British-Israel's Bible Study Course
Lesson Ten
How do we become Part of the Kingdom of God? Jesus said we must be "Born Again" It is this process of birth to which we can enter into the kingdom. This lesson covers how we get into the kingdom.
THE ADOPTION PAPERS
1. What did Jesus say was necessary in order to participate in the kingdom of
God? John 3:3 (NT 84 [651
)_____________________________________________________________________
2. What question did this prompt Nicodemus to ask? (verse 4)
____________________________________________
Converts from heathenism to the Jewish faith were often compared to newly born
children, so Nicodemus would of realized that Christ was talking in a spiritual
sense. Why then, did he appear so shocked? As Israelites by birth, the
Jews considered themselves automatic citizens of God's kingdom and felt no need
of any change. Irritated by the close application which Christ had made, the
pride of the Pharisee struggled against his honest desire for truth.
3.Jesus said when one is "Born Again" one "__ _______" (verse 6).
4.When does one become Spirit? I Corinthians 15:42-44 says "________________________________________________________________________________________________"
5. One is called a child of God. But not Born yet, what is the Christian now in this life? (I Peter 1:3) "______________________"
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "BEGOTTEN" AND "BORN"
Much of the confusion about being "born again" has resulted from misinterpreting the original Greek of the New Testament. With one exception (James 1:15-18) the Greek word used in reference to spiritual begettal and birth—spiritual salvation—is always gennao. This word means both "to conceive," or "to beget," and also "to bear," or "to be born"—all or any part of the whole process which produces a new individual human being; whereas in English we use two separate verbs—"begotten" and "born."
Since both begettal and birth are included in the meaning of gennao, we must often let the Bible interpret the Bible in order to know which meaning is intended in a particular passage.
Here are several examples where the Greek word should rightly have been rendered begotten, not born: John 1:12-13; I John 2:29; 4:7; 5:1 (three times); 5:4. The King James Version is correct by using "begotten" in I Corinthians 4:15; Hebrews 1:5 and I John 5:1.
The person who has been finally "born of God" will not sin any longer. Once we are born of God at the resurrection we will be able to live without ever sinning again. How? Simply because we will then possess the fullness of God’s perfect character and divine nature. We will no longer possess a nature which can fall victim to sin and Satan’s influence.
But as long as we are only "begotten" of God we must "keep ourselves"— we must continue to resist the evil temptations of the flesh. Such a one can commit sin. When caught off guard or in a moment of weakness, we can and often do sin! But we cannot "practice [or continually live in] sin" and be the begotten sons of God (I John 3:5-6).
Life, to the begotten Christian, is a constant struggle against Satan’s influence which is the cause of the evil side of man’s nature. (The origin of the evil characteristics of "human nature" will be covered in Lesson 9.) Although he has now received the begettal of God’s divine nature (II Pet. 1:4), he still manifests the traits of human nature as well, and the one wars against the other (Gal. 5:17).
Now what about the scriptures that call Christ the "ONLY-begotten"? (John 1:14, 18; 3:16; I John 4:9.) Do these, after all, disprove the truth that true Christians are only "begotten" of God’s Spirit, growing toward being born of God at the resurrection? Of course not!
The simple answer is that all these verses are referring to Christ’s miraculous begettal in His mother Mary’s womb. Christ’s physical begettal and birth (gennao) were unique. No other person—ever—has been begotten by the Spirit of the Father in a human mother’s womb! In this sense He is—and always shall be—"ONLY-begotten." But many have been "begotten again" (I Pet. 1:3) to ultimately become—through the process of spiritual growth and birth—the spirit-born sons of God. For a detailed study read our Booklet "What is the Purpose of Human Life?"
6. By what power is one begotten again? (verses 5-8); also Romans
8:14 (NT 140 [110]
)_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Listen to the breeze rustling the branches of the trees. You can hear it, but have you ever seen it? So it is with the Holy Spirit's work upon the heart. As the Spirit of God takes possession of the human heart, the life itself is transformed. Sinful thoughts and evil deeds are given up, and love, joy and peace take the place of anger, jealousy and strife. No one can see the hand that lifts the burden, or detect the light as it descends from above, but the blessing is none the less real. As the soul surrenders itself to God in faith, that power which no human eye can see actually creates a new being, a new heart, a newly begotten child, ready to be born at the Resurrection!
