parents, and human will, effort and natural growth avail nothing to produce it, for spiritual life and victory come only from divine power through Christ. This birth from God is a spiritual birth and new creation in which the old nature is put to death and a new life is created, making sinners partakers of the divine nature and restoring in them the moral image of God lost through sin. Christ made it possible by clothing His divinity with humanity and bearing the penalty of the transgressor as substitute and ransom, so that through His merits He takes away sin and imputes His righteousness to supply what is lacking. It is gained by coming to Christ in humility, repentance and full surrender to receive pardon by faith through the working of the Holy Spirit, and it is shown in a radically changed character that practices obedience, love and good works and overcomes Satan's assaults and the corruption of the world.
Sense of Terms
Those who receive Christ and believe in His name are given power, even right, to become sons and children of God by a birth that is from God, not from ancestry or blood, nor from physical desire or the will of the flesh, nor from human decision, effort or will. This divine birth is how overcoming is understood and worked out through receiving Christ, for Christ stands at the head of humanity to win men back to allegiance by giving it. It is spiritual life and spiritual light, since the Word is the light and the life of men and all light and life come from Christ, showing utter dependence upon Him. Becoming a child of God in this way is without human merit and is received through Christ's righteousness.
Grace and sonship are not inherited by blood, nor produced by the will of the flesh nor by the will of man, but come by being born of God. A very bad father may have a godly son, and a Christian father may have a profligate son, for grace does not pass from parent to child. Holiness is God's gift through Christ, not a human birthright, and the new birth is not received from another person but is a spiritual birth from God in which those who receive Christ are born again, renewed in righteousness and holiness, and changed by the Spirit to become like God.
The birth of blood and of the will of the flesh is the old nature received by natural human birth, consisting of the old ways, hereditary tendencies, former habits and formed habits. That nature cannot inherit the kingdom of God and cannot give spiritual life or entrance into God's kingdom. It must be given up, surrendered with self to the will of God and the sovereignty of love, for the field of conflict is the domain of the heart. God alone can give victory over evil desires and habits, but He does not force the will, so a person must voluntarily submit and cooperate with His Spirit.
Not of the will of man means the human mind and will have little power to bring about this birth. Human effort avails nothing without divine power, and natural growth cannot produce a fully formed Christian character. Self-righteousness earns no credit before God, and the new birth does not depend on worldly status or privilege or on another person's will. Spiritual success and victory over the foe do not come from human will, ability or power but from God through Christ, to whom striving to enter the way of life is a means by which He prepares those who receive Him and trust in His power to save.
Surrounding Testimony
John's testimony sets this birth apart from the world that rejects Christ, for He was in the world He Himself had made and yet the world did not know Him, and He came to His own and His own did not receive Him, while those who receive Him and believe on His name are given power to become sons of God by being born not of ancestry or physical desire or human choice but of God. That distinction belongs to John's presentation of Christ, in which birth from God is set apart from natural descent and human will. The sadness of that rejection is that the spiritually ignorant and depraved, the debased and wretched, do not understand that the greatest blessing possible is offered to them.
This birth from God is spiritual light that is also spiritual life, for the Word is the light and the life of men, in whom was life that was the light of men shining in darkness that did not comprehend it. Since all light and life come from Christ, all depend on Him. Those who do not receive and walk in the light are dead in trespasses and sins, but as Substitute and Surety He makes them alive to God, having suffered the penalty of sin to enlighten and give life to the sinner, so that the gifts of light and life come together. Those who receive Christ by faith and rest on the merits of the crucified and risen Savior are promised sonship, and as God's children they share in the divine nature, know the true light and Christ's grace, and have faith that works through love and purifies the soul.
