Change from the inside out

James 1:18

“He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”

For every person, birth is the starting point of the relationship between child and parents. Without birth, a personal bond and relationship are impossible. The biblical writers take up this picture and apply it to our relationship with God. Jesus spoke to the theologian Nicodemus about a second birth, or a birth from above. “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). To begin a relationship with other people, one must be born of one’s mother. To begin a relationship with the living God, one must be born of Him. Only then can the other changes inspired by Him take place.

John describes this new birth in the first chapter of his Gospel (read 1:12–13).

This second birth is supernatural. First, the initiating person is supernatural. It is God who takes the initiative and seeks us. Out of love for us, He wants to establish a relationship with us. Not every child is a desired child of its parents. Some children feel as though they were the product of an accident. They know they were not wanted and sense that they are not loved. God, however, wants every one of us. With Him we may know that we are safely held in His unconditional love.

The message about a new relationship with God and how we come to it is also supernatural. There is much we can know about God. When we look at His creation, we can conclude that He is intelligent, creative, wise, powerful, and complex. Yet our knowledge of God’s nature through creation is very limited. We could admire a thousand sunsets and still never discover His plan for humanity. On our own, we cannot come to God because we possess neither the information nor the ability to reach Him. We need a supernatural revelation from God. He must tell us how we can establish a relationship with Him. And He must provide the way by which we can come to Him. Both are contained in the gospel—the good news.

The good news is good because it points us to God’s plan and God’s provision. His plan is that we confess our guilt, turn away from a life without God, and place our trust in Jesus Christ. This opens the way for spiritual rebirth. His provision is that Jesus made the way to God possible through His death on the cross in our place. For people who are unable either to devise God’s plan or to fulfill it, this truly is good news.

The second birth is also heartfelt. By this I mean that it is based on trust. Every birth is followed by a relationship. Every new birth is followed by a relationship with God, and this relationship is warm and personal. Although God is holy and almighty, our relationship with Him can still be free, open, and warm.

People who have a close relationship can talk freely with one another. One sign of the new birth is that a person suddenly takes great joy in talking with God. The reverse is also true. If we are unable to have open and heartfelt conversations with God, this may be a sign that we have not yet experienced this birth.

The second birth is complete. We are speaking of a birth that is sufficient for living with God, not of multiple births. Hinduism and some New Age movements tell us that a person must pass through many rebirths before finally reaching God. Yet the Bible never speaks of reincarnation, because it does not exist. Guilt is something that cannot simply be undone. Good deeds do not cancel out bad ones. Only the death of an innocent person who gives himself for the guilty can accomplish that. Reincarnation leaves no room for a God who dies in the place of His creation.

This new birth is complete also because it needs no additions. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken away from it. The matter rests entirely and exclusively on Jesus Christ. He guarantees that we may have an eternal relationship with the Father.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27–30).

Jesus promises us here that He holds us in His hands and presents us to the Father. Jesus cares for our well-being even more than a mother cares for her infant. He looks after and protects us so well that we need not fear being lost.

The new birth is supernatural, heartfelt, and complete. It is new because it enables us to stand before God free of guilt and enjoy fellowship with Him. Change begins inside us, in our hearts. But it does not stop there. There is no such thing as solo Christianity. God has designed us for fellowship with others. And wherever we interact with others, God also brings about outward changes in our lives.

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