Born Again - What Did Jesus Mean

“I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
―John 3:3, NLT

Nicodemus was "a Pharisee and a teacher of Israel, a ruler of the Jews (that is, a member of the Sanhedrin) who is mentioned only in John's Gospel. Nicodemus was impressed with the signs that Jesus performed in Jerusalem at Passover time of 30 C.E. Consequently, he visited Jesus one night and confessed that Jesus must have come from God." (Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 2, page 497) According to John's account, the discussion went like this:

2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." 3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." ―John 3:1-8; New International Version.

Nicodemus was puzzled by Jesus' reply about the need to be "born again," although Jesus told him that he "should not be surprised" at this. Since he was a teacher of the Jews Nicodemus should have been familiar with God's promises and prophecies, and that is why Jesus chided him, saying, "Are you a teacher of Israel and yet do not know these things?" (John 3:10) What did Jesus mean when he told Nicodemus that "no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again," and why should Nicodemus have understood this?

When we understand his answer we realize that with these few words Jesus focused on the very heart of what Nicodemus had just acknowledged, the evidence that he had come from God, the purpose of his coming and how Nicodemus and all the Jews were involved, and the changes that were about to come upon the entire nation of Israel in fulfillment of God's promises as he had extensively foretold by means of his prophets.

But before we can understand what Jesus meant we must first determine whether Jesus had told Nicodemus that he must be born "again" or born "from above," for the Greek word used, γεννηθή άνωθεν, (gennithi' a'nothen), can mean either. That is why some Bibles translate Jesus as saying, "I tell you for certain that you must be born from above before you can see God's kingdom." (CEV)

In the King James Version the word an'-o-then (Strong's 509) appears 13 times: three times it is translated as "the top" (Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:38; John 19:23), twice as "from the very first" or "from the beginning" (Luke 1:3; Acts 26:5), five times as "from above" (John 3:31; 19:11; James 1:17; 3:15, 17), and three times as "again" (John 3:3, 7; Gal. 4:9). Therefore, how can we determine whether Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born "again" or be born "from above"; or do those two terms mean the same?

The simple answer to this, of course is, what did Nicodemus understand Jesus to say? According to his reply, "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb a second time," indicates that he understood Jesus to say that he must be born "again" or "a second time," (δεύτερον - Interlinear Translation). He did not understand Jesus to say that he must be born "from above" as this would not fit his reply to Jesus. That is why the majority of Bible translations render Jesus as saying "born again." (NWT, KJV, NKJV, NIV, NLT, NIRV, HCSB, NLV, ESV, NASB, RSV, ASV, Amplified, Young, Darby, Webster, HNV) We can also be sure that Jesus said born again by understanding what it was that he meant, why there was the need to be born "again" or a "second time."

For anything to happen "again" the same thing must have taken place at least once previously. Did Jesus indicate to Nicodemus that he was first born in the flesh? That is what Nicodemus thought, according to his words. But, Jesus quickly ruled that out, saying, "What has been born from the flesh is flesh, and what has been born from the spirit is spirit." (John 3:6) In other words, being born in the flesh has nothing to do with being born again in the spirit. They are not the same at all! Nicodemus and all the Jews had to be born again in the same way or manner that they, as God's people, had already been born on a previous occasion.

Jesus and Nicodemus belonged to a nation that had come into existence solely because of the promise that Jehovah had made to their forefather Abraham. God had chosen Abraham to be the one through whom he purposed to fulfill his promise of a future seed by means of which blessings would come to all the nations of the earth, and that time was now at hand. —Gen. 22:17,18.

The most precious, profound and personal gift that we can offer to Jehovah, from his standpoint, is for us to have faith in him and his promises. It indicates our complete trust in him, his care for us individually, while acknowledging his wisdom and power; and this in spite of never having seen him or personally heard his voice. There have been countless individuals throughout history who have been known to have had that sort of faith. —Heb. 11:4-40.

Faith results in love and obedience. We cannot love Jehovah if we have no faith in him, which we get by coming to know him; and we obey him because we have faith that obedience brings blessings. (Heb. 11:6) Faith is something very personal, something tangible by which we prove what sort of person we are. No wonder that "faith is not a possession of all people." (2 Thess. 3:2) Abraham was a man who had such faith. In fact, he is called "the father of all those having faith." He set the example for all of us. —Rom. 4:11.

Abraham had first proven his faith by leaving his home city of Ur, moving to a distant land, as Jehovah had commanded him, and arrived in the land of Canaan when he was already an old man of 75 years. He had no offspring, and yet, God promised that he would make a great nation out of him. And Abraham put faith in that promise. —Gen. 15:5,6.

Another ten years passed, and as Abraham's wife Sarah continued barren she now offered to Abraham her maidservant Hagar, in order to have a child by her. Perhaps this was their attempt to help fulfill God's promise. And so at the age of 86 years Abraham became father to his son Ishmael, by Hagar. (Gen. 16:16) But Ishmael was not the son according to Jehovah's promise through whom the seed would come, and by means of which all the nations of earth would bless themselves. Jehovah confirmed to Abraham that his own wife, Sarah, though barren, would give birth to a son, whom he was to name Isaac, and with him Jehovah would conclude his covenant. —Gen. 17:15-21.

