App
Biblical proof that there's a difference between "begotten" and "born"
Fred R. Coulter—June 22, 2019
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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services!
I have to ring my big cowbell first, because I thought of something the other night. We're going to be on the Sea of Glass like we talked about for four and a half months.
The reason is because there is so much for us to learn, and one of the things that we're going to learn is how you use your spirit body. We know that Jesus said that we will shine like the sun; that's in full glory. But we also know that we're not going to be in full glory all the time. So, I thought about this:
Here are all the saints down through all time, all where they're supposed to be on the Sea of Glass, all organized the way that God wants it. Remember how we organized the 12 tribes of Israel around the tabernacle. So, it's going to be all organized. So, I thought that here's something that I thought we might do on one day.
Christ says that today we are going to learn how our bodies will shine in glory. Then He tells us everything we need to know, then He says, 'All right, everybody ready, on the count of three—one, two, three—here on the Sea of Glass is this great bright huge glowing glory that is up there. Of course, those down on earth are all excited. 'Wow! Look what these aliens are doing!' Then all of a sudden it goes back down.
I don't know if it's going to be that way or not, but we're going to have to learn how to do it when we're there. End speculation!
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AUDIO Begins Here:
Today, we're going to cover what it means to be born again and what it means to be born of God! Let's first of all start out with Jesus Christ.
John 1—you all know this by heart, but this is a basic Scripture that you always go back to start understanding other things that are not quite clear.
John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God…" The word with is very important. It is actually toward God or face-to-face with God.
- with—'pros'
- face to face—'prosopon prosopon'
"…and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and not even one thing… [think about that; this undoes evolution very quickly] …that was created came into being without Him" (vs 1-3).
Everything that men do and what they invent, do, make and all this sort of thing always comes back to: they have to use something that God has created, whether large or small or minuscule or whatever.
Now let's see something else about God. What we need to do in order to establish what it means to be born again, we need to understand what Jesus did.
John 4:18—Jesus said to the woman at the well: "For you have had five husbands…'"
That's interesting! How could Jesus, looking at that woman, possibly know that she had five husbands? Well, that tells you the spiritual discernment of quite a few things! Remember that everything that you ever do is recorded with the spirit of man. When you have the Spirit of God united with it, then it's all right here in the mind. How He did that, we don't know, but that was something.
"…and the one whom you now have is not your husband. This you have spoken truly.' The woman said to Him, 'Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet'" (vs 18-19).
When you find someone who is a prophet what's one of the first things you want to do? Show how good you are! That's what this woman is doing here.
Verse 20: "'Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, but you say that the place where it is obligatory to worship is in Jerusalem.' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you shall neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. You do not know what you worship….'" (vs 20-22).
- What do we find in Acts 8?
- Who was the religious person there?
- Simon Magus!
- What did he do?
- He said that he was a great one of God!
Simon Magus used sorcery and demonism to deceive all of them, from the least to the greatest!
"…We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth…" (vs 22-23). That's a lot! Spirit means through:
- prayer
- study
- thinking properly
Truth means having the Word of God written in your heart and mind, and you worship God in Truth! When you confess your sins to God, you confess all of them.
I doubt if there was ever a Catholic who really truly confessed every single sin that he or she did to a priest in the confessional booth. Probably tell just enough so they get as few 'hail Marys' or 'our fathers' that they have to do.
"…for the Father is indeed seeking those who worship Him in this manner. God is spirit…" (vs 23-24).
When it says that the Word was God, that's before He came to the earth, He was a spirit being! The Father is a spirit being!
"…and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in Truth" (v 24).
John 1:14: "And the Word became flesh… [the same as an ordinary human being] …and tabernacled… [temporarily dwelt] …among us (and we ourselves beheld His glory…"
Also, John was one of those that went up on the Mt. of Transfiguration! He saw the glory. Also, He saw the glory of Jesus' teachings, healings and everything that He did.
"…the glory as of the only begotten with the Father), full of grace and truth" (v 14).
No other human being came into existence the way that Jesus did. So, He is the only begotten!
Sidebar: when we receive the Spirit of God as a begettal, it's not the same as Jesus' begettal. How was Jesus begotten? Luke 1 says that Gabriel told Mary that the power of the Highest is going to overshadow you, and that which is being begotten in you—in her very body—shall be called the Son of God!
