"Born again" is not in the original text,

[Der Alte]

The text and meaning of John 3 is directly related to the concept of believing "into Christ." That is the mechanics of being born again. It shows how the phrase "born again" is the context of the passage. We receive eternal life, the life of God, when we are born again.

That's not exactly the topic of the thread. The OP said the word translated "again" does not occur in the vs. should be translated "from above."

 

[SavedByGrace3]

That's not exactly the topic of the thread. The OP said the word translated "again" does not occur in the vs. should be translated "from above."

Ok... sorry. I can remove my posts if you like.

 

[Der Alte]

Ok... sorry. I can remove my posts if you like.

No worries. The thread was already off topic.

 

[Above & Beyond]

When did the topic of this thread change from "Born again" is not in the original text" to what is being discussed now?

Sorry... I had done a search looking for the phrase "in or into" and came across a comment made by SavedByGrace3, and I replied to it. I have since made a new thread about this matter that can be found here... Believe "...IN...", or "...INTO..."... What exactly is it?

Amen.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

Being born again means that the Paraclete takes up residence in a person's human spirit.

That is the seed... 1 Peter 1:23-25

 

[tonychanyt]

That is the seed... 1 Peter 1:23-25

Right, and it grows as I grow spiritually.

 

[Der Alte]

That is the seed... 1 Peter 1:23-25

This vs. is one of several in the NT which clearly show that the Greek word "aion" does in fact mean "eternity" not "age" as some people try to argue.

1 Peter 1:23-25​

(23) Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.[eis aion]​

(24) For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:​

(25) But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.[aion] And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.​

In this passage Peter has defined/described "aion" as "eternity" by juxtaposition with "incorruptible."

 

[Dahveed]

That is the seed... 1 Peter 1:23-25

This vs. is one of several in the NT which clearly show that the Greek word "aion" does in fact mean "eternity" not "age" as some people try to argue.

1 Peter (1:23) Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.[eis aion] (24) For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: (25) But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.[aion] And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. In this passage Peter has defined/described "aion" as "eternity" by juxtaposition with "incorruptible."​

Seeing what was to come, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see corruption. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. Acts 2:31-33

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Your argument hinges on a denial that John 3:5 refers to baptism. If John 3:5 refers to baptism, then that is, itself, the Bible connecting baptism with birth.

Further, the language of resurrection, namely our being raised with Christ to new life is itself the language of new birth.

"We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." - Romans 6:4

In baptism we are buried with Christ, therefore having died with Him, and therefore even as Christ was raised, so we now have new life. That new life, that is our being a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17), that is regeneration, new birth, born again.

See also Titus 3:5,

"He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,"

Resurrection means new life, new creation, it means regeneration for us. Christ has been raised, and we--united to Him--are alive with Him, we share in His life, by the Holy Spirit, and that makes us new people, born again.

So, for one, Scripture does connect baptism with rebirth, it does so in John 3:5; but even if one wants to deny this explicit mention in Scripture, it is hard to ignore the larger consensus and witness of the Bible: Christ has been raised, His life is granted to us that we might share in it, and thus we have a new life, we are born again, alive to God by His grace and Spirit. The language of resurrection is the language of newness of life, the language or renewal, new creation, rebirth, etc.

On top of all this, one would then also need to ignore the unanimous and universal consensus of every Christian from the time of the New Testament until early modern times, where baptism and regeneration have always been connected based upon this very text from John 3:3-5. The argument then is literally every Christian writer, before the advent of the Anabaptist and Baptist traditions, has been wrong. And while one may very well believe that, that's a pretty difficult sell.

And if you want to content against that assessment, then I would be very curious if anyone can provide any ancient Christian sources which don't understand John 3:5 as being in connection with baptism.

-CryptoLutheran

I am not a Lutheran, but I do believe Jesus speaks of baptism in John 3:5. That provides context for Mark 16:16 and Titus 3:5, along with a HOST of other baptismal scriptures in the New Testament.

 

[Dahveed]

But the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. Gal 6:8

Now I'm not saying he isn't saved, only the Lord knows, not me... But if he is... And he has convinced himself that he was able to be saved through his own human reasoning... Then what's his next step in his "...Christian..." walk?

For those who lean on their own understanding, the next step is inevitably grasping at straws, heading to perdition.

None of the rulers of this age understood; The things of God are revealed through His Spirit. 1 Cor 2:7-10

Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. 1 Cor 3:18

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See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:24