Researched by Keith Hunt
What Jesus said a person would be like when he/she was "born
again" is VERY CLEAR and SIMPLE to understand for those who have
a child like mind, for those who will believe what Jesus plainly
said. Here is what Christ taught as explained by Vance Stinson.
His booklet can be obtained free of charge from the Church of
God, International, Box 2530, Tyler, Texas 75710.
QUOTE:
BORN OF WATER AND OF THE SPIRIT
Nicodemus' question was the natural response one would expect
after telling a person he had to be born a second time. In reply,
Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom
of God" (John 3:5).
What did Jesus mean by "born of water and the Spirit"? Was He
speaking of "baptism with water" and "baptism with the Spirit,"
as most seem to think?
Commentators have proposed several possible meanings for the
expression "born of water." The following three are probably the
most popular:
1) "Born of water" could refer to baptism, for when one is
immersed into water he "comes forth" from the water hence, "born
of water."
2) The two words, "water" and "Spirit," may mean the same thing.
Bullinger's Companion Bible states: "Not two things, but one, by
the latter Noun [Spirit] becomes a superlative and emphatic
Adjective, determining the meaning and nature of the former Noun
[water], showing that one [water - the former noun] to be
spiritual water. i.e. not water but spirit. It is to be rendered
"of water - yea, spiritual water"(page 1518).
3) The birth by "water" may be a description of natural human
birth, because of the fluids associated with human birth.
All the above seem logical, but the most probable meaning is a
combination of the latter two.
Remember, Nicodemus had just asked, "How can a man be born when
he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb,
and be born?" To him, "birth" meant physical, human birth - a
coming forth from the womb - which could well be described as
birth by "water."
Jesus answered by explaining that He had a different kind of
birth in mind. "Except a man be born of water - yea, spiritual
water [rather than natural water, or fluids associated with the
natural birth Nicodemus had in mind] - he cannot enter into the
Kingdom of God."
FLESH AND SPIRIT
Jesus further explained: "That which is born of the flesh is
flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (verse 6).
Jesus delineates the two kinds of births. Birth "of the flesh" is
the birth Nicodemus had in mind. Those who experience this birth,
Jesus said, are flesh; and those who experience the second birth
- who are "born of the Spirit" - are spirit. Is that hard to
understand?
Notice, too, that Jesus did not say, "That which is born of the
flesh is fleshly." He said, "That which is born of the flesh is
flesh"! In Greek, "sarx" means "flesh"; "sarkikos" means
"fleshly." Had Jesus intended to say "fleshly," John would have
used "sarkikos."
Some claim that verse 5 should not be taken literally, and insist
that Jesus was not teaching a "lesson in physics" - that is,
"born of the flesh" and "born of the Spirit" have nothing to do
with bodily composition.
Of course Jesus was not teaching a "lesson in physics." He was
merely pointing out that the kind of birth Nicodemus had in mind
was not the kind of birth He, Jesus, had in mind. Nicodemus was
thinking of natural human birth (does that have anything to do
with bodily composition?), and Jesus simply replied by saying
"That which is born of the flesh IS flesh," and went on to say,
"That which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Now, are you flesh, or not? If you were "born of the flesh" - if
you came into this world through the kind of birth Nicodemus had
in mind - then you are flesh; you are composed of flesh. But once
you have been "born of the Spirit" the kind of birth necessary to
"see" or experience, the Kingdom of God - then you are spirit!
Is it really as unbelievable as some would have you believe that
Jesus was speaking of bodily composition? After all, are there
not several scriptural passages that speak of bodily composition?
The book of Genesis tells us that "the Lord God formed man of the
dust of the ground" (2:7). Should we spiritualize this verse
away, perhaps take it to mean that "dust of the ground" suggests
that man is morally and spiritually "dirty"?
Or what about Adam's statement when God presented him with Eve?
He said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh:
she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man"
(Genesis 2:23). We could "spiritualize" this one away and say
that "bone of my bones" and "flesh of my flesh" means that
humankind is a "materialistic and fleshly-minded" race of beings.
