Within mainstream evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity in America the term "born again" is synonymous with being saved. I have seen billboards and signs put up by churches that say "ye must be born again". We can admire their effort to use the word of God to reach people, but the term "born again" has no special meaning to a lot of people and they do not know what it means. A better use of the billboards and signs would be scriptures such as "Christ died for our sins" or "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ". The phrase "born again" to people unfamiliar with the word of God could mean a lot of things, such as starting a new life with a clean slate. They think it means to quit doing certain things (drinking, drugs, etc.) and turn over a new leaf. Of course that is not what it means and it is not the fault of God's word that people misconstrue it. But at the same time if you put the five words "ye must be born again" on a sign without the context or explanation that Christ gave in that passage (John 3) how are people going to understand it? The scripture gives light yes, but knowing an isolated few words with no context can be just as dangerous as not knowing the scripture at all. For example, if all you knew was "be saved in childbearing" (1 Tim. 2:15) you could come to the conclusion that only women that bear children could be saved and all the childless women and all men are not saved. Of course the passage is talking about being saved from deception in context, which shows how important context is when learning scripture verses.
On the flip side, many good dispensationalists have started teaching that we (the Body of Christ) are not "born again" and the passage is strictly about Israel. It is true that John was an apostle of the circumcision commissioned to preach the gospel of the kingdom (Gal. 2:9; Matt.24:14). It is also true that Christ said to Nicodemus "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?" (so "born again" is found in the Old Testament and Nicodemus should have known about it). Even so, that does not mean right off the bat that John chapter 3:1-10 have no connection to the church the Body of Christ. Christ's death and resurrection was prophesied in the Old Testament (Isa. 53; Ps. 22; Acts 2:27), yet that is the basis for there being a church the Body of Christ (Eph. 2:16-18; Col. 2:10-15). Prophecy and Mystery must be rightly divided (2 Tim. 2:15, Rom. 16:25, Acts 3:19-26), but that does not mean that there are not connections between the dispensations or foundational things that cross dispensations. For example, the dietary laws that began in Genesis 2 changed in every dispensation, but that "God made them male and female" has continued in every dispensation since the "beginning of the creation of God".
So is it of necessity that being "born again" is strictly for Israel? Not simply because it is found in John chapter 3 outside of Paul's epistles. We would need more proof than that. The simple thing to do is look at what being "born again" means and look and see if Paul said anything about it to the Body of Christ.
Before we look at that, I would like to point out that what we believe about being born again is not the standard for whether we are rightly dividing the word of truth. I have heardcpeople say that if you believe you are “born again” then you must not understand dispensationalism and you are borderline embracing replacement theology. That is simply not true. One of the greatest dispensationalists of the 19th century, Sir Robert Anderson, who was an Acts 28 dispensationalist, believed in using the term "born again" and applying scriptures such as John 3:16.
Sir Robert Anderson The Silence of God page 157, “Greatest of them all is the miracle of the new birth by the Spirit of God, with its outward side of conversion from a life of selfishness or sin to a life of consecrated service.”. (Reprint of the 8th edition, Kregel Publications)
Sir Robert Anderson in Forgotten Truths, “In the early years of my Christian life I was greatly perplexed and distressed by the supposition that the plain and simple words of such scriptures as John 3:16, 1 John 2:2, and 1 Timothy 2:6 were not true, save in a cryptic sense understood only by the initiated…But half a century ago a friend of those days—the late Dr. Horatius Bonar—delivered me from this strangely prevalent error.”
There are many other quotes from other good dispensational authors I could give. Not because they are authoritative, but to demonstrate that this "born again" issue is not what makes you a dispensationalist or not.
From the scriptures, here is what we know about being "born again"....
Israel was born of God in the Old Testament. "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou
refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn." (Exod. 4:22-23). God created Israel as a nation and as a son under the Old Covenant. Prophecy states that He will create them as His people again under a New Covenant and that they will be born again.
Isaiah 43:
[1] But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and
he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I
have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
[2] When thou
passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers,
they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou
shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
[3] For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
[4]
Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I
have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy
life.
[5] Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
[6]
I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back:
bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
[7] Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
We see here in Isaiah 43 another reference to Israel being 'created" and "formed" by God for His "glory". They are His "sons" and "daughters". In verse 5-7 we see a prophecy of believing Israel's 'post tribulation' rapture where they will be born at once (again) under the New Covenant. "I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back:
bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth". They will be born of the Spirit under this New Covenant and their sins will be blotted out. This takes place at the Second Coming of Christ.
Isaiah 44:
[1] Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
[2]
Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb,
which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun,
whom I have chosen.
[3] For I will pour water upon him that is
thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy
seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
[4] And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.
[5]
One shall say, I am the LORD's; and another shall call himself by the
name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD,
and surname himself by the name of Israel.
Compare verse 3 with John 3:5-7 "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."
Further down in Isaiah 44 we see the "regeneration" when believing Israel will receive eternal life just like Christ talked about in Matthew 19:28-29, "And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."
Isaiah 44:
[21] Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant:
I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be
forgotten of me.
[22] I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
[23]
Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of
the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every
tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in
Israel.
[24] Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that
formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that
stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by
myself;
This is exactly what Peter was referring to in Acts 3:19-21, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began."
Back in Isaiah 43 we see more references to God creating Israel as a nation and blotting out their sin.
Isaiah 43:
[14] Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel;
For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their
nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.
[15] I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
[16] Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
[17]
Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power;
they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct,
they are quenched as tow.
[18] Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
[19]
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not
know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the
desert.