The verse stands joined to the Word made flesh dwelling among men full of grace and truth in the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. That incarnation was made possible because He bore the penalty of the transgressor as the only substitute for the sinner, opened the gates of Paradise to the fallen race, took not the nature of angels but the nature of man, lived a life untainted by sin, and suffered in man's behalf. Through pure truth believed and practiced this divine birth forms a character that prepares for the great work to be done in this life and gives fitness for eternal service, bringing believers into possession of the fullness of Christ who came in flesh, so that God works in them to will and to do His good pleasure and they stand blameless and harmless as lights in the world, receiving grace upon grace. It is the reception of the grace of Christ that makes a marked change in character, makes believers partakers of the divine nature, and makes them the light of the world who behold spiritual things and see Him as full of grace and truth, receiving of His fullness grace for grace. Human effort avails nothing without divine power, so He clothed His divinity with humanity and came to earth to cooperate with man, and to those who receive Him and trust in His power to save He imparts the virtue of His righteousness and gives power to become sons of God, and from His fullness all receive grace for grace. In Him the soul's longing for pardon, peace, assurance, hope, faith, confidence and righteousness is satisfied.
This birth comes from Christ who is the true light which lights every man and who is the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. John's true word-presentation of Christ must be given instead of human art, since neither God nor heaven nor Christ who is the image of the Father can be truly pictured by man. Though in human form He bore His commission from the Excellent Glory and spoke with true greatness and authority, calling for submissive attention, so the world must listen to Him and receive every word He utters as law and life. Receiving His words is receiving Him, who is the revelation of God and the only foundation for a lasting character.
The birth from God belongs to God sending His Son to make known His character and the laws of His kingdom after Israel proved unfaithful to their trust to communicate the light they had, despite deliverance from Egypt, the presence and blessing of God, and the holy law spoken from Sinai.
Nature of Divine Birth
The birth from God is a spiritual birth and new creation in which the natural earthly nature is put to death by the Word and a new life in Christ is created. Those who receive Christ and believe in His name are given power to become God's children by this birth, which comes not from ancestry, human desire, or human choice. They become newborn souls translated into the kingdom of God, with the power of God working in the character of everyone who is born again.
This birth brings adoption into the royal family and close relationship with God as His spiritual children, sons and daughters, by faith one with Christ. As sons and daughters they are Christ's property and co-laborers with God, bought with the ransom of Christ's precious blood, wholly His by creation and by redemption in mind, soul, strength and body. They are adopted into the royal family, and as they seek to do God's will they become conformed to His image. Continuing to receive Christ and confess Him as personal Saviour, they are kept day by day by God's power in humility of mind, acknowledging insufficiency of self, with acceptance resting not on own merits or capabilities but on light from God.
Those born of God are made partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world through lust. This birth is the reception of Christ's grace, which changes character and makes a marked change in character as believers open mind and heart to truth in Jesus. As they behold spiritual things they see Christ's righteousness in the law and see Christ as full of grace and truth, receiving spiritual insight and receiving of His fullness grace for grace. As God's children they share in the divine nature, receive Christ's life and principles, the fullness of Christ, and the virtue of His righteousness, know the true light and Christ's grace, and have faith that works through love and purifies the soul.
The birth restores what was lost through sin, for God did not make man to be redeemed but to bear His image as His son. Through sin man lost the image of God, and only by redemption can God carry out His design to make him a son of God. Because of the ransom paid, the one born of God may by his own choice and by obedience, through grace given by God, accomplish God's design and again bear the image first impressed on him and lost through the fall, with Christ's own righteousness supplying what is lacking. Through Christ fallen people can be restored to God's moral image and made complete in grace, with the heart receiving the mold of the divine similitude and the image of Christ reproduced in the person until by the transforming efficacy of grace he becomes a new creature. In this restoration love takes the place of hatred, and the one born of God must not keep sin alive by practice but must become a free soul in Christ Jesus, free to practice virtue and holiness, using liberty as a servant of God under the rule of Christ.
The birth is the sanctification of the soul through the working of the Holy Spirit implanting a new nature. By obedience to the requirements of God's law the entire nature is purified from moral defilement and character is made complete in Christ who knew no sin. The light coming from God works to regulate conduct toward God in complete sanctification of mind and will by the infallible standard of His law, guided into all truth by the Holy Spirit alone. It brings immortality as God's free gift and makes those who receive Christ and believe in Him members of God's family and heirs of heaven.
