Born From Above

3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:3-8 ESV

Whatever signs Jesus had performed that day in Jerusalem had gotten the attention of the people and many had believed. But there were others in the crowd who, while impressed by Jesus’ exploits, were choosing to reserve judgment. This included the religious leaders of Israel. Among them were the Pharisees, a fairly conservative religious sect that was comprised predominantly of men from the working class of Israel. On the evening of the day when Jesus had cleansed the temple and performed signs and wonders, Nicodemus, a member of the Pharisees, came to call on Him.

Nicodemus came alone. And he does not appear to have been sent by his colleagues in the Sanhedrin, the religious council of Israel. Nicodemus had been impressed by the miracles of Jesus and his curiosity about Jesus got the best of him. He had to more. So, he showed up, addressing Jesus with the respectful title of “Rabbi.” But he seemed to know that there was more to Jesus than met the eye.

“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” – John 3:2 ESV

Nicodemus sensed that Jesus was anointed by God, and he wanted to know more about Him. His statement stands in stark contrast to that of his religious peers, who, upon hearing that Jesus had healed a blind, mute, and demon-possessed man, had accused Jesus of being in league with the devil.

Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn’t speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see. The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?”

But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.” – Matthew 12:22-24 NLT

But Nicodemus was intrigued. He believed there was something different about Jesus. Unlike his fellow Pharisees, Nicodemus believed that the miracles Jesus performed were done by the power of God, not Satan. But Jesus responds to Nicodemus in a rather strange and cryptic manner.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” – John 3:3 ESV

With this rather abrupt statement, Jesus seems to be cutting to the heart of the matter. He knows that Nicodemus has shown up because he is curious to know if Jesus might be the long-awaited Messiah. As a student of the Scriptures, Nicodemus would have expected the arrival of the Messiah to usher in a new age, featuring the much-anticipated revitalization of the kingdom of Israel. Nicodemus seems to have a glimmer of hope that Jesus is the anointed one of God, the Messiah.

But Jesus reveals to Nicodemus a detail about the coming kingdom of God about which he was ignorant. Nicodemus could long for it, but he would never see it unless he was “born again.” The Greek word Jesus used is anōthen, and it can mean “again” or “anew.” But it can also mean “from above” or “from a higher place.” It seems that Jesus had the second meaning in mind, speaking of this new birth as being spiritual in nature. Yet Nicodemus clearly understood Jesus to be talking about a second physical birth, an image that left him scratching his head in confusion.

“How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” – John 3:4 ESV

Nicodemus, while a wise and well-educated man, was completely puzzled by the words of Jesus. The condition Jesus had placed upon seeing the kingdom of God was a second birth. It made no sense. It was physically impossible. And what Jesus says next doesn’t seem to help clear up the matter.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” – John 3:5 ESV

Jesus provides a bit more information, but it seems to provide little in the way of clarification. Notice that the focus has shifted from seeing the kingdom of God to actually entering it. The new birth Jesus is speaking about will be the key to anyone entering and enjoying life in the kingdom the Messiah will establish on earth.

Verse 5 has been proved to be a difficult passage to interpret. And there are a number of different views as to what Jesus meant by “water and the Spirit.” In the Greek text, the definite article “the” before “Spirit” is not present. It was added by English translators for clarification. So, verse 5 could be translated, “unless one is born of water and spirit.” The point Jesus seems to be making is that this new birth will be from above and it will involve a spiritual cleansing that makes the recipient worthy of entrance into the kingdom of God.

This imagery of cleansing by the Spirit is found throughout the Old Testament and Nicodemus, as a student of the Scriptures, should have been aware of it.

And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. – Isaiah 4:3-4 ESV

Isaiah went on to talk about a future day when the Spirit of God will be “poured upon us from on high” (Isaiah 32:15 ESV). Even John the Baptist had understood that Jesus was going to bring about a different kind of baptism, one that would include a king of purification that was far from symbolic or ceremonial in nature.

“I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” – Luke 3:16 NLT

Jesus’ reference to “water and spirit” is meant to let Nicodemus know that the kingdom he longs to see will only be occupied by those who have received purification from above. Jesus is not talking about physical birth, but spiritual rebirth or regeneration. The kingdom He will eventually establish on earth will be reserved for those who are righteous and holy, having been cleansed from the stains of their sin by faith in the Son of God. And that day will be in fulfillment of God’s promise recorded by Isaiah.

“Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.” – Isaiah 1:18 NLT

Sensing that Nicodemus was still struggling to understand what He was saying, Jesus provides him with an important point of clarification: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6 ESV). Jesus is informing his learned visitor that there are two types of birth – one physical and one spiritual. Nicodemus had already experienced the first, but he was in need of the second. And it was going to require belief. But there would have to be more to that belief than simply an acknowledgment that Jesus was a teacher sent from God.

Nicodemus, like every other Jew of his day, thought of the kingdom of God in physical terms only. It would be a literal kingdom ruled by a literal king who would sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem. And, as far as he understood, entrance into that kingdom was reserved for all those who could claim to be a descendant of Abraham. Nicodemus believed he had an inherited right to the kingdom God due to his birth into the line of Abraham. But Jesus is letting him know that there was going to be another birth required – a new birth – a birth from above.

Nicodemus, like every other Pharisee, took great pride in his position and viewed himself as one of the spiritual elite of Israel. But Jesus was breaking the news that his flowing robes, biblical knowledge, sterling reputation, and longing for the kingdom of God would not be enough to guarantee his entrance into the coming kingdom of God.

Jesus knew that this information had left his visitor perplexed so, He told him, “don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit” (John 3:7-8 NLT).

The things Jesus was describing to Nicodemus were virtually impossible for him to comprehend. Like the wind, the ways of God are invisible and imperceptible. You can hear the wind, but you can’t see it. You can feel the wind, but you can control it. And the new birth Jesus is attempting to describe to Nicodemus is just as impossible to understand. Without the illuminating and regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, Nicodemus would remain incapable of understanding the nature of the new birth and his need for it. And his continued confusion is illustrated by his response: “How can these things be?” (John 3:9 ESV).

But Jesus will go on to answer that question with a clear and concise explanation of how sinful men and women can be made right with God and gain access into His kingdom and presence. And it will all be through belief in God’s Son.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Manifested Glory

1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days. – John 2:1-11

With the dawn of each new day, John seems to provide another new testimony to Jesus’ true identity. The first day featured John the Baptist’s announcement regarding Jesus: “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me’” (John 1:15 ESV). On day two, John the Baptist made introduce Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 ESV). The next day, Andrew had excitedly told his brother Simon, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41 ESV). The following day, Nathanael had boldly proclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49 ESV).

Now, according to John’s chronology, another day arrives that will bring yet more indisputable proof of Jesus’ identity. John refers to it as “the third day.” This could mean the events recorded in these verses occurred on the same day that Nathanael gave his testimony regarding Jesus, but it seems more likely that John is saying that the wedding took place three days later.

According to the closing verses of chapter 1, Jesus had His encounter with Nathanael in Bethsaida, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. But chapter 2 opens up with Jesus in the town of Cana, some 22 miles west of Bethsaida. The three days provide ample time for Jesus to make His way to Cana in order to attend the wedding.

Seven days have passed according to John’s timeline, and now he records what he describes as “the first of his [Jesus] signs” (John 2:11 ESV). It is interesting to note that John began his gospel account by linking Jesus with the creation of the universe.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. – John 1:1-3 ESV

The book of Genesis provides its own timeline for the creation account.

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. – Genesis 2:2-3 ESV

It is certainly no coincidence that John is describing an event taking place on the seventh day since Jesus began His earthly ministry. He has gone out of his way to establish Jesus as the Son of God. He is the Word of God who was with God at the very beginning when the earth was formed. But unlike the creation account, John describes Jesus as working, not resting, on the seventh day. Jesus is about to do something new. As the Son of God, He is going to exhibit His power by transforming water into the finest wine. He is going to re-create, taking that which is ordinary and turn it into something truly extraordinary and unexpected.

The events recorded in this chapter have nothing to do with the Sabbath, so Jesus is not violating the Mosaic law’s prohibition against work on God’s designated day of rest. John is simply using this occasion to further support his claim regarding the deity of Jesus. A wedding was a happy occasion, a time of new beginnings. And here, at the very onset of His earthly ministry, Jesus attended a wedding in Cana, just 9 miles north of His hometown of Nazareth. The fact that His other was in attendance hints that this was either the wedding of a relative or close family friend.

Because this event took place so early in Jesus’ public ministry, He had not yet had time to call all of His disciples, so when John mentions them in verse 2, he is probably referring to the five who were introduced in chapter 1.

To set the scene, John describes what would have been a disastrous situation for the groom and his family. The wedding feast was their responsibility and they had a social obligation to provide for all their invited guests. To run out of wine during the festivities would have been an unacceptable faux pas. Mary, the mother of Jesus, asks Him to intervene. John provides no insight into Mary’s thought process.