When we receive the Holy Spirit of God as a begettal that is when we are adults. It's within the spirit of our mind! The human spirit then is united with the Spirit of God.
Let's see a prophecy of this. In Gen. 3:15 is the first prophecy of the coming of the Messiah by the One Who would become the Messiah Himself! What does it say how we understand the Scriptures in Isa. 28? Line upon line, precept upon precept, a little here and a little there!
Before there ever was a New Testament, and Isaiah was written in 800B.C., how could the Jews understand Isa. 9, because Isaiah is written exactly like Isa. 28 says, a little here and a little there? It's like a puzzle all mixed up together. All the parts are there, you can see them, but you don't know how to put them together. A lot of these parts could not be put together without the New Testament.
So, here we have over 800 years before Christ and a lot of these things would be read and say, 'What is that?'
Isaiah 9:6: "For unto us a Child is born…" We know looking back that this is a prophecy of Christ. But think of it as the Jews or a priest reading this and not having any knowledge of the New Testament, because it wasn't even in existence. How are they going to understand this?
"…unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulders; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God… [How are you going to call a baby The Mighty God?] …The Everlasting Father…" How is a human being going to live forever?
Sidebar: Since this applies to Jesus, when will Jesus become an Everlasting Father? After the marriage with the Church and those who come into the Kingdom of God starting with the Millennium will be the children of Christ and the Church! He will be the father, the Church will be the mother.
If you want to look at from a physical point of view, since Jesus created everything that there is, and all of mankind, in that sense as Creator, He is a father, but totally different that God the Father.
I'm a father and Jonathan is my son, but he is a father and he has children. We're both fathers, but we're different.
"…The Prince of Peace…. [that hasn't happened, yet] …Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end… [on into eternity] …upon the throne of David, and over His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with righteousness from henceforth, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this" (vs 6-7).
How is that going to be done? We already touched on just a bit of it concerning Mary! Let's see what Paul wrote in 1-Tim. 3. These things were very hard to understand. In fact, inexplicable without the New Testament.
I remember one time I told this, but I'll tell it again. Delores bought a wonderful green wagon and she brought it home and it had to be assembled. So, smarty me, I looked at the outside and saw how it was, and I put it all together, except the sides that would drop down, I put them on backward. Delores said, 'Always read the instructions!' So, I had to take it apart and do it again.
It's the same way with understanding how some of these difficult things in the New Testament really are. If you don't have the Old Testament, you can't understand it. If anyone comes along and says that the whole O.T. has been fulfilled. Really?
The Catholics say that that's the old law. Lie! That's the everlasting Law!What they have with the Babylonian mysteries is the old law of Satan the devil!
1-Timothy 3:16: "And undeniably, great is the mystery of Godliness…"—the whole operation of God, the secret of God. God still has a lot of secrets He hasn't revealed to us. They won't be revealed until we are spirit beings.
"…God was manifested in the flesh… [we saw how that was] …was justified in the Spirit… [because He never sinned] …was seen by angels… [and also demons] …was proclaimed among the Gentiles, was believed on in the world, was received up in glory" (v 16).
The way to understand this is to understand what it means to be born again. Take special note of:
- Appendix P: What Does It Mean to Be "Born Again"?
- Appendix Q: What Does It Mean to Be "Born of God"?
From The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version
I have those in there for a particular reason. They are both separate but connected.
John 3—remember that this was between Jesus and Nicodemus. None of the disciples were there to hear it or witness it. And Nicodemus came by night, because he didn't want get kicked out of the synagogue, yet.
John 3:1: "Now, there was a man of the Pharisees, Nicodemus by name, a ruler of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Rabbi, we know…'" (vs 1-2)—that is all the Pharisees!
When you are told something that is not true, but sounds true, and you believe it. Then when the truth comes along it's hard to believe the real truth. That's why all the Protestant believe in going to heaven, yet, they talk about the resurrection. How does that work? We will see because they have wrong interpretation of what it means to be born again!
That's why in Appendix P—What Does It Mean to Be "Born Again"?—I go through great detail in the Latin Vulgate, and in the Greek showing how that Jerome deliberately changed the meaning of John 3 in the Latin to show that 'you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God unless you are born again by water and spirit.'
Sidebar: You will find out in App. P that infant baptism in the Babylonian mysteries spread around the world and that in Mexico that they baptized infants, and once they were baptized they were born again.