Provision Through Christ
The new birth from God was made possible because Christ clothed His divinity with humanity and came to this earth to cooperate with man. He took on Himself not the nature of angels but the nature of man, laying aside His royal robe and kingly crown and stepping down from His high command. He stands at the head of humanity to win men back to their allegiance by giving this divine birth to those who receive Him and believe on His name. In standing there He reveals what human beings can become by receiving the power He came to give, imparting to those who trust in His power to save the virtue of His righteousness and grace for grace from His fullness.
He bore the penalty of the transgressor as the only substitute, surety and ransom for the sinner. He gathered to His own pure sinless soul the penalty resting on the sinful race, with the iniquities of all laid upon Him, living a life untainted by sin and suffering in man's behalf. By this He opened the gates of Paradise to the fallen race. He appeared at the appointed time when the world seemed wholly under the enemy to give evidence of the love of God by dying for the fallen race, revealing both the love of God and the immutability of His law which could not be changed to meet man in his fallen condition, so that sinners are not left without hope to die in transgression because a ransom was found.
Through the merits of the crucified and risen Savior those who receive Christ by faith and rest upon Him are promised sonship, for He takes away their sins and imputes His righteousness to them and counts it as theirs. Christ's own righteousness supplies what is lacking and works in man to fulfill his original destiny, so that by grace given by God man can accomplish God's design, again bear the image first impressed and lost through the fall, and keep God's law. This divine birth forms a character that prepares for the great work to be done in this life and gives fitness for eternal service to God. Those born of God are brought into possession of the fullness of Christ who came in flesh, made partakers of the divine nature and the light of the world who behold spiritual things, so that God works in them to will and do His good pleasure and they stand blameless and harmless as lights in the world, receiving of His fullness grace for grace and grace upon grace. Their faith works through love and purifies the soul, making a marked change in character as they receive His merits and are transformed into His likeness.
Salvation in this birth is without human merit and is received through Christ's righteousness. Becoming a child of God does not come through ancestry, human desire, human effort or human authority, but comes from God through the Holy Spirit who implants Christ's nature in them. This inward change, rather than courts, councils, laws or the favor of powerful people, is the power that uplifts humanity.
Entering the Birth
The birth from God must be gained as a personal experience, for without it no one will ever see the kingdom of God. It is the only true mind-cure and the whole science of salvation that can save the perishing soul. It lies wholly with each person whether to cast off Satan and accept Jesus or to perish in sin, whether to be a child of God or a child of Satan.
Defective, willfully stubborn human beings receive it by coming to Christ in humility, contrition and sincere repentance to receive pardon as a personal sin-pardoning Saviour. This means turning completely around, being converted, giving the self up entirely without reserve and letting His will be done. It requires renouncing self-dependence, surrendering self to God's will and yielding the heart to the sovereignty of love. This honor is given to sinful people who repent, believe and accept Christ and all He has promised.
God Himself must breathe life into the heart and transform the person, and He is ready to do so when Christ is welcomed. The new birth is made possible by power from above and comes through the operation of the Holy Spirit. It comes through the Word and the Spirit, by which faith works by love and purifies the soul so that receiving Christ brings a transformed heart and character. It is received through pure truth believed and practiced, forming a character that prepares for the great work of this life and gives fitness for eternal service.
It comes by looking constantly to Jesus from morn till eve with the eye of faith and feeding upon His Word, for it is spirit and life. It is nourished by receiving the Holy Spirit daily and looking to Jesus so that His character is reflected in words and life. Then the Spirit takes the things of Christ and presents them to the earnest seeker, making the salvation of the soul sure. In this way the natural, earthly nature is put to death and a new life in Christ is created.
