BORN OF GOD - PART 9

MONDAY 21 JULY 2025

Reference: John 1:12-13 New International Version (NIV)

"Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

In accordance with the above versified reference, HOW do we know that we are truly born of God? We have experienced divine birth, which is not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will. WHY are we children, not born of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will? GOD did something different!

To that effect, James 1:18 reads, "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation" (NIV). He chose to! Did you notice that God had choices within His jurisdiction? But this time, it was no longer the choice of forming another new mankind from the dust of the ground or through any other means. Now what did He choose to do? He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, the great system of eternal birth.

Now watch this: If God gave us birth by the word of truth, it implies that it was by His will, because the Word of God is a viable and expressive reflection of His will. So it was of His own will that He gave birth to us as His children, not of a husband's will - so that we would be a prime example of what He created to be set apart to Himself - sanctified and made holy for His divine purposes.

Beloved, our new birth wasn't actualised by any human agency but by divine agencies known as the Word and Spirit, which denote that they play an important role in birthing the new nature in human spirit. So the new birth is the beginning of the active work of Spirit of God in us, who recreated our spirit and purifies our souls through the Word, thereby engendering our spiritual and eternal life.

What is the difference between children born of God, and children born of natural descent? Children born of God do not sin, because they carry and foster the life of God, meaning that they are conformed to Divine parentage, which is far beyond an ordinary human ancestry. To instantiate this verity, Johannine literature numbered as 1st John 3:9 reads, "Those who have been born into God's family do not make a practice of sinning, because God's life is in them. So they can't keep on sinning, because they are children of God" (NLT). The life of God Himself is the purest and truest kind of life, which is wholly made manifest in us against and beyond the dictates of sinful nature. As a result, Pauline epistolary expression reads, "Sin shall not have dominion over you" (Romans 6:14 KJV).

If sin shall not have dominion over you, it implies that you were born with what it takes to always have dominion over sin. What does it take? Your new nature, which is divine, and it is demonstrated by obeying the Word of truth. In other words, actionable obedience is the condition requisite for absolute dominion over sin. To instantiate this phenomenal verity, the Word of God says, "So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, "You must be holy because I am holy" - (1st Peter 1:14-16 NLT)."

Since God is eternally holy, it is indicative of the truth that He gave birth to exceptional gods also born into a holy state, with a conditioned sense of obedience, made possible by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. As we walk in the path of obedience, we walk in the light, which is the transforming light that perfects holiness - in the fear of God; a light characterized by active presence of God in a man's life. Stay tuned for part 10. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Isaiah 6:3; Isaiah 35:8; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; 1 John 3:3. 

Exuberant Declaration:

I am born of the Word, and I'm continually shaped and built by the Word. As a Kingdom heir, I live out the fullness of Zoe life, bearing the God-created identity, and I acknowledge the truth that my heavenly Father rejoices over me, as His most prized possession. Hallelujah!