Why did they baptize them? Because they thought if they baptized them when they were itty-bitty babies, that that will take away original sin! If you take away original sin, then you must be perfect. Yet, they sin!
"…'Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher Who has come from God; because no one is able to do the miracles that You are doing unless God is with him'" (v 2).
When you read this, think about how John got this conversation recorded. How did that happen? Jesus had to teach it to him through the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit will bring to you remembrance everything I have told you (John 16)! So, Jesus told John about this.
Jesus didn't answer the question. He didn't say, 'I'm glad to see that you are perceptive. Bless you, my son, that you understand that I'm from God, because that is true.' Notice His answer:
Sidebar: In the Alexandrian New Testament, because the ones who made copies of it thought they were smarter than God. They would take either answered or said—edited. That's kind of stupid and redundant they would think, because they're so smart. But this is a key to the proper text.
Verse 3: "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly I say to you, unless anyone is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.' Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a man who is old be born? Can he enter his mother's womb a second time and be born?' Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly I say to you, unless anyone has been born of water… [a lot of people think that means baptism, but we will see that cannot mean baptism] …and of Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God" (vs 3-5).
Verse 6: "That which has been born of the flesh is flesh…" When you're born of the flesh, how are you born? With the water! If you didn't have the embryonic fluid, which they call the water you're not getting out of there. They would have to cut open every woman to take out every baby if there wasn't the water.
Furthermore, God made it so it would happen in a normal course of events, that the baby's skin is covered with white greasy wax. Why is that? That's so that the skin will be protected from the fluid! You're very first existence, before you're born, is in fluid or water.
When you're born, whatever weight… Someone sent me a picture of his great grand niece and she weighed 10lb-8oz when she was born. "…unless anyone has been born of water…" That's your first physical birth. That has nothing to do with baptism.
"…and of Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh… [that's what we are] …and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit" (vs 5-6).
So, if at baptism someone is born again they would have to be transformed from flesh to spirit. Does that happen? No! We've all been baptized, are we still flesh? Yes! To be born of flesh and to be born of spirit.
Let's see concerning Jesus, Matt.1; this becomes very important to understand. When you come to anything you don't understand in the Scriptures, and you study, you get all the pieces and put it together. We saw that Jesus was called the only Begotten of the Father. That happened with the impregnation with Mary by the power of the Highest, which came from the Father.
We find in Philip. 2 that Jesus had to reduce Himself to pinpoint of life to be impregnated in the womb of the virgin Mary.
Matthew 1:18: "And the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: Now, His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph…"
There's a long betrothal, generally a year. What for? To make sure that if there are any children, it's the children of those who are married. Rather than getting married right away and then you have a child, and maybe it's not yours.
"…but before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband…" (vs 18-19).
When they're betrothed, they're considered to be husband and wife not yet finalized; that takes place with the ceremony.
"…being a righteous man, and not willing to expose her publicly, was planning to divorce her secretly. But as he pondered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying…" (vs 19-20).
God had to intervene to show what was taking place, because you wouldn't believe it.
"…'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife, because that which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.'" (v 20).
We're going to see that there's a difference between begotten and born. The translators of the King James have got this all mixed up and that goes right back to what Jerome did and the earth Catholic Church father did concerning baptizing infants.
Verse 21: "'And she shall give birth to a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.' Now, all this came to pass that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Behold, the virgin…'" (vs 21-23).
That's what it says in the Hebrew and the Greek; not a virgin, or any virgin, but the virgin, the one selected by God!
"'…shall be with child and shall give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel,' which is being interpreted, 'God with us.' And when Joseph was awakened from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded, and took his wife to wed; but he did not have sexual relations with her until after she had given birth to her Son, the firstborn; and he called His name Jesus" (vs 23-25).
That was Jesus' birth! How was He born? Just like all human beings! He had to whoop with the pangs of birth, and the water and muscles contracting of the mother, and here comes Jesus: born of water!
Rev. 1—here we see something else concerning Jesus and the resurrection, which then answers the question in John 3
Revelation 1:4: "John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace and peace be to you from Him Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come; and from the seven spirits that are before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn from the dead…" (vs 4-5).
So, Jesus was the firstborn in the flesh, and He was the Firstborn in the spirit!
- Was He changed from flesh to spirit? Yes!