The verse means continuing to receive Christ and confess Him as personal Saviour, being kept day by day by God's power in humility of mind. This requires acknowledging insufficiency of self to think or vindicate or justify anything of self, with acceptance resting not on own merits or capabilities but on light coming from God. That light regulates conduct toward God in complete sanctification of mind and will by the infallible standard of His law, as the person is guided into all truth by the Holy Spirit alone. God alone gives victory over evil desires and habits, but He does not force the will, so a person must voluntarily submit and cooperate with His Spirit. Striving to enter the way of life is a means by which Christ prepares them, and self-righteousness earns no credit before God.
Life of Those Born
The new birth from God changes the natural character through the Holy Spirit into an altogether different character. It brings a radical change of thought, capacity for enjoyment, and religious experience that reveals Christ's character, as believers open mind and heart to truth in Jesus, see Christ's righteousness in the law, receive spiritual insight and grace, and become partakers of the divine nature. A mere profession of religion without a changed heart does not meet the condition for becoming God's child, for those born again are accepted as His sons and daughters. Genuine faith receives Christ and is shown in practicing His works and revealing His spirit, making life and conduct responsive to God. Through Christ God grants every gift needed for completeness and completes His work in those who cooperate with Him and strive daily against temptation, fitting them as members of His family to live with angels.
Those who follow Christ deny self, and through His grace may become like Him whose human life was free from selfishness and sin. They humbly follow Christ and depend on the Saviour's grace rather than trusting themselves. Receiving Christ gives power to become God's children, and those who receive Him show this new life in good works, in obedience, love, justice and mercy. This is keeping the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, cultivating earnest desire for the righteousness of Christ above temporal wants with longing to become Christlike in character and assimilated to His image. Through that God-given power parents are to keep the commandments of God perfectly.
This birth from God is how the work of overcoming is understood and worked out through receiving Christ. God imparts the divine nature, enabling believers to overcome Satan's assaults and escape the corruption in the world through lust. Those who are willing and obedient receive strength from Him, for victory comes from God through Christ and not from human will or ability. Having escaped corruption they are without excuse if they continue in sin. The one born of God must not keep sin alive by practice but must become a free soul in Christ Jesus, free not to continue in sin but to practice virtue and holiness, using liberty not to oppress or speak bitterness but as a servant of God under the rule of Christ.
Those born are brought into union with Christ with the love of Christ in their hearts so they do not quarrel among themselves. They adorn Bible truth in mind and character and bear divine credentials, so the world understands and believes that God sent Christ. This inward change by the Holy Spirit implanting Christ's nature, rather than courts, councils, laws or the favor of powerful people, is the power that uplifts humanity, and teaching and practicing God's word is the human agency through which this work is done. It is shown outwardly in the Christian graces, exemplifying Bible truth before a sinful world so that others see good works and glorify God. This sanctification of the soul needed in every institution established for healing souls and bodies suffering from the malady of sin comes through the Holy Spirit implanting a new nature, by obedience to God's law, making character complete in Christ who knew no sin.
Being born of God is testified by work for Christ, for giving self unreservedly to service gains an experience enabling more and more successful labor, and the influence that drew a person helps draw others. One on whom public speaking is never laid is none the less a minister when laboring to win others. As God's children their sincere prayers are presented by Christ to the Father with the fragrance of His Spirit and are wholly accepted. God gives those who receive Christ peace, holiness, and understanding of His Word, with joy over those who join in obeying the truth.
Because grace is not inherited, a very bad father may have a godly son and a Christian father may have a profligate son. Children with a godless father are still the purchase of Christ's blood and can be saved. Their believing mother is to take up her doubly heavy burden, let her light shine where Satan works to secure them, seek the Lord in faith and humility for her children and husband, and in words, spirit, character, meekness, patience, forbearance and cheerfulness live Christ as a signpost to the heavenward path. The birth from God calls for reconversion and renewal by the Holy Spirit, and those thus born are recognized as Christ's believing followers, members of God's family fitted to live with angels.
