A New Creature

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. again: or, from above - John 3:3

    Something so dreadful happened in the fall of man that it is almost incomprehensible. As a matter of fact only those to whom God has given of his Spirit have any understanding of it at all. Man died spiritually, alienating himself from God. This woeful condition is passed down from generation to generation. Except for a work of the sovereign Spirit of the grace of God, man will remain dead. Anything short of a spiritual understanding of this truth only leaves man with the supposed, damning theory of free will as to his recovery from the fall. One can only enter life by birth, which is the impartation of life where once there was no life. This is a work of almighty grace.

    Religion says I can do it! God says, Except a man be born again, (born from above) he cannot see the kingdom of God. The new birth is a receiving of the divine nature (2 Pt 1:3-4). Although the old carnal nature lives, there is a new nature within those whom God has given spiritual life.

    This life is not just new principles to live by, it is the life and Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ. To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col 1:27).

    The new man believes on the Lord Jesus Christ for all his salvation. He loves him who loves him. The new man looks by faith, which God has given, upon him who is his salvation, because he knows Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent (Jn 17:3).

    The new birth is not a reformation of the old; it is a new life, a new nature, a new beginning. Once we did not live unto God, now we do. Once we did not see the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, now we do. Once we did not hear the Word of God, now we do. Once we did not understand the truth of God, now we do. And here, I believe, is the vital, undeniable evidence of spiritual life: a God-given love for Christ, his Gospel, and his church. We love him because he first loved us (1 Jn 4:19). Therefore, the absence of love for him is an undeniable evidence of the absence of spiritual life. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love (1 Jn 4:8).

    The sheep’s love for Christ is the unalterable result of Christ’s love for the sheep.