Born From Above

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Today’s program is called Born From Above. Let’s turn to John 3:1-21, There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (The original Greek says, born from above. So when a person is born again, he is born from above.)  Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said to him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to Heaven but He who came down from Heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in Heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. Verse 5, Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. So we must be born of the Spirit, and we must be born of water. The Bible says, If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are past away: born of water; crucified with Christ; buried with Him, and raised with Him, in water baptism. Behold all things become new. 

Let’s turn to Rom 10:9&10, ,...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Gal 4:4-7,  But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father! Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Rom 8:10,  And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin… This is what happens when we are baptized in water, after we hear the Gospel and we believe the Gospel; we believe in Jesus’ suffering for our sins; we confess our sins and believe on Him, and we are baptized in water for the remission of sins. When you are baptized in water, the scripture says you are crucified with Christ: you’re baptized into His death, His burial, and His resurrection. So your body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Let’s turn to John 20:19-22, Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, Peace be with you. When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. Ok, right here, where it says, breathed on them, actually the Greek says, breathed into them. So Jesus breathed into the disciples, and they received the Holy Spirit. This is where they were born from above. The disciples were born from above when Jesus breathed into them His Spirit. He breathed into them the Holy Spirit. Remember, If any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away. This is where they became new creatures, and they were born from above. Gal 4:4, Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts crying Abba, Father. 

1 John 1:1-10, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. Let’s turn to chapter 3, verses 1-24,  Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.   If we have this hope of being resurrected, when Jesus returns, in the first resurrection; if we have this hope in us of being glorified like He has been glorified, if we have this hope in us, we will be purifying ourselves just as He is pure.   The scripture says here, in verse 4, Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Actually the scripture right there is talking about practicing sin. Whoever sins, or practices sin,  has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who practices sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not practice sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot practice sin, because he has been born of God. In the original Greek, that verse says, Anyone having been born of God does not practice sin because His Seed abides in him.

Jesus is God’s Seed, and He abides in us. If we are born of God; if we are born from above, Jesus’ Spirit is joined with our spirit; Jesus Christ is in us, and we are in Him!

We are not able to continue sinning because we have been born of God. In verse 6 it says, Whoever practices sin has not seen Him, neither known Him. Jesus said in Mat 7, Depart from Me, I never knew you: you who practice lawlessness. Jesus said, Come to Me and take my yoke upon you and learn of Me. The Apostle Paul said, in Phil 3:7-11,  But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.

Do you know Jesus? Do you really know Him? Does He dwell in you? Do you dwell in Him? Are you abiding in Him, and does His Word abide in you? Don’t be deceived by all the lying prophets in the world today. If you are in Jesus, and He is in you, you cannot practice sin. If you love Him, you will be seeking to keep His Words with all your heart. If you sin, you will come to Him, and to your brother or sister, in repentance and confess your sin, and be cleansed by His precious Blood, that you may continue to walk with Him, in righteousness, with a clear conscience. Paul said, I exercise myself daily to have a conscience void of offense toward God and man. Also you will rejoice to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and be baptized, immersed in the Holy Spirit, yielding your tongue and all your members to Him, to be led by Him to work righteousness and to glorify your Father in Heaven. If you love yourself and your pleasures, you will not come to Him. Jesus said, He who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out. You may say you know Him, but if you walk in darkness, practicing sin, you are a liar. And no matter who may say to you that you are OK, you will stand some day before the Judgment Seat of Christ, and you will be judged for all your works. What did Jesus mean when He said, you must be born of water and of the Spirit, or you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God? You are born of water when you are baptized in water, after you have heard of Jesus’ sacrifice for your sins and His resurrection from the dead; you believed in Him and it was imputed to you for righteousness; now you must be baptized into His death, crucified with Him and raised with Him into newness of life in Him. You are born of the Spirit when you confess Jesus Lord and believe that He rose from the dead. His Spirit comes into your spirit, just

like when Jesus breathed into the disciples when He appeared to them after He rose from the dead, and you are born of the Spirit! Your spirit is made alive in Him! And He is in you! Has this really happened to you? If so, then you are born of God, and you are truly a child of God. Have you really met Jesus? Do you really know Him? He that says he knows Him and doesn’t keep His Words is a liar and the truth is not in him, but he that keeps His Word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. Hereby we know that we are in Him. Christ in you: the hope of Glory!