- Was Jesus born again? Yes!
- Has anybody else been born again? No!
So, when Protestants say that when you are baptized or you accept Jesus you're 'born again.' NO!This is very interesting. We'll talk about what kind of baptism they ought to have to prove that they are really 'born again.' Understanding what we understand:
Jesus was born of the flesh—the birth of water—that which is born of the flesh is flesh. Was Jesus flesh? Yes! God manifested in the flesh!
John 3:5: "Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly I say to you, unless anyone has been born of water…"—their first birth! You're not going to have anything enter the Kingdom of God that does not come through the human realm. It's not going to be something else that God doing over here. There's only one way!
"…and of Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God" (v 5). Did Jesus enter into the Kingdom of God after He was resurrected from the dead? Yes, He did! When He was resurrected He was the Firstborn from among the dead!
Verse 6: "That which has been born of the flesh is flesh; and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'It is necessary for you to be born again.' The wind blows where it wills, and you hear its sound, but you do not know the place from which it comes…" (vs 6-8).
Have you ever had something where there was a draft coming into your house, and you're wondering how the draft got in the house. You track it down and you find out that there's a crack.
"…and the place to which it goes; so also is everyone who has been born of the Spirit" (v 8).
- Has anyone else, other than Christ, been born of the Spirit?
- What should happen in water baptism? They go into the water and they're coming up they disappear and are spirit beings and they walk out of the church through the door! Or they ascend through the ceiling!
Verse 9: "Nicodemus answered and said to Him, 'How can these things be?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'You are a teacher of Israel, and you do not know these things?'" (vs 9-10).
Did we not cover some prophecies in the Old Testament? I said that you are gods! 1-Cor. 15 tells us very clearly concerning Jesus.
1-Corinthians 15:11: "Now then, whetherI or they… [Paul is talking about the other apostle] …so we preach, and so you have believed. But if Christ is being preached, that He rose from the dead…"
Notice that this in 52A.D., ten years after the Church in Antioch was raised up. It doesn't take long for heresy to come in.
"…how is it that some among you are saying that there is no resurrection of the dead?" (v 12). That means for even Christ!
Why would they say that? Because one of the beliefs of the pagans is that the gods would come down from heaven and possess a human being! In possessing a human being that would Docetism. Christ came down from heaven, they would say, and possessed the body of Jesus. Christ did not die because He was a spirit being, just possessing Jesus, and only Jesus died. Therefore, there doesn't need to be any resurrection. In that case, when the body dies, the Christ that possessed the body goes back to heaven.
Ten years from 42 A.D. when the Church in Antioch started, which then is 22 years after the resurrection of Christ! That's an amazing thing to understand, isn't it? Then Paul explains:
Verse 14: "And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain. And we are also found to be false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised Christ, Whom He did not raise, if indeed the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised" (vs 14-16).
You would think that the Protestants who have the New Testament would be smart enough to read this to understand that nobody goes to heaven. But the don't! They take this verse here and this verse there, and they put together a nice little story. They avoid the Sabbath, the Holy Days, the Passover and the Truth. They embrace Sunday, which is the day of the sun. They embrace all the holidays that come from ancient Babylon and think they're doing the will of God.
Verse 17: "But if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins, and those who have fallen asleep in Christ have then perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most miserable. But now Christ has been raised from the dead; He has become the Firstfruit… [firstborn, Firstfruit] …of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man… [Jesus Christ] …also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order…" (vs 17-23).
How is that? look at v 22: "For as in Adam all die… [it's talking about all human beings from Adam] …so also in Christ shall all be made alive."
- those who were sinners
- those who were sinners not unto death, the pardonable
- all of those that God did not call
Verse 23: "But each in his own order: Christ the Firstfruit; then those who are Christ's at His coming."
Has Christ come? NO! That's patently obvious to anybody. Where there are false antichrists come, which for the first three and a half years look like a miraculous thing? Yes, indeed! That will come! That's why the true Christ is coming the way He is coming! It's going to be a powerful witness to the whole world.
(go to the next track)
Commercial Time: Booklets:
- Who Are the 144,000?
Why can it not be any of those in the Church of God today? Those who are in the Church of God already have the Holy Spirit! The 144,000 (Rev. 7) are sealed with the Holy Spirit by an angel. Why? Because there are no ministers to baptize! That will be like a massive redo of Acts 10.