True to his promise, though another 14 years went by, Jehovah miraculously enabled barren Sarah to become pregnant by her husband and to give birth to Isaac their son, when Abraham was a hundred years old and she was ninety. With the birth of Isaac was conceived the future nation of Israel.

“Listen to me, YOU people who are pursuing after righteousness, YOU who are seeking to find Jehovah. Look to the rock from which YOU were hewn out, and to the hollow of the pit from which YOU were dug out. Look to Abraham YOUR father and to Sarah who gradually brought YOU forth with childbirth pains. For he was one when I called him, and I proceeded to bless him and to make him many." ―Isaiah 51:1-3, 15,16.

It would take time for the nation to grow, much longer than the nine months it took from Isaac's conception until his birth. (Ps. 139:13-17) In the case of Israel it's development would be gradual, over a period of more than 400 years from its conception to the actual birth as a nation at Mount Sinai. During all that time Jehovah, as their Father, would watch over his "son," his people, protecting them and helping them "even from the belly," which is "evidently referring to the very beginning of their development as a people." —Isa. 44:1,2; it-2 pp. 997-998 Son(s) of God.

The nation started to form when two sons were born to Isaac and Rebekah, namely, Esau and Jacob. Jehovah chose Jacob, and repeated the covenant that he had made with his grandfather also with him. (Gen. 28:14,15) Jacob's name was changed to Israel and he came to have twelve sons. (Gen. 32:27,28; 35:10-12) The danger now presented itself for the developing nation to be integrated with the nations round about, as became evident when Dinah, Jacob's daughter, became involved with a son of a chieftain of the Canaanites. (Gen. 34:1-31) In order to protect his as yet unborn nation, Jehovah maneuvered matters to bring them into the safety of Egypt, where he had made Joseph, one of Jacob's twelve sons, a powerful ruler, only subordinate to Pharaoh himself. Also, his families were left unmolested by the Egyptians because they were shepherds and "every herder of sheep is a detestable thing in Egypt." (Gen. 46:33-34) There, Israel could increase in numbers, but when they started to grow mighty the Egyptians began to fear them as a threat and began dominating them by enslaving them.

Jehovah had foretold all this to Abraham, the gradual growth of the nation and the time it would take for them to return to the promised land and take possession of it. "And he began to say to Abram: 'You may know for sure that your seed will become an alien resident in a land not theirs, and they will have to serve them, and these will certainly afflict them for four hundred years. But the nation that they will serve I am judging, and after that they will go out with many goods.'" —Gen. 15:13-16.

The years progressed. The four hundred years came to an end, and the few family members of seventy, that had gone into Egypt, had grown into a nation of over 600,000 male adults.* (Gen. 46:27; Ex. 12:37) The time had now arrived for the momentous occasion of giving birth to Jehovah's "son," his "firstborn." But this delivery would not be without labor pains. Jehovah sent Moses to appear before Pharaoh: "And you must say to Pharaoh, 'This is what Jehovah has said: "Israel is my son, my firstborn. And I say to you: Send my son away that he may serve me. But should you refuse to send him away, here I am killing your son, your firstborn."'" —Ex. 4:22,23; (*Possibly more than three million left Egypt. For details see Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1, page 778-9)

Of course, Pharaoh refused to release God's "son," and it took ten plagues, including the death of every firstborn among the Egyptians, before Jehovah procured the release of his people. Even then Pharaoh changed his mind and chased after them, resulting in the destruction of his entire army when Jehovah trapped them in the Red Sea. To add to the birth pains was the fact that they, a vast crowd, had to wander a long distance through the wilderness, where they and their little children suffered from the heat, cold, hunger and thirst, before Jehovah brought them to Mount Sinai (also known as Mt. Horeb). Here, in the year 1513 B.C.E., the nation of Israel, as Jehovah's son, was born when Jehovah concluded a covenant with them, with Moses as their mediator, validated by "the blood of the covenant" of animal sacrifices. —Ex. 24:7,8; Ezek. 16:3-6.

Jehovah could rightly expect his people to learn from Abraham's example of outstanding faith, and imitate it, as it is natural for children to look with pride to their forefather, as did the descendants of Jehonadab, the son of Rechab. (Gen. 18:18,19; compare Jer. 35:1-19) Especially should this have been the case since they knew that their very existence came about because Jehovah himself, the Creator of the earth and everything upon it, was their Father, having caused their conception and now their birth as a nation. (Isa. 41:8; James 2:23) Along with the covenant Jehovah made this promise to them:

"And now if YOU will strictly obey my voice and will indeed keep my covenant, then YOU will certainly become my special property out of all [other] peoples, because the whole earth belongs to me. And YOU yourselves will become to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." ―Exodus 19:5,6.

If the nation of Israel would prove faithful to his covenant, as a loyal son, Jehovah would choose exclusively from among his sons the full number of those who would be kings and priests in his future kingdom, by means of which blessings would come to "the whole earth," the details of which God kept as a "sacred secret" until his appointed time. —Rom. 11:17-27; 16:25,26; Eph. 1:4; Col. 1:26,27; Rev. 20:6.

