From our physical birth to our physical death there is nothing on the outside besides a change of habits, thinking processes, and locations that make us spiritually alive. We enter the world as sinners estranged from God. We are born spiritually dead (Eph 2:1-3, Col 2:13). We live a life of habits, environmentally and socially learned behaviors and ways of thinking. One of the greatest results of coming to faith in Jesus Christ is being made spiritually alive and 'born again'. But what does that mean? What happens?
Birth of You, Spiritually
In John 3:3 Jesus makes this explicitly clear.
"Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
The pharisee is thinking about physical birth and being able to see and understand God. Jesus is talking about spiritual birth is necessary to see and understand God. Anyone can know what the bible says about the person of Jesus but only those who see and believe Jesus as God thus truly see God and his kingdom (1 Cor 2:14).
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
When we are "in Christ" we are united with him. We are in communion with him and have a relationship with him that is based on him. When we have that unity with Christ, he makes us new. He makes us a new person. A new creation. Where not only our bodies are alive but now our spirit is made alive.
The old dead self, dead in the slavery to sin, is gone. We have been freed from the slavery to sin and death and given life and freedom.
How Do We Become Spiritually Alive?
There is no amount of prayer or effort that 'makes' us alive. We can not bring ourselves from death to life. Alter calls, "sinners prayer", extreme fasting, will power, or change of habits do not bring us to spiritual life anymore than you did when your mother physically gave birth to you. How much of your own birth did you take part in besides being born? nothing. Nothing material, physical, or of you, gave you spiritual life (John 1:12-13).
Before Our Physical Birth
29 For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.
5 He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will, 6 to the praise of His glorious grace that He favored us with in the Beloved. 7 We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that He planned in Him 10 for the administration[a] of the days of fulfillment[b]—to bring everything together in the Messiah, both things in heaven and things on earth in Him. 11 We have also received an inheritance[c] in Him, predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will, 12 so that we who had already put our hope in the Messiah might bring praise to His glory.
God chose you (John 13:18) and by his will you were made spiritually alive (John 6:29) for his purpose and glory.
We have been chosen by God before our physical birth. We were chosen to come to him and know him. God the Father chose us and then gives us to his Son, Jesus Christ. When he gives us to Jesus, we will go to Jesus.
Right Before Spiritual Birth
37 Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out.
Then Jesus shuts down any argument that "we choose" to follow Jesus and by "our own will" be believe.
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws[j] him, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Unless we are drawn by God to Jesus, "no one can come to" Jesus. God the Father chose us then gives us to Christ Jesus. We are then drawn and lead to truly knowing Jesus. God causes us to be born again (1 Peter 1:3).
Baptism and Adoption, Spiritually
Once we are drawn and lead to truly seeing Jesus or being revealed to us who Jesus really is; the moment of realization of who he truly is, and what he has truly done, we are then baptized by the Holy Spirit, Born again, and Adopted by God as one of his own children.
11 “I baptize you with[a] water for repentance,[b] but the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove[c] His sandals. He Himself will baptize you with[d] the Holy Spirit and fire.
Our sins are washed clean and the fire has burned away all our impurities; Christs righteousness is imputed on us and we are then justified (Romans 8:33) and made right before God (Gal 3:24). This event does not always happen immediately after we come to 'understand' Jesus as Lord and savior (Acts 1:5) but happens exactly when He wants to adopt us and make us his own child.
Those who were chosen, lead, and received the baptism of the holy spirit, are then spiritually adopted by God himself (Eph 1:5). This adoption occurs immediately after being spiritually born (John 1:12). We then are declared to be God's own! The Holy Spirit testifies on our behalf because He is the one who baptized us and gave us spiritual birth (Romans 8:16-17).
The New You
Because you were chosen before birth by God the father and given to Jesus; you were lead to know Jesus as Lord God and savior, justified by Christs work on the cross, baptized by the Holy Spirit, and adopted by God in Jesus. Now that you have been born again and spiritually alive; you are made FREE!
What is this freedom?
You are freed from the law of sin. You are no longer a slave to sin. You are free and empowered to fight sin! You are free and empowered to worship God alone (Romans 6:16-20). You are not temporarily freed from the grip of sin but you are truly free! Free from every being a slave to death and sin (John 8:36).
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
We are freed to have the will, desire, and abilities to imitate God. We can be loving, merciful, forgiving, gracious, and true!
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
We can come to God and straight to God himself with our pleas! You are free to come to God with everything on your heart and mind at all times anywhere.
15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
A New Heart
Part of being made new; we are not only spiritually alive but we are also given a new heart. Our desires and wants change. We begin to understand things through spiritual sight and our wills become in tune with God's will.
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone[a] and give you a heart of flesh.
Yet, we are still in our corrupted state and still have our sinful human nature which we struggle with until our time in this world has ended and we are then completely glorified and completely freed from it all. Paul states it best:
"For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin," (Romans 7:19-25).
Live FREE and live embolden to proclaim the freedom that is ONLY found in, through, and by Christ Jesus.