A Second Birth || John 1:12-13 || Manna for the Mind #88

Welcome to Day 88 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

As you saw in Part 1 of “I Want to Understand,” I will start sharing our focus verses in multiple translations to help us comprehensively understand what the scripture is saying. I’ll take a literal translation (AMP), a dynamic middle-of-the-road translation (NLT), and a paraphrased translation (MSG) to see what similarities and differences there are. This will be the standard format from here on out.

Our passage today is John 1:12-13. We’ll discuss the process of rebirthing and becoming a Christian.

John 1:12-13

AMP	12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name – 13 who were born, not of blood [natural conception], nor of the will of the flesh [physical impulse], nor of the will of man [that of a natural father], but of God [that is, a divine supernatural birth – they are born of God – spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].
NLT	12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn – not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
MSG	12-13 But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made their true selves, their child-of-God selves. These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten.

The three translations all echo the same profound truth, reinforcing the consistency and reliability of the scripture. All who want to believe in Jesus and accept him as his Lord and Savior will receive the right to become a child of God. It’s not a physical birth that results from sex, planning, etc. It’s a supernatural birth, i.e., a spiritual transformation, renewal, and sanctification.

All who welcome Jesus as their Lord are reborn spiritually, receiving a new life from God. This journey of faith and rebirth is deeply personal, changing us from the inside out. It changes our attitudes, desires, and motives to a godly foundation from a worldly one. Being born physically makes you alive and a part of your parents’ family. Being born spiritually makes you alive in God and a part of God’s family. This concept of spiritual rebirth was one that I, like many, struggled to fully understand until later in life. You have seen the concept of a spiritual rebirth done through the various acts of baptism (dunking, pour-over, sprinkling, etc.) This represents a baby going through the womb’s waters to take their first breath of physical life. The first breath of our spiritual life begins this transforming, renewing, and sanctifying life path. This isn’t a one-and-done type of experience, but it’s the start of it. It’s the start of learning how to live a Christian life and reframe how we’ve done life to align it with the foundations and principles of God.

Romans 8:29

AMP	29 For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers.
NLT	29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
MSG	29 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him.

Here’s what I see in these parallels:

• God knew what he was doing when he chose his people.
• God’s path for us was to be like Jesus.
• Jesus was the firstborn of his people, meaning that he would be the most beloved and honored among the community of believers.

God’s ultimate goal for us is to be like Jesus. As we become more and more like Jesus, we find our true selves. There are five ways that we can become like Christ:

• Reading and heeding the word. When we read the Bible, we need to understand the core lesson of the passage, understand its context—when it was written and to whom—and see how we can apply this core lesson to our lives today.
• Studying his life on earth through the Gospels. Jesus’ life is shown through the story of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It’s important to hear what Jesus’ taught, who he taught it too, how they responded to Jesus’ teaching, and those Jesus’ responded to their response.
• Spending time in prayer. Talk with God about what you’ve learned and what you’re wrestling with or making you uncomfortable. Pause, reflect, and listen to God’s voice. In my experience, the quietest voice sounds the clearest among the loud voices of everything around us.
• Being filled with his Spirit. When we are believers in Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit into our hearts. The Holy Spirit allows us to find the courage, wisdom, and strength to go out and do what God calls us to do, even when it feels uncomfortable or counter-cultural.
• God is doing his work in the world. He calls us to love him with all of who we are and to love our neighbors as Jesus loves us. Whether we do this by ourselves or with a community of believers, we can take care of others by showing them the true love and compassion of who God is and what he represents.

This love that I’ve mentioned is talked about in 1 John 3:1.

1 John 3:1

AMP	1 See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us, that we would [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
NLT	1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.
MSG	1 What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it – we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to.

Here’s what I see:

• God’s love is shown through naming, counting, and calling us to be his children.
• The world won’t see us as his children because it doesn’t know God.

As believers, our self-worth comes from God loving us and calling us his children. We are God’s children right now. It’s something we obtain or attain down the road or later in life. Knowing this should encourage us to live as Jesus did. Simply put, this title and matter of life should fuel and energize our lives. Think of the excitement you felt when you became a parent, an aunt or uncle, a friend, a husband/wife, and more. You have this new energy and aura because you have this new status. Christians should react when they become part of God’s family.

How we should act is shown in 1 John 3:23.

1 John 3:23

AMP	23 This is His commandment, that we believe [with personal faith and confident trust] in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and [that we unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another, just as He commanded us.
NLT	23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.
MSG	23 Again, this is God’s command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, following the original command.

What does this command look like:

• Believe, through faith and trust, in the name of Jesus.
• Unselfishly love one another and seek the best for each other.

In biblical times, a person’s name often stood for their character. It was a representation of who a person was. We’re called to believe not only in Jesus’ teachings but also in his essential nature and who he is as the Son of God. Believing “in the name” means to pattern your life after Christ’s and become more like him by uniting with him in his love for everyone. As we live like Christ, we will love one another.

Believing in Jesus’s name can feel weird. To believe in the name of something is unheard of or not common in our lives today. We’d believe in Jesus, but not his name. However, as mentioned earlier, believing in the name means reflecting our life after Christ’s. It’s living in the family name. It’s embracing your heritage and using that heritage to benefit your life, among the many facets of it all.

Father God, thank you for calling us into your family. We know that we’ve done nothing to be a part of it, but you’ve chosen us because you love us intensely and want us to be your eyes and ears in the world. Please help us to share our new spiritual life with those around us. Let us plant the seed of who you are in others’ minds so they can join the family. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.