BEING BORN AGAIN 1-3 (POOLE)

"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 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. But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you." - I Peter 1:23-25.

Most articles and sermons on this subject with which we are familiar usually begin with the erroneous nomenclature, "The new birth." We have never found in our Bible anything about the new birth. The more Scriptural expression would be found in our text, "born again."

The expression "new birth", to us at least, implies by common usage that the old nature which we possess from our Adamic parentage has been born anew. Sadly, even the expression "born again" is often so used. We say at the outset this is grave error.

"How say you it is error?" Because that which is born of the flesh is flesh. In other words, that which is born of man (Adam) is man. It alway was and always will be. As far back as the first chapter of Genesis we learn that everything produces "after its kind". This is true of the herb, grass, trees, animals, fishes of the sea, as well as man. If a goose conceives, it will bring forth a goose! That which is born of a monkey is a monkey. So, that which is born of flesh (man) is flesh (after its kind).

Quite plainly then, if we expect to see a spiritual birth there must be a spiritual progenitor. For a spiritual birth to take place there must be a spiritual begetting. Thus the one who begets and the begotten are of one substance.

Can we really expect to find a grain of truth in the idea that the Adamic sinner is born over or born spiritually? Should our old man (our Adamic nature) be born of the Spirit, then would that old man not be spiritual, after the kind (the Spirit) that begat it? What an absurd position that would be - the flesh born of the Spirit! As soon could we expect, and we speak with reverence, that a goat could conceive by a sheep and bring forth a lamb. The Lord has forever settled this matter. "That which is born of the flesh (the first birth) is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit (the second birth) is Spirit." They will not and can not mix.

It is a well recognized fact of Scripture that when Adam was first brought forth, being created out of the ground, that all his family (all succeeding generations) were in him; in his life. Even so, before God ever brought forth Eve from Adam's side she really and truly had a life and existence in Adam, for he was the fountain of all humanity. Later Eve was described as the "mother of all living."

Just so when Christ was set up from ancient times (yea, before time) as the pronounced only begotten Son of God all His people were in Him. The whole of the elect family had their life in His life. They were His generation, just as surely as the human race was Adam's generations, the distinction being that Adam had generations (plural) and Christ had a generation (singular). Therefore the bride of Christ was IN Him, not in prospect, but in reality; not in purpose but in seed. Was not the elect chosen IN Him before the foundation of the world? (Eph. 1:4) Indeed they were. They were not chosen to get in Him but were actually chosen as they were in Him. May God be praised, then, as Christ's bride is as old, chronologically and really, as Adam's bride is as old as Adam is.

A distinction is in order here. As Adam is a created being, then Eve and all Adam's natural (fleshly) family can only trace themselves back to the garden. But, as Christ is eternal and from everlasting the true, real, co-equal Son of God, then His bride (the church of the first-born) can trace her life back (eternally) having no beginning, hence everlasting. This is the life-union of Christ and His people. Their life is His life. When they are spiritually conceived, that is, when the Spirit generates them in this vessel of clay, (or earthen vessel, as Paul describes it) they do not partake of the nature of the vessel. Neither does the vessel partake of the nature of the conception. One is of the earth, earthy, and the other is of the Spirit, spiritual. In this life, at least, they will always be two separate entities, or two distinct natures.

We would observe that in nature there is a travail before the birth, and usually much agony in bringing forth. Thus it is as the Lord told Eve that she would conceive in sorrow, etc. It is plain enough to us that as well, there is usually great travail in spiritual birth, great mystery though it is.

Could anyone question that there is life before birth? Any mother can tell you that there was a time during pregnancy that the true living human being she carried in the womb gave physical evidence of life well before it was ever born. The birth then did not give that which was conceived life! No! the birth only made manifest the life that existed previous to its wondrous introduction into the world of Adam's posterity.

Should it be questioned then that the spiritual birth, being the product of a spiritual conception is not the beginning of spiritual life? Rather, it is the introduction of that eternal life-union, not its beginning. Eternal life has no beginning, hence Christ's children are eternal, as He is eternal, having eternal life. Again, we point out that the elect are as old, spiritually in Christ, as natural beings are as old naturally in Adam as Adam is. The man of the flesh can trace back in time to the creation of Adam, hence a beginning. The spiritual man finds traced out in him and the Bible an eternal, unbroken union with Christ, and so, life everlasting.