- Pentecost and the 144,000 (with CD)
That's the best way to study. That's why we have all of these Transcript Books with CDs because you can learn more by studying through these as you listen to the CD. Why? You read it, you hear it and you get or triple effect of learning. It helps you to learn quicker.
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Ken and I were talking about the Scriptures in the Old Testament that are a prophecy of the resurrection. It shows how you've got to study the Bible and really know the Scriptures and put them together.
What do you do if you come along with something that you don't understand. You don't try and get your own devised understanding of it. You put it on the side and remember it, and as you study along and more study you will come to Scriptures that will help answer that Scripture you didn't understand.
AUDIO Resumes Here:
Isaiah 66:6: "A sound of noise from the city, a sound from the temple, the sound of the LORD repaying His enemies. 'Before she travailed, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a man-Child'" (vs 6-7)—Christ the Firstfruit, and afterward those who are Christ's at His coming!
Verse 8: "'Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things like these? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day?…. [Pentecost] …Or will a nation be born at once?…. [Yes!] …For as soon as Zion travailed, she also gave birth to her children. Will I bring to the birth, and not cause to be born?' says the LORD. 'Shall I cause them to be born, and shut the womb?' says your God. 'Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all who love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all who mourn for her'" (vs 8-10).
Hos. 13 is a little more vague. Part of it is more realistic, and part of it is more vague. How many tribes are there? 13 because of Ephraim and Manasseh! There are only 12 geographical tribes because the priests and Levites were scattered through all the rest of the 12 tribes. But Levi is a tribe.
Hosea 13:13: "The pains of a woman in travail shall come upon him. He is an unwise son; for he should not delay long at the time of the breaking forth of children. I will ransom them from the power of the grave… [Who has the keys of the grave? Jesus (Rev. 1:18[transcriber's correction])] I will redeem them from death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Grave, I will be your destruction! And compassion shall be hidden from My eyes" (vs 13-14).
Micah 5:2: "And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, you being least among the thousands of Judah, out of you He shall come forth to Me that is to become Ruler in Israel.…"—a prophecy of Jesus!
How did God do that? He chose Mary who was in Nazareth, and so was Joseph! Then He forced them to come to Bethlehem, because Joseph was of the house of David, to register for the tax. She was great with child and came to Bethlehem. They weren't living there, they just came and it was at Feast time: Feast of Trumpets; Jesus is born. Then they were there for the 40 days and a few days after that. They left because of what Herod was going to do to try and kill all the children in that area two-years-old and under.
Later when Jesus was preaching, what did they say? 'Can any good thing come out of Galilee where Nazareth is? Have you ever heard of a prophet coming out of Galilee?
God does things in a way that does exactly what He says, but people can't understand, because He does it in a way they don't expect.
"…He Whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity" (v 2). Doesn't that say God in the flesh? Not quite, but it's pretty close!
Verse 3: "Therefore, He will give them over until the time that she who is in travail has given birth…" Who is that? Jerusalem above, which is the mother of us all!
The way that the Scriptures come together is absolutely fantastic!
"…then the rest of His brethren shall return to the children of Israel. And He shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they shall live… [resurrected] …for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth" (vs 3-4). Then it mixes in and talks about Assyria!
This is why Paul told Timothy to 'diligently study to show yourself approved to God rightly dividing the Word of Truth!' That's what we do, because there's a little here and there's a little there, and there's some more in another place.
Now let's talk a little bit more about the resurrection.
1-Corinthians 15:33: "Do not be deceived; evil companionship corrupts good behavior."
He's saying that 'you guys who don't believe in the resurrection have been with some corrupt/evil companions.
Verse 34: "Awake to righteousness, and do not sin, for some of you do not have the knowledge of God. I say this to your shame." They should have been doing what we're doing, but weren't!
Verse 35: "Nevertheless, someone will say, 'How are the dead raised?….'" That's a secret that God hasn't told us!
- Did He raise Lazarus?
- Did He raise two more during His ministry?
- Were there not a lot who were raised from the dead after the resurrection of Christ and came and appeared to many in Jerusalem?
Think of all the fantastic things that went on in Jerusalem at that time when Jesus was crucified, put in the grave and resurrected!
"'…And with what body do they come?'" (v 35). How are you going to take this old man who's all shriveled up and virtually nothing when he dies? What are you going to do with that?