The covenant that Jehovah made with the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai, that gave birth to them as his sons, was not the end of the journey, as if this was all there was to God's purpose in fulfilling his promise made immediately after the rebellion in the Garden of Eden. (Gen. 3:15) From the very beginning Jehovah had purposed to redeem all of Adam's descendants, all mankind "who had not sinned after the likeness of the transgression by Adam." (Rom. 3:21-25; 5:14, 19; 1 Cor. 15:22) Abraham's seed and the covenant God had made with them would be the means by which he was going to accomplish this. For that reason the time would come when the Law covenant, once it had served its purpose, would be replaced by a new and better covenant. —Gal. 3:24,25.

31 “Look! There are days coming,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “and I will conclude with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant; 32 not one like the covenant that I concluded with their forefathers in the day of my taking hold of their hand to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt, ‘which covenant of mine they themselves broke, although I myself had husbandly ownership of them,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.”

33 “For this is the covenant that I shall conclude with the house of Israel after those days,” is the utterance of Jehovah. “I will put my law within them, and in their heart I shall write it. And I will become their God, and they themselves will become my people.”

34 “And they will no more teach each one his companion and each one his brother, saying, ‘KNOW Jehovah!’ for they will all of them know me, from the least one of them even to the greatest one of them,” is the utterance of Jehovah. “For I shall forgive their error, and their sin I shall remember no more.” ―Jeremiah 31:31-34.

Nicodemus, as a teacher of Israel, would have been very familiar with Jehovah's promise of a new covenant, as foretold by Jeremiah. The time had now arrived for Jehovah to bring this about and Nicodemus, along with all the Jews, should have been in expectation of it, especially since he confessed that Jesus had come from God.

One striking difference of this new covenant was that God's law would be written in the heart of his people, instead of on stone tablets and parchment as had been the case with the old covenant, and to which the Jewish religious leaders had added abundantly. (Matt. 23:1-4) Yes, instead of obeying God because of a written code, made up of rules and regulations, under the new covenant his people would obey him because of their faith and deep love for him, all of them having come to know Jehovah "from the least one of them even to the greatest one of them." The new covenant would result in their sins being completely forgiven because Jehovah would provide a better sacrifice than the animal sacrifices under the old Law covenant. —Matt. 26:28; Luke 22:20; Heb. 9:12-14.

Please note that Jehovah says concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah that "I will become their God, and they themselves will become my people." (vs. 33) Was Jehovah not already their God, and were they not also his people who were born to him at Mt. Sinai, due to the covenant mediated by Moses? Yes, the Jews had enjoyed their relationship with God as sons on account of that covenant. Since it was about to become "obsolete" their relationship could no longer continue based on a covenant that no longer existed. For them to again have Jehovah as their God, and they be his people, they needed to be brought into the new covenant, that is, they needed to be born "again," a "second" time. —Col. 2:13,14; Heb. 8:13.

This new covenant would also fulfill God's promise to Abraham that "all the nations of the earth must bless themselves by means of him." It would embrace not only Abraham's natural descendants, as God's firstborn son, but now also people of all the nations would be "born" to God as his added sons. —Gen. 18:18; Ex. 4:22; Matt. 5:9; 2 Cor. 6:17,18; Gal. 3:19, 24.

²⁷ All the ends of the earth will remember and turn back to Jehovah. And all the families of the nations will bow down before you. ²⁸ For the kingship belongs to Jehovah, And he is dominating the nations. . . ³⁰ A seed itself will serve him; It will be declared concerning Jehovah to the generation. ³¹ They will come and tell of his righteousness To the people that is to be born, that he has done [this]. ―Psalms 22:27-31.

Jehovah is a faithful God. (Deut. 7:9) Abraham's faith in him was not in vain. Not only did Abraham's seed become as "the stars of the heavens and like the grains of sand that are on the seashore," but also through them blessings would come to all mankind. (Gen. 22:17,18) It was his seed who was entrusted with the sacred pronouncements of God, and from among them the promised "seed" or Messiah appeared. It was Abraham's seed that got to know Jehovah because of their covenant with him, and now the ones who put faith in Christ and were born again could "tell of his righteousness" to "all the families of the nations," yes, "to the people that is to be born." —Rom. 3:1,2; 9:4,5; Gal. 3:7-9.

Under the new covenant people of all nations would be born to God, but only the Jews who had been in the previous covenant could be born "again." The mediator of the new covenant, Christ Jesus, validated the new covenant by means of his own shed blood. Anyone who exercises faith in "the blood of the covenant" will have his sins forgiven and be "born" from God by being brought into that new covenant. —Gal. 3:14-16; Rev. 7:14.

Everyone believing that Jesus is the Christ has been born from God, and everyone who loves the one that caused to be born loves him who has been born from that one. 2 By this we gain the knowledge that we are loving the children of God, when we are loving God and doing his commandments. 3 For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome, 4 because everything that has been born from God conquers the world. And this is the conquest that has conquered the world, our faith. ―1 John 5:1-4.

Everyone born from God "conquers the world" as Jesus did, by keeping integrity and not being any part of the world of which Satan is the ruler. (John 12:31; 15:17-21) How different this now was for people of the nations who previously were "without Christ, alienated from the state of Israel and strangers to the covenants of the promise, and had no hope and were without God in the world." (Eph. 2:12) They now had the same opportunity as the Jews of being born from God and becoming his sons.