Who can cause a birth? Certainly not the one who is born. No natural son of Adam could ever say, "My birth was my choosing, my doing." Of the billions of beings born on this earth not one ever had even a remote part in their conception or their birth. Yet fools, pretending to be spokesmen of the God of heaven and earth fear not to lie with an oath to anyone who will listen that "they ought to get born again." We will not meddle here with these barking dogs. Rather, we will summarize our few remarks by again directing you to the Lord's plain declaration, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" and again, "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." The obvious is that we are once born in Adam and if heirs of promise we are also born in Christ. And where does that second or spiritual birth take place? Within the confines of the Adamic man, yet without partaking of his nature. Christ was born in a manger, yet did not partake of the nature of that filthy place. We have this treasure (Christ born in us) in earthen vessels, but the treasure and the vessel are of two different substances. The treasure is of heaven. The vessel is of the earth. God purposed it that way.

We will defer until another time to see the ultimate union of these two as regards redemption and adoption and look now at a very revealing Scripture on this subject in Hebrews 2:13,14: "And again, I will put my trust in Him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given Me. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." First, pay careful attention to the statement that God gave His Son "children". Not just prospective children, or children "in the mind and purpose of God" but real, vital children. Second, observe that these children are partakers of flesh and blood. They didn't become "children" by being born in the flesh, except as they were Adam's children. No, as already existing children (treasured up in Christ) by virtue of the spiritual birth, or being born of the word (eternal word, or the voice of the Son of God) they were as a treasure hid in a field, or a treasure in an earthen vessel. Jude says "preserved in Christ Jesus" and this he put in order before "and called."

Hence we see that being born again is not Adam overhauled, or a quickening of the flesh. No one has ever been born again of corruptible seed. That is how they were born the first time. The second birth is the impartation, by spiritual generation, of Christ IN us. A new person now dwells in this old tabernacle. Therefore, we have, after being born again, both an old and a new man, both an outward and an inward man. We then are both a spiritual man predestinated to be conformed to Christ's image and a natural man born in Adam's likeness.

While we freely admit this to be a deeper subject than we can comprehend, it is a heart warming theme to contemplate.

May our Lord be praised.
James F. Poole

BEING BORN AGAIN 2

"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." (I Peter 1:23)

It would seem that with all of the preaching in religious circles today regarding the new birth that some few would stumble up on the truth. But not so. We are told from every quarter that all that a sinner has to do to be born again is to accept, believe, to receive, to work, to hold on, to be baptized, or a whole host of other duties on which the Scriptures are completely silent regarding the birth from Heaven. But we are not concerned so much in this treatise with what the Arminians would lash the dead to do, but rather to seek light from Heaven on the text before us. God's little children rejoice in the subject of being born again. To them it is meat and drink. They have found consolation and satisfaction in knowing that they were born, not by will, nor by flesh, nor by blood, but of God. They are consoled in the idea that their Heavenly Parent is God, and that they had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with being born again.

In this context the expression, "being born again" is the equivalent of saying, "seeing that you have been born again". Being born again is not an ongoing thing, but birth is something that takes place in a moment of time. So we understand this Spiritual birth. Peter first lays the groundwork by informing the reader how they were not born; that was that they were not born of corruptible seed. By corruptible he means Adamic, or earthly, or timely. They were not born of a seed which will see corruption; of the flesh, fleshy; of the earth, sensual, and temporal, that which will live and then die. But rather, he says they were born of an "incorruptible seed". That incorruptible seed was by the Word of God. The Word of God is not the seed itself, but it is by that word that the seed is planted. Spiritually, one is born again in a fashion very similar to what took place when the Holy Ghost came upon the Virgin Mary and she conceived and was with child. There was nothing that she could do, no assistance that she could render; it was simply a Divine operation. There was no power, or even will within herself to cooperate, but rather, God moved, and she brought forth. So every Heaven born soul is moved upon by the Spirit of God, and an incorruptible seed is placed within them. This is as Paul expressed to the Corinthians when he said, "We have this treasure m earthen vessels." The vessel and the treasure are not the same, but one is contained within the other. They are two separate entities, two separate products of two separate origins, and they cannot be confused, though one is manifest within the other. The earthen vessel is the old Adamic man. The treasure is the seed which has been placed within it.