[20] The beast of the field shall honour me, the
dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and
rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
[21] This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
[22] But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
[23]
Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings;
neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused
thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
[24]
Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled
me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with
thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
[25] I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
[26] Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.
"But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob...declare though, that thou mayest be justified." (vs. 22, 26) reminds me of Peter's message in Acts 2:21-22 "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Ye men of Israel, hear these words..."
Here are more scriptures on Israel being born of God, having their sins forgiven, and brought back to the land (a post tribulation rapture) at the Second Coming for the Millennial reign of Christ.
Isaiah 46:
[3] Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the
house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are
carried from the womb:
[4] And even to your old age I am he;
and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear;
even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Isaiah 49:
[1] Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far;
The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath
he made mention of my name.
[2] And he hath made my mouth
like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made
me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
[3] And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
[4]
Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for
nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my
work with my God.
[5] And now, saith the LORD that formed me
from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though
Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD,
and my God shall be my strength.
[6] And he said, It is a
light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of
Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for
a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end
of the earth.
[7] Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel,
and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation
abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes
also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy
One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
Isaiah 65:9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.
Isaiah 66:7-8 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
Psalms 22:30-31 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
Psalms 102:
[16] When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
[17] He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
[18] This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
[19] For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
[20] To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;
[21] To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
[22] When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
Jeremiah 31:
[8] Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather
them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame,
the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a
great company shall return thither.
[9] They shall come with
weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to
walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not
stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
[10]
Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles
afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep
him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
[11] For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.
It is clear why Christ said to Nicodemus, "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?" Believing Israel receiving the Holy Spirit is prophesied all through the Old Testament (Isa. 44:3; Ezek. 11:19, 36:25-27; 39:29, Jer. 31:33; etc.). If you follow those references and all the other references to the New Covenant such as Jeremiah 3:17, 7:1-7, 24:4-7, 50:4-6; Ezek. 16:60-63, 34:25, 39:29, etc. it can be seen that Israel will be born again at the Second Coming of Christ when they are gathered to the land to enter the Kingdom, having their sins forgiven, a new heart, and the Holy Spirit that will cause them to walk in God's law. This explains why John says the following.....
1 John 3:
[9] Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
[10]
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the
devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that
loveth not his brother.
Compare this with Ezekiel 36.
Ezekiel 36:
[24] For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
[25]
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from
all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
[26]
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within
you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will
give you an heart of flesh.
[27] And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
[28] And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
John wrote his epistles prophetically to the believers of the gospel of the kingdom in the "last time". 1 John 2:18 "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time."
So with these ideas in mind, we do know that the church the Body of Christ is not born again at the Second Coming as a nation like Israel will be. We are already justified and have our sins forgiven (Rom. 5:9) and our rapture is not at the end of Daniel's 70th (1 Thes. 1:10). We have the Holy Spirit now and we are not waiting for Him to be poured out at the last time (Eph. 1:13).
With that being said though, we have not actually looked at John chapter 3 yet.
John 1:12-13 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:
[1] There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
[2]
The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that
thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that
thou doest, except God be with him.
[3] Jesus answered and
said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
[4] Nicodemus saith
unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second
time into his mother's womb, and be born?
[5] Jesus answered,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
[6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
[7] Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
[8]
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every
one that is born of the Spirit.
[9] Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
[10] Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
I underlined a few lines that I think are important when discussing this topic. Christ said that "a man" must be born again to see the kingdom of God. So individual believers had to be born again, not just the nation at the Second Advent. Each individual was born after the Spirit when they got saved (John 1:12-13) and when the nation is gathered at the Second Advent the nation will be born at once (Isa. 66:8).
Individual new birth does relate the church the Body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
To be "regenerated" means to be born again. To "gender" as a transitive verb means "to beget", as in Job 38:29. So to "regenerate" means to beget again. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines it as "born anew" (when an adjective). This is indisputable. All the people that are policing the use of terms such as "born again" in the name of "rightly dividing the word of truth" are completely wrong.
Galatians 4:
[22] For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
[23] But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
[24]
Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one
from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
[25] For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
[26] But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
[27]
For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth
and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more
children than she which hath an husband.
[28] Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
[29] But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
In this "allegory" Sinai is represented by Agar, a "bondwoman", representing the law. The "freewoman" was Sara, represented by Jerusalem and being free from the law [see chapter 3 vs. 7-26 for more of the context on Gentiles receiving the promise of the Spirit through faith, described as the "blessing of Abraham" because he received imputed righteousness by faith before the law was given (Rom. 4).]. Isaac was "born after the Spirit" in the sense that his birth was supernatural, the Holy Spirit had to perform a miracle for him to be born due to Sarah's age. But notice verse 29, "as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now". Paul said that the Galatians were "born after the Spirit". That part is not the allegory, that is the interpretation of the allegory.
There are many right divisions to make in the Bible (2 Tim. 2:15). Israel and the Body of Christ. Prophecy vs Mystery. Standing vs state. There are different raptures/resurrections in the Bible.Things that are different are not the same. Things that are similar are not the same either. Born again is different for Israel than it is the Body of Christ, but they are both still born again. Anyone who is no longer “in Adam” and a child of the devil, is “in Christ” and born into the family of God by the Spirit. If we are hoping to teach people right division then we would be better off sticking to real divisions. We hurt our cause if we tell people that the Body of Christ is not born again and then they read in Paul’s epistles that they are “regenerated” and “born after the Spirit”.
The people that want to police the terminology “born again” usually present no argument other than the Gospel of John was not written by Paul. They do not address the word regeneration or Paul saying that we are born after the Spirit. They also do not usually address individual rebirth (John 1:12-13, 3:5), they usually only mention Israel being born as a nation.