Do you see how easy it is for a person to spiritualize away any
scripture that doesn't fit his belief system? Apologists have
been doing it for centuries. To justify their belief in the
"immortality of the soul," for instance, "death" does not mean
death; it means "separation." "Destruction" does not mean
destruction; it means "reduced to a state of ruin." "Gehenna
fire" is not a literal fire that literally consumes; it is an
ethereal region, or condition, wherein eternal retribution is
administered to the ungodly.
When Jesus spoke of being born of the Spirit, He was speaking of
a literal change of bodily composition - the same change Paul
spoke of in I Corinthians 15:51,52:
"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [in death),
but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trump [Christ's Second Coming]: for the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed."
Was Paul teaching a lesson in physics when he wrote the above
words? Call it "physics" if you wish, for he was indeed speaking
of a radical bodily change - a change from corruptible flesh to
incorruptible spirit! Like the Wind.
Before proceeding with our analysis of Jesus' meeting with
Nicodemus, consider this brief summation of what we have seen
thus far:
1) Jesus said that to enter the Kingdom of God a person must be
born again. As we have seen, Nicodemus, who spoke the language
Jesus spoke, understood Him to say born again, not "from above."
Nicodemus knew about receiving the Holy Spirit, which comes "from
above," but it was clear to him that Jesus was speaking of
something far different from reception of the Holy Spirit.
2) In this context of natural birth vs. spiritual birth, Jesus
said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which
is born of the Spirit is spirit." If all who have experienced
natural birth are composed of flesh, then it logically follows
that those who experience spiritual birth are composed of spirit.
Some feel it is not believable that Jesus was speaking of bodily
composition. But the apostle Paul, who was taught by the same
Christ who met Nicodemus, was definitely speaking of bodily
composition when he wrote of the corruptible "natural body" and
the incorruptible "spiritual body" (I Corinthians 15:44), and
when he stated dogmatically that "flesh and blood cannot inherit
the Kingdom of God" (verse 50).
Now, with the above fixed firmly in mind, notice how Jesus
further explained what He meant by "born again":
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but
canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is
every one that is born of the Spirit (John 3:7,8).
Some argue that this merely means that the Holy Spirit is like
the wind in that, as with the wind, we cannot see the Spirit, but
we can see the effects of the Spirit's activity as it changes
people's lives; and just as we cannot tell where the wind comes
from or where it is going, the natural mind cannot discern the
Source from which the Holy Spirit proceeds.
This seems logical at first glance, but in view of what we have
already seen, it certainly seems more likely that Jesus was
speaking of the nature of those who experience the "new birth."
We have seen evidence that He was in fact speaking of bodily
composition - i.e., natural body vs. spiritual body - in the
preceding verses. It makes sense, then, that He was still
speaking of bodily composition (or the nature of "born again"
citizens of the Kingdom) when He used the "wind" analogy.
Jesus was saying that those "born of the Spirit," or "born
again," are like the wind in that they are invisible, powerful,
of a nature quite unlike that of mortal, flesh-and-blood human
beings. They are like the resurrected Christ (I John 3:2), who
was able to appear and disappear at will (John 20:19,26), and who
is described by Paul as a "life-giving Spirit" (I Corinthians
15:45).
Nicodemus had thought of the Kingdom of God as a flesh-and-blood
kingdom; had believed the Messiah would lead a bloody revolt
against the Romans, and would restore the Kingdom unto Israel.
But Jesus said, in effect, "No, Nicodemus, your ideas about the
Messiah and the Kingdom are completely wrong. To enter the
Kingdom, you must be born again; you must be changed from flesh
to spirit, from mortal to immortal. Citizens of the Kingdom are
not like the swordbearing warriors you have in mind; they're like
the wind - invisible, powerful, able to accomplish great things
in a way no flesh-and-blood warrior ever could. Don't be
astonished at this. You, a learned rabbi and teacher of Israel,
should be able to comprehend it."
