Who is born…

Not again!

How many times have you cried out in frustration that exact same phrase? It often means that whatever is happening presently has occurred at least once before. Yet in frustration, it simple means that the darn thing keeps happening over and over again!

So let me ask you another question. Are you born again? There is that pesky little word again. No, that’s not what I mean to say. It should read …there is that pesky little word, again, again. Yes, that is perfect. So have you been born several times in the past? That’s not the right way to ask that question, you say. But isn’t that what “again” means, to occur or repeat multiple times over a span of time? What? Am I confused? Just how do you think Nicodemus felt when Jesus told him the same thing? Let’s go look at it.

John 3:1-3 KJVR
(1) There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
(2) The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
(3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

So here is this clandestine meeting of a religious leader and Jesus. Most people think this is conducted at night to avoid any suspicious overtones between Jesus and the temple elite. Actually, our good buddy Nicodemus meets Jesus at night for one reason: He’s been working all day.

Now Nick makes a perfectly plain introduction which clearly validates the work that Jesus is doing and how the religious folks feel about it. My paraphrase, “You’re one cool dude, ‘cause only someone from God can do what you’re doing.” You see there is no bitterness or animosity being displayed here between these two. Because of this, Jesus freely opens up and delivers the pinnacle to so many doctrines. He makes the same claim as the question that I asked at the beginning, yet, attaches the kingdom of God to it. Nick is as confused as you thought I was.

John 3:4 KJVR
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

Well there is something afoot here that clearly doesn’t add up, because good ole Nick responds just like anyone else would to such a statement using that pesky little word “again.” I submit that Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews does not know his Greek very well. No, that can’t be right, they didn’t speak in Greek; they wrote in Greek. So what gives? Sit back because you’re about to see something not many will delve into.

The word “again” found in John 3:3 and John 3:7 can be found listed in Strong’s concordance under number 509 as the Greek word anothen. This word is used 13 times in the New Testament. Only in these two passages and also in Galatians 4:9 is it transcribed as “again.” Do you understand what this means? Less than 25% of its usage in the text means “again” while over 75% of its true meaning is lost in this one crucial dialogue. Why is this important? Entire denominations of the present day church are devoted, dedicated, and committed to the “born again” agenda. Yet, if they are neglecting the fullest interpretation of the cornerstone to their creed, well, how can they claim to be teaching the full counsel of the gospel? So what does Strong’s list for this word? Here is the full meaning including the root word definitions.

G509 ἄνωθεν
anōthen an’-o-then
From G507; from above; by analogy from the first; by implication anew: – from above, again, from the beginning (very first), the top.

G507 ἄνω
anō an’-o
Adverb from G473; upward or on the top: – above, brim, high, up.

G473 ἀντί
Anti an-tee’
A primary particle; opposite, that is, instead or because of (rarely in addition to): – for, in the room of. Often used in composition to denote contrast, requital, substitution, correspondence, etc.

Consider that this entire dialogue being conducted by Jesus is actually a narrative of the person known as Jesus and Nick is just there to confound those who will not search out the truth. Jesus is not claiming that people are to have multiple births if they are to see the kingdom of God. Let’s factor in that Nicodemus has already stated that if anyone does the kind of miracles that Jesus does then God must be with him. Nick obviously recognizes that there is something different about Jesus that makes him stand out from every other man. This is where Jesus now takes the opportunity to divulge his true nature to someone who appears willing to hear. Here is my paraphrase of just the words spoken by Jesus using the full meaning of this Greek word previously known as “again.”

John 3:3, 5-7 KJVR
(3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man (like me) be born from above, from the beginning, the very first, as a substitution or contrast, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
(5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man (like me) be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
(6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
(7) Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born from above, from the beginning, the very first, as a substitution or contrast.

In these few verses Jesus clearly outlines who he is. Notice in verse 5 Jesus declares that only a man born of water and Spirit can enter the kingdom of God. Jesus is the only man born of Spirit and his birth by water came when he came up out of the Jordan and the Father announced that Jesus was his son. Tie this with his first claim that to see the kingdom of God a man has to be from above, from the beginning, the very first, as a substitution or contrast. Jesus is the only one who fills both of these criteria.

So let me ask the question that began this whole matter. Are you born from above, from the beginning, the very first, as a substitution or contrast? There is only one who holds that title and it is in Him that we live and move. He is the only one born again. The rest of us are just born to live as he lived, as a son in the family of God.