As sinners, we must become new creations in order to have a relationship with God.  The Holy Spirit can cause us to be born again.

Under the cover of darkness, the man slipped through the quiet streets, seeking out the man everyone was talking about, the man who had dared drive the money changers out of the temple, and the one who had done many amazing signs (John 2).  We don’t know exactly what prompted Nicodemus to visit Jesus that night, but as a Pharisee, he probably didn’t want to be seen talking to this new Rabbi.  Maybe he was curious, wanting to see this man for himself to see if the rumors were true.  Could this man possibly be the Messiah?

Blinded to the Truth

We quickly see that, although Nicodemus had a thorough knowledge of the Scripture, he was ignorant about spiritual matters.  When Jesus says, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3), Nicodemus’ mind was stuck on the physical, asking “How can a person enter again into his mother’s womb?”  This shows how blinded people can be to the truth.  Knowing about God is not the same as actually knowing Him.  The only way people can see the truth of God’s Word is if the Holy Spirit reveals it to them (1 Corinthians 2:14).

When Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again, He’s referring to spiritual birth, a process called regeneration.  He’s basically telling Nicodemus that he must be made new if he wants any part of God’s kingdom.  We can read more about the process of regeneration in Ephesians 2:1-10.       

Our Need for Regeneration   

First, we see our need for regeneration (verses 1-3).  Paul describes an unbeliever as being dead in her sins, following the way of the world, living according to her own desires and passions.  As a result, she is under the wrath of God.  The problem is, because she is spiritually dead, she can do nothing to change her plight.  A dead person is unable to choose life.  For someone to be brought back from the dead, it requires an outside force to give that person life. 

Think about Lazarus.  He had been dead and buried for four days by the time Jesus arrived on the scene.  Could Lazarus have chosen to come out of the grave on his own?  No, of course not.  It took Jesus calling for Him to come out, giving him new life, for Lazarus to rise again.  That’s the case with physical death, and the same is true for spiritual death. A spiritually dead person cannot choose spiritual life unless someone first gives them new life.

Jesus uses the example of birth.  Did anyone choose to be born?  No, a baby is not able to choose if or when it’s born.  The same is basically true of the new birth that Jesus talks about in John 3:3. Regeneration, or new birth, must come from outside of ourselves.  If we can’t choose life and if we can’t choose to be born again on our own, then how can we ever be saved? 

The Source of Regeneration

Going back to Ephesians 2, Paul reveals the source of regeneration in verses 4-5 and 8-9.  He says that while we were dead, God made us alive.  So, we see that God is the one who grants spiritual life, and He does that through the person of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus says that we must be born of the Spirit (John 3:5-8), and Paul writes that we are saved “by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5-6).   Regeneration occurs when the Holy Spirit removes our heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh, one that is able to see God’s kingdom and respond positively to it (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

This does not mean that we are completely passive in our salvation.  Ephesians 4:8 says that we are saved by grace, which is when the Spirit gives us a new heart, but we are also saved by faith, which is when we respond to Christ by placing our trust in Him.  The point is, though, that salvation is a gift of God.  It’s not something that we can earn by our works, although it should result in good works, as we see in our next point.

The Results of Regeneration

In verses 6-7 and 10 of Ephesians 2, we see the results of regeneration.  Most importantly, our salvation places us in Christ.  We are raised with Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly places, which shows our union with Him.   As a result of that union, we are then the recipients of God’s immeasurable grace.  Our regeneration and salvation should also result in good works, because that is what God created us to do.

Because of our sinful nature, we must become new creations if we are to have a relationship with God.  We need the Holy Spirit to bring us back to life and to cause us to be born again, if we are to be saved.  Once we are in Christ, we should desire to obey God’s will for us.

What good works do you think that God has created you for? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

This post is part of my Bible study series called “A New Creation.”  You can find other posts and resources for this free online bible study here:

A New Creation-What It Means to Be in Christ

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.