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A New Creation     JOHN 3:3-7

When Jesus told Nicodemus he needed to be born anothen to see the kingdom of God - to get into heaven - he followed it by saying that it would take a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, because flesh gives birth to flesh life (bios), the Spirit gives birth to spiritual life (zoe).

So how can this happen?

A Supernatural Conception            1 JOHN 3:9

In this verse the apostle John makes a startling statement. He says:

"No one who has been born of God can make a habit of deliberately sinning because s/he has God's seed in him/her."

The word translated 'seed' in the NIV translation is actually the Greek word sperma, from which we get our English word sperm.

When we are born anothen from above supernaturally by the Holy Spirit, Jesus is saying, a supernatural act of conception takes place involving two people.

Things Only I Can Do

Only I can admit I am a sinner in the eyes of a holy God who is light and cannot stand the slightest spot of darkness. And only I can ask God to forgive my sins by pleading the Blood of Jesus and his death as the payment for my sin.

Things Only God Can Do

When I confess my sin and ask God to forgive me based on my faith in Jesus' blood to take away my sin, God does two things. He forgives my sin and he fulfills the promise Jesus made to fill me with his Holy Spirit in a supernatural act analagous to, but obviously totally different from, Jesus' conception by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary's womb. At that moment I become spiritually alive with Jesus living in me by his Spirit.

Paul says in ROMANS 8:9-17 that if we are Christians we have the Holy Spirit living in us bearing witness with our spirit that we really are children of God. And the apostle John says:

1 JOHN 3:1 Consider the incredible love that the Father has shown us in allowing us to be called “children of God”—and that is not just what we are called, but what we are. Our heredity on the Godward side is no mere figure of speech—which explains why the world will no more recognise us than it recognised Christ." (JB Phillips translation)