END QUOTES
Below is the Greek/English section under study, taken from
the INTERLINEAR GREEK - ENGLISH NEW TESTAMENT by George Ricker
Berry, Ph.D. published by Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
"That which has been born of the flesh flesh IS; and that which
has been born of the Spirit spirit IS.....The wind where it wills
blows, and its sound you hearest, but knowest not where it come
and where it goes: THUS IS EVERYONE that has been born of the
spirit."
There it is friends - pure and simple to understand!! Jesus told
Nicodemus NOT to get all up tight and concerned about what He had
just said to him.
Because being "born again" was not something a human could do
anything about - nothing a human could think or do would get him
"born again" because being born again would mean a human being
was no longer FLESH and BLOOD but SPIRIT - composed of spirit as
the heavenly Father is(John 4:24).
Flesh IS Flesh. You are flesh and blood because you are born of
flesh and blood parents, so those born of the Spirit(John 4:24)
will be spirit - their bodies will be composed of spirit - see 1
Cor.15:44-54. Jesus was not talking about some spiritual feeling
in a persons mind. He was taking about what a person is made of -
what their whole body and being is composed of. That which is
born of the flesh IS flesh - that which is born of the Spirit IS
spirit. And as the wind is INVISIBLE so (in like manner to human
eyes) IS EVERYONE that is born of the Spirit. The Spirit world
(angels,heavenly creatures, God the Father and Jesus etc.) are
invisible to human eyes unless they make themselves manifest
to humans.
If Jesus had been telling Nicodemus about a mind change(commonly
called "conversion") that must take place in order to enter the
Kingdom of God, then He could have easily used Greek words to
convey that message. He could have said something like this: "The
wind is mysterious and you can only see what it does - its
effect. So the effect on the mind of a person by the Spirit of
God - it works - you can not see it work but it leads a person's
mind to be spiritual instead of carnal."
Jesus could have easily said and spoken in such a manner - the
Greek or Aramaic language had words to so speak. But Jesus said
nothing like that. He said that you can not see where the wind
comes from or where it is going; "THUS IS EVERYONE that has been
born of the Spirit." You will not be able to see them with human
eyes - they will be invisible just like the wind is invisible.
Jesus was telling Nicodemus about WHEN the Kingdom of God would
come AND what the Kingdom of God would be like. He was telling
Nicodemus that the Kingdom of God would come at the time of the
RESURRECTION, WHEN THE CHILDREN OF GOD WOULD BE CHANGED FROM
FLESH TO SPIRIT, FROM HUMAN TO DIVINE. He was telling Nicodemus
that the Kingdom of God would be a Spirit Kingdom - those in it
would be made of Spirit not flesh and blood.
Nicodemus was a scholar of the Pharisees. The Pharisees believed
in the resurrection, they knew the Old Testament Scriptures that
spoke about a resurrection and CHANGE that must come to God's
children(Job 14:14,15: Dan 12:13,2,3; Isa.26:19). They knew the
OT scriptures about the coming of the Messiah in glory and power
to establish the Kingdom of God on earth(Isa.2; Zech.14). But
they made the mistake of looking for a PHYSICAL Messiah coming
with a physical army to release the Jews from the bondage of the
Roman Empire, to overthrow the Roman armies in Palestine and to
restore the tribes of Israel to world power and domain.
Nicodemus and some others in the Pharisee party knew Jesus had
come from God, they knew He was the promised Messiah, or at least
hoped He was. They thought He would lead the Jews in Battle to
freedom and world conquest, that they, the Jews, under the
leadership of the Messiah would be the Kingdom of God on earth,
a flesh and blood Kingdom of God ruling over other flesh and
blood beings.
