The Born Again "Experience"

Let's begin our journey today by examining the origin of the phrase "Born Again".

Contrary to popular belief, the phrase 'born again', did NOT originate in the New Testament. It was in use for decades, if not centuries, before our Messiah's conversation with Nicodemus recorded in John 3. Understanding its historical perspective gives great insight into Yeshua's and Nicodemus' dialogue. Being a Pharisee, it would have been impossible for Nicodemus not to have a religious perspective on the phrase in question. As we will discover, Nicodemus most likely had that phrase spoken over him many times.

It was very important, for any religious Jew, to enter the Mik-vah (baptismal) pool on many occasions. There are no less than 5 types of baptism mentioned in Scripture. There were certain requirements that must have been in place in order for the Mik-vah to be valid. We will talk about two of those requirements here.

There had to be an observer. It is not clear what authoritative position the observer had to hold, but he had to verify that the water, in the Mik-vah pool, was free flowing and that the participant (baptismal candidate) was totally immersed. As the participant came out of the Mik-vah pool a declaration was made. "Born Again" was shouted, and it simply meant "status changed". Thus , in the minds of the religious Jews, 'born again' had to do with ritual cleansing and would allow them to fulfill their worship requirements.

Now we see that Yeshua was not introducing this concept to Nicodemus. On the contrary, He was explaining to this religious leader what he was missing by following man's rules without allowing the Spirit of Yahuweh to guide him. He was showing him how his rituals led to spiritual blindness, but that our Heavenly Father was offering a way to have his "status changed" apart from his personal efforts.

Now let's examine the word experience:
noun, verb, -enced, -enc·ing.
–noun
1.
a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something: My encounter with the bear in the woods was a frightening experience.
2.
the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something: business experience.
3.
the observing, encountering, or undergoing of things generally as they occur in the course of time: to learn from experience; the range of human experience.
4.
knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, encountered, or undergone: a man of experience.
5.
Philosophy. the totality of the cognitions given by perception; all that is perceived, understood, and remembered. –verb (used with object)
6.
to have experience of; meet with; undergo; feel: to experience nausea.
7.
to learn by experience. —Idiom
8.
experience religion, to undergo a spiritual conversion by which one gains or regains faith in God.

As with everything for the believer in Messiah, our definition of the Born Again Experience must be grounded in Scripture. We must not base our definition on any emotion, physical manifestation, or other extra-scriptural happening. When we, as human beings, add our own experiences to the biblical definition, we are guilty of putting man-made requirements on scriptural principles. We must be diligent to let Spiritual laws stand on their own merit! This is exactly what Yeshua was teaching when He said, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17) The word 'fulfill' here means 'to give it backbone' or 'to make it stand up.' Remember the Word of Yahuweh does not need your defence...it IS your defence!

When there is a 'born again experience' it will always be accompanied by fruit. The fruit of a born again experience is a changed life. If there is not a changed life, there was no born again experience. Being born again is more than reciting a prayer. That may be a starting point but there must be change. That change will be different for every believer, nevertheless, it must be present. For some, that change comes easily and with great exuberance. For others it will be slow, deliberate and even methodical. Is one type of change any more valid than the other? Absolutely not! Both are fruit of being born again.

If you would like more information on being born again, you can contact me privately at beitlchiam@q.com

Shalom