13 But now in union with Christ Jesus YOU who were once far off have come to be near by the blood of the Christ. 14 For he is our peace, he who made the two parties one and destroyed the wall in between that fenced them off. 15 By means of his flesh he abolished the enmity, the Law of commandments consisting in decrees, that he might create the two peoples in union with himself into one new man and make peace; 16 and that he might fully reconcile both peoples in one body to God through the torture stake, because he had killed off the enmity by means of himself. 17 And he came and declared the good news of peace to YOU, the ones far off, and peace to those near, 18 because through him we, both peoples, have the approach to the Father by one spirit. ―Eph. 2:13-18.

There would no longer be any distinction between a Jew and a Gentile under the new covenant, for they would both equally be born as sons of God. It is to these believing Gentiles that Jesus referred when he said, "And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd." —John 10:16; Rom. 10:11,12; Gal. 3:26.

The new covenant is actually the restored original covenant of life that Jehovah had made with Adam, which now makes possible for all of his offspring to be completely reconciled to God through their faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Cor. 5:18,19; Col. 1:20) There is no other future third covenant necessary. The covenant for a kingdom that Jesus made with his disciples on the night he was arrested, is only an added feature of the new covenant. It is the means by which blessings will flow to redeemed mankind, for God's kingdom will replace all present oppressive human governments. —Dan. 7:13,14, 27; Luke 22:29,30; Rev. 3:21.

The only distinction that will endure forever will be regarding the "Israel of God," which had its root firmly planted in the covenant Jehovah had made with Abraham. Since the root was holy, the 144,000 branches would also be holy, even though some of the domestic branches had been broken off [unfaithful Jews] and replaced by "wild" branches [believing Gentiles]. —Rom. 11:16; Rev. 7:4-8.

It might be good to note at this point that although the Jews were born from God as his sons, none of them had the opportunity of ruling with Christ in his heavenly kingdom, that is, not until the time of Christ's actual appearance; no, not even John the Baptist who prepared the way for him. That is why Jesus said regarding him: "I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!" (Matt. 11:11, NLT) King David certainly was God's son, yet he did not have the heavenly hope. Therefore, Jesus told Nicodemus, "No man has ascended into heaven but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man." —John 3:13; compare Acts 2:34.

It is evident, that to qualify as being born from God as his son, one does not need to have the heavenly hope. There is no scriptural basis for suggesting that this designation has changed. Those who will rule with Christ are chosen from among God's sons. Such future rulers may be viewed as God's sons in a special sense, as God spoke of his king designate, Solomon, "I myself shall become his father, and he himself will become my son." (2 Sam. 7:14) All who will "inherit the earth" will be sons of God just as Adam was a "son of God" before his rebellion. —Matt. 5:5; Luke 3:38; it-2 pp. 998 Son(s) of God.

"A Nation Born at One Time"

"Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day?
Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor
she brought forth her children."—Isaiah 66:8, ESV

The new covenant came into operation at Pentecost 33C.E., which, according to the Jewish calendar was Sivan 6; and with that the old Law covenant became obsolete. It is interesting what Insight on the Scriptures notes regarding this date: "The Jews traditionally hold that Pentecost corresponded to the time of the giving of the Law at Sinai, when Israel became a distinguished people. It was early in the third month (Sivan) that the Israelites gathered at Sinai and received the Law. (Ex 19:1) Just as Moses as mediator was used to introduce Israel into the Law covenant, so Jesus Christ as Mediator of spiritual Israel* now brought that new nation into the new covenant." ―Vol. 2, page 599; (*Note: The term "spiritual Israel" is not found in the Bible.)

It had taken the nation of Israel a period of several hundred years to form; and its birth, with the covenant made at Mount Sinai, had been accompanied with great birth pangs, labor pains. But their new birth, with the new covenant, was going to be astonishingly different. It would take place in one day, before there could even be any "birth pangs."

Before she began to come into labor pains she gave birth. Before birth pangs could come to her, she even gave deliverance to a male child. Who has heard of a thing like this? Who has seen things like these? Will a land be brought forth with labor pains in one day? Or will a nation be born at one time? For Zion has come into labor pains as well as given birth to her sons. ―Isaiah 66:7,8

Zion, in Jerusalem, was where Jehovah's temple stood and where God's sons were worshiping him according to the old Law covenant, although they continually broke it. But it was not this Zion that Isaiah prophesied would give birth to her sons. Because the sacred ark was situated in Jehovah's temple on Mount Zion, Zion came to represent Jehovah's presence and heavenly realities. Quoting Insight on the Scriptures, "Zion became a mountain especially holy to Jehovah when David had the sacred Ark transferred there. Later, the designation “Zion” embraced the temple area on Mount Moriah (where the Ark was moved during Solomon’s reign) and the term was, in fact, applied to the entire city of Jerusalem. (Compare Isa 1:8; 8:18; see MOUNTAIN OF MEETING.) Since the Ark was associated with Jehovah’s presence and because Zion was a symbol of heavenly realities, Zion was referred to as the place of God’s dwelling and the place from which help, blessing, and salvation would come." ―Vol. 2, page 1236.