Mary had long known that there was something special about her son. Even before He was born, the angel had told her:

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” – Luke 1:30-33 ESV

Her husband had received similar news regarding the identity of the baby in Mary’s womb.

“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:21 ESV

But up until this moment, Mary had never seen Jesus perform any miracles or signs. As John has indicated, this would be “the first of his signs.” So, there’s no reason to believe that Mary’s request for Jesus to intervene was anything more than a mother’s desire to see her son help a friend in time of need. 

The response of Jesus seems harsh and disrespectful to western ears. When Mary announced to Jesus, “They have no wine,” He somewhat flippantly remarked, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4 ESV).

But the tone of Jesus’ response is far less sarcastic and disrespectful than it sounds. He is simply telling her that, while He understands the gravity of the situation, it had nothing to do with Him. Jesus came into the world for far greater purposes. His use of the phrase, “My hour” is a clear reference to His future crucifixion and death. That was why He had come. In fact, He made that point perfectly clear in the prayer He prayed to His Father in the garden on the night He was betrayed.

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.” – John 12:27 ESV

Jesus had a far more important calling than to find wine for a wedding feast. But He willingly obliged His mother’s request, telling the servants to fill six stone jars with water. These instructions must have left the servants scratching their heads. First, because the need was for wine, not water. Secondly, because Jesus told them to use jars that were reserved for holding the water used for ceremonial cleansing. Jews would not have considered this to be potable water.

But the servants obliged Jesus, using water from a nearby well to fill each of the vessels to the brim. Then, Jesus instructed them: “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast” (John 2:8 ESV). What happened next is the point of the entire story. The master of the feast, after having tasted the contents of the jars, exclaimed, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now” (John 2:10 ESV).

This wasn’t just any wine, it was a wine of the highest quality. In the master’s estimation, the groom and his family had saved the best for last. The disaster had been averted and the joy of the occasion continued unabated. But John simply states, “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him” (John 2:11 ESV). 

That is the real point of the whole story. As will be the case with so many of Jesus’ miracles and messages, this one was done so that His disciples might believe in Him. He manifested His glory so that His followers would come to know His true identity. As John made clear in chapter 1, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3 ESV).

Turning water into wine was nothing for the Creator of the universe. And this miracle would be just the first of many these men would witness over the ensuing years. But that Jesus could transform ordinary water into fine wine was nothing when compared with His plan to transform dead sinners into living saints. Jesus would later declare the goal of His incarnation: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 ESV).

The guests at the wedding would drink the wine that Jesus created. They would enjoy its superior taste and, perhaps, feel the effects of its fermentation. But the benefits of the wine would be shortlived. Any joy it may have produced would be far from lasting. And even the six jars would eventually be drained dry by the thirsty wedding guests.

But Jesus had come to provide real, lasting life – abundant life – a life without end. But as the grapes must be crushed in order to produce fine wine, so Jesus would have to be crucified so that He might offer new life to those who were dead in their trespasses and sins. Jesus came to manifest His glory.

…the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14 ESV

The miracle in Cana would be the first of many He would perform in order to display His glory – the glory of the Son of God – the Word of God made flesh, who came to bring light and life to those mired in darkness and marked by death. Something new was happening. The Messiah had come. And the next three years were going to be filled with further evidence of His glory.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Conceived of God.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”  – Matthew 1:18-20 ESV

Matthew was rather matter-of-fact in his opening line to his gospel account. He simply said, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.” No timidity or hesitancy. No question as to the validity of his statement. Two times in three verses, Matthew mentions that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, not a man. This fact, which many still debate today, is the basis for the Christian belief that Jesus was born of a virgin. In his gospel account, Luke records further details regarding this amazing miracle of God. “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’” (Luke 1:26-28 ESV). Gabriel went on to tell Mary, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus” (Luke 1:31 ESV). Understandably in shock at this surprising visit from an angel and upon hearing this shocking news, Mary asked, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34 ESV). That’s a fair question, right? She was being told she was going to have a baby, and yet she had not even had sex yet. Mary may have been a young, uneducated country girl, but she knew enough about human biology to know that what the angel was telling her required something more. There was something missing. Mary basically told the angel, “This is impossible, because I have never even been with a man!”

But while Mary may have been confused by this angelic announcement and seen all kinds of flaws and impossibilities linked to it, Gabriel simply told her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35 ESV). This was not going to be an ordinary conception and birth. And while every child born is a miracle of God, this particular child was going to come into the world without the normal contribution of an earthly father. He would be the Son of God. There are still those today who, like Mary, struggle with the virgin birth. They go out of their way in an attempt to discount and disprove what the Scriptures clearly teach. Having a hard time believing the possibility that such a thing could happen, they simply reject it.

