Begettal of Holy spirit
Quote:
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Much of the confusion about being "born again" has resulted from misinterpreting the original Greek of the New Testament. With one exception (James 1:15-1, the Greek word used in reference to spiritual begettal and birthspiritual salvationis always gennao. This word means both "to conceive" or "to beget," and also "to bear" or "to be born"all or any part of the whole process which produces a new individual human being; whereas in English we use two separate verbs"begotten" and "born."Since both begettal and birth are included in the meaning of gennao, we must often let the Bible interpret the Bible to know which meaning is intended in a particular passage.Here are several examples where the Greek word should rightly have been rendered "begotten," not "born": John 1:12-13; I John 2:29; 4:7; 5:1 (three times); I John 5:4. The King James Version is correct by using "begotten" in I Corinthians 4:15; Hebrews 1:5; and I John 5:1.What about the scriptures that call Christ the "only-begotten" (John 1:14, 18; 3:16; I John 4:9)? Do these, after all, disprove the truth that true Christians are only "begotten" of God's Spirit, growing toward being born of God at the resurrection?Of course not.The simple answer is that all these verses are referring to Christ's miraculous begettal in His mother Mary's womb. Christ's physical begettal and birth (gennao) were unique. No other personeverhas been begotten by the Spirit of the Father in a human mother's womb! In this sense He isand always shall be"only-begotten." But many have been "begotten again" (I Peter 1:3) ultimately to becomethrough the process of spiritual growth and birththe spirit-born sons of God.What It Means to Be Born Again
Matthew 7:16-20 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Once begotten by the Holy Spirit from the Father, we must continually be led by it, bearing spiritual fruit throughout our lives. If we are producing the fruit of the spirit, which exhibit a sound mind, we know it is working in us. The Spirit is the mind and essence of the divine nature, and through it God carries out His will. It empowers the mind to comprehend spiritual matters, producing conversion. It gives us the strength, will and faith to overcome our sins.Martin G. Collins The Holy Spirit
Matthew 13:11 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Jesus' frequently uses the words "kingdom of heaven," especially in Matthew 13, as in "The Kingdom of Heaven is like..." We should be careful not to be fooled by this. It does not mean "the Kingdom of God when Jesus Christ returns." That is not what Jesus means.The Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven is not just a future matter, but also a present reality. It is not on earth right now as a government, in the form of a nation or a kingdom, but the Kingdom of God exists. Colossians 1:13 says that we have already been translated into the Kingdom of the Son of His love. The word translated is better rendered as "transferred." This is not the Protestant idea of "the Kingdom of God is within you," but the Kingdom of God does exist. Notice Matthew 12:28: "But if I cast out demons by the spirit of God, surely the Kingdom of God has come upon you." It was present then in the person of Jesus Christ and working.Mark 12:34 contains another example: "So when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, 'You are not far from the Kingdom of God.' And after that no one dared question Him." In Luke 10, Jesus uses the term in a present-tense situation. The Kingdom of Heaven is something that happens now or can happen now. Jesus is speaking to His disciples, telling them what they are to do when they go out preaching the gospel: "And heal the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God has come near to you'" (Luke 10:9). This is similar to what He says to the scribe in Luke 17:21: "Nor will they say, 'See here!' Or 'See there!' For indeed the Kingdom of God is among [as it is better translated] you."These examples show that Jesus taught His disciples that the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven exists now, but it is in a different form from what it will be when Jesus returns and sets up His government. When we yield to God, and when we are accepted by Him as His embryonic sons and daughters, as it were, we become citizens of the Kingdom of God. In a sense, then, we all are in the Kingdom of God now, but in the begotten sense, not in the born-again sense.Nevertheless, we are aiming for that future reality when Jesus Christ comes back and sets His throne upon this earthwhen all people will stream to Jerusalem to become part of God's Kingdom. The entire Bible looks forward to this time, but there is a present reality of the Kingdom among His sons and daughters. Paul concurs: "Our citizenship is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20); "We are ambassadors for Christ" (II Corinthians 5:20; our allegiance is to Christ, the King of the Kingdom of God); we are "strangers and pilgrims" in a foreign land (I Peter 2:11). Our land is the Kingdom of God. The country we live in is an alien nation. In true members of God's church, the Kingdom of God is already ruling in them. This is what Jesus means when He speaks of the Kingdom of Heaven.Some scholars want to throw out the word kingdom when it is used this way, feeling that it is a misleading translation. Of course, many of them are Protestants, who look at it from the understanding of "the Kingdom of God is within you." Nonetheless, they believe that the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew 13 should be rendered the realm, dominion, or reign of God. He is already our King, reigning over us right now.Another rendering is a word we should all be familiar withthe sovereignty of God. Have we come under the Sovereignty of God? Yes, indeed. We did it voluntarily when we accepted Christ as our Savior. So in this sense, we are in the Kingdom of God, and its rules apply to us.This is what Jesus means in Matthew 13. He is not doing away with the idea that He will return to this earth and set up His government here after putting down all other government's rule, but He is saying, "Those of you whom I have called out are in the Kingdom of Heaven right nowin a spiritual senseand you have to live by its rules and fight its enemies. So beware! This is what your life in My Kingdom now will be like."Richard T. Ritenbaugh Parables of Matthew 13 (Part 1): The Mustard Seed