Before his ascension to heaven Jesus had told his disciples not to withdraw from Jerusalem, "but keep waiting for what the Father has promised." While his disciples had already been baptized by John the Baptist in water, showing "that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven," they were about to be "baptized in holy spirit not many days after this." (Mark 1:4, 8, NLT; Acts 1:4) As the Father had promised by means of the prophet Isaiah, Zion was about to give birth to her sons and his new nation was about to be born in one day, "at one time." The account in Acts tells us what happened when Jesus' twelve apostles and 108 disciples were gathered together:

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. ―Acts 2:1-4, NLT.

Regarding being born of the Spirit Jesus had told Nicodemus that "the wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John 3:8) In harmony with his words the Holy Spirit made itself evident by visible "flames or tongues of fire" upon each individual receiving it, and the "roaring of a mighty windstorm," so loud that it brought the multitude, that had gathered in Jerusalem for the festival, running. They could hear the sound but could not see where it came from.

The disciples had previously already been "born of water" by means of their baptism, which made forgiveness of their sins possible once Christ had paid the ransom, and this resulted in their clean standing before God. (1 Cor. 6:11) And now they were "born of the Spirit" in evidence that Jehovah had accepted them and was adopting them as his sons, enabling them to treasure a relationship with their Creator like Adam had once enjoyed. —Luke 3:38; Rom. 8:14-16.

With the outpouring of his holy spirit Jehovah brought the new covenant into force, thus giving birth to his new nation, his household, made up of Christ's disciples. As foretold by his prophet Isaiah, his new nation was "born in one day," "in one moment." It was not Zion, the city of Jerusalem, that gave birth to God's new nation, but rather this came from Jehovah himself: "'Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?' says the LORD; 'shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?' says your God." —Isa. 66:8,9; ESV.

Jehovah himself started laying the foundation with his chosen "born again" twelve apostles and the 108 other Jewish disciples, with "Christ Jesus himself [as] the foundation cornerstone." Keeping "the covenant in force for the many for one week [of years]," Jehovah continued to choose exclusively from among faithful Jews for another three and a half years to add to the foundation of his household, until 36 C.E., when Cornelius became the first Gentile to be added until the full "foreordained" number of 144,000 would be fulfilled. —Dan. 9:27; Acts 10:1, 44-48; Eph. 2:19-22.

A foundation by itself is not of much use, unless, of course, it is build upon to create a building. After laying the foundation on the day of Pentecost, Jehovah also immediately build upon the foundation with "about three thousand souls [that] were added." These had responded to Peter's speech and consequently repented and were baptized for forgiveness of their sins. (Acts 2:37-41) The two loaves of newly ripened grain that were presented to Jehovah at Pentecost had pictured these two groups: the anointed disciples who would eventually number 144,000, and the countless others who would be fed by this "little flock," but whose natural hope of living on earth was untouched by Jehovah. Both groups were presented before Jehovah on that day, taken from among sinful mankind, as the loaves having been baked leavened, symbolized. (See footnote) —Lev. 23:17-20; Luke 12:32.

Both these groups were thus born to Jehovah on this day and became his sons for a second time. Samaritans and later Gentiles would also be born to him, but for their first time, and in this way "the whole building [was] being harmoniously joined together, growing into a holy temple for Jehovah," and "built up together into a place for God to inhabit by spirit." —Eph. 2:19-22; Heb. 3:6; 1 Peter 2:4-6.

All who exercise faith in Christ Jesus and have been "born of water" by their baptism, are then also born of the Spirit. In this way they are born from God, according to his will and promise, and they are brought into the new covenant as he adopts them as his sons and daughters. As such they become members of his household, and if they remain there, faithful, they will inherit the blessings that Jehovah had originally intended for Adam's offspring. —2 Cor. 6:16-18; Gen. 1:27,28; Ps. 37:10,11, 29; Rev. 20:3,4.

Those chosen from among God's sons and anointed by him for the purpose of feeding the members of God's household (the "apostles and prophets"), make up the foundation of his building. All others are built upon this foundation and together make up the building for Jehovah to inhabit by spirit. That is why they, as the great crowd that comes out of the great tribulation, are pictured as "rendering [God] sacred service day and night in his temple." That is also why we can say that they too have Jehovah's spirit in the same way as his anointed servants do. (Matt. 24:45-47; Rev. 7:15) Says a recent Watchtower: "Genuine anointed Christians. . . do not believe that they necessarily have more holy spirit than their companions of the other sheep have." ―The Watchtower, May 1, 2007, page 31.

Yes, Jehovah has a household. (1 Tim. 3:15) It can truthfully be said that it is his household, for he purposed it and he is the one who has laid its foundation, similar to how he established the nation of Israel.

Are you a member of his household? Being such means blessings but also responsibility, for when the appointed time comes for Jehovah's judgment, he will start with his own household. (1 Peter 4:17,18) In the meantime Jehovah is allowing us to demonstrate that, as his sons and daughters, we are obeying him as our Father, having "the Maker of heaven and earth" as our helper and hope, instead of putting all our "trust in nobles [or] in the son of earthling man," men who have taken it upon themselves to insist that obeying them is the same as obeying Jehovah, as was the case with the Jewish Sanhedrin in Jesus' day, of which Nicodemus was a member. —Psalms 146:3-6; Acts 5:27-32.

