Becoming “Born Again” is a process which every man, if he wishes to draw back to Yehovah and find eternal life, must go through. The first birth is one of water into some kingdom of the earth. And the second birth is a spiritual birth into Yehovah’s eternal and unchanging kingdom.
The end of John chapter 2 has Yeshua in Jerusalem at the Passover and talks about “the miracles that he did.”
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast days,
many believed in his name[augh – I so hate teaching from the NT commentaries, they are so perverted], when they saw the miracles which he did. (John 2:23)
And the beginning of John chapter 3 speaks of the same miracles.
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said to him, rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from Elohim [THE lawmaker and judge]: for no man can do these miracles that you do, except Elohim be with him. (John 3:1-2)
You Must Have A Second Birth, Be “Born Again”!
So it was during the Feast of Unleavened Bread that Nicodemus came to Yeshua at night.
Let’s ask ourselves some questions about this clandestine meeting.
Were Yeshua and Nicodemus alone that night?
Did Nicodemus ask about the second birth or did Yeshua volunteer it?
If this is something that a man must do to enter, or even, see the Kingdom of Elohim, then why did Yeshua entrust this information only to Nicodemus?
Is it possible that Nicodemus might have been one of the very few who knew the scriptures well enough to be entrusted with this precious information? The same information that I am trying to convey to my readers in these articles.
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of Elohim. (John 3:1-10)
It was Yeshua that initiated this discussion and Nicodemus did not understand what he was saying,
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?”(John 3:11)
This is a very serious question, and one that I do not believe has ever been made clear for the world. The reason I say that is because the answer is only able to be heard and understood by a spiritual man. Not the unrepentant man who has lived his entire life in the ways and traditions of men. It is for this reason that Yeshua spoke in parables.
The people he spoke to had both (flesh) eyes and (flesh) ears, but they could not see or hear because they had hard hearts and stiff necks also; and they would not repent and turn to Yehovah and His ways because they loved their own ways and traditions. Sound familiar?
Listen carefully to how Yeshua answers Nicodemus question concerning, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Yeshua answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of Elohim. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ (John 3:3-5)
We (men) must be born a second time to enter the kingdom of Elohim. And when we become spiritual sons of Yehovah, our women (bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh) become His daughters. It is all about learning to live in accordance with His created purpose.
When we repent, leave the kingdom of our birth, and join ourselves (and our families) to Yehovah and His other called-out men, we are given a new heart and a new spirit. But the second birth is not into any kingdom of men; the second birth is into the kingdom of Elohim; a spiritual birth into a spiritual kingdom.
PLEASE! I know so many of our minds are absolutely shut down when we talk about “living in the spirit;” and it is for this reason that I used to begin this series with “LOVING Yehovah Elohim 101.” In it we learn that the spiritual man is only the man who lives according to the laws/instructions of Moses. While the man of flesh lives according to his lower nature just like the rest of the animals and who follows the laws in the kingdoms of men.
The Flesh
Of people born only of the flesh, Yehovah says,
And Elohim said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (Gen 6:13)
“Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die. (Eze 18:4)
The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of Yehovah blows upon it; surely the people are grass! (Isa 40:6-7)
All flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust. (Job 34:15)
When Yehovah said that all flesh would perish from the earth, did Noah’s?
So Yehovah said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Gen 6:7)
Noah did not die; he and his family were saved because Noah walked with Elohim; he lived in the spirit.
And Noah found grace in the eyes of Yehovah. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with Elohim. (Gen 6:8-9)
If we live out our lives in a temporal (fleshly) kingdom, regardless of the fact that many “think” we are honoring Yehovah by being good citizens in their respective kingdoms. We will reap corruption!
BUT, If we choose to live by the spirit (following Torah), then we, men, can join ourselves to the kingdom of Elohim and then be led to Passover in order to become as one born in the land and receive everlasting life.
The Spirit
Only the man who obeys Yehovah’s instructions concerning how “the man” was created to live, is a spiritual man; all the others are hypocrites and are deceiving themselves!
Therefore my Master said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men. Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder. For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.” (Isa_29:13-14)
We are all born, of the flesh, into some Kingdom of men! Each one of us has come through the water of our mothers womb and been born into some kingdom on the earth; this is the first birth. For most of the folks who are reading this article, it is kingdom of the United States!
But Yeshua said, “You must be born twice to enter the Kingdom of Elohim.
The second birth, is not into any kingdom of men; the second birth is into the Kingdom of Elohim!
If we will repent, leave the kingdom of our birth and join ourselves to Yehovah’s kingdom and people we can then begin to live in the way that leads to life; and it is the Way of Life that will eventually lead us to Passover and the 2nd birth. Yeshua continues his dialogue with Nicodemus saying,
Only the spirit of Elohim gives new life. And that spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. (John 3:8)
Yehovah’s kingdom, for the time being, is like the wind! We can not see the wind itself, but we can see the affects and effects of the wind in the actions of Yehovah’s people who follow that invisible kingdom. These actions are the substance and the evidence of our faith.
Now when Yeshua was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of Elohim would come, he answered them and said, “The kingdom of Elohim does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘look there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of Elohim is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21)
The kingdom of Elohim is in you, once you repent from the broad way, leave the kingdom of your birth, start obeying the Yehovah’s ways by walking in the narrow way and and join yourself to the commonwealth of Israel.
But wait, there is more! Seeing and entering the kingdom is only the start! Yeshua said, “You must be born Again.” Yeshua concludes this talk with Nicodemus with a rebuke!
Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can these things be?” Yeshua answered and said to him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? (John 3:9-10)
Now stop and think for a moment. If Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, should have understood this second birth, then wouldn’t that means the Born Again experience that Yeshua is talking about is an Old Testament concept, not a New Testament one? The New Testament did not even exist. This makes perfect sense to me! If Yehovah does not change and His word endures forever, the second birth or Time of Life (as it was called before Passover) has been available to His people from the garden. We have so much to learn.
Where in the scriptures does it talk about being born again?
Go To: Righteous Actions Precede Spiritual Awakenings