N for Nicodemus: Defining Salvation

The term “born again” has suffered a thousand qualifications and would have suffered death for it! Some folks could give a limb to distance themselves from such a term, yet it was Jesus Christ himself who made the first allusion to that term. (Luke 3:3).

Born again? What does it mean? The definition is found in verse 6: “that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (note the capital “S” and the small “s”.

The explanation is really that simple; giving birth! A Spirit gave birth to another spirit (YOU). It is a spiritual birth, you are given birth to by God himself! An entirely new ( recent innovation) creature, that life is of another plane with different characteristics just like plant life is different from animal life because they belong to another “kingdom”.

A born again Christian is of another kingdom.

The life of the new spirit is called “eternal life”. Eternal life is not just longevity, it is the quality of that longevity! (a function of the Character of the parent”( 1 John 5:4, 1 John 5:16, 1 Peter 1:23)

There are no sin scars in that new spirit! There are scars on the mind and on the flesh but on the spirit? Nope, not one.

REAL LIFE

If you’ve ever struggled to be good you’ll understand the struggle saved believers often go through in their bid to get it right. How can I live above sin?

Answer: By faith! On this side of the divide (eternal life), everything is by faith since you are limited by a flesh suit. We can only access an unseen eternal life by faith, in my own personal struggle coming across John 8:12 did the magic. I held on to that scripture; it says that you cannot sin. As long as you are conscious of the Spirit that is in you you’ve overcome all of lives challenges including sin.

To maintain that consciousness it is paramount that we understand that a new creature could as well be an infant and such needs milk, then something tougher and later on meat. Most folks are mal nourished, (if you are do, go find a church or a mentor that teaches the Word). Your growth in the Word and obedience to the gospel of Christ (the things God will tell you) would influence your ability to assess the provisions of that new life and they are immense.

 God Bless

Okwonna Nelson (www.nelsontalks.blogspot.com)

nnamdiokwonna@yahoo.com