Verse 36: "Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow…" (vs 36-37)—unless it dies. Same thing; you have to die before you receive eternal life.
Verse 37: "And what you sow is not the body that shall be; rather, it is bare grain—it may be of wheat, or one of the other grains; and God gives it a body according to His will, and to each of the seeds its own body. Likewise, not all flesh is the same flesh. Rather, there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another of fish, and another of birds. And there are heavenly bodies, and earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly is different, and the glory of the earthly is different. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead…." (vs 37-42).
That tells that not all are going to be the same. What did Jesus say in the parable of the pounds? You be over ten cities, another over five cities! Likewise with the parable of the talents.
"…It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption" (v 42).
Look at it this way in analogy: When you beget new children in your family and they're born, it's all new flesh. It's half of father and half of mother, a whole child.
As you get older and the child grows up. Then they have children and the process goes on, and you're buried and put in the grave. We know that the Spirit returns to God when you die. How God is going to resurrect all the dead, we don't know. That's one secret He hasn't told us, except that it's going to happen. This also will add to that no one has been born again except Jesus at this present time.
Verse 43: "It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body; accordingly, it is written, 'The first man, Adam, became a living soul; the last Adam became an ever-living Spirit.' However, the spiritual was not first…" (vs 43-46).
Guess what the Mormons believe? That you're a spirit being up in heaven and God created physical human beings for you to possess! That is Docetism! They are saying that you have a spirit existence first. The Bible says that:
"…the spiritual was not first, but the natural—then the spiritual" (v 46). It doesn't become spiritual until the resurrection!
Verse 47: "The first man is of the earth—made of dust. The second Man is the Lord from heaven. As is the one made of dust, so also are all those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly One, so also are all those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly One" (vs 47-49).
What did we read? We will be made like Him Who will transform our vile bodies to be conformed to His spiritual body! See how the Scriptures all come together.
Verse 50: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God…" Cannot be!
For the Catholics to say that the church is the Kingdom of God on earth is incorrect! And that the pope is the head of it is incorrect! That's Satan's deception.
"…nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery: we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (vs 50-52).
That's going to be a marvelous thing, indeed! Now we're just about ready for: What do you mean born of God?
Verse 53: "For this corruptible must put on incorruptibility… [Who alone can do that? God!] …and this mortal must put on immortality."
What does that tell you? You do not have an immortal soul, because if you had an immortal soul you wouldn't have to put on immortality! The soul that sins, it shall die!
Verse 54: "Now, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruptibility, and this mortal shall have put on immortality… [Didn't we read that in one of the prophecies? Yes!] …then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?" (vs 54-55)—directly out of those Scriptures that we just read!
What do you mean born of God? There have been many mistranslations and false interpretations come out of the King James. One of the reason for doing The Holy Bible in Its Original Order is:
- to have all the Truth as nearly as possible absolutely correct
- to make it easy reading for anyone who picks it up and reads it
- to take away all of the mystery of the Greek language that the ministers use in the pulpit to say, 'the King James says this, but the Greek means this.'
If the Greek means this, why don't we have a translation that has what the Greek means? That's not terribly hard to figure out.
1-John 3:9 (KJV): "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."
- How did the Church of God explain it? This is talking about when we're resurrected!
- Has anyone else other than Christ been resurrected?
It doesn't say at the resurrection when you're born of God then you cannot sin. It doesn't say that. What is the proper explanation of it?
As you examine the Bible in its original order, having all of these appendices and commentaries are very needed. They cover all of the basic questions concerning Protestantism and Catholicism. Every once in a while someone comes up and says, 'Why don't we separate out the commentary and the appendices in a separate book?' I have said that if you that people will say, 'I just want the Bible.' Then they won't understand why some things in this translation and in the Bible are the way that they are.
The first question, if you didn't have the commentary, the original manuscript of the Old and New Testaments, you would begin reading and say, 'Why is it in this order? That's not the order I'm used to.' So, we have the commentary.
Appendix Q: What Does "It Mean to be Born of God"?
We have it all together here with the Scriptures. Since you have the Bible, take a commentary or an appendices and study them until you have studied all of them. Especially Appendix Z: Understanding Paul's Difficult Scriptures Concerning the Law and the Commandments of God.
