John 3:1-7
Some people use Ephesians 1:3 to teach that when one believes in God, one automatically receives the Holy Spirit. These people teach that one does not have to ask for or be sealed by the Holy Spirit, and that one does not have to speak in tongues. When we receive the Holy Spirit, He comes to live within us in His fullness; this is the filling. Ephesians 5:18 clearly teaches us that we must be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is not a suggestion, it's a command. Everyone who is born again must be filled with the Spirit. The comparison between wine and the Holy Spirit is brilliant. Just as wine, by controlling our lives, damages and destroys us, the Holy Spirit, by controlling our lives, transforms us more and more into the image of Christ.
What these people fail to distinguish is the fact that the Bible teaches that there are two phases to the work of the Spirit in the believer.
1. Begetting: Being begotten of the Spirit (John 1:12-13; I Peter 1:23; James 1:18).
2. Birth: Being born of the Spirit or being sealed (John 3:5; Acts 2:38).
THE BEGETTING (John 1:12-13)
A. When a person hears the Word of God and believes, at that moment God begets in them through His Word; “faith comes by hearing” (Romans 10:17).
B. Begetting is necessary before there can be a birth.
C. The father must first deposit his seed in the mother so that it unites with her fruit for birth to occur. Once conceived, the child begins to take on the likeness and characteristics of the one who begot him.
D. What is the seed of God?
1. God begot in us through His Word (I Peter 1:23).
2. Not everyone who hears the Word of God is begotten. The reason is because they do not add to it what produces begetting, which is “belief” or “faith” (Hebrews 3:15).
E. If one has been begotten by the Word and has "faith," will the work of the Spirit be there?
1. Yes, because the Word is spirit.
2. Can the Spirit beget? Yes! This is what happened to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:35).
F. When a person has believed and accepted the Word of God in their heart, we do not deny that the Holy Spirit has done a work in them.
1. Yes, they are a child of God, but in perspective.
2. It is not at all strange that if someone has begotten a child, that child, within the mother's womb, begins to take on the characteristics of the one who begot him.
3. If God begot him, he takes on the characteristics of God, but this does not mean that he has been born of the Spirit (he has been sealed).
THE BIRTH: (John 3:2-5)
A. If one is not born, he cannot see the kingdom. If a child is not born, how can he see what is outside the womb?
B. A child cannot remain begotten; he must be born!
C. If a child is not born, he will die; he must be forced to be born by a doctor.
1. One must receive the Holy Spirit!
2. We must force those who have not received the Holy Spirit to receive it. We must pray with them and force them.
D. God's purpose is not only to beget children, but for them to be born!
WHAT ARE THE
PRINCIPLES ASSOCIATED WITH A NATURAL BIRTH?
A. God's Universal Law:
Everyone, regardless of race, color, or nationality, is born the same.
B. CONCEPTION:
A life begins that never existed before. Conception is not birth. Birth comes later. Don't forget the fetus (the unborn child) can die before or during the birth process.
C. Growth In The Womb:
The embryo reaches a certain size where its movement is restricted. It is not free. The unborn child is bound by the environment it is in. It wants to get out, so it begins to kick and thrash. When the desire for freedom is intense enough, labor begins.
D. Childbirth:
What is the medium that carries the unborn child from the world of captivity to the world of freedom? It is the muscles of the uterus, the blood, and the water in the sac.
E. Birth:
After the child has passed from the old world to the new, a sign is given to all who witness the event that the child did not die in the birth process. When the breath of life enters and fills the child's lungs, "a cry comes from the mouth of the child."
WHAT ARE THE
PRINCIPLES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SPIRITUAL BIRTH?
A. The Universal Law Of God:
All are conceived and born into the kingdom of God in the same way. The only difference would be the time it takes; for some it is a very short time, for others it is a long time, and yet for many they will die before birth.
B. Conception:
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God” (I Peter 1:23). The word “born” in this scripture is not the same Greek word Jesus used in His discourse with Nicodemus. This word is [anagennao], which should be translated “reborn” as in I Peter 1:3. How did the Apostle Peter say we are begotten or conceived? It is by incorruptible seed, by the word of God. The Apostle James said it this way, “Of His own will He begot us (begotten) by the word of truth” (James 1:18).
Jesus explained the principle of conception fully in the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:1-23). He taught that the sower was the preacher. The seed was the gospel. The soil was the heart of man. The “seed” has life within it to generate or bear fruit when it falls into the ground. Does not he Bible teach that “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:14).
We can safely conclude, based on the evidence of these scriptures that a person is not born again when they believe the Gospel in their heart; they are only in the conception stage of the New Birth.
C. Growth In The Womb:
After a person enters conception, they will repent of their sins and become hungry for God. They will begin to seek God regularly through prayer, Bible reading, and study. After a period of time, the believer discovers that their old nature is too strong for them. They are not free in their walk with God. They recognize that something is missing in their relationship with God. They need to be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit.
D. Childbirth:
When a believer tires of letting sin reign in their life, labor will begin. What is the means that brings the believer out of captivity to sin? It is the Word of God, the Blood of Jesus, and Water Baptism!
E. Birth:
There is a sign given to all that testifies to birth, whether before or after the unborn child is delivered from the world of captivity to freedom. When the Holy Spirit enters, a sound will come from the child's mouth. The child will begin to speak in a language he or she had never known before, as the Spirit gives him or her utterance or words to speak. This is the initial biblical evidence that one has received the Holy Spirit.
If a person receives the Holy Spirit the moment they believe and repent, then why does the Apostle Paul ask the Ephesians, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed” (Acts 19:2). If it is automatic, wouldn’t Paul be foolish to ask such a question?
Jesus and the Prophet Isaiah both prophesied that all believers would speak in tongues when they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Didn’t Jesus teach that all believers, who were baptized, would have the power to cast out demons and speak with new tongues? (Mark 16:17-18)
No comments:
Post a Comment