We know of a preacher some years ago in the South who tried to explain being born again this way. He said, "When God makes a man alive in Christ, it's like a mechanic overhauling a motor. He fixes it up so it is new again." We do not believe a word of that statement, and yet it is passed off among many Primitive Baptists as being the truth. God does not "overhaul" His people. Rather, He gives them a new man which is Christ in them, the Hope of Glory. Christ is born (not overhauled) in them. Christ is in them, the Hope of Glory. And so they have something they did not have before, when they have been born again. The Lord Himself, in using the illustration in John 3, compared the Spiritual birth with the earthly birth when He said, "Ye must be born again," or another time. Not born over again, but born again. Old Adam will never be born over, but within old Adam a new man is born, a son is created, a life is conceived. So we see, in comparing nature and Spirit, when a natural child is conceived in its mother's womb, there was nothing on the part of the child that caused its begetting. It had no power to summons life. It did not select its parent, nor the time, nor the place of its birth, nor of its characteristics and genetic composition. Conversly, it was absolutely and entirely passive. It had the nature that its parent passed on to it. It received its life at conception, and so in comparing for our sake of illustration, the Spiritual birth, we do not believe a poor sinner has anything to do with his Spiritual birth any more than a natural sinner does with his natural birth. He receives his life when that seed is conceived within him.

We must recognize, too, that life does not begin at birth, but rather, life begins with conception. In natural life there is conception, then a period of growth for approximately nine months, then a travail, and then a birth, or a bringing forth of a life that already existed. In grace, so it is. We are conceived by the Holy Ghost. Oftentimes, God's children wander in ignorance and darkness for a long period of time before they are brought to a knowledge of the truth, before they are given light and made to see and to know that Jesus is Christ, their Lord. That birth only brings forth a manifestation of the life. The life was brought into existence in the conception at some point previous.

There are many people who probably mistakenly confuse the time that they were enlightened, or brought to a knowledge of the truth for when they were born of the Spirit of God. But we say this should be avoided. When individuals are made to rejoice in Christ Jesus, when they are made to say, "This is the truth, this is the way, and how I love it," this is not the time when life is given. But rather this is when the sensibility of it is manifested. When a natural child is born, it does not have the capacity, the knowledge, or the capability of identifying itself, of understanding its surroundings, and its settings, or communicating with others, but that is left for the period we call development. We see children after some months beginning to discover their hands and their feet, the environment around them. They did not bring these things into existence then. But rather, this was when they first recognized they were there. When a spiritual child sees that Jesus is their Lord, learns the sweet doctrines of Grace, finds the beauty and the glory of the Church and other such things, this is not their birth, but this is when these truths have been manifested to them because they have been born again. There may have been much in spiritual travail previous to these things, much groaning and ignorance along the way.

In Chapter Two of First Peter, the Apostle describes one of the cardinal evidences of being born again. "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." Plainly, Peter follows the pattern of his Lord in comparing the Spiritual birth to the natural. He describes those who have been born again as newborn babes, or little infants. Their desire is the sincere milk of the word. Whatever could he mean by "sincere milk" other than that milk in its purity, which comes from the word of God. As little infants desire their mother's breast, so God's newborn children desire to be fed from the breast of consolation. They cry out to their Heavenly Father for their meat and drink, for their life, for their instruction, for light, and yea, for all things. Nothing is too far fetched for them to seek for, for it all to them is but milk. Their chief substance is derived from their Heavenly Father. But the Apostle interjects a speculation here, "If so be that ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." We submit without hesitation that all who have been born again will taste of the Lord and His graciousness. But there are those who would profess to having been born again who know not God nor His Son. They speculate in religious notion, they traffic in religious merchandise, and their language is of an earthly Caanan, but they know not the Lord of the vineyard. They are more interested in the Pharisaical attire than they are the Heavenly garments. But the little newborn babes, seeking only for the word and its milk, have tasted of something that is so gracious that they can want for nothing else, and this is the chief and evident mark of those who have been born again. That is, their grand want is for their Lord. When all else has been set before them, it pales into insignificance compared to a sweet communion with their dear Redeemer, their God, their Shepherd and their Guide. This is among the surest marks of those who have been born again.

J.F. Poole

Being Born, and Being Born Again

"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again (John 3.7)."