Those who receive Christ and believe in His name are given power to become the sons of God by a birth that is from God, not from blood, nor from the will of the flesh, nor from the will of man. Grace and sonship are not inherited from parents, and human will, effort and natural growth avail nothing to produce it, for spiritual life and victory come only from divine power through Christ. This birth from God is a spiritual birth and new creation in which the old nature is put to death and a new life is created, making sinners partakers of the divine nature and restoring in them the moral image of God lost through sin. Christ made it possible by clothing His divinity with humanity and bearing the penalty of the transgressor as substitute and ransom, so that through His merits He takes away sin and imputes His righteousness to supply what is lacking. It is gained by coming to Christ in humility, repentance and full surrender to receive pardon by faith through the working of the Holy Spirit, and it is shown in a radically changed character that practices obedience, love and good works and overcomes Satan's assaults and the corruption of the world.
Sense of Terms
Those who receive Christ and believe in His name are given power, even right, to become sons and children of God by a birth that is from God, not from ancestry or blood, nor from physical desire or the will of the flesh, nor from human decision, effort or will. This divine birth is how overcoming is understood and worked out through receiving Christ, for Christ stands at the head of humanity to win men back to allegiance by giving it. It is spiritual life and spiritual light, since the Word is the light and the life of men and all light and life come from Christ, showing utter dependence upon Him. Becoming a child of God in this way is without human merit and is received through Christ's righteousness.
Grace and sonship are not inherited by blood, nor produced by the will of the flesh nor by the will of man, but come by being born of God. A very bad father may have a godly son, and a Christian father may have a profligate son, for grace does not pass from parent to child. Holiness is God's gift through Christ, not a human birthright, and the new birth is not received from another person but is a spiritual birth from God in which those who receive Christ are born again, renewed in righteousness and holiness, and changed by the Spirit to become like God.
The birth of blood and of the will of the flesh is the old nature received by natural human birth, consisting of the old ways, hereditary tendencies, former habits and formed habits. That nature cannot inherit the kingdom of God and cannot give spiritual life or entrance into God's kingdom. It must be given up, surrendered with self to the will of God and the sovereignty of love, for the field of conflict is the domain of the heart. God alone can give victory over evil desires and habits, but He does not force the will, so a person must voluntarily submit and cooperate with His Spirit.
Not of the will of man means the human mind and will have little power to bring about this birth. Human effort avails nothing without divine power, and natural growth cannot produce a fully formed Christian character. Self-righteousness earns no credit before God, and the new birth does not depend on worldly status or privilege or on another person's will. Spiritual success and victory over the foe do not come from human will, ability or power but from God through Christ, to whom striving to enter the way of life is a means by which He prepares those who receive Him and trust in His power to save.
Surrounding Testimony
John's testimony sets this birth apart from the world that rejects Christ, for He was in the world He Himself had made and yet the world did not know Him, and He came to His own and His own did not receive Him, while those who receive Him and believe on His name are given power to become sons of God by being born not of ancestry or physical desire or human choice but of God. That distinction belongs to John's presentation of Christ, in which birth from God is set apart from natural descent and human will. The sadness of that rejection is that the spiritually ignorant and depraved, the debased and wretched, do not understand that the greatest blessing possible is offered to them.
This birth from God is spiritual light that is also spiritual life, for the Word is the light and the life of men, in whom was life that was the light of men shining in darkness that did not comprehend it. Since all light and life come from Christ, all depend on Him. Those who do not receive and walk in the light are dead in trespasses and sins, but as Substitute and Surety He makes them alive to God, having suffered the penalty of sin to enlighten and give life to the sinner, so that the gifts of light and life come together. Those who receive Christ by faith and rest on the merits of the crucified and risen Savior are promised sonship, and as God's children they share in the divine nature, know the true light and Christ's grace, and have faith that works through love and purifies the soul.