Do not allow anyone to rob you of your precious relationship with your heavenly Father, for you were bought with a price and have been brought into the new covenant, born from water (by your baptism) and the Spirit (generously poured out upon us), which has been made possible by the "blood of the covenant." —1 Cor. 6:19,20; 7:23.

When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. ―Titus 3:4-7, New Living Translation.

What did Jesus mean when he told Nicodemus that he must be born again? The Jews had enjoyed their relationship with God on account of the Law covenant made at Mount Sinai, where they were born as a nation and as his sons. Since it was about to become obsolete their relationship with Jehovah could no longer be based on a covenant that no longer existed. (Heb. 8:13) For Nicodemus and the Jews to continue to be sons of God they needed to be "born again," or a "second time," by being brought into the new covenant, the time of which had arrived with the coming of the mediator of that new covenant, Christ Jesus. Any who refused to be thus born again, insisting on clinging to the old but now extinct covenant, would be dismissed from God's household, as surely as was Hagar in Paul's illustration. —Gal. 4:21-31.

When talking about the need to be born "again" Jesus was only referring to the Jews. (compare Matt. 15:24) Only the first century Jews, who were already God's sons, could be born again. Since the time of Cornelius' baptism in 36 C.E., people of the nations have also been brought into the new covenant and have become God's sons, as Jehovah had promised Abraham; but they have been "born" from God for their first time, according to his will. Nowhere, in any of his writings, is Paul telling any of the Gentiles that they must be "born again." No one today can be "born again" for no one alive today has been previously in the old covenant that "vanished away" in the first century. —Acts 10:1,2, 44-48; Heb. 8:13, NWT.

New birth

Some may ponder the apostle Peter's words when he said that "we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay." (1 Peter 1:3,4; New Living Translation) Does that not indicate that Christians are "born again?"

Contrary to the idea that many hold, namely, that a person is first born "from the flesh," according to one's natural or physical birth, and then born again "from the spirit" when he accepts Christ, Jesus himself made it clear that those two events have nothing in common when he said: "What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh [of the physical is physical]; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:6; Amplified Bible) In other words, a person is not first born from the flesh and then born again from the spirit. Then what did Peter mean that "we have been born again to an ever-living hope?"—1 Peter 1:3; Amplified Bible.

The Greek word in this instance, rendered as "born again" according to some Bible translations, is αναγέννησις (anagen'nisis). In most Greek-English dictionaries it is translated as "new birth." Note, it is not the expression Jesus used, γεννηθή άνωθεν (gennithi' a'nothen), born again, when he was talking to Nicodemus. Thus, many Bible translations quote Peter as saying: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (New International Version; compare with your own Bible.)

Peter was not contradicting what Jesus had previously said regarding the need for the Jews to be born again. Peter was pointing to something new, something that had not already existed before that time. It was a new birth to a new "living hope to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance reserved in the heavens." (NWT) And it belonged to those who had been chosen and anointed by Jehovah to rule with his Son in his kingdom, and made possible by the resurrection of Jesus, "the firstborn from the dead." (Col. 1:18) None of God's faithful men of old was acquainted with this new hope, not even John the Baptist, concerning whom Jesus said there had not been born a greater one among women, yet, "a lesser one in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he is." —Matt. 11:11.

Another point indicating that Jesus, when speaking of the need to be "born again" did not refer to the "new birth" that the apostle Peter speaks of, is when he told Nicodemus: "Are you a teacher of Israel and yet do not know these things?" (John 3:10) As a teacher of Israel, Nicodemus should have known of God's promise regarding the making of a new covenant with his people. (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:7-13) He should certainly also have been familiar with God's purpose of raising up a prophet like Moses, who would become the mediator, like Moses, of that new covenant. (Deut. 18:18; Heb. 8:6) Therefore, as a teacher he should have been able to understand the necessity to be brought into the new covenant. But Nicodemus could not have known about the "new birth," the heavenly calling that Peter explains, for Jehovah did not reveal this until after the outpouring of his holy spirit at Pentecost. It had been his sacred secret. (Rom. 16:25,26; Eph. 1:8-14) Since there was no way for Nicodemus to have known of the "new birth" it would have been highly unlikely for Jesus to criticize his lack of knowing this.

Clearly, the terms "born again" and "new birth" are not interchangeable. They do not mean the same thing.

* Footnote:

Regarding the two loaves presented on the day of Pentecost, Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 2, page 599, states: "The fact that there were two loaves of newly ripened grain that were presented to Jehovah at Pentecost indicates that more than one person would be involved in the fulfillment. It may also point to the fact that those who become spirit-begotten followers of Jesus Christ would be taken from two groups on earth: First from the natural circumcised Jews, and later from all the other nations of the world, the Gentiles." (bold mine)

The second loaf presented to Jehovah at Pentecost cannot symbolize spirit-begotten Gentiles, for Gentiles were not presented to Jehovah until three and a half years later, with the baptism and anointing of Cornelius. (Acts 10:44-48) Since the two loaves were presented together, and for them to have any significance, they must also represent "two groups" who were present on that occasion together, namely the 120 anointed disciples, and those immediately joined to them, the 3,000 who were not anointed with the spirit but were also baptized and presented to Jehovah, being brought into the new covenant. This second group, or loaf, would be cared for by the ones who had been anointed for that purpose, and thus both groups were "being built up together into a place for God to inhabit by spirit." Significantly, Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 2, (page 599, par. 1) notes, "After the loaves were waved, one of them was taken by the high priest, and the second was divided among all the officiating priests." —Luke 12:42-44; John 21:15-17; Acts 2:1-4, 37-42; Eph. 2:21,22; 1 Peter 5:2-4.