A man called me and said that he's so happy to have the Bible and all of those difficult Scriptures of Paul properly translated.
Contrary to this incorrect translation… [of 1-John 3] …John wrote that Christians who have the Holy Spirit do indeed sin, and they need to confess their sins to Jesus Christ for forgiveness. "However, if we walk in the light as He is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His own Son, cleanses us from every sin….
If we cannot sin, do we need Jesus? No! I had one man that I could not convince him that he can sin. He said, 'I cannot sin.' I read these verses to him, and he said, 'If you're converted you cannot sin.' I said that if you're a spirit being you cannot sin. So, if you cannot sin, why don't you try walking through a wall and see if you can do that.
What did Jesus say in the model prayer? After He says, 'Your will be done, forgive us our sins!'
…If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the Truth is not in us. If we confess our own sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins…
If you cannot sin how can you have your sins forgiven?
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And yet, if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father; Jesus Christ the Righteous, and He is the propitiation of our sins, and not for our sins only, but the also for the sins of the whole world" (John 1:7-10; 2:1-2).
That's quite amazing! If you're born of God, you cannot sin, or that is a mistranslation, because look at all the evidence that you do sin in the very same epistle that John is writing.
In the same Epistle, John wrote that if anyone should see a brother sin a sin not unto death [a sin that is repentable], he should pray for that brother, and God would give him life; that is, God would grant him forgiveness: "If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin that is not unto death, he shall ask, and He will give him life for those who do not sin unto death. There is a sin unto death, concerning that sin, I do not say that he should make any supplication to God. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death" (1-John 5:16-17).
Quite amazing! Let's see the summary, 14 things that shows that converted people sin:
1) The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from every sin.
2) If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves.
Can you imagine how self-righteous that is?
3) If we confess our own sins…to forgive us our sins…
4) He cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
5) If we say that we have not sinned,
that is we do not have a sinful nature
we make Him a liar.
6) I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.
7) Yet, if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father; Jesus Christ.
8) He is the propitiation for our sins.
9) …Not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world…
10) If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin that is not unto death, he shall ask…
11) He will give life for those who do not sin unto death.
12) There is a sin unto death:…
13) All unrighteousness is sin.
14) There is a sin not unto death.
1-John 3—the correct translation, and after all, that's what we should have for the brethren. It also takes away a lot of power from the ministers to stand in the pulpit and say, 'I know a little Greek.'
Sidebar: If you hear anyone say that Strong's Concordance #… says… know that their knowledge of Greek is only what is in Strong's Concordance. The Greek is much more complicated and difficult than that.
If they say the Greek says… They may have little more knowledge than if they say Strong's Concordance says…
One of the rules of Bible Study is to read the verses before and after for context.
1-John 3:4: "Everyone who practices sin… ['poieo' that means continuously] …is also practicing lawlessness…" The King James has a fairly good translation which is"sin is the transgression of the Law."
But this is the proper translation: 'anomia' against law—lawlessness—the KJV says iniquity.
"…for sin is lawlessness" (v 4). Lawlessness means a lot! Transgressing the Law just means the Law. Lawlessness can mean:
- ideas against the Law
- doctrines against the Law
- behavior against the Law
Verse 5: "And you know that He appeared in order that He might take away our sins; and in Him is no sin…. [only in Christ] …Everyone who dwells in Him does not practice sin; anyone who practices sin has not seen Him, nor has known Him" (vs 5-6).
There were people who were saying, 'I saw Jesus. I was there when He was healing people. I followed Him around Jerusalem. I followed Him around Galilee.'
Verse 7: "Little children, do not allow anyone to deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous."
Psalm 119:172: "…all Your commandments are righteousness."
Hebrews 10:16: "…I will give My Laws into their hearts, and I will inscribe them in their minds…"
1-John 3:7: "…even as He is righteous."
- Has there anyone been as righteous as Jesus? No!
- How does that come about? By forgiveness and imputing to us righteousness!
Not that we deserve it. That's a gift of grace. But we don't take that for granted and go out and sin and say that 'I've got grace imputed to me.' No!
Verse 8: "The one who practices sin is of the devil because the devil has beensinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God appeared that He might destroy the works of the devil." Not destroy the devil! I says in another place to annul (Heb. 2) all the works of the devil. What does annul mean? Absolutely remove as if never existed!