The verse stands joined to the Word made flesh dwelling among men full of grace and truth in the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. That incarnation was made possible because He bore the penalty of the transgressor as the only substitute for the sinner, opened the gates of Paradise to the fallen race, took not the nature of angels but the nature of man, lived a life untainted by sin, and suffered in man's behalf. Through pure truth believed and practiced this divine birth forms a character that prepares for the great work to be done in this life and gives fitness for eternal service, bringing believers into possession of the fullness of Christ who came in flesh, so that God works in them to will and to do His good pleasure and they stand blameless and harmless as lights in the world, receiving grace upon grace. It is the reception of the grace of Christ that makes a marked change in character, makes believers partakers of the divine nature, and makes them the light of the world who behold spiritual things and see Him as full of grace and truth, receiving of His fullness grace for grace. Human effort avails nothing without divine power, so He clothed His divinity with humanity and came to earth to cooperate with man, and to those who receive Him and trust in His power to save He imparts the virtue of His righteousness and gives power to become sons of God, and from His fullness all receive grace for grace. In Him the soul's longing for pardon, peace, assurance, hope, faith, confidence and righteousness is satisfied.
This birth comes from Christ who is the true light which lights every man and who is the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. John's true word-presentation of Christ must be given instead of human art, since neither God nor heaven nor Christ who is the image of the Father can be truly pictured by man. Though in human form He bore His commission from the Excellent Glory and spoke with true greatness and authority, calling for submissive attention, so the world must listen to Him and receive every word He utters as law and life. Receiving His words is receiving Him, who is the revelation of God and the only foundation for a lasting character.
The birth from God belongs to God sending His Son to make known His character and the laws of His kingdom after Israel proved unfaithful to their trust to communicate the light they had, despite deliverance from Egypt, the presence and blessing of God, and the holy law spoken from Sinai.
Nature of Divine Birth
The birth from God is a spiritual birth and new creation in which the natural earthly nature is put to death by the Word and a new life in Christ is created. Those who receive Christ and believe in His name are given power to become God's children by this birth, which comes not from ancestry, human desire, or human choice. They become newborn souls translated into the kingdom of God, with the power of God working in the character of everyone who is born again.
This birth brings adoption into the royal family and close relationship with God as His spiritual children, sons and daughters, by faith one with Christ. As sons and daughters they are Christ's property and co-laborers with God, bought with the ransom of Christ's precious blood, wholly His by creation and by redemption in mind, soul, strength and body. They are adopted into the royal family, and as they seek to do God's will they become conformed to His image. Continuing to receive Christ and confess Him as personal Saviour, they are kept day by day by God's power in humility of mind, acknowledging insufficiency of self, with acceptance resting not on own merits or capabilities but on light from God.
Those born of God are made partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world through lust. This birth is the reception of Christ's grace, which changes character and makes a marked change in character as believers open mind and heart to truth in Jesus. As they behold spiritual things they see Christ's righteousness in the law and see Christ as full of grace and truth, receiving spiritual insight and receiving of His fullness grace for grace. As God's children they share in the divine nature, receive Christ's life and principles, the fullness of Christ, and the virtue of His righteousness, know the true light and Christ's grace, and have faith that works through love and purifies the soul.
The birth restores what was lost through sin, for God did not make man to be redeemed but to bear His image as His son. Through sin man lost the image of God, and only by redemption can God carry out His design to make him a son of God. Because of the ransom paid, the one born of God may by his own choice and by obedience, through grace given by God, accomplish God's design and again bear the image first impressed on him and lost through the fall, with Christ's own righteousness supplying what is lacking. Through Christ fallen people can be restored to God's moral image and made complete in grace, with the heart receiving the mold of the divine similitude and the image of Christ reproduced in the person until by the transforming efficacy of grace he becomes a new creature. In this restoration love takes the place of hatred, and the one born of God must not keep sin alive by practice but must become a free soul in Christ Jesus, free to practice virtue and holiness, using liberty as a servant of God under the rule of Christ.