Jesus knew the heart of people, He knew what they were thinking
and wanting. Nicodemus came to Jesus hoping to find out the exact
time, week, and day, that Jesus the Messiah would establish
Himself and the Jews as world conquerors for God. Nicodemus and
others(including the twelve disciples at this time) were
misunderstanding the OT prophecies and/or not putting them
together correctly. Jesus was telling and reminding Nicodemus
that the Kingdom of God was not to come with "observation." It
was not to come with "here is our physical leader, let's have
some secret meetings and make plans for our big move on the
world, plan our strategy to overthrow the Romans, get our weapons
of war stock piled ready for D day, determine what month, week
and day to strike the enemy." Jesus was reminding Nicodemus that
the prophecies said there was to be a RESURRECTION and CHANGE to
come for those who would be with the Messiah at the establishing
of the Kingdom of God on earth, and restoring of Israel to world
greatness. Jesus was reminding Nicodemus to do as Job said he
would do, not to get all anxious and concerned but "...all the
days of my appointed time will I wait, until my CHANGE COME. You
shall call, and I will answer you..." (Job 14:14,15).
Jesus was reiterating what the prophecies of old had always said
- the Kingdom of God and restoration of Israel would come at the
time of the change and resurrection of the children of God - a
day and time of stupendous GLORY such as never before seen
in which the resurrected saints would shine as the stars
(Dan.12:2,3). A day which only the Lord most High would
know(Zech.14:7).
Jesus was reminding Nicodemus that the Kingdom of God and those
in it would not be flesh and blood, but much greater than
anything physical. And just as the angels lived in a different
dimension - an invisible spirit dimension; so all in the family
or Kingdom of God must be as God Himself is - composed of spirit.
So it was not possible Jesus taught, for any physical person born
of the flesh to organize themselves together and form the Kingdom
of God to rule the world.
Jesus was telling Nicodemus to forget about the Kingdom of God in
terms of the here and now physical - a flesh and blood Messiah
with flesh and blood followers who would form an army to defeat
the Romans. Forget about saying "I acknowledge you Jesus as
coming from God and will enter your group to be a part of the
Kingdom to overthrow the Roman yoke."
Jesus was telling Nicodemus that the Kingdom of God was a
different dimension of living, those in it and those who would
enter it would not be flesh but SPIRIT - it was not something for
the human eye to even see, for those in it would be as the wind -
INVISIBLE! Those in the Kingdom would be born of the Spirit, and
as the Spirit is invisible to human eyes so or "thus is everyone
that has been born of the Spirit."
BACK TO THE GENNAO WORD
We have seen in past studies of this series that the Greek
word "gennao" can be rendered in English by the words conceive,
begotten, birth, born, and covers the whole process from the time
the egg and sperm unite to the time of actual birth from the
mother.
We have seen that Jesus taught (Jn.3) that being BORN AGAIN was a
literal BIRTH - a second birth - a new birth INTO the SPIRIT
dimension of invisibility.
Now, with those truths under our belt it is possible to translate
correctly the word "gennao" in the NT. On the next page is EVERY
PLACE in the NT where this Greek word is used. I have reproduced
for you from the ENGLISHMAN'S GREEK CONCORDANCE.
There are only a FEW places where the KJV translators rendered
the Greek word under discussion INcorrectly into the English.
