You must be silly if you want to be reborn. For what reason do you want to do such a thing? Yet, All Christians want to be reborn. Why?
Christians want to be with the Almighty God forever. With God, they can live in peace and harmony without the interference of evil. The only way to enter the Kingdom of God is to be His child. Therefore, Christians want to be reborn as a child of God.
What is the meaning of birth?
According to the dictionary, birth is the start of a life of a separate being. When a child or an animal is born, there is a new creature. In the case of a human being, it is a person with a mind of his own. The child shares the same blood and character as his parents. He belongs to a family.
What is a family?
A family is great parents, parents, children, and grandchildren. Usually, the parents would leave their possessions to their children when they die. Children also stay in the same house as their parents. When someone else is allowed to live in the same home, he does not have the same privileges as the child. Only the children will inherit.
What does this have to do with Christians?
Jesus told His disciples He will go and prepare a place for them. Jesus also promised the disciples they will inherit His Kingdom. Only children inherit from their parents. Jesus went to God, His father, and His Kingdom. Therefore, the disciples should be a child of God before they could inherit.
How do you become a child of God?
Before you can answer this question, you must understand what Jesus taught His disciples. You must also understand the sacraments Jesus gave.
What are the conditions Jesus gave to enter His Kingdom?
Jesus said you would not enter the Kingdom of God unless:
1.) You are reborn by water and Spirit.
2.) You partake of Jesus’s body and blood.
The sacraments explained
There are three sacraments. Many Christian churches recognize two, which are baptism and communion.
Communion
With the Last Supper, Jesus broke the bread and gave it to His disciples, saying the bread was His body. Then Jesus took wine, and said it was His blood, shed for the forgiveness of sins for many.
You cannot enter the Kingdom of God unless you are part of Jesus. Similar to a family, you need the DNA of Jesus. By taking the bread, you take part in the DNA of Jesus. You receive the same qualities Jesus has.
With communion, God forgives your sins, and you receive the ability to overcome evil.
What are the qualities of Jesus?
Jesus obeyed His Father in everything. Jesus did everything His Father expected of Him without complaining. Most importantly, Jesus overcame sin and death. To enter the Kingdom of God, you also need the ability to overcome evil. The punishment for sin is death. You do not want to die but to live forever with God.
Although it is impossible to overcome evil, Jesus said everything is possible with God. Your sincere ambition and attempt must be to become perfect in the sight of God. God will do the rest. To enable you to be successful, you need Holy Communion.
To be reborn with water and Spirit
This article is not about the sacraments. We will therefore not discuss the sacraments in detail. It is, however, essential to understanding the importance of baptism in the process of rebirth.
God said He would visit you until the third or even fourth generation. God will punish you for the sins of your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. God will also punish your children and grandchildren for the sins you commit.
A sinner cannot meet God. Although God forgives your sins with communion, He did not ignore your inherited sins.
The Baptism
You use water to baptize. Water is the only substance that can wash the dirt away properly. To wash your sins away, you need water as the symbol. The water is not enough to wash sins away. The baptism is in the name of Jesus and His Father.
In Acts 19, we read the baptism of John was not valid. John baptized the people to repent, which did not forgive the inherited sins. Only God can do that. Therefore the baptism is with water and in the name of Jesus.
Baptism is the first part of the rebirth. You receive a clear conscience and can go to God.
Why was Jesus baptized? He had no sins.
Jesus was born as an average person. Although he had no natural father, his mother was Maria. She had inherited sins. With the baptism of Jesus, two things happened:
1.) The forgiveness of the sins from His mother, Mary.
2.) There was a dove and a voice.
The voice told the people that he was the beloved Son of God and that the people should listen to Him. The baptism of John was not valid to forgive inherited sins, but with the appearance of the dove and the voice, God validated the baptism of Jesus. The baptism of Jesus was not to repent but for a clear conscience with God, His Father.
The appearance of the dove activated the Holy Spirit in Jesus. Jesus started to preach after His baptism.
To receive the Holy Spirit
To be a child of God, you must have the Holy Spirit. When you receive the Holy Spirit, you become part of God’s family. The Holy Spirit guided Jesus during His time on earth. The Holy Spirit teaches us the truth and guides our actions.
When you receive the Holy Spirit, you are reborn and a child of God. You can inherit His Kingdom.
The trinity
God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Humankind is body, soul, and spirit.
To be united with God, you need to be one in spirit with God. You need the Holy Spirit.
The Sacraments are Baptism, Receiving of the Holy Spirit, and Holy Communion.
