1 Peter 1:23 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
In the previous post on this subject matter, we examined the grammar of 1 Peter 1:23 in trying to address the question above.
Recall that this was a letter to the church and the writer would have presupposed that we started reading from the beginning of that letter.
Therefore, to explain this concept further, we go back to earlier verses of the book; relying on the context for more clarity.
1 Peter 1:2-3 “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
Apostle Peter in verse 3 already established the fact he reiterated in verse 23, when he used the expression “begotten us again” or to put it in another way, “having begotten us again.”
We see that in relation to God, the word used ἀναγεννήσας (anagennēsas), is aorist (an action that is complete/whole) participle active (performed by the subject of the sentence – in this case God). The grammatical construction of verse 3 contrasts that in verse 23 which we dealt with in the previous post.
So, since His begetting us is in the resurrection, a past action, yet present tense reality, God fathered and still fathers us, in the resurrection of Christ!
This was the same truth our Lord Jesus explained in John 3:3-6.
John 3:3-6 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 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 of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
This was going to be available by, and upon His resurrection. Yet, there couldn’t have been a resurrection without first the incarnation.
John 1:13-14 “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
Hence, γεννάω ἄνωθεν (gennáō ánōthen – born again) as recorded in chapter 3 of John’s gospel account, implies not earthly just like the incarnation, instead heavenly. It means to be born from above. It means to be born of God. It means to be born of the Spirit. It means to be born by the Word of God.
John 3:3-6 is thus an advanced conversation from the John 1:13-18 narrative.
This fact is further collaborated in many places in the Bible. For example:
James 1:18 “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth …”
This was the same truth Peter was explaining in 1 Peter 2-3,23.
In summary, we see from the context of our main text beyond the grammar, that we were begotten by the Father in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the resurrection is a completed fact.
In case you are wondering, “How can I be born of God? How can I receive this new birth? How can this be my reality, today?”
Here is the answer:
1 John 5:1 “Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God …”
1 John 4:15 “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”
Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
You are blessed.
All scriptures quoted here are from the King James Version (KJV)
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