Matthew
Chapter 1
2.Abraham BEGAT Isaac, and Isaac BEGAT Jacob; and Jacob BEGAT
Judas
3.Judas BEGAT Phares...and Phares BEGAT Esrom; and Esrom BEGAT
Atom
4.Aram BEGAT Aminadab; and Aminadab BEGAT Naasson; and
Naasson BEGAT Salmon
5.Salmon BEGAT Booz...Booz BEGAT Obed of Ruth; and Obed BEGAT
Jesse
6. Jesse BEGAT David - David the king BEGAT Solomon
7. Solomon BEGAT Roboam; and Roboam BEGAT Abia; and Abia
BEGAT Asa
8. Asa BEGAT Josaphat; and Josaphat BEGAT Joram; and Joram
BEGAT Ozias
9. Ozias BEGAT Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz
begat Ezekias
10. Ezekias BEGAT Manasses; and Manasses BEGAT Amon; and Amon
BEGAT Josias
11. Josias BEGAT Jechonias
12. Jechonias BEGAT Salathiel; and Salathiel BEGAT Zorobabel
13. Zorobabel BEGAT Abiud; and Abiud BEGAT Eliakim, and Eliakim
BEGAT Azor
14. Azor BEGAT Sadoc; and Sadoc BEGAT Achim; and Achim BEGAT
Eliud
15. Eliud BEGAT Eleazor;and Eleazor BEGAT Mathan;and Matthan
BEGAT Jacob
16. Jacob BEGAT Joseph the husband of Mary of whom was BORN
Jesus, who is that which is CONCEIVED in her
Chapter 2
1. when Jesus was BORN in Bethlehem
4. where Christ should be BORN
Chapter 19
12. which were so BORN from (their) mother's womb
chapter 26
24. that man if he had not been BORN
Mark
chapter 14
21. that man if he had never been BORN
Luke
chapter 1
13. thy wife Elisabeth shall BEAR thee s son
35. that holy thing which shall BORN
57. delivered; and she brought FORTH a son
Chapter 23
29. barren, and the wombs that never BARE
John
Chapter 1
13. Which were BORN, not of blood, nor of
Chapter 3
3. Except a man be BORN again, he
4. How can a man be BORN when he is old? - into his mother's
womb,and be BORN?
5. Except a man be BORN of water
6. That which is BORN flesh is flesh ; and that which
is BORN of the Spirit is spirit
7. Ye must he BORN again
8. every one that is BORN of the Spirit
Chapter 8
41. We be not BORN of fornication
Chapter 9
2. or his parents, that he was BORN blind?
19. your son, who ye say was BORN blind?
20. our son, and that he was BORN blind
32. the eyes of one that was BORN blind
34. Thou was altogether BORN in sins
Chapter 16
21. as soon as she is DELIVERED of the child, that man
is BORN into the world
Chapter 18
37. To this end was I BORN: and for this cause
Acts
Chapter 2
8. our own tongue, wherein we were BORN?
Chapter 7
8. so (Abraham) BEGAT Isaac, and circumcised
20. In which times Moses was BORN
Chapter 13
33. my Son, this day here I BEGOTTEN thee
Chapter 22
3. a man (which am) a Jew, BORN in Tarsus
28. Paul said, But 1 was (free) BORN
Romans
Chapter 9
11. For (the children) being not yet BORN
1 Corinthians
Chapter 4
15. I have BEGOTTEN you through the gospel
Galatians
Chapter 4
23. bondwoman was BORN after the flesh
24. which GENDERETH to bondage, which
29. he that was BORN after the flesh
2 Timothy
Chapter 2
23. knowing that they do GENDER strife
Philemon
10. whom I have BEGOTTEN in my bonds
Hebrews
Chapter 1
5. my Son, this day have I BEGOTTEN thee
Chapter 5
5. my Son, today have I BEGOTTEN thee
Chapter 11
12. Therefore SPRANG there even of one
23. By faith Moses, when he was BORN
2 Peter
Chapter 2
12. beasts, MADE to be taken and destroyed
1 John
Chapter 2
29. doeth righteousness is BORN(begotten it should be - Keith
Hunt) of Him
Chapter 3
9. Whosoever is BORN(begotten - it should be - Keith Hunt)of God
doth not - because he is BORN(begotten - it should be - Keith
Hunt).
Chapter 4
7. every one that loveth is BORN(begotten - it should be - Keith
Hunt) of God.
Chapter 5
1. Jesus is the Christ is BORN(begotten - it should be - Keith
Hunt) of God: and every that loveth him that BEGAT loveth him
also that is BEGOTTEN of him
4. For whatsoever is BORN God
18. whosoever is BORN(begotten - it should be - Keith Hunt)
sinneth not; but he that is BEGOTTEN of God keepeth
JOHN 1:13 should have been rendered: "Which were
BEGOTTEN/CONCEIVED not of blood ..... but of God."