Now here is the correct translation, v 9; the word born in the KJV should be translated begotten.
Verse 9: "Everyone who has been begotten by God does not practice sin, because His seed… [sperma] …of begettal is dwelling within him, and he is not able to practice sin because he has been begotten by God."
How does that work? Begotten by God means that you have the Spirit of God. Begotten and united with your spirit. When you sin, you know that you sin! Why? Because you have the Spirit of God that tells you that sin. You have the Laws and commandments of God written in your mind and inscribed in your heart. What do you do? You repent! Then you work to overcome it.
1-Peter 1:2—the translators could not translate it any other way: "Who have been chosen according to the predetermined knowledge of God the Father, by sanctification through the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you… [all of this becomes available to us] …Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, according to His abundant mercy, has begotten us again…" (vs 2-3).
Can't be translated any other way. You were begotten when you were conceived in your mother's womb by your father's seed.
Now when you repent and are baptized and receive the Holy Spirit, you are begotten by God the Father. This begettal is the earnest of eternal life! We are not born of God because we don't have the full measure of a spirit being. We have been begotten again!
Ephesians is one of the most spiritual books of the New Testament.
Ephesians 1:9: "Having made known to us the mystery of His own will… [the Gospel] …according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself; that in the Divine plan for the fulfilling of the times, He might bring … [meaning that they're not there, yet] …all things together in Christ, both the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth; yes, in Him, in Whom we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestinated according to His purpose…" (vs 9-11).
Think about that when you get discouraged. That's why Paul writes that there is nothing in heaven or earth, no person, no power, no anything that can separate you from God!
"…Who is working out all things according to the counsel of His own will; that we might be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in the Christ; in Whom you also trusted after hearing the Word of the Truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in Whom also, after believing…" (vs 11-13)—after having been baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 20—to show where it was in Ephesus).
"…you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise… [begotten again] …which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory" (vs 13-14).
1-John 3:8: "The one who practices sin is of the devil…"—living a life of sin! That's most people in the world, but they don't know that they're doing it because they're deceived.
- God has not called them
- God has not opened their eyes
"…because the devil has beensinning from the beginning…. [still is today] … For this purpose the Son of God appeared that He might destroy the works of the devil. Everyone who has been begotten by God… [with the Holy Spirit] …does not practice sin, because His seed of begettal is dwelling within him, and he is not able to practice sin because he has been begotten by God. By this standard are manifest the children of God and the children of the devil. Everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God…" (vs 8-10).
Everything that God tells to do is righteousness. By keeping the Sabbath, that's a righteousness that God wants us to do. Look at what God does for us on the Sabbath.
"…and neither is the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning: that we should love one another; not as Cain…" (vs 10-12)—and so forth.
No one has been born of God except Christ Who was resurrected from the dead, the Firstborn from the dead. No one has been born of God, yet! So, this translation in the KJV is one of major most cunning deceitful things that the Protestants hold to, and is hard to move people off that.
That's what it means to be born of God and what it means to be born again!
Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version (except where noted)
Scriptural References:
- John 1:1-3
- John 4:18-24
- John 1:14
- Isaiah 9:6-7
- 1 Timothy 3:16
- John 3:1-6
- Matthew 1:18-25
- Revelation 1:4-5
- John 3:5-10
- 1 Corinthians 15:11-12, 14-23, 22-23
- Isaiah 66:6-10
- Hosea 13:13-14
- Micah 5:2-4
- 1 Corinthians 15:33-55
- 1 John 3:9, 4-7
- Psalm 119:172
- Hebrews 10:16
- 1 John 3:7-9
- 1 Peter 1:2-3
- Ephesians 1:9-14
- 1 John 3:8-12
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Acts 8
- Luke 1
- Genesis 3:15
- Isaiah 28
- John 16
- Philippians 2
- Revelation 7
- Acts 10
- Revelation 1:18
- Hebrews 2
- Acts 20
Also referenced:
From The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version (afaithfulversion.org):
- Appendix P: What Does It Mean to Be "Born Again"?
- Appendix Q: What Does It Mean to Be "Born of God"?
- Appendix Z: Understanding Paul's Difficult Scriptures Concerning the Law and the Commandments of God
- Appendix A: Fourteen Rules of Bible Study
Booklets:
- Who Are the 144,000?
- Pentecost and the 144,000
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 7/1/19
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