"Jesus answered and said
to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.'"
John 3:3
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Good morning again! Let's pray....
"Holy Father God our Lord and Savior, as we come together to open Your word again this day, I ask that You will bless us with every spiritual blessing and speak to us in a new and exciting way today. I pray that You will reveal to us more of Your attributes as we learn about how we have been born of God and Your seed remains in us.
I seek forgiveness of sins this day. I know I have not been in Your word everyday and this is sin. I pray, Lord, that You will search me for the hidden sins of my heart. I pray that You will wash me clean with Your blood and renew a steadfast spirit within me. I pray that You will fill me with Your Spirit and bless my home.
I pray that You will lift up each lady reading this study. I pray that Your Spirit will encourage her to keep going on even when times get hard. I pray that she will cast all her cares upon You, Lord, and that You will give her peace. I pray that she will cry out to You for help and not have fear, but love and power through Christ.
In Jesus' name....amen."
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Today we will look at what it means to be born of God and to have His seed remain in us. John wanted his readers to know and have confidence that they are born of God. So, as we read, we are to have that confidence that we are born of God and are part of that covenant promise of the Lord.
1 John 3:9
"Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him, and he cannot sin because he has been born of God."
As Christians, we have been separated from the world because of one act: God chose us to be set apart. We had nothing to do with it.
Please read:
1 Pet 1:22-25
"..having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever..."
Born of God
"Whoever has been born of God does not sin...."
What does it mean to be "born again"? Let's pause here for a quick review:
Please read:
John 1:12-13
We have been born of God. As Christians, that is how we were set apart: by God Himself.
John wants us to remember this.
How did God set us apart?
"through the word of God..."
1 Thess 2:13
Mark 4:20
James 1:18
This word of God lives and abides forever, just as God does. There is great hope in that His word will never change....it will never be affected by world events or opinions like man's words.
I recently read an article by a famous playwright named David Mamet. He has written award winning plays based on his Liberal views on life. Now he claims that he has dropped those Liberal views for a more Conservative view based on changes in the world and in his life.
Many fellow Liberals in the art world were shocked at this revelation. I suppose it would be shocking to have such a staunch supporter of Liberal causes suddenly abandon them.
This is something we Christians never have to fear when it comes to our Savior. He never changes.
Nathan and I were talking about how God is eternal and that there is great comfort in knowing that our God does not need us. He didn't create to fulfill any need in Himself: to be worshipped, etc. That would be like saying the Sun needs to shine on us...on the contrary, it is we who need the Sun to shine on us!
He created for us because He knows that to know Him is to know life. We worship a God who has no need of us. Whew, what a relief!
But non-believers of this world fear change. They may cry out for "change" but they fear it. They feel great sadness when one of their own leaves their philisophical views behind for something different or opposing.
But we Christians, although born of God, do sin. What John is saying is that if we are born of God we do not continually sin because of God.
Rom 3:9-20
Rom 5:12-21
Rom 6:1-2
"How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" Paul asks.
Rom 6:5-8
Gal 2:19-21
We cannot continue in sin if we are born of God because the Spirit of God will not let us. Before our regeneration, we had no choice but to sin. Our "free will" was to satisfy our desire. Once we are regenerated, we are given a desire to please God as well as ourselves...there lies the struggle.
Rom 7:13-20
Paul struggled with this notion as well. We sin, that is why we have the law: to show us we need a Savior.
"..for His seed remains in him..."
Please read:
Gen 21:12
Is 6:13
Is 53:10
Deut 7:6
Ps 1:1
Ps 112:1
Ps 119:1-2
The seed of Promise is what Christ Jesus is. But look what else is regarded as "the seed" in scripture:
Luke 8:11
Luke 5:1
Luke 11:28
The seed is also the Word of God!
Rom 9:29
Praise God that He left us that seed so that we may know how to worship Him and abide in Him.
Gal 3:16
Abraham and his Seed lead to the Seed: Jesus Christ.
Gal 3:19
The Seed came to us so that we may now be part of that promise to Abraham.
Gal 4:4
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So we can see in scripture that those born of God have the promises...and the power of the Spirit to do God's works. So we should not let sin reign in our bodies:
Rom 6:11-12
Rom 7:4
Gal 2:20
Eph 5:2
I told you 1 John chapter 3 is the "sin" chapter because he goes into such detail about what sin is, its origins, and how it affects the Christian! It can be hard to read this chapter.
But John isn't telling us things we do not already know...nor am I. It is good to be reminded of these things that we can continually grow in the knowledge and wisdom of our Lord.
His seed remains in you and I so that we cannot sin....you and I cannot continually live in sin because God will not allow it. Praise God that He did give us His seed....His Word.
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Life Application
Knowing that sin cannot live in me gives me great joy and hope....but also dread since I still sin daily.
Rom 6:1-4
I should walk in the newness of life instead of dwelling on sin. It took me awhile to come to terms with the sin of my past. Even now, when I think about it, it makes me very uncomfortable. I have no problem sharing my past with others only so that they see the glorious works of the Lord in that He saved me. But I cannot dwell on this sinful past because I know that I am new now and forgiven.
This is what I want you to take with you today: you cannot continue in sin because you have been born of God.
There is great hope in that verse because it reminds us that God is our Good Shepherd and He will only let His sheep go astray for so long.
Sisters in Christ, if there is any sin in your life today, take it to the Lord right now. Spend time with Him today in prayer with His word and really ask Him to search you and deal with your heart. Let Him know you understand that you cannot continue in sin since you have been born of God.
He will honor that prayer with forgiveness and cleansing. I want you to know that cleansing and its power. I want you to have the ability to hear God and do His good works.
Know God and live! It begins today....
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Until next time.....
"If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He does not ask you to put it right; He asks you to accept the light, and He will put it right. A child of the light confesses instantly and stands bared before God; a child of darkness says- "Oh, I can explain that away." When once the light breaks and the conviction of wrong comes, be a child of the light, and confess, and God will deal with what is wrong."
-Oswald Chambers (My Utmost for His Highest, 1935, March 23 devotional)
Blessings,
Ruth
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