But if all things are possible for God, why would the virgin birth prove to be a problem for Him? If God could create the universe simply by speaking it into existence, could He not create life in the womb of a young girl? The thing that amazes me about this story is not that Mary had a baby without the assistance of a male, but that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. That reality gives me a serious case of brain freeze. I have no trouble at all believing that God could create life in the womb of a young virgin girl without the normal interaction of the female's egg and a male's sperm. After all, He created Adam out of dirt. But what blows me away is that the Holy Spirit, a member of the Trinity, was the source behind the conception of Jesus. According to Luke, the angel told Mary, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35 ESV). This was to be a miraculous, God-ordained, Spirit-empowered conception. How did it happen? We're not told. Neither Luke or Matthew provide us with specifics, because Gabriel didn't provide them. It was enough for Mary and Joseph to know that this child was going to be “holy – the Son of God.”

When I think about this incredible event in human history, I am amazed, not that it happened, but that a similar miracle has resulted in my own new birth. The Holy Spirit has made possible my new life in Jesus Christ. It is He who has made me a new creation. Jesus made this fact abundantly clear in His conversation with the Pharisee, Nicodemus. Jesus told him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3 ESV). Like Mary, Nicodemus was confused by what he heard. So Jesus clarified. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6 ESV). Then, knowing Nicodemus was still wrestling with this concept, Jesus said, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:7-8 ESV).

I have been born of the Spirit. I have within me a new sinless nature, just as Jesus did. I can live holy and set apart because I am a new creation, born of the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus was. John tells me, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9 ESV). It's interesting to note that John used the Greek word, sperma, which should be self-explanatory. Here he refers to the Holy Spirit, as the generative force that makes possible our conversion from condemned sinners to consecrated saints – conceived by God through the power of the Spirit of God. And made possible through the sacrificial death of the Son of God.

New Birth = New Life.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. – I John  5:1 ESV 1 John 5:1-5

His status as a child of God was extremely important to John, and he wanted his readers to understand and appreciate just how significant their position as God's children was as well. He did not want them to take it for granted. He also did not want them to assume that this was a condition for which they were responsible. Their spiritual rebirth, like his, was a work of God – from start to finish. They had been “born of God.” The Greek word John used is gennaō and it can mean “to be born or begotten,” but it can also be used in a metaphorical sense, “in a Jewish sense, of one who brings others over to his way of life, to convert someone.” Of course, Jesus most certainly had the first meaning in mind when He used the very same word in His conversation with the Pharisee, Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3 ESV). But Jesus also made it clear to Nicodemus that this new birth was a spiritual, not a human event. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6 ESV). All men and women experience a natural birth. They are born of water. They are born of the flesh. But Jesus said that unless you are born of water AND the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. There is a second birth required and that birth is spiritual in nature and completely the work of God.

But it is interesting to think about that second definition for the word, gennaō. It refers to one who brings others over to his way of life, converting and changing them. With the new birth, we become children of God. We are given new natures and a new way of living. No longer simply flesh-based, we are spiritual creatures with the very Spirit of God living within us. Paul puts it this way: “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT). In his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul puts it even more bluntly. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29 ESV). To the believers in Ephesus he wrote, “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:4-6 ESV). God has chosen us. He has, through the death of His own Son, provided a means by which we could be brought over to His way of life, converting and changing us. It is NOT our faith that changes us. It is Jesus. He is the one who has provided us with new life. Paul put it so well when he wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 ESV). It is our faith IN Jesus that provides us with new life. Paul describes how that happened. “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4 ESV). He goes on to say, “we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code” (Romans 7:6 ESV). “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV). Those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ have been been born of God. But even that capacity to believe has been given to us by God. In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul wrote, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been save” (Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV). God made us alive (syzōopoieō) together with Christ. We were dead in our sins, incapable of doing anything good or right, but God “quickened” us, putting the capacity within us to open our spiritually blinded eyes and see the truth of His gracious gift of new life in Christ. God regenerated us. Yes, we chose Christ. We placed our faith in Him. But even that choice had to be made possible by the grace and mercy of God. We who are children of God have truly been born of God. He chose to adopt us, not the other way around. He has made us His sons and daughters. And as a result of that new birth, we have been given new life. And the life we now live in the flesh, we live by faith in the Son of God. Same old bodies. Same old world. But new life, new nature, new power, new hope, new relationship with God, new future.