There are only two possible areas of thought within the human brain, earthly and heavenly, physical and spiritual. Jesus told a seeking sinner.... "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." The sinner asked, "How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" Jesus was speaking of spiritual things but the man could only hear physical things. So Jesus explained, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.....If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?" John 3:3-12.
There are two births, the first is a physical bodily, and the second birth (born again) is a spiritual, rebirth of our spirit. Everyone has the first birth. The baby lives in a sack of water in the mother. When the mother's "water" breaks the baby is born (first birth). The wet baby's body is 73% to 83% water, and is, as Jesus said, "born of water". The second birth is, as Jesus said, "born of the Spirit". This is called, the New Birth, the Second Birth, Spiritual birth, Born again, and Reborn. Being spiritual, it is not bodily, physical, fleshly, visible or outer but internal and spiritual. It has to do with the spirit of life which God breathed into the body, as recorded in Gen.2:7 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." So every person has a fleshly body and an eternal spirit. We "have" a body and a spirit but we do not "have" a soul. We are a soul. At the origin of humanity God said, in Gen.2:7, that "man became a living soul".
Then Adam sinned, and his sin nature, with his DNA, was passed on, through Eve, with her DNA and her sin nature, to the entire human race. "Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed all men, for that all have sinned... " Rom.5:12. We all have a sin nature by birth and later, at accountability, also by choice. Sin is born into our flesh and our spirit struggles with it the rest of our lives. Even after we are spiritually born again (saved). Our flesh is not born again, and our born again spirit must still deal with, and overcome the temptations of the flesh. This, with the help of God's Spirit who now lives within our spirits within our bodies. Jesus drew a deep line between the Holy Spirit, in our eternal spirit, and our dying flesh, in John 6:63. "The Spirit gives life: the flesh counts for nothing."
The Apostle Paul reiterated this holy principle in Romans 8:9. "You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you."
Paul, in Rom.7, made the vast distinction between our inner, born again spirit, and our outer, dying, temptation plagued body of flesh. There Paul confessed the truth of sin in his flesh, not his born-again spirit. In Romans 7, he expressed the death struggle his born again spirit had with the dying flesh throughout his life, even as a Christian. Here are the five central verses in Rom.7 "If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me .... Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me."
It is not my eternal, born again spirit which sins, but my faulty, sweaty, sick and dying body of flesh.
The entire "living" process from conception, birth and continuing right up until the born again experience, is physical. If our first parents, Adam and Eve had not sinned, it would have been spiritual and there would be no need of a spiritual, second birth, a rebirth of the spirit not the body or brain. The body and brain remain physical but are responsive (yea or nay) to spiritual training and spiritual growth as they may yield, or not, to the Holy Spirit of God. A new-born Christian is a babe in Christ and has a future full of physical failure, repentance and spiritual growth in their journey to become as "Christlike", God's goal, as is humanly possible.
This is why David said, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." Psm.51:5. Our sin nature was there at conception.
Jesus confirmed this ....
"...There is none good but one, that is, God ...." Matt.19:17. We are conceived and born with a sin nature. Jesus was not. He was God in a body of flesh.
Apostle Paul declared our sin nature true.
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God...." Rom.3:23.
That is why Jesus told a seeking sinner, in John 3:7 "Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again."
The man thought Jesus was saying he had to be physically born again, but Jesus explained he was not speaking about a second fleshly birth but a rebirth of his spirit; a spiritual birth. Every Christian knows their fleshly body is not born again. We all see our fleshly failures, blemishes, and sins, though some Christians cannot bring themselves to confess it. But, as a Christian, your born again, eternal, spirit where God's Spirit dwells, does not and cannot sin because God lives there. It is, as Paul said, your flesh which does the sinning, but your born again spirit crys out against all sin and brings body and brain into conviction about it.
The man thought Jesus was saying he had to be physically born again, but Jesus explained he was not speaking about a second fleshly birth but a rebirth of his spirit; a spiritual birth. Every Christian knows their fleshly body is not born again. We all see our fleshly failures, blemishes, and sins, though some Christians cannot bring themselves to confess it. But, as a Christian, your born again, eternal, spirit where God's Spirit dwells, does not and cannot sin because God lives there. It is, as Paul said, your flesh which does the sinning, but your born again spirit crys out against all sin and brings body and brain into conviction about it.
"Whosoever is born of God doeth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." 1 John 3:9. What does "does not" mean? What does "cannot sin" mean? It does not mean "can, but shouldn't". It means "does not sin because the Spirit of God remains in his spirit and his born again spirit cannot sin". This verse refers not to your body of flesh but to your "born of God" spirit.
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." At the rapture, when we see Jesus, "we shall become like him" Christlike.
"Like Him". No more corruptible flesh, no more temptation, no more sin, no more sickness, no more death, and all of the fleshly, earthly thoughts ...past and gone. Our soul (body and spirit) will then be whole, born again, and finally, totally glorified. RB
That is what Christmas is all about. Jesus came to live a holy life before us, He was tempted, but without yielding, and without sin, and then gave that holy body as a sacrifice for our sins, that we might be redeemed … bought back to our Creator. RB
"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:15.
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32.
That is what Christmas is all about. Jesus came to live a holy life before us, He was tempted, but without yielding, and without sin, and then gave that holy body as a sacrifice for our sins, that we might be redeemed … bought back to our Creator. RB
"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:15.
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32.
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