What does it mean to be born again?

To be born again is to be made spiritually alive by God. The phrase comes from Jesus' words to Nicodemus: "no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3). The Greek word translated again, anothen, can also mean from above.¹ The New Testament uses other words for the same event: to beget or give birth anew,² and regeneration.³ It is a birth that comes from God and not from human effort.

Jesus and Nicodemus

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a ruler and a teacher of Israel. If anyone could have entered the kingdom by religion and good character, he could. Jesus told him he needed something he did not have: "no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit" (John 3:5-6). Human nature at its best produces only more human nature. Spiritual life has to be given.

Jesus did not offer this as an advanced experience for a few. "Do not be amazed that I said, 'You must be born again'" (John 3:7). Brian Brodersen said, "Being born again is not for some people and then not for others."⁴

Why it is necessary

The need lies in what people are apart from God. Paul writes, "you were dead in your trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). The dead do not need advice. They need life. "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses" (Ephesians 2:4-5). John Piper explained the passage: "While we had no spiritual life, he caused us to be born again to life by the spirit."⁵

What it is not

The new birth is not inherited, earned or conferred by a ceremony. John says God's children are "born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God" (John 1:13). A Christian family does not give it. Resolve does not produce it. John Wesley said plainly, "baptism is not the new birth: They are not one and the same thing."⁶ Nor is it the same as belonging to a church. E. A. Johnston warned, "most church members today are yet unconverted."⁷ A person may reform his habits, learn doctrine and feel deeply, and still not have been born of God.

What it is

Wesley defined the new birth as "that great change which God works in the soul when he brings it into life; when he raises it from the death of sin to the life of righteousness."⁶ R. C. Sproul wrote, "Regeneration is the divine work of God the Holy Spirit upon the minds and souls of fallen people, by which the Spirit quickens those who are spiritually dead and makes them spiritually alive."⁸ Charles Leiter called it creation: "Regeneration is an act of creative power on the part of an almighty creator."⁹ Leonard Ravenhill said, "But this is a supreme miracle, it's greater than a baby being born."¹⁰

Scripture uses the same language. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). God promised through Ezekiel, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26). God does not polish the old heart. He gives a new one.

The work of the Spirit

Jesus compared the Spirit to the wind: "The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going" (John 3:8). No one controls it, yet its effects are plain. Paul says God saved us "not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). Johnston said, "no one can be born again apart from the supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit and regeneration."⁷ He also gave a picture of it: "It's the Holy Spirit who comes in with the key and opens the heart to receive Christ."⁷ Richard Owen Roberts called it the historic conviction of the church that "regeneration is something God does."¹¹

Through the word

The Spirit uses the gospel. "You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God" (1 Peter 1:23). "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth" (James 1:18). This is why the new birth is tied to hearing about Christ. Peter blesses God who "has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3).

Repentance and faith

In the same conversation in which he said "You must be born again," Jesus pointed Nicodemus to the cross: "the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life" (John 3:14-15). The call of the gospel is "repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). "To all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).

Preachers explain the order differently. The Westminster Confession says the elect "are effectually called unto faith in Christ by his Spirit working in due season",¹² so that faith flows from the life God gives. R. A. Torrey put the weight on believing: "The new birth is wrought by the Holy Spirit through His Word in us when we look to or believe on Jesus Christ."¹³ Both agree that God gives the life and that no one is born again apart from faith in Christ.

A child of God

Birth brings a person into a family. "You received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" (Romans 8:15-16). The one who is born again does not merely have a new standard to live up to. He has a Father.

The evidence

John's first letter says what a life born of God looks like. "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God" (1 John 5:1). "Everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him" (1 John 2:29). "Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7). "Everyone born of God overcomes the world" (1 John 5:4).

John also says, "Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God's seed abides in him" (1 John 3:9). This is not a claim of sinlessness; the same letter tells believers to confess their sins. It means the born-again person cannot settle down in sin as a way of life. When he falls, he is grieved and returns to God.

How a person is born again

No one works up the new birth. A person comes to Christ. Jesus promised, "the one who comes to Me I will never drive away" (John 6:37). The sinner comes confessing his sin, turning from it, and trusting Christ who died and rose. The God who commands "You must be born again" is the God who gives the birth.