The New BIRTH

Peter writes, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed (Greek, sperma), but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever" (IPet.1: 23).

We are prone to think of death as following birth - people are born to live their lives and then die. But spiritually, however, it is the other way. Peter, by divine inspiration, says that we must be "born-again" because: "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory (life expression) of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth and the flower thereof falleth away: But the Word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you" (IPet. 1:24,25).

This new birth is a spiritual matter, necessitated by the fact that by nature men are actually "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1). Thus believers are not born-again in the same way as they were first born, but are born again -- given new life, by trusting in the Word of God, which is Jesus Christ Himself.

So, who or what exactly is the Word of God? This "Word of God" is not the Bible but rather the One of who the Bible speaks.

Jesus Himself is the Living Word of God. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

God's Word, in 1Peter 1:234 (above), is called "incorruptible seed" -- the seed or sperma that cannot die. Once the Word takes root in one's heart, once it is believed and received, it never dies, but produces the "everlasting life".

"The Word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you" (Verse 25).

The Word of God takes root in one's heart only as one believes or trusts in the gospel, the good news, about Christ's redemptive work. Peter himself proclaims this wonderful gospel: "...ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold...but with the precious blood of Christ..." (IPet.1:18,19).

"Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree (the cross) ..." (IPet.2:24).

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God..." (IPet.3:18).

BY BELIEVING or TRUSTING THIS GOOD NEWS about the LIVING WORD, DEAD SINNERS ARE "BORN-AGAIN."