Another reason why the second loaf cannot represent spirit begotten Gentiles is because of Jehovah's promise in connection with his covenant made at Mount Sinai with only natural Israelites. "'And now if YOU will strictly obey my voice and will indeed keep my covenant, then YOU will certainly become my special property out of all [other] peoples, because the whole earth belongs to me. And YOU yourselves will become to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you are to say to the sons of Israel." —Exodus 19:5,6.

Since the festival of Pentecost (also known as the "Festival of Harvest," "Festival of Weeks," and "the day of the first ripe fruits"), was part of the Law "spoken by Moses to all the people" in connection with the covenant Jehovah made with them, if the second loaf presented to Jehovah on that day represented "spirit-begotten followers of Jesus Christ" taken from among Gentiles then Jehovah was telling his people from the very beginning of making his covenant that the promise he made to them, about becoming a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation," was unattainable for them, and thus he was already illustrating to them, yes, reminding them yearly on that date, that they would eventually be replaced by people of the nations. (Ex. 23:16; 34:22; Num. 28:26; Heb. 9:19,20) That would render all his future appeals to his people to return to him meaningless, even hypocritical, for he had already determined to reject them from the beginning, that is, if the second loaf indeed pictured anointed Gentiles. —2 Chr. 36:15; Jer. 44:4,5.

But Jehovah is not the kind of God who makes false promises, as Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1, page 1138, assures us: "Jehovah God is the Source of true hope and the One able to fulfill all his promises and the hopes of those trusting in him. It is through his undeserved kindness that he has given mankind “comfort and good hope.” (2Th 2:16) He has been the hope of righteous men in all ages. He was called “the hope of Israel” and “the hope of [Israel’s] forefathers” (Jer 14:8; 17:13; 50:7), and many are the expressions of hope, trust, and confidence in him in the Hebrew Scriptures. In his loving-kindness toward his people, even when they were going into exile for disobedience to him, he said to them: “I myself well know the thoughts that I am thinking toward you, . . . thoughts of peace, and not of calamity, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer 29:11) Jehovah’s promise kept alive the faith and hope of faithful Israelites during the Babylonian exile; it greatly strengthened men such as Ezekiel and Daniel, for Jehovah had said: “There exists a hope for your future, . . . and the sons will certainly return to their own territory.” (Jer 31:17) That hope came to fruition when a faithful Jewish remnant returned in 537 B.C.E. to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple.—Ezra 1:1-6."

I provide evidence in my article, "Born Again--What Did Jesus Mean?" that the terms "born again" (John 3:3, 7) and "new birth" (1 Peter 1:3) are not synonymous. Seeing that you only had a "brief" look at the article explains why you probably missed the main points.

There are many articles on the internet that explain "born again" the way the article does that you provided a link to. But there are also a few other conflicting views posted. A couple of days ago I received a link to another interpretation, which explained that a person is "born again" upon his resurrection in heaven; relying heavily on the argument that Jesus is the "first born" in this regard.

Now, what do you think? When Jesus told Nicodemus that he and the nation must be "born again," could he have referred to "a new birth to a living hope. . .reserved in the heavens for you?" Would Jesus have criticized Nicodemus, with the words: "Are you a teacher of Israel and yet do not know these things?" when Nicodemus could not possibly have known anything about the new birth, it being God's "sacred secret" and not revealed until after the outpouring of the holy spirit at Pentecost? (John 3:7,10; 1 Peter 1:3,4; Eph. 1:8-14)

Also to consider, when Nicodemus applied a fleshly interpretation to the term "born again," such as entering the womb of his mother a second time, Jesus made it clear that "what has been born from the flesh is flesh, and what has been born from the spirit is spirit." The flesh and the spirit have nothing in common. In fact, Paul wrote that the flesh is against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, "for these are opposed to each other." (Gal. 5:16,17) In other words, one is not first born from the flesh, and then born again from the spirit. Being born again, "from water and the spirit," means that this same must have happened at least once before. Did it? Paul writes: "Now I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea and all got baptized into Moses by means of the cloud and of the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they used to drink from the spiritual rock-mass that followed them, and that rock-mass meant the Christ." (1 Cor. 10:1,2) Instead of being baptized into Moses, as was the case with the first covenant, the Jews needed to be baptized again into the one pictured by Moses, Jesus Christ, the mediator of the new covenant. Thus they would be born again, once more, a second time.