The birth is the sanctification of the soul through the working of the Holy Spirit implanting a new nature. By obedience to the requirements of God's law the entire nature is purified from moral defilement and character is made complete in Christ who knew no sin. The light coming from God works to regulate conduct toward God in complete sanctification of mind and will by the infallible standard of His law, guided into all truth by the Holy Spirit alone. It brings immortality as God's free gift and makes those who receive Christ and believe in Him members of God's family and heirs of heaven.
Provision Through Christ
The new birth from God was made possible because Christ clothed His divinity with humanity and came to this earth to cooperate with man. He took on Himself not the nature of angels but the nature of man, laying aside His royal robe and kingly crown and stepping down from His high command. He stands at the head of humanity to win men back to their allegiance by giving this divine birth to those who receive Him and believe on His name. In standing there He reveals what human beings can become by receiving the power He came to give, imparting to those who trust in His power to save the virtue of His righteousness and grace for grace from His fullness.
He bore the penalty of the transgressor as the only substitute, surety and ransom for the sinner. He gathered to His own pure sinless soul the penalty resting on the sinful race, with the iniquities of all laid upon Him, living a life untainted by sin and suffering in man's behalf. By this He opened the gates of Paradise to the fallen race. He appeared at the appointed time when the world seemed wholly under the enemy to give evidence of the love of God by dying for the fallen race, revealing both the love of God and the immutability of His law which could not be changed to meet man in his fallen condition, so that sinners are not left without hope to die in transgression because a ransom was found.
Through the merits of the crucified and risen Savior those who receive Christ by faith and rest upon Him are promised sonship, for He takes away their sins and imputes His righteousness to them and counts it as theirs. Christ's own righteousness supplies what is lacking and works in man to fulfill his original destiny, so that by grace given by God man can accomplish God's design, again bear the image first impressed and lost through the fall, and keep God's law. This divine birth forms a character that prepares for the great work to be done in this life and gives fitness for eternal service to God. Those born of God are brought into possession of the fullness of Christ who came in flesh, made partakers of the divine nature and the light of the world who behold spiritual things, so that God works in them to will and do His good pleasure and they stand blameless and harmless as lights in the world, receiving of His fullness grace for grace and grace upon grace. Their faith works through love and purifies the soul, making a marked change in character as they receive His merits and are transformed into His likeness.
Salvation in this birth is without human merit and is received through Christ's righteousness. Becoming a child of God does not come through ancestry, human desire, human effort or human authority, but comes from God through the Holy Spirit who implants Christ's nature in them. This inward change, rather than courts, councils, laws or the favor of powerful people, is the power that uplifts humanity.
Entering the Birth
The birth from God must be gained as a personal experience, for without it no one will ever see the kingdom of God. It is the only true mind-cure and the whole science of salvation that can save the perishing soul. It lies wholly with each person whether to cast off Satan and accept Jesus or to perish in sin, whether to be a child of God or a child of Satan.
Defective, willfully stubborn human beings receive it by coming to Christ in humility, contrition and sincere repentance to receive pardon as a personal sin-pardoning Saviour. This means turning completely around, being converted, giving the self up entirely without reserve and letting His will be done. It requires renouncing self-dependence, surrendering self to God's will and yielding the heart to the sovereignty of love. This honor is given to sinful people who repent, believe and accept Christ and all He has promised.
God Himself must breathe life into the heart and transform the person, and He is ready to do so when Christ is welcomed. The new birth is made possible by power from above and comes through the operation of the Holy Spirit. It comes through the Word and the Spirit, by which faith works by love and purifies the soul so that receiving Christ brings a transformed heart and character. It is received through pure truth believed and practiced, forming a character that prepares for the great work of this life and gives fitness for eternal service.
It comes by looking constantly to Jesus from morn till eve with the eye of faith and feeding upon His Word, for it is spirit and life. It is nourished by receiving the Holy Spirit daily and looking to Jesus so that His character is reflected in words and life. Then the Spirit takes the things of Christ and presents them to the earnest seeker, making the salvation of the soul sure. In this way the natural, earthly nature is put to death and a new life in Christ is created.
