Ye Must Be Born Again

Posted : 3 Oct, 2012 12:19 PM

Ye Must Be Born Again



In John 3: 1-7 Nicodemus, a Pharisee, is talking to Jesus Christ What Christ says about being born again in order to enter the kingdom of God applies to All Physical Israel, including the Pharisees.



Christ does not say its a good idea to become born again. He says "Ye must be born again." (John 3: 7). If one is a follower of Christ, he would want very much to know what it means to become born again spiritually in him.



A few texts that apply to this question are:



II Thessaalonians 2: 10-12: "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."



Philippians 3: 5: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:"



Colossians 1: 27: "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"



II Corinthians 5: 17: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."



Romans 12: 2: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."



Matthew 25: 21: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."



Romans 14: 17: "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."



Romans 5: 1: "And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."



If all these spiritual gifts were available to the majority in the broad way under the Old Covenant, then why does Jesus Christ say "Ye must be born again?" I know that a Remnant of old physical Israel lived by faith (Hebrews 11) and were strong in the Lord. But still Christ says you must be born again, which was part of the transformation of Israel.



The Old Covenant system taught that entry into physical Israel was by way of genetics, from Abraham, that the males must be circumcised to mark their identity in Israel, and there was a physical temple building at the center of their worship. After the transformation of physical Israel into the spiritual house of I Peter 2: 5-9 entry into Israel reborn in Christ was by faith and by having his mind in us. Physical circumcision was abolished, replaced by what Paul called circumcision of the heart. And the believers themselves became the temple of God after the transformation of Israel (I Corinthians 3: 16-17, I Corinthians 6: 19).



There are at least three major Old Testament scriptures predicting a transformation of Israel. These texts do not spell out what that transformation was to involve - but we see it unfolding in the life of Christ and in the work of the Apostles.



The parable of the fig tree of Luke 13: 6-9 gives us a glimpse of this transformation of Israel. In this parable the owner of the vineyard said to his dresser, Christ, to cut the fig tree down, because it was bearing no fruit. The fig tree is physical Israel. But the dresser said to the owner, who is the Father, "Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it. And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down."



Christ, the dresser of the vineyard of the Father, actually pruned down physical Israel. He cut off the parts bearing no fruit. In Romans 11: 5, Paul talks about a Remnant, and in verse 20 says those of physical Israel who rejected Christ were broken off. In Matthew 23: 38 Christ says "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."



The prophecy thread on the transformation of Israel can be seen to start in II Kings 21: 13, "And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down."



Then Isaiah 29: 16 refers to II Kings 21: 13, and points ahead to Jeremiah 18: 1-6. "Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?"



Jeremiah 18: 1-6 says "The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

2. Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.

3. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.

4. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

5. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

6. O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel."



Its hard for many raised under Christian Zionism, or dispensationalism, which teaches as its starting points that physical Israel is still God's chosen people, and that all scripture must be interpreted literally to fully grasp what is being said in Jeremiah 18: 1-6. But pray that God will grant you ears to hear and eyes to see.



Without that transformation of physical Israel into a spiritual house there can be no remission of sin by the blood of Christ. Hebrews 10: 4 says "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." There can be no being born again, no spiritual renewing of our minds in Christ, no becoming a new creature, no indwelling by the Holy Spirit, no joy in working with scripture, and no salvation. There is no salvation under the shadows (Hebrews 10: 1, Colossians 2: 17) in the Old Covenant, or in Talmudic Judaism, which comes out of the religion of the Pharisees. After the transformation of Israel everyone must be born again in Christ in order to have these spiritual gifts.



Man-made theology as dispensationalism tries to spin "it is written" on the transformation of Israel, and on many other texts to support its postulate that All Physical Israel now remain a people of God and are still the chosen people. In spinning scripture to fit a man-made theology, and in a subtle way, in effect, denying the transformation of Israel, Christian Zionism becomes another Gospel (Galatians 1: 6-9). It has been possible to do this for many people who came under the influence of dispensationalism while still not knowing much of the scriptures, and of not having mature spiritual discernment. The scriptures are not like high school or college freshmen text books, which spell out many topics in great detail with a lot of elaboration. The Lord leaves it to the Holy Spirit to grant understanding from the scriptures.

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