We who believe in Jesus Christ often ask ourselves: “When was I born again?” Many of us have written down the date when we believed, and consider it the moment of our birth. Sometimes, doubting our eternal salvation, we repeat the prayer of repentance, and then, over time, we wonder: “So when was I born of God? When I prayed the first time, the second or the third?” I am not going to argue here with the convictions of brothers and sisters. My only desire is that we would be established in truth and grace, stand firmly on our feet and know exactly when and of Whom we were born.

In fact the truth is simple, like our magnificent Lord. When He reveals the truth by His Spirit, the thought comes: “Lord, it’s all so simple, why didn’t I see it before?” Often the knowledge we have already acquired on some question only stops us from seeing this simplicity.

I recently read that in order to learn to speak English you don’t need to learn the rules at all. Many of us would be puzzled by this approach: “How can you learn to speak English without studying the rules?” In fact, most people who were taught a foreign language at school or university know the rules but cannot speak properly. It turns out that rules don’t help you speak; on the contrary, they get in the way. I have very often met people who know English grammar very well and have a good vocabulary, but cannot say a sentence properly. They keep thinking about how to say it correctly, and there is no time left simply to say it. They simply think about how to speak, not what to say.

It is the same with God’s truths. Acquired Bible knowledge very often prevents us from seeing the simplicity that is in Christ. In the Proverbs of Solomon there is a wonderful verse: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding” (Pro.3:5) Trust the Lord not only in all of life’s matters, but also in understanding passages of Scripture. That is why Solomon goes on: “Do not be wise in your own eyes” (Pro.3:7) When we read and study the Scriptures, what matters is what the Lord reveals and explains, and how, not what this or that preacher says. It is important to build our knowledge of Christ and His finished work on the cross on personal revelations given by the Lord Himself, which we then joyfully share with other brothers and sisters, so that they too may be built up in faith.

So, back to the question: “When was I born again?” The answer is simple! If it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, then the more correct question is: “When was Christ born again?” I think we all know the answer to that question. That is exactly when everyone was born again. “And when did I die?” In Jesus Christ on the cross, for it is written: “if One died for all, then all died” (2 Cor.5:14) “And when was I raised?” When God raised Christ from the dead, for it is written: “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…, made us alive together with Christ… and raised us up together” (Eph.2:4-6) You see, we were not raised when we prayed the prayer of repentance; God raised us together with Him.

Joined to Christ

But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
–1 Corinthians 6:17

“So does that mean everyone is born again and everyone is saved?” someone may ask. Dear brother, I didn’t say that. Of course a person needs to believe in the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ in order to be saved. Paul and Silas answered the jailer’s question about salvation clearly and plainly: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Act.16:31) I really like the phrase: “you and your household.” Does this mean that the whole family is automatically saved when one person believes? Of course not, but the person who believed opened the door to Jesus and let Him into the house, and now it is very easy for Jesus to make sure the rest of the household is saved too. How can you not fall in love with Jesus!? Not with a religious Jesus, looking down sternly from an icon, but with the living, real Jesus, who loves us without any conditions!

When a person believes in Jesus Christ, he simply receives God’s gift, eternal life. Jesus said to Nicodemus: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (Jhn.3:16) By believing in Jesus we receive His Spirit and are joined to the Lord; we become one whole with Him, indivisible. We dissolve in Him and His love. Our mind very often tries to separate us from the Lord, but in the Spirit there is no separation. He is my new self, my new life! This is when Paul’s words become reality: “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me!” And Paul goes on: “…and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal.2:20) More precisely, not by faith in the Son, but by the faith of the Son, as the KJV renders it: “by the faith of the Son of God”.

That is why John writes in his letter that as He is, so are we in this world. (1 Jhn.4:17) Christ Jesus is our new essence. If doubts come to you and you think you are sinful because you did something wrong and God is now angry with you, I want to remind you that Christ Jesus is your new essence. If you have believed in Him, you are one with Him! The separation remains only in the unrenewed mind, and renewal simply comes down to getting to know your new essence by getting to know Christ Jesus. Is Jesus sinful? Of course not, He is righteous! So am I, for He is my righteousness. (2 Cor.5:21) Is Daddy God angry with Christ!? Of course not! The heavenly Daddy looks at Christ with eyes of infinite love and approval, and that is exactly how He looks at you and me.

Reality in the Spirit

The truth is not what outward circumstances say, for they are temporary. Your eyes and your pain may say that you are sick, your wallet may say that you have no money, family troubles may say that you are cursed because you are a bad husband or wife. The truth is not in circumstances and problems. The truth is in Christ Jesus. Daddy looks at you and sees you healthy, prosperous and blessed! He sees you holy, righteous, blameless and perfect, and all because you and Christ Jesus are one.

Once a brother asked me how Christ acts through him. I reminded him of the parable of the vine. I said to the brother: “Imagine that you are a branch of the vine, and the sap — the life of Christ — flows through you.” “What does a branch do to bear fruit?” I asked him. The brother replied: “I understand that in the spiritual sense, but how is it supposed to work in practice?” It is as if everything carnal here is real and genuine, while the spiritual sense is some kind of theory that will become reality in the regeneration. I answered him: “The spiritual sense is the practice.”

The spiritual is the reality, while the carnal and visible is temporary and passing. Living by faith means living and walking according to the spirit. It means being a branch on the vine through which the sap, the life of Christ, flows and which bears fruit. And the fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, joy, gentleness, faithfulness, kindness and so on. Self-control is not my effort, but fruit that the Spirit produces in me. “So, should I just hang on the tree now and do nothing?” Well, dear brother, we have already hung on the tree, and we have already been taken down from it in Jesus, so now we are not hanging, but sitting in Him at the right hand of the Father. We, brother, abide in God’s rest, in the promised land flowing with milk and honey. So join us, sit down next to us, cease from your works as God did from His, and the Lord will take care of everything else. Don’t worry.

“But if I just sit still, nothing will happen. After all, no water flows under a lying stone.” Well, you remember, we read at the beginning of the article: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding”. (Pro.3:5) I tell you, beloved, that trusting the Lord is much better than doing a hundred works, for the same Solomon wrote in a Psalm: “Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep.” (Ps.127:1-2) Solomon was very, very rich, and judging by his Psalm he was fond of sleeping. Well, of course! After all, he also received his wisdom in his sleep.

So, dear brothers and sisters, the truth is in the Spirit, not in your and my circumstances or our works and actions. The truth is in Christ Jesus! He is our life, He is our righteousness, He is our holiness, He is our wisdom, He is eternal life, and everyone who has received Christ as his Saviour is righteous in Him, holy in Him, wise in Him, saved forever in Him, healthy in Him, prosperous in Him, blessed in Him, and in Him endlessly and unconditionally loved!!! <3