There is no question in the minds of most thinking people, if serious attention is given to the subject, that both the first and the second birth are a marvel. Yet the instruction of Jesus to Nicodemus was that he marvel not that "Ye must be born again." Does this mean then that we are positively forbidden to marvel at so great a creation, both in the first and second instant? Not at all. It appeared that Nicodemus marveled at the necessity for a second communication of life, one of an infinitely superior scale. And, we might add, so do all others, until such time as they are made by grace to recognize the utter inability of man to either see or enter into the rapturous kingdom of God (John 3.3,5). We do not, however, understand that seeing the first and second births as a marvel of God's creation is wrong.

Natural birth, though studied and viewed since the dawn of time, continues to be the optimum event of all existence, by any measure of comparison. Nothing in nature surpasses the uniqueness of the manifestation of natural life by birth. We say manifestation because it is crystal clear that natural life exists prior to any birth. There is first, conception, then development, travail, and birth; in that order, and life exists within all these essential stages that bring a new creature into the sinful world of the dying.

Who has ever looked upon a newborn child and not felt a sense of awe? That which they gaze upon was only a few months before nonexistent; only seed in their parents' loins. As transcendentally marvelous as all this is, yet it is as ordinary in occurrence as the aggregate sum of all living in every age. Every mature being that ever lived is humanly capable, barring organic or physical flaws, of procreating in their own image. Yet not one human child has ever been born apart from the pattern given in the garden of Eden (Gen. 1.28)! See also Gen. 3. 16; 4.1. God created man in His own image (Gen.1.26,27), and that is exactly what happens in procreation, except man does so upon carrying out the instructions of the Lord. Yes, each birth is but a development of continuity in the image of the parent. As surely as God took up the dust of His own original creation and breathed the breath of life in it, so every worm of the dust does but bring forth of his own self in the birth of his offspring; a living, breathing creature.

Passing then from the phenomenon of a living child coming into existence, could it be imagined that anyone is so illiterate that they might believe they had even the smallest part in their being born? We think not. No one plays a role in their own conception, and subsequent maturity until their birth, and the idea they could is beyond belief. We suppose most civilized people, from time to time, recognize, with some degree of appreciation, that their parents were the total source, humanly speaking, of their having a being. Not even the dullard would exclaim to a parent that a portion of the bragging rights for his having a life belonged to him. If there is such a thing as being totally passive, and we believe there is, then this is the place for it. Not one person that has ever lived on this globe initiated their conception, had even the slightest part in providing for their development in the womb, or by willing so activated the travail that consummated the birth process. "And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest (Luke 12.25,26)?" If by determination we cannot even grow a few inches it seems incredible that someone could imagine they could sponsor their initial development. Birth, then, is that operation by which we come forth in life as the result of actions performed by someone other than ourselves. There are billions of living and dead that give absolute witness to this conclusion.

Spiritual birth, too, is a wonder of creative action wholly outside of the recipient. This second birth, coupled with all its antecedents, is variously described in the Scriptures as, life from the dead (John 5.25); a quickening (Eph. 2.1); a translation (Col. 1.13); a beginning (Phil. 1.6); a workmanship and creation (Eph. 2.10); a joining (I Cor. 6.17); a washing of regeneration (Titus 3.5); a purifying the heart (Acts 15.9); a receiving the Holy Ghost (Acts 10.47); a resurrection (Col 3.1; Rev. 20.5,6). Countless other terms and expressions are also used to show the source of this blessed work of God in imparting eternal life to the election of grace. Those who receive this free gift of life are described in God's word as the elect, the redeemed, the chosen ones, the sheep, believers, children of God, the ransomed, His bride, His church, children of the kingdom, His people, overcomers, pilgrims, strangers, a building fitly framed together, a temple, His body, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, little flock, etc.

"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1. 13)." Contained in this text are three negatives: 1. "Not of blood"; 2. "Nor of the will of the flesh"; 3. "Nor of the will of man". What could possibly be added to this text to make it clearer? Human contrivance of any sort is excluded from this birth. More importantly, on the positive side, the text identifies the one source of spiritual birth; God! "But of God." The birth of which Jesus spoke to Nicodemus is so positively the work of God alone, as is evidenced by both the Bible and observation, that we wonder why anyone would dare try to claim otherwise.

But they do!