The context is talking about people who, while physical, DID
RECEIVE Christ and were given POWER(the Holy Spirit) to
BECOME(through a literal birth in the future at the change from
mortality to immortality - 1 Cor.15) the sons of God. These
individuals were BEGOTTEN by God so they could in the future be
BORN sons of God(sons and daughters - 2 Cor.6:18), born again the
second time when they would be SPIRIT as God is Spirit(John
4:24).
1 JOHN 2:29 is in the PRESENT tense, those alive and doing the
will of God NOW. This verse should have been rendered as: "If you
know that He is righteous, you know that everyone that does
righteousness is BEGOTTEN/CONCEIVED of Him."
1 JOHN 3:4-10. The words COMMITTETH/COMMIT/DOETH/CANNOT are in
the present tense. The whole passage is in a continuous present
tense mode, those PRACTICING or NOT PRACTICING sin as a way of
life.
The AMPLIFIED BIBLE translation has an excellent rendition of
this section of scripture. They even put in brackets, the word
BEGOTTEN next to the KJV word BORN.
The correct translation for "gennao" in these verses should be
BEGOTTEN or CONCEIVED.
I JOHN 4:7. Again the present tense - Christians today, still
in the flesh - physical. The Greek "gennao" should have been
rendered "begotten."
1 JOHN 5:1. The word "gennao" appears 3 times in this verse. The
KJV scholars gave the correct ENGLISH word TWICE, but missed it
the first time around. If they had rendered "gennao" as "born"
for all THREE times used, note how it would have read and
sounded:
"Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ, is BORN of God, and
every one that loves Him that BORNED, loves him also that is
BORNED of Him."
Now you can see why they rendered "gennao" as begat and begotten
the second and third times.
They should have used BEGOTTEN the first time also.
Christians today, in this physical life, are BEGOTTEN of God,
CONCEIVED of God, not yet BORN of God. Christians today are HEIRS
of God, and joint heirs with Christ, but not YET inheritors, have
not yet been changed from HUMAN to DIVINE (Rom.8:17; Cor.15).
The process of human reproduction is in type, the process of
DIVINE reproduction. The human egg and sperm uniting is the type
of God's Spirit uniting with the human spirit in the mind or
brain to start the reproduction of a child of the heavenly
Father. Just as the human child must grow and be kept safe until
the time when it is ready to be born into the physical world of
air, into the dimension of air breathing creatures, so the
begotten child of God must "grow in grace and knowledge"(2 Peter
3:18), must "overcome" (Rev. 2:7,11,17;3:5) and "endure to the
end"(Mat.24:13) to be BORN and to INHERIT the Kingdom of God, to
come forth into the dimension of SPIRIT, a new dimension of life
that God exists in, an eternal, never decaying, no need of
physical matter dimension.
1 JOHN 5:4. The word BEGOTTEN or CONCEIVED is the correct English
word, not the word "born."
1 JOHN 5:18. The word "sinneth" is in the present tense -
practicing, as a way of life. The Greek "gennao" should have been
rendered as BEGOTTEN and not born in its first appearance in this
verse.
What the above article (from the WCG) NEVER MENTIONED nor even
got close to mentioning was the verses in the NT that plainly
tell us Jesus WAS BORN AGAIN!!
Yes, Jesus friends was indeed born again, yet Jesus NEVER SINNED,
not once, so the fundamental Protestants who believe that being
"born again" is repenting of your sins and accepting Christ as
personal savior, are right now scratching their heads at what I
have just stated,if not saying to themselves(and others) that I
am BLASPHEMING when I say Jesus was "born again."
But the PLAIN TRUTH is clear, if you will only see and believe
it, if you will be as a child and say "God said it, I believe it,
and that's good enough for me" as the words of one spiritual song
says.
