Since the Lord Jesus said, "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again" (John 3:7), it is of utmost importance that we understand what He means. He also said to Nicodemus, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again he cannot see," nor can he "enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:3,5).

Physical birth is marked as the time one comes into the world. How wonderful for parents to hear the cry of their newborn babe. Just so, how wonderful it is when one is born again, born into God's family. This is not the re-entering into the mother's womb as Nicodemus questioned (v.4). It is rather a birth "from above," a different kind of birth: a birth of the Spirit in contrast to the birth of the flesh (v.6). This birth is produced by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, leading a guilty sinner to put his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:16 tells the wonderful story: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

The illustration the Lord Jesus gave of this marvelous new birth was an incident in Israel's history well known to Nicodemus. Israel's sin had caused God to send fiery serpents among the people and many of them died. When Moses cried to the Lord, he was told to make a serpent of brass and put it upon a pole. When any who were bitten looked upon the serpent, he lived. Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3: 14,15). It is the look of faith to the Lord Jesus crucified for the sinner that imparts eternal life to everyone who believes in Him, and at that moment the believer is born again into God's family. John, in his first letter, declares, "This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life…" (1 John 5:11,12).

It is appalling to know that some teach a very serious error as to what new birth is. They say that new birth is a work of God in the soul of a person which imparts a spiritual life that enables him at some later time to believe the gospel and be saved. To assert that there is a spiritual life apart from eternal life which is in the Son of God is totally without Scriptural support. The premise used is that a person "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1, and such is the spiritual condition of all born into the world) cannot do anything, so God in His sovereignty imparts a life (that is not eternal) to the soul of man so he can believe. The word "quickening" is said to describe this imparting of life to dead souls. This teaching that makes a difference between "quickening" and the impartation of eternal life when one believes is nothing but human reasoning and twisting of Scripture. When one is born again, he is born of God and has eternal life.

Though man is lost and ruined, dead in trespasses and in sins (as to his relationship to God), he is a responsible being who has the power of choice and is called on by the Lord to exercise that power and turn to Him. John 5:25 is as clear as can be: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead [spiritually dead toward God] shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." Though dead toward God, the sinner can "hear" with the hearing of faith (Romans 10:17) and "live"! He can look and live! He can believe and live! He can be thus "born again" and possess eternal life by accepting the Son of God as his Saviour. Or he can refuse to hear, refuse to look, and never be born again, but be forever banished from Him who is "The true God, and eternal life" (1 John 5:20). To those who refused His testimony, the Saviour sadly said, "Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life" (John 5:40).