The verse means continuing to receive Christ and confess Him as personal Saviour, being kept day by day by God's power in humility of mind. This requires acknowledging insufficiency of self to think or vindicate or justify anything of self, with acceptance resting not on own merits or capabilities but on light coming from God. That light regulates conduct toward God in complete sanctification of mind and will by the infallible standard of His law, as the person is guided into all truth by the Holy Spirit alone. God alone gives victory over evil desires and habits, but He does not force the will, so a person must voluntarily submit and cooperate with His Spirit. Striving to enter the way of life is a means by which Christ prepares them, and self-righteousness earns no credit before God.
Life of Those Born
The new birth from God changes the natural character through the Holy Spirit into an altogether different character. It brings a radical change of thought, capacity for enjoyment, and religious experience that reveals Christ's character, as believers open mind and heart to truth in Jesus, see Christ's righteousness in the law, receive spiritual insight and grace, and become partakers of the divine nature. A mere profession of religion without a changed heart does not meet the condition for becoming God's child, for those born again are accepted as His sons and daughters. Genuine faith receives Christ and is shown in practicing His works and revealing His spirit, making life and conduct responsive to God. Through Christ God grants every gift needed for completeness and completes His work in those who cooperate with Him and strive daily against temptation, fitting them as members of His family to live with angels.
Those who follow Christ deny self, and through His grace may become like Him whose human life was free from selfishness and sin. They humbly follow Christ and depend on the Saviour's grace rather than trusting themselves. Receiving Christ gives power to become God's children, and those who receive Him show this new life in good works, in obedience, love, justice and mercy. This is keeping the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, cultivating earnest desire for the righteousness of Christ above temporal wants with longing to become Christlike in character and assimilated to His image. Through that God-given power parents are to keep the commandments of God perfectly.
This birth from God is how the work of overcoming is understood and worked out through receiving Christ. God imparts the divine nature, enabling believers to overcome Satan's assaults and escape the corruption in the world through lust. Those who are willing and obedient receive strength from Him, for victory comes from God through Christ and not from human will or ability. Having escaped corruption they are without excuse if they continue in sin. The one born of God must not keep sin alive by practice but must become a free soul in Christ Jesus, free not to continue in sin but to practice virtue and holiness, using liberty not to oppress or speak bitterness but as a servant of God under the rule of Christ.
Those born are brought into union with Christ with the love of Christ in their hearts so they do not quarrel among themselves. They adorn Bible truth in mind and character and bear divine credentials, so the world understands and believes that God sent Christ. This inward change by the Holy Spirit implanting Christ's nature, rather than courts, councils, laws or the favor of powerful people, is the power that uplifts humanity, and teaching and practicing God's word is the human agency through which this work is done. It is shown outwardly in the Christian graces, exemplifying Bible truth before a sinful world so that others see good works and glorify God. This sanctification of the soul needed in every institution established for healing souls and bodies suffering from the malady of sin comes through the Holy Spirit implanting a new nature, by obedience to God's law, making character complete in Christ who knew no sin.
Being born of God is testified by work for Christ, for giving self unreservedly to service gains an experience enabling more and more successful labor, and the influence that drew a person helps draw others. One on whom public speaking is never laid is none the less a minister when laboring to win others. As God's children their sincere prayers are presented by Christ to the Father with the fragrance of His Spirit and are wholly accepted. God gives those who receive Christ peace, holiness, and understanding of His Word, with joy over those who join in obeying the truth.
Because grace is not inherited, a very bad father may have a godly son and a Christian father may have a profligate son. Children with a godless father are still the purchase of Christ's blood and can be saved. Their believing mother is to take up her doubly heavy burden, let her light shine where Satan works to secure them, seek the Lord in faith and humility for her children and husband, and in words, spirit, character, meekness, patience, forbearance and cheerfulness live Christ as a signpost to the heavenward path. The birth from God calls for reconversion and renewal by the Holy Spirit, and those thus born are recognized as Christ's believing followers, members of God's family fitted to live with angels.