Born Twice
- Bishop Keith Butler
- May 10
- 2 min read
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:4-6)
Nicodemus was genuinely puzzled. How could a grown man experience a second birth? His logical mind couldn't grasp the spiritual truth that Jesus shared. Jesus patiently clarified this crucial distinction: there is a natural birth—when we are physically born from our mother's womb—and a spiritual birth—when we are born anew by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus described the first birth as being "born of water," referring to the natural process every human undergoes. A person exists when the seed enters the egg, and God has a record of that individual as a human. Just as our physical birth is counted the moment the seed enters the egg, the moment someone accepts Jesus, they are reborn. This isn’t a process; it doesn’t take time; you are fully, in that moment, born again. Some people may take a while to learn how to walk as who they now are, but it doesn’t change their nature.
The second birth He spoke about is spiritual, brought about by the Holy Spirit. Jesus emphasized that unless a person experiences this spiritual birth, they cannot enter the kingdom of God.Our reborn nature allows us to understand the deep things of God. It opens us to receive from Him and see kingdom possibilities in everyday life. You can perceive what God wants to accomplish in a moment and enact it through your words and actions of faith.
Practical Application
Before you start your workday or the tasks you have to accomplish today, stop and say out loud, “I have been reborn to see kingdom possibilities with new eyes and a renewed mind. Holy Spirit, I’m born again, so show me what God’s kingdom looks like in my daily tasks today.”