Open your Bible, look up these verses; mark them in red or
yellow. These are verses a young child can understand, no
professor needed to explain these verses do not say what they
mean, but mean something else, for the truth is they do say what
they mean and mean what they say. The verses are:
ROMANS 8:29; COLOSSIANS 1:15, 18; HEBREWS 12:23
THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF THE WORD
The Greek word in the above passages for firstborn is PROTOTOKOS.
Below I give you ALL the verses where this Greek word is used in
the NT as taken from the ENGLISHMAN'S GREEK CONCORDANCE, page
672(based upon the KJV).
Mat. 1:25; Luke 2:7; Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:15, 18; Heb. 1:6; 11:28;
12:23; Rev. 1:5
The very first time this Greek word is used in the NT sets
the meaning for us - Matthew 1:25(see also Luke 2:7).
Matthew tells us that Joseph did not "know" - have sexual union
with Mary his wife until AFTER "she had BROUGHT FORTH her
firstborn son" then he consummated their marriage.
Mary gave BIRTH - brought forth Jesus out of her body and into
the air breathing world - and this baby(Jesus) was her FIRSTBORN!
Yes, this verse is telling us that Mary DID HAVE OTHER CHILDREN,
but Jesus was her FIRST child, the first to come forth from her
body. We are here talking about BIRTH not conception or begetting
a child in the womb, but bringing forth a child into the world
OUTSIDE OF the body of a woman.
Hebrews 11:28 reminds us about God who destroyed the FIRSTBORN in
Egypt. Remember how God delivered the Israelites from Egypt - the
last plague He sent so Pharaoh finally did "let my people go" as
Moses had requested. The FIRSTBORN of the land, not the second or
third born but the firstborn were killed. Those that were born
FIRST before any other children were slain by God passing over
the homes.
In Revelation 1:5 this same Greek word should have been rendered
in the KJV as FIRSTBORN not "first begotten" just as it was in
Colossians 1:15,18.
Likewise Hebrews 1:6. Paul is talking about the NOW GLORIFIED
Christ, the FIRSTBORN of anyone, but taking us BACK to when He
came into the world as flesh and blood and how the angels were to
worship Him as they indeed did at His birth in Bethlehem along
with the shepherds.
Jesus was to be the FIRST human ever to gain eternal, glorified,
spirit bodied life from flesh and blood. That's right, it was not
Enoch, or Moses or Elijah or ANY OTHER person who had ever lived,
that was predestined to be the first into eternal life, but Jesus
Christ, the very Son of God. He was the FIRST and only one to be
BEGOTTEN/CONCEIVED in the way He was conceived by the Father in
the womb of a woman, and He was the FIRST to be BORN of the
Father from flesh and blood into SPIRIT and eternity.
Look at it friends, see it for yourself, mark it: "And He(Jesus)
is the head of the body,the Church ...... the firstborn from the
dead; that in ALL THINGS He might HAVE THE PREEMINENCE."(Col.
1:18).
Now those who want to argue about this Greek word "prototokos"
and its meaning, well, let them reason away with their semantics.
It clearly means BIRTH when used in Mat.1:25 and Heb.11:28. And
as Jesus was to have the preeminence in all things, it clearly
means BIRTH in Col.1:15,18.
The KJV translators were right on the target in Colossians when
they translated this word "prototokos" as FIRSTBORN.
They were also "on the button" as they translated this same Greek
word in Romans 8:29 where we read:
"For whom He did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the FIRSTBORN
among MANY BRETHREN."
Jesus told Nicodemus HOW YOU WOULD BE when BORN OF THE SPIRIT,
when born again a second time. He told him you would not be flesh
but SPIRIT, you would be LIKE THE WIND - invisible. Paul was
inspired to tell us the same truth in 1 Cor.15 and that flesh and
blood could not INHERIT the Kingdom of God, but we have to be
CHANGED from human to Divine; from a body of flesh and blood to a
body of SPIRIT.
Jesus is the only human so far to gain immortality. Jesus was
BORN AGAIN!
.................
Written 1992
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