God had made the covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai where they were born as his nation. At that time he also foretold his intention of raising up a future prophet from their midst who would be like Moses. (Deut. 18:18,19) The Jews understood this prophet to be the Messiah. Nicodemus would have known this along with the promise of the new covenant, foretold by Jeremiah. (Jer. 31:31-33; Heb. 8:7-13; 9:11-22) Acknowledging that Jesus must be from God, it should have been natural for Nicodemus to come to the conclusion that this prophet like Moses was indeed Jesus. Logically, he would be the mediator of the foretold new covenant as Moses had been of the old covenant. Since the new covenant was to replace the old one, it would also have been possible for Nicodemus to understand that God's people needed to be born again, for a second time, by being brought into this new covenant. Reasonably, only those who had been born into the old covenant could be "born again" into the new covenant. Keep in mind, also, that Jesus was not referring to the Gentiles when he told Nicodemus that "you people must be born again." Jesus told a Phoenician woman on one occasion, "I was not sent forth to any but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matt. 15:24; 10:5,6)

The new covenant would include also people of the nations, for Christ died for all mankind. But Gentiles could not be born "again" since they were not party to the first covenant. (Eph. 2:12) Non-Jews would be born from God for their first time (as were the Jews at Mt. Sinai) by accepting Christ, getting baptized in water and receiving the holy spirit, thus being brought into the new covenant also. There would no longer be any distinction between a Jew and a Gentile, people of the nations. (Matt. 28:19,20; Rom. 10:12,13)

Simply put: When the first covenant became "obsolete" and vanished away, the basis for a relationship with God for the Jews as his people disappeared with it. To continue to be his people they now needed to be brought into the new covenant, that is, they needed to be "born again," or once more. Isaiah refers to a future time when "Zion has come into labor pains as well as giving birth to her sons," and God's new nation would be "born at one time," in "one day." This took place at Pentecost with the birth of the new nation under the new covenant, with Jesus as the mediator. (Isaiah 66:7,8) Any Jew who refused to be thus born a second time, by accepting Jesus and his blood of the covenant, would be dismissed from God's household. (see Paul's explanation at Galatians 4:17-31)

The need for the Jews to be born again, as Jesus said, was in order for them to "see" or "enter into the kingdom of God." This kingdom is the same that he was preaching to them. (Matt. 4:17; 10:5-7) It figured prominently in God's purpose for, as Jesus said, it was "prepared for you from the founding of the world." "Founding of the world" refers to the time God first made the promise of raising a seed who would undo the works of the Devil, and when sinful Adam started to have offspring. (Gen. 3:15; John 3:5; Matt. 25:34; Luke 11:50; Rev. 13:8) Jesus himself is king of that kingdom, as the prophet Daniel foretold. As the "Son of man" he receives from God "rulership and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even him. His rulership is an indefinitely lasting rulership that will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be brought to ruin." This kingdom will replace all worldly governments. (Dan. 2:44; 7:13,14; Matt. 16:27,28) Jesus promised that the "meek," or "mild tempered ones" will "inherit the earth." Similarly, he also said, "Come, you who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom," for it is by means of this kingdom that all the damage that Adam's rebellion brought upon mankind will be undone, totally erased. They will be joyful subjects of God's kingdom with the hope of "everlasting life"; the prospect that Adam threw away. (Matt. 5:5; 25:34, 46; Psalms 37:11, 29)

But Daniel speaks also of "the holy ones of the Supreme One" who would share rulership with Christ in that kingdom. It is in reference to this that Peter speaks of a "new birth." (Dan. 7:18, 22, 27; Luke 22:28-30; Rev. 20:6) This "new birth" is not the same as being "born again." The new birth is about the selection by God of a few, including Peter, who have been given the hope of ruling with Christ in the heavens. They are the "holy ones" the prophet Daniel refers to. Theirs is "a new birth to a living hope. . .to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance. It is reserved in the heavens for you." These ones are seen standing with the Lamb upon "the Mount Zion," who "have been bought from the earth. . .from among mankind as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb." (1 Peter 1:3; Rev. 14:1-5) This, of course, is made possible through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Their hope is something brand new. It did not exist prior to Jesus' resurrection. Not even John the Baptist shared in the hope of this new birth. (Matt. 11:11; Rev. 20:6)

Whether a person inherits the earth, as God had in mind when he created man, or is chosen by God to rule in his kingdom with Christ, all are born from God who becomes their Father and makes them alive "by virtue of [Christ's] blood." (1 Cor. 15:22; Luke 22:20; Rev. 7:14) This takes place when they get baptized in water and receive God's spirit. They are brought into the new covenant, for it is only by means of this covenant that one can enjoy a relationship with God as one of his people, just as Jehovah foretold regarding the new covenant: "'I will become their God, and they themselves will become my people. And they will no more teach each one his companion and each one his brother, saying, "know Jehovah!" for they will all of them know me, from the least one of them even to the greatest one of them,' is the utterance of Jehovah. 'For I shall forgive their error, and their sin I shall remember no more.'” (Jer. 31:33,34; Deut. 7:6,7; Amos 3:2; Mal. 3:16-18)

The terms "born again" and "new birth" are not interchangeable, as most authors on this subject seem to miss. Often we believe what we feel most comfortable with. Most people's interpretation of being "born again" is influenced by their belief that all good people go to heaven. It is their catch phrase. They are not familiar with God's promise of the "meek" inheriting the earth. The Scriptures are clear that God created this earth for man to inhabit, and that is the hope set before the vast majority of redeemed mankind. (Isaiah 45:18) I hope you take the time to examine the entire article and consider all the evidence. The truth is really very simple, and it agrees with all the Scriptures. (Rom. 10:2,3)