7. What else does the Holy Spirit give us? Romans 5:5 (NT 138 [108] )______________________________________
8. How does Paul describe the begotten-again person? 2 Corinthians 5:17
(NT 161 [126] )_______________________
9. What do those become when they experienced the miracle of the new birth? 1
John 3.1, 2 (NT 208 [1651 )________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Only by adoption can a person change his family. The same applies to the spiritual life. Only through a "new birth" can one transfer from Adam's family to God's family. This new birth is the Christian's adoption into His new family.
7. Who has made it possible for Adam's sons to be adopted into God's family?
Galations 4:4-7 (NT 168 [1321 )______
__________________________
2. THE COST OF ADOPTION
1. By virtue of their adoption, what else do God's children become? Galations
3:29 and 4:7 (NT 168 [1321 )_________
________________________________________________________________________________
2. What is promised to Christ's heirs? 1 John 2:25 (NT 208 [165]
)___________________________________________
3. Where is this inheritance now? 1 Peter 1:4 (NT 202 [160]
)______________________________________________
4. What does it cost to become sons of God and be entitled to eternal life?
Romans 6:23 (NT 139 (1091 )__________
_________________________________
Salvation is a gift, yet Jesus says that those who obtain it must sacrifice "all" (Luke 14:33, NT 70 [541; Matthew 13:44-46, NT 15 [101). Jesus loved me so much that if I had been the only person on earth to have sinned, He would have died for me alone! In turn, He asks me to make Him Number One in my affections-above every other person or thing.
On November 14, 1973, Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise was married to
Captain Mark Anthony Peter Phillips in London's historic Westminster Abbey.
Although Captain Phillips was born a commoner, he became a full-fledged member
of the royal family. He stood in a new relationship-the past was put aside. Many
may have smiled as they heard him vow to endow his wife with all his worldly
goods. What could he give her! Yet he promised to give a// of the little he had
to the one to whom he had committed the remainder of his life. And she, in turn,
pledged her entire fortune and earthly goods to meet his needs through the years
ahead.
So it is with our relationship to the Lord Jesus. When we become His adopted
children, all that He has becomes ours, and all that we have and are become His.
It is the quality of the relationship that matters, not the quantity of what we
have to offer. (Adapted from "All the King Wants Is - - -" by Marjorie Collins,
in Eternity magazine, 1974.)
5. How does a person experience the new begettal? John 1:12,13 (NT 82 [63] )_____________________________________
6. How does one "receive" Jesus? John 3:16 (NT 84 [65] )_____________________________________________________
7. When the people asked Peter what they should do, what did he say? Acts 3:19 and 2:38 (NT 107 [84, 831)_____________
Repentance involves a genuine sorrow on the sinner's part that his sins
crucified the Son of God. As he realizes this, he will turn from his sins to
follow the Saviour.
3. THE PRIVILEGES OF ADOPTION
1. What assurance does God give that our sins will be forgiven? 1 John 1:9
(NT 207 (164] ) "If we confess our sins, he is_____and _____to forgive" them.
2. How complete is God's forgiveness? Isaiah 1:18 (OT 552 [429]
)______________________________________________________
By becoming my Substitute and dying in my place, Jesus earned the right to forgive me. The moment I place my trust in Him and am willing to believe whatever He says, to accept whatever He offers, and to do whatever He asks, I experience the new begettal and become a member of His family. Paul calls this "justification." It means that God now looks upon me just as though I had never sinned! No wonder it's beyond my ability to comprehend! How can He do this? Because there at the cross God placed your sins and my sins, and the sins of every man, woman and child, upon His Son (Isaiah 53:6, OT 587 [4561 ). He allowed Christ to die for these sins. That means that God had to treat His own Son as the sinner instead of us. And by accepting this sacrifice-this great gift-you and I are free!
3. What kind of freedom does justification, or the new begettal, give us? Romans 6:14, 15 (NT 139 [1091 )_____________________________
The person who comes away from the cross is begotten into God's royal family, will have a deeper love for the One who made this possible. He will have a new and deeper respect for God's law and will desire to harmonize his own thinking with that of his new Father. Paul says such a person will "always be trying to find out what best pleases the Lord" (Ephesians 5:10, TCV), just as Jesus always did those things that pleased His Father (John 8:29, NT 91 [711 ). Never forget this! The man who is truly under grace never wants to sin again.