John 3:3 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Since the church is composed of flesh and blood mortals, it cannot be the Kingdom of God! God's children, begotten by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11, 14-17), will be born againchanged to spirit like God is (John 4:24)at Christ's return (I Thessalonians 4:16-17), and then we will enter into God's Kingdom. Thus, only Jesus Christ and His Father comprise the Kingdom of God in its fullness at this time.Richard T. Ritenbaugh The True Gospel
John 3:3-8 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Enter means literally "to go inside of," as one would enter a building, not an ethereal or abstract concept.Paul says, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God" (I Corinthians 15:50), which agrees perfectly with Jesus' statement. When combined with Jesus being the pattern for the entire new creation, and that He did not go through a conversion process and yet was born again by a resurrection from the dead, John 3:3-8 must refer to the end of the process.Otherwise, we have to try to explain away verses like "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (verse 6). It is perfectly clear on its own; it needs no explanation. We are still confined to the earth. But the birth Jesus is speaking about occurs later: "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit"!The old "hat pin test" still works. We still bleed and feel pain. We are still flesh. We are not spirit yet, so we have not been born again.It becomes even clearer: Do not marvel that I said to you, "You must be born again." The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (verse 7-If weproven to be fleshly beingscan still see each other coming and going, we are not yet spirit. It is so plain!The process that ends in being born again begins at begettal. Throughout the entire process, however, there are types, symbolic actions, that represent later realities. repentance and baptism typify a death (Romans 6:2-11). We have died to sin, and when a person dies, he is buried. Likewise, we are buried in water and are raised up out of it (typifying a resurrection) to begin a new life.But we are not born again yet; we are still flesh and blood. God imparts His Spirit to us at the laying on of hands, but we are not spirit. We have the Spirit in a small measure as a down payment, an earnest, a guarantee, of our future, complete endowment (II Corinthians 1:22; 5:5). It has begotten us to begin the process.We go through these types but the reality is still future. And it will not occur until we literally die, our bodies decay, and we are resurrected by the power of God. Only then will we be spirit. Then we will be like the wind. The process will have been completed. We will be born again!John W. Ritenbaugh You Must Be Born Again!
John 3:5-6 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) The Kingdom of God is something that can be entered into. But only those who are "born again" can enter into it. We who are born of the flesh are fleshjust mortal flesh and blood. We were born that way. But it is possible for us to be born againthis time not as a mortal, flesh-and-blood baby, but born of the very Spirit of God. Then we shall be spiritwholly composed of spirit as God is (John 4:24)!God is not a single Personage. The Hebrew word for God, elohim, denotes more than one person. It shows God is a single Family, or "Kingdom," but composed of more than one person.We have the mineral kingdom, the plant kingdom, and the animal kingdom. The Bible reveals an angel kingdom, created by God and composed of spirit. And then, high above all is the very creating kingdomthe God Kingdom. In other words, the "Kingdom of God"! God the Father and Christ the Son presently compose the Kingdom or Family of God.The astounding truth of the Bible is that God is reproducing Himself! God created mortal man in God's own image so that we may become impregnatedbegottenby the Spirit of God. Then, by a resurrection (I Corinthians 15:50), we may be born of God"born again"as immortal, spirit-composed persons in the Kingdom or Family of God!What Is the True Gospel?
1 Corinthians 15:50-53 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) The Kingdom of God is something no human, born of flesh and blood, can enter or inherit. It is through the resurrection of those begotten by the Spirit of God during this mortal life, that this mortal will put on immortality and, like God, become immortal, incorruptibleliterally born of God's Spirit into the very God Family! That is how we shall enter into the Kingdom of God.Those thus born again, which will include all the Spirit-begotten saints of God through the centuries, will be organized into the executive branch of the government of God to rule this earth's mortals under Jesus Christ (Daniel 7:27; Revelation 2:26-27; 5:10)!What Is the True Gospel?
