Are you born again? This is mostly one question MOGs and professed Christians ask a fellow in order to ascertain his or her faith. To many, being a christian means that you are born again, and without it, no one can be saved.

This teaching came from Jesus's conversation with Nichodemus in John 3:1-21. In his reply to Nichodemus's question of what he must do to be saved, Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

As simple it may seem, but what did these words really mean? Well let's see what Jesus said further: 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. By these words, Jesus dismissed a possible understanding that the first birth is our maternal birth, because spiritual birth has nothing to do with a physical birth.

But for someone to be born again, that person must have been born at least once in the past, and it is definitely not our physical birth! This means that to be born again, one must have gone through a previous spiritual birth.

The Jews as a nation were God's people who are born to God as a special people when God made a covenant with them at mout Sinai in Deuteronomy 5:2 Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully. 2"The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3"The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today.…

This covenant that God made with the Jews is about to be replaced with a new and a better covenant, as prophesied by prophet Jeremiah. "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31-34).

So in order for the Jews to come into the new covenant, they have to be "born again" into the new covenant! This is not suppose to be a mystery, as many look at the teaching today, Nichodemus being a ruler of the Jews was suppose to know these prophesies and God's promise of a new covenant. That is why Jesus chided him when he said: 10 Jesus answered, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I tell you the solemn truth, we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony.

So what Jesus mean when he told Nichodemus to be born again in order to see the kingdom of God is infact that he (Nichodemus) and the rest of the Jews must be born again into the new covenant of which Jesus died for in order to continue enjoying a special favor with God.

But what about the rest of the world? the non-Jews who were never part of the old covenant, these other gentile nations were never born to God before, so in order to become part of the new covenant, they do not need to be born again, since they were never born before. However, for the gentiles, they have to go through a "new birth" as 1Peter 1:23 said: 23 For you have been given a new birth, not by corruptible, but by incorruptible seed, through the word of the living and enduring God.

Apostle Peter made mention of the new birth because his letter was addressed to a general audience, comprising both the jews and non-Jews, while some bible translation renders Peters words as "born again", other translations reads "new birth". What is important here is that for the Jews, they must be born again, but for the non-Jews, what they need is a "new birth" in order to be saved. It is new to them because they were never born to God, they are aliens to the true God. Peter will go on in chapter 2:10 to share more light: 1 Peter 2:10 "Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy".

What does this mean now? it means today as we know it, no one can be born again! This is because all those previously born to God in mout Sinai are no more, the Jews that we have now in the state of Israel are not the same Jews whom God made a covenant with, infact they were scattered all over the earth after the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD. What we have as state of Israel today is a republic gathered by Britain in 1945. However, as i earlier mentioned, today we can only have a "new birth" in order to be saved.

But what does these two things mean? Jesus said:John3;5; Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.

Just like we cannot make our birth possible by our own will, so also is the new birth, no one can administer "born again" or "new birth", because it is God that makes that possible through grace. John3: 8 The wind blows wherever it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Since it is not something we can control, as there is no way a baby in the womb can tell when to be born, it is therefore unreasonable for anyone to administer a new birth to anyone in the way of repeat after me, as we always see among many professed Christians. All you need to do is seek God in truth and spirit, when God hears your heart, He can then chose to born you into his covenant.

Superb!!!

You're preaching heresies out of ignorance.

[s]

maximunimpact:
Are you born again? This is mostly one question MOGs and professed Christians ask a fellow in order to ascertain his or her faith. To many, being a christian means that you are born again, and without it, no one can be saved.

This teaching came from Jesus's conversation with Nichodemus in John 3:1-21. In his reply to Nichodemus's question of what he must do to be saved, Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

As simple it may seem, but what did these words really mean? Well let's see what Jesus said further: 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. By these words, Jesus dismissed a possible understanding that the first birth is our maternal birth, because spiritual birth has nothing to do with a physical birth.

But for someone to be born again, that person must have been born at least once in the past, and it is definitely not our physical birth! This means that to be born again, one must have gone through a previous spiritual birth.

The Jews as a nation were God's people who are born to God as a special people when God made a covenant with them at mout Sinai in Deuteronomy 5:2 Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully. 2"The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3"The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today.…

This covenant that God made with the Jews is about to be replaced with a new and a better covenant, as prophesied by prophet Jeremiah. "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31-34).

So in order for the Jews to come into the new covenant, they have to be "born again" into the new covenant! This is not suppose to be a mystery, as many look at the teaching today, Nichodemus being a ruler of the Jews was suppose to know these prophesies and God's promise of a new covenant. That is why Jesus chided him when he said: 10 Jesus answered, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I tell you the solemn truth, we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony.