Arminian claims and pronouncements of free will abound. Those taught by the Spirit of God give little attention to most of what these work-mongers say. From time to time though there comes forth, as from the deepest recesses of the bottomless pit, something that incites in us a renewed sense of revulsion. Consider the following:

"Thank God that He is able, and is committed, to bring us to eternal glory through His dear Son. Our responsibility is to get into, and remain, in that Son." (From an exchange paper; italics ours.) If we are capable at all of understanding plain language, this statement informs us that the sinner must first put forth effort to become born again, and then see to it that they stay there. For our part, we are satisfied we were as helpless to get into the Son of God, as we were to create a moon. And further, we are as helpless to remain there as we would be to maintain that moon in its orbit that we could not create in the first place. May God be thanked if we have been delivered from such humanistic, heaven-tempting teaching as this.

That there is a time to be born none but infidels will deny (Ecc. 3.2). For instance, Noah could not be born after Abraham, nor Solomon before David. There must be a fixed time, because each seed must follow in its proper succession. Only by being born at the appointed time could each function in the purpose God had ordained for them before the world was created. John the beloved writes of John the Baptist: "John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me (John 1.15)." Had John not had a time to be born he might well have been born six months after Jesus, instead of six months before him. See also verses 27 and 30. So then, we ask, is it the responsibility of man, or God, to see that we are born at the appointed time? Again we ask, could even the wisest of all humans possibly know before they had an existence in the flesh when that time was to be born? Of course not! Even so then, it could not be remotely dreamed that we might somehow be responsible to get born in the flesh. Nothing we can conceive of could be more preposterous. One cannot be responsible to do, act, or think, prior to their existence.

"If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things (John 3.12)?" So says Jesus to Nicodemus. Clearly Nicodemus did not understand even the simple things of this deep illustration. At that time, at least, he had no notion that Jesus was making a perfect comparison between the first and second births. So much for the supposed learning of the masters of religion. In God alone is there power and authority to make known the mysteries of life. This illustration, however, has been a blessed source of instruction for the saints of God since it was first recorded for our learning. Among other things, it shows us the perfect relation. ship between the natural birth and the spiritual birth. In every respect, (and we believe there are no exceptions) the two births have parallel attributes. As one example, the first or natural birth exacts no effort or willingness on the part of the one being born. So, precisely, is the spiritual birth.

Another comparison: the recipient of the first birth makes no determinations regarding when or where it will be born; neither can it select its parents, its characteristics, predispositions, strengths or weaknesses. Nor does it determine the course of its life. As the carnal world would say: "You must play the hand is dealt you." This first birth, we are sure, is a mirror image of the spiritual birth. There has been no consultation on the part of God with any of those who are to be the heirs of salvation. God never collaborated with Jeremiah prior to telling him the following: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations (Jer. 1.5)." In passing, notice that God states He formed Jeremiah in the belly. Even the first birth is under the total control of God in heaven.

"But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood (Gal. 1.15,16)." Marvelous as the whole of these verses are, we confine ourselves to the first statement: "But when it pleased God." Paul accepted, or sought, no responsibility for this grand separating. Indeed, he had not even fleetingly thought of such a thing. God's pleasure was the source of Paul being separated from his mother's womb. Paul had no more responsibility in the matter than he did in his own election, redemption, or final resurrection to glory. Neither Paul nor Jeremiah got into Christ through responsibility any more than they got into (or out of) their mother's womb through responsibility. This is the teaching of Christ to Nicodemus in John 3, and, we may say, the teaching of the whole of the Bible.

If there is any responsibility on the sinner's part to get into the Son of God, as the quotation obviously stated, it would certainly raise more questions than answers could be found. In Ephesians 1.4 Paul makes it clear that we were chosen in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world. This we understand to be our eternal union with Him, making the children of God to be one with Him prior to the advent of time. Surely no one could be so void of common sense as to contend for our responsibility to get into Christ then, in eternity. It must be then, they are contending for getting into Him in time, by means of their own responsibility. Since the heavenly birth is not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible (I Pet. 1.23), then the proponents of this fanciful proposition must either contend also for sinless perfection, or yield the contest. How could a sinner, in need of a spiritual birth, quicken himself, or produce an incorruptible seed within himself unless he was, according to Peter, incorruptible? If it could be possible for the sinner to do such, why would he need to be born again, seeing he was already incorruptible? The Word of God fully settles the matter thus: "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved:) And hath raised us up together, and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2.5,6)."

J.F.P.