What is 'born again'?

Hi there. This growing set of notes are here to help you understand what the Bible really says, and to put it into plain English so that you can tell others as well. 

My idea is to take just a verse or so, and say it different. (OK, 'differently'!)

Read one every day.

So here goes the first one:'

'Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' John chapter 3:3

So, lets put that in other words:

'This is most true: unless you are born a second time, you can never see God's kingdom, let alone get into it.'

There are two kingdoms in this world. One is a kingdom of evil and darkness, the other a kingdom of light and truth. The two are opposed to each other, and every one of us live in one or the other.

You and I were born into the kingdom of darkness at our natural birth. For us to ever get free, and enter the kingdom of light, we need to be born again. That is something that can only happen in a spiritual realm. 

So, unless I am born again, I cannot see the invisible but awesome kingdom of God that is everywhere around me. My natural eye and intellect cannot perceive it.

It is not about becoming religious or joining a church. It is very personal and individual. Actually, many of the people going to church are still in the kingdom of darkness.

But this is something supernatural and transforming.

The 'Matrix' film sort of describes it in a different way. When 'Neo' was challenged and given the choice of two pills to swallow, he was offered the choice to stay in ignorance (the blue pill), or dare to believe that there was more to life than the life he supposedly lived (the red pill). 

You can never understand or see what and where God's kingdom is, unless you have a second birth.

It takes faith to enter this kingdom of light, and that faith is a gift that turns up when someone hears the truth of what the Bible says. Jesus said, 'I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life'.  That says it all really!  But you cannot create such faith through your emotion or mind. You have to ask God for that faith. Then you can see beyond what you can see, and believe in what you have not believed before. 

Swallowing the 'pill' of faith opens the eyes.

At that moment, when faith happens, the door to God's kingdom is revealed to you, and you can enter this glorious and amazing experience. At the same time as this happens, God imparts a new spirit within you which changes your nature and understanding. 

You realize that you were blind, but now you suddenly see the truth, and you are born into God's family to become his child. That is a radical and life-changing experience. 

You will never be the same again.

This is just the beginning of an amazing adventure with God, which will lead you into all truth, and to your destiny of heaven itself.

Ask God that you might be born again and have a new start in life.

I hope and pray that this enlightens and opens someone's eyes.