Following Jesus: Born of The Spirit

John 3:1-8, Romans 6:8-10

Jesus often confounded religious thinking.  In John chapter three, Jesus declares to Nicodemus the Pharisee, “You must be born again.”  It was a statement that encapsulates humanity’s need for a savior.  Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, human flesh has carried an inherent nature of sin.  All humans were born of the flesh, and born with this sin nature.  Jesus explains that in order to see the kingdom of God, we must be born a second time.  By dying, we would no longer be held by a sin nature, and by being born again, we live again as a people who are spiritually alive to God.  It was this second birth that Jesus would accomplish on Easter Sunday.
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Jesus paved the way for us to be free from sin by dying on the cross as payment for the sins of the world.  All those who accept Him die to sin with Him on the cross.  Jesus’ ministry was not fulfilled just at the crucifixion, but also in His resurrection.  When Jesus rose from the dead, he overcame death for us, and made a way for humanity to rise again to new life in the spirit.  By accepting Jesus, we not only die to sin, but are made alive again, this time not born of flesh, but born of the Spirit of God.  We live in Jesus Christ.  We no longer act according to a fleshly nature, fulfilling the passions of the flesh, but live according to the Holy Spirit, producing His fruit.  This fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Human bodies waste away and die, but those that are born of the Spirit live forever.  Through Jesus’ death we die to sin forever, and through His resurrection we are made alive again in communion and fellowship with God, listening and obeying His Holy Spirit.  Today may you understand the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and may you live out this new spiritual life, free from sin and fully alive to God.