So what Jesus mean when he told Nichodemus to be born again in order to see the kingdom of God is infact that he (Nichodemus) and the rest of the Jews must be born again into the new covenant of which Jesus died for in order to continue enjoying a special favor with God.

But what about the rest of the world? the non-Jews who were never part of the old covenant, these other gentile nations were never born to God before, so in order to become part of the new covenant, they do not need to be born again, since they were never born before. However, for the gentiles, they have to go through a "new birth" as 1Peter 1:23 said: 23 For you have been given a new birth, not by corruptible, but by incorruptible seed, through the word of the living and enduring God.

Apostle Peter made mention of the new birth because his letter was addressed to a general audience, comprising both the jews and non-Jews, while some bible translation renders Peters words as "born again", other translations reads "new birth". What is important here is that for the Jews, they must be born again, but for the non-Jews, what they need is a "new birth" in order to be saved. It is new to them because they were never born to God, they are aliens to the true God. Peter will go on in chapter 2:10 to share more light: 1 Peter 2:10 "Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy".

What does this mean now? it means today as we know it, no one can be born again! This is because all those previously born to God in mout Sinai are no more, the Jews that we have now in the state of Israel are not the same Jews whom God made a covenant with, infact they were scattered all over the earth after the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD. What we have as state of Israel today is a republic gathered by Britain in 1945. However, as i earlier mentioned, today we can only have a "new birth" in order to be saved.

But what does these two things mean? Jesus said:John3;5; Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.

Just like we cannot make our birth possible by our own will, so also is the new birth, no one can administer "born again" or "new birth", because it is God that makes that possible through grace. John3: 8 The wind blows wherever it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Since it is not something we can control, as there is no way a baby in the womb can tell when to be born, it is therefore unreasonable for anyone to administer a new birth to anyone in the way of repeat after me, as we always see among many professed Christians. All you need to do is seek God in truth and spirit, when God hears your heart, He can then chose to born you into his covenant.

[/s]


NONSENSE!

Splinz:
You're preaching heresies out of ignorance.

How is it heresies brother? if you know better why not come up with a better understanding?

maximunimpact:


How is it heresies brother? if you know better why not come up with a better understanding?

Very well then. I actually wanted to see if you'll want that better understanding.

maximunimpact:


How is it heresies brother? if you know better why not come up with a better understanding?

Soon the whole world will see the fulfillment of Revelation 11:15: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.” Just as there is no doubt that countries today represent real, literal, physical kingdoms (governments), there can be no doubt, from just this passage, that God’s coming government is also real and literal.
Jesus Christ was born to be a King—to rule all nations of the earth forever with the help of other spirit-composed kings (Revelation 1:6). This is the central theme of the entire Bible. Notice: “And out of His [Christ’s] mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron…and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:15-16).

Entering the Kingdom

The Bible teaches that the kingdom of God rules OVER the people and nations of the earth. The nations are not actually part of the kingdom, any more than the average citizen of any country is part of the government that rules over them. One must ENTER the kingdom of God to be in it. Therefore, we must ask: As distinct from those who are governed by it, who is actually IN the kingdom?
In I Corinthians 15:50-51, Paul stated, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery…” Certainly, this is a mystery to almost everyone—that flesh and blood human beings cannot enter the kingdom of God. It would be helpful to read the entirety of this “resurrection chapter” of I Corinthians 15. Only at the resurrection are human beings (all true Christians) changed (born again) from flesh to spirit.

A series of verses in John 3 is commonly misunderstood by those who believe that they can be “born again” in this life (while they are still composed of flesh and blood) and see the kingdom of God.

In this account, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, approached Christ and acknowledged in verse 2: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God.” He plainly admitted that they knew who Christ was and who had sent Him to earth. Notice that Nicodemus spoke for more than himself when he stated, “we know.” He was referring to himself and the other Pharisees who recognized who and what Jesus Christ was. They could not deny the power of God evident in the miracles that Christ was performing.
The religious leaders, the Pharisees, well understood that He was a “teacher come from God” bringing the truth. They still called Him a blasphemer, drunkard, heretic, seditionist, bastard, ignorant, demon-possessed, false prophet and more—and crucified Him!
Many people see the plain truth of the Bible, yet choose to ignore it in order to hold to their own traditions (Mark 7:7) and ideas!
Christ told Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (vs. 3). He explained that only by being born again can one actually “see” God’s kingdom. So, there is a limitation on who can see the kingdom. But there is no limitation on physical people seeing either a church or an empire. Anyone of any religion or belief can see any other physical item.
Grasp these critical points that Christ is making!
In verse 5, Christ states that unless one is “born of water and of the Spirit,” he “cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Yes, the kingdom is something that can be “entered into”—but Christ explains His “born of water [baptism] and of the Spirit” phrase in verse 6: “That which is born of the flesh IS flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit IS spirit.”
Flesh and blood cannot enter into the kingdom of God—but spirit can! Because Christ wanted to allow no room for misunderstanding, He likened spirit to wind. Wind, like spirit, is invisible. It cannot be seen. Therefore, those in the kingdom must be composed of spirit.

