BORN TWICE?
“Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” John 3:6-8 (NLT)
You are a human being and you need two births. Your first/natural birth was from your human mother. The second birth is spiritual from the Holy Spirit. The natural birth happens as a part of everyday life. The second birth, the birth which comes from the Holy Spirit is not understood and is difficult to explain, but this spiritual birth completes you.
Natural birth takes place every day all over the world. Natural birth is accepted as part of life, and the birth of a child is usually welcomed. Most human beings, at birth, have four aspects of the human person: a physical body, mental tenacity, emotions, and socialization. Day by day you have grown, developed, and matured in each of theses areas. But as a human, you are still not completely whole. Even as you have matured in each aspect of your life, something seems to be missing. What is it?
What’s missing is what completes a human life—eternal life. Do you want eternal life? Then “You must be born again.” Jesus taught us that it is difficult to explain the second birth. He used the mystery of the wind. He explained that the arrival and departure of the wind is recognizable yet unexplainable. It is detectable. So also the presence of the Holy Spirit; He enters an individual and the person knows it. It is unexplainable but knowable. The second birth has taken place. There is no question about who the Spirit is or if He is present—you know it.
Practical Application: From this point on, growth of the Holy Spirit inside you (the human being) is beginning and needs to continue growing and maturing your human spirit. Some of the ways that you can continue to feed your Spirit are: study the Word; pray; worship; meditate; and spend time with other second birth people.
Remember that in order to have eternal life, you must have a second birth experience.
—Mary Copeland
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