A New Spirit in You
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.
1 Corinthians 6:19
Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. Not wanting his colleagues to know of his association with Jesus, Nicodemus went to see Him under the cover of darkness to inquire about the kingdom of God. He recognized that Jesus taught with authority and knew that no one could have performed the miracles that Jesus had unless God were with Him. He told Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:1-2).
Jesus turned the conversation to the doctrine of regeneration. He replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (verse 3). Nicodemus did not understand—he wondered how a child could again enter into the womb of his mother. However, Jesus was not talking about going through the natural birth process again; rather, He was talking about a new birth.
What distinguishes the natural birth from this new spiritual birth is its origin. “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:6). The term “born again” literally means “born from above.” In regeneration, the supernatural origin is just as important as the newness of the birth. The ideas of “newness,” “regeneration” and a supernatural origin are all joined together in Titus 3:5-6: “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.”
In salvation, there is a washing and a renewing—a change in the innermost attitudes and inclinations of our hearts of such a nature that it can only be compared with the generation and birth of life. Unlike natural birth, however, this birth does not have its origin in the will of humankind but in the sovereign power of God. It is a birth that is not of the flesh, nor of blood, but of the Spirit.
In regeneration, the Holy Spirit indwells every believer. His coming produces a radical change from pollution and death to holiness and life. The coming of the Holy Spirit produces a new creation in Christ. The newly “born from above” believer is exhorted to “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). Even as newborn children cannot orchestrate their own conception and birth, neither can believers take any credit for the transformation of their lives. The power to change comes from above.
Unregenerate people are like dry sponges wrapped in plastic. In that state, they serve no useful purpose. Then one day, God strips away the plastic wrapping, puts the squeeze on them, and plunges them into a pool of His living water. While they are submerged God loosens His grip, and every pore of their being is filled with His presence. Now they are complete in Christ and able to fulfill the purpose for which they were created. Should these sponges decide to pull away from the water, they would soon dry out and fail again to fulfill their purpose, even though they are forever free from that which originally bound them.
Born-again believers are Holy Spirit possessed—the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in their bodies and made them temples of God
questions to consider
How did Jesus distinguish natural birth from spiritual birth? What did He mean when He told Nicodemus he must be “born again”?
What does “regeneration” mean?
How are unregenerate people like “dry sponges wrapped in plastic”? What happens when they are born again?
What does it mean to you that your body is a temple of God and a dwelling place for the Almighty?
What is keeping you from taking in God’s goodness like a dry sponge?