Finally, the kingdom of God cannot include flesh and blood people!

NOTE: The above teaching is culled from: What Is the Kingdom of God? Written by David C. Pack, founder and Pastor General of The Restored Church of God, Editor-in-Chief of The Real Truth magazine, and voice of The World to Come program.

Splinz:


Soon the whole world will see the fulfillment of Revelation 11:15: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.” Just as there is no doubt that countries today represent real, literal, physical kingdoms (governments), there can be no doubt, from just this passage, that God’s coming government is also real and literal.
Jesus Christ was born to be a King—to rule all nations of the earth forever with the help of other spirit-composed kings (Revelation 1:6). This is the central theme of the entire Bible. Notice: “And out of His [Christ’s] mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron…and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:15-16).

Entering the Kingdom

The Bible teaches that the kingdom of God rules OVER the people and nations of the earth. The nations are not actually part of the kingdom, any more than the average citizen of any country is part of the government that rules over them. One must ENTER the kingdom of God to be in it. Therefore, we must ask: As distinct from those who are governed by it, who is actually IN the kingdom?
In I Corinthians 15:50-51, Paul stated, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery…” Certainly, this is a mystery to almost everyone—that flesh and blood human beings cannot enter the kingdom of God. It would be helpful to read the entirety of this “resurrection chapter” of I Corinthians 15. Only at the resurrection are human beings (all true Christians) changed (born again) from flesh to spirit.

A series of verses in John 3 is commonly misunderstood by those who believe that they can be “born again” in this life (while they are still composed of flesh and blood) and see the kingdom of God.

In this account, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, approached Christ and acknowledged in verse 2: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God.” He plainly admitted that they knew who Christ was and who had sent Him to earth. Notice that Nicodemus spoke for more than himself when he stated, “we know.” He was referring to himself and the other Pharisees who recognized who and what Jesus Christ was. They could not deny the power of God evident in the miracles that Christ was performing.
The religious leaders, the Pharisees, well understood that He was a “teacher come from God” bringing the truth. They still called Him a blasphemer, drunkard, heretic, seditionist, bastard, ignorant, demon-possessed, false prophet and more—and crucified Him!
Many people see the plain truth of the Bible, yet choose to ignore it in order to hold to their own traditions (Mark 7:7) and ideas!
Christ told Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (vs. 3). He explained that only by being born again can one actually “see” God’s kingdom. So, there is a limitation on who can see the kingdom. But there is no limitation on physical people seeing either a church or an empire. Anyone of any religion or belief can see any other physical item.
Grasp these critical points that Christ is making!
In verse 5, Christ states that unless one is “born of water and of the Spirit,” he “cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Yes, the kingdom is something that can be “entered into”—but Christ explains His “born of water [baptism] and of the Spirit” phrase in verse 6: “That which is born of the flesh IS flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit IS spirit.”
Flesh and blood cannot enter into the kingdom of God—but spirit can! Because Christ wanted to allow no room for misunderstanding, He likened spirit to wind. Wind, like spirit, is invisible. It cannot be seen. Therefore, those in the kingdom must be composed of spirit.

Finally, the kingdom of God cannot include flesh and blood people!

NOTE: The above teaching is culled from: What Is the Kingdom of God? Written by David C. Pack, founder and Pastor General of The Restored Church of God, Editor-in-Chief of The Real Truth magazine, and voice of The World to Come program.

I appreciate your civility this time, i believe you are open to learn, just as i am.

But the above quoted article is erroneous in that it used the resurrection teaching to explain born again or the new birth. Please bear in mind that Resurrection is an established fact and scriptural teaching, there are two kinds of resurrection, one a resurrection to spirit life in heaven to rule with Christ as co-rulers 1 Corinthians 15:50-52, Revelation 7:4-5, two an earthly resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous - Acts 24:15, the first resurrection is what your quoted article explained and not born again.

Now take your time and read this:

"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 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: On the last night with his disciples Jesus had promised them "the helper, the holy spirit, which the Father will send in my name, that one will teach you all things and bring back to your minds all the things I told you." (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7) Now, on this day of Pentecost, God sent the promised helper by pouring out the holy spirit upon the 120 disciples. Since the holy spirit is not visible to the eyes, God made it evident when it was accompanied by the sound from heaven "like the roaring of a mighty windstorm" (NLT), so loud that it brought the multitude, that had gathered in Jerusalem for the festival, running to the house where the disciples were gathered. They could hear the sound but could not see where it came from. Inside, the holy spirit made itself evident when "flames or tongues of fire" settled upon each of the 120 individuals receiving it. —Acts 2:2-6.