Galatians 4:5 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) It is an obscene fallacy to consider that mankind needs to be "redeemed" from God's law. The law does not keep one in bondagesin does. The law just points out why that man is in bondage. As the notes at Galatians 4:3 show, God's intent and desire is to free us from the bondage of sin, just as He redeemed the Israelites from Egypt. Right before God gave Israel the Ten Commandments, in a preamble of sorts, He stated very clearly, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Exodus 20:2). God's law points out to people why they are reaping the negative consequences of the choices they makewhy they are in bondage to sin and condemned to pay the physical and spiritual price. Jesus Christ was supernaturally conceived ("made of a woman"and took on the consequence of all of our sins ("made under law"
, so He could redeempay the price foreveryone who was also under the condemnation of the law. We are redeemed from the bondage of sin and its consequences, not from the perfect law of God! It should be noted that He did this for all men, not just for the Jews. Hence, the "redemption" could not be referring to redemption from the moral instructions of what is right and wrong, simply because the Gentile Galatians were not familiar with God's law before He called them. Prior to God's call from this satanic system, we were Satan's children. We bore his image, and resembled him in word, deed, and attitude (Ephesians 2:1-3; John 8:38-44). When God calls us into a relationship with Him, He justifies usbrings us into alignment with His perfect lawand gives us a measure of His Spirit so we may begin to understand His ways. To those that He chooses and who properly respond, He gives the authority to become His sons (John 1:12). This sonship is by adoption, because our first father was Satan the Devil! At the beginning of our relationship with God, we are begotten by Him but not yet born (John 3:3-8; I Corinthians 15:20-54; I John 3:9; 5:1
. Genesis 1:26 shows that God's intent is to recreate Himself and to have a Family of spirit beings. Because He loves us, He gives us the opportunity to be called the "sons of God," which alienates us from the world because the world still bears the image of Satan (I John 3:1). Through the sanctification process we are changed, and become more and more in His likeness, and upon our resurrection we will be raised with incorruptible spirit bodies, fully born into the Kingdomthe Familyof God.David C. Grabbe
1 John 3:1-2 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Notice that although we are now the "sons" and "children of God" (I John 3:1-2), we are only heirsones who shall, in the future, inherit all that God has promised (Romans 8:14-17). Why? Because we are now only BEGOTTEN children. It is only when we are born of God that we become inheritors of God's Kingdomdivine members of the Family of God.Before the second phase of man's creationour spiritual creationcan begin, God the Father must first beget each of us by placing His Holy Spirit within our minds. We are then impregnated, so to speak, by the "seed" or germ of eternal life. It is the begettal of the spiritual life of God within our minds. Much as a newly begotten physical embryo begins to grow in its mother's womb, we begin to grow in spiritual character after we are begotten by God's Spirit. This growth comes through study, prayer, and walking with God.What It Means to Be Born Again
1 John 3:9 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) How do we explain this? We could leave it as it is because I John 1:8 clearly states that we can still sin. In this case, we would understand I John 3:9 as referring to one literally born into God's Kingdom.Another, more accurate understanding is that a Christian, begotten of God, should not practice sin. We have seen that we can still sin, and I John 2:1 says that we "may not sin." "May not" indicates that we do not have permission to sin, but if we do sin, it can be forgiven. The context implies sinful actions, not habitual practices.This dovetails with I John 3:9, where a begotten son of God "does not sin." This is written in the present tense, indicating continuous action. Thus, it becomes an urgent appeal: A Christian must not sin! It means we must not sin habitually, deliberately, easily or maliciously. Translating gennao into "begotten," "sired," etc., gives us a more accurate and deeper understanding of our responsibility to glorify our Father in heaven by following after righteousness. John W. Ritenbaugh You Must Be Born Again!
1 John 5:18 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) The person who has been finally "born of God" will not sin any longer. Once we are born of God at the resurrection, we will be able to live without ever sinning again. How? Simply because we will then possess the fullness of God's perfect character and divine nature. We will no longer possess a nature which can fall victim to sin and Satan's influence.But as long as we are only "begotten" of God, we must "keep ourselves"we must continue to resist the evil temptations of the flesh. Such a one can commit sin. When caught off guard or in a moment of weakness, we can and often do sin! But we cannot "practice [or, continually live in] sin" and be the begotten sons of God (I John 3:5-6).Life, to the begotten Christian, is a constant struggle against Satan's influence, which is the cause of the evil side of man's nature. Although he has now received the begettal of God's divine nature (II Peter 1:4), he still manifests the traits of human nature as well, and the one wars against the other (Galatians 5:17).
Shain1611
"SANCTIFY THEM THROUGH THY TRUTH: THY WORD IS TRUTH
(John 17:17)
And Jesus Speaking; " He that rejecteth me, receiveth not my words, hath one that, judgeth him:the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in
( John12:48 KJV)
"SANCTIFY THEM THROUGH THY TRUTH: THY WORD IS TRUTH
(John 17:17)
And Jesus Speaking; " He that rejecteth me, receiveth not my words, hath one that, judgeth him:the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in
( John12:48 KJV)