The disciples had previously already been "born of water," having been baptized which made forgiveness of their sins possible once Christ had paid the ransom, resulting in their clean standing before God. (1 Cor. 6:11; Heb. 9:14) Now they had been baptized also with holy spirit which filled them with "all the fullness that God gives," empowering them to understand and "grasp what is the breadth and length and height and depth." (Eph. 3:18,19) Full of holy spirit, the apostle Peter was able to explain to the crowd that had gathered the significance of what had just occurred, according to Joel's prophecy: “And after that it must occur that I shall pour out my spirit on every sort of flesh, and your sons and your daughters will certainly prophesy. As for your old men, dreams they will dream. As for your young men, visions they will see. And even on the menservants and on the maidservants in those days I shall pour out my spirit."
—Joel 2:28,29.

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 began to lay the foundation of his new nation with his chosen twelve apostles and 108 other disciples, all of them natural offspring of Abraham; with "Christ Jesus himself [as] the foundation cornerstone." (see Summary) 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. —Daniel 9:27; Acts 10:1, 44-48; Romans 11:13, 17-24; Ephesians 2:19-22.

Of what use is a foundation, unless a building is constructed upon it? (Luke 6:47,48; 14:29,30) A foundation is of a specific size, having definite dimensions, which includes the one cornerstone. On the other hand, that which is build upon it is only limited by what the foundation can bear. 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 three thousand had responded to Peter's speech and consequently repented and were baptized for forgiveness of their sins. (Acts 2:37-41) Likely Jehovah chose a number of them in order to add them to the 120 foundation stones. But most of the newly baptized disciples were built upon the foundation. The two loaves of newly ripened grain that were presented to God at Pentecost under the old covenant had pictured these two groups: 1. The anointed disciples who would eventually number 144,000, and who were the foundation, with Jesus as the foundation cornerstone; and 2. The countless others, "all those who [are] rightly disposed for everlasting life," who are build upon this foundation, and whose natural hope of life on earth is assured by Jehovah. (Rev. 14:1, 3; 7:9,10; John 3:16; Acts 13:48; 1 John 4:9) Both groups were presented before Jehovah on that day; both taken from among sinful mankind as the loaves, having been baked leavened, symbolized.* (See footnote) —Leviticus 23:16-20.

The 120 disciples, who were anointed with holy spirit as the foundation stones, and the 3000 who were baptized that day, were thus "born again" and brought into the new covenant, becoming God's sons for a second time since the old covenant was from this day on no longer valid. Samaritans, and later Gentiles, would also be born from God, but for their first time. (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 4:4-7) 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." —Ephesians 2:19-22; Hebrews 3:6; 1 Peter 2:4-6.

All who belong to Jehovah have been "born of water" (by baptism) and are also born of the spirit. It is God's spirit that teaches us to know the things of God, "for the spirit searches into all things, even the deep things of God. . . But a physical man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot get to know them, because they are examined spiritually." (1 Cor. 2:10-14) All of God's faithful people have God's spirit, as a recent Watchtower article acknowledged: "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.

We are born from God, according to his will and promise, and are brought into the new covenant as we are adopted as his sons and daughters. As such we become members of his household, some as foundation stones, others built upon this foundation; and if we remain there, faithful, we will inherit the blessings that Jehovah had originally intended for Adam's offspring, had Adam remained faithful. —2 Cor. 6:16-18; Gen. 1:27,28; Ps. 37:10,11, 29; Rev. 20:3,4.

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.

http://perimeno.ca/BornAgain.htm

There's nothing errorneous in what I posted. Are you saying because it brings in part of the truth from the resurrection chapter to make a clearer picture of what Christ was teaching, that makes it an error? That's absurd!

You probably have never heard of this teaching, "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little"- Isaiah 28:10. What it means is that the teaching of a doctrine or God's word on a matter are not found in a single chapter or verse, but scattered through out the bible. Now a lot of people are very guilty of making the mistake of quoting a single chapter of the bible to established a doctrine or teaching, including you. It must be a little here; a little there. And trust me, God is ever wise, because this encourages thorough studying of His words.

I have a lot to discuss with you. But before then, I urge you to once again peruse what Posted and pick out what you think are errors (not that there's any) so that we can further examine it in the light of the bible. Remember, we want to know what exactly it mean to be "Born Again".