The New Birth Series

Scripture

In her book titled Stay Salt, Rebecca Manley Pippert writes about the renowned child psychiatrist Robert Coles in which he told this story in a graduate class at Harvard University many years ago: “A highly regarded psychiatrist recently told me in despair: ‘I have been doing therapy with a man for 15 years. He is as angry, as self-centered, and as mean as he was the first day he walked into my office. The only difference is that now he knows why he is so angry and mean.’ ”

Manley notes that Dr. Coles pointed out that although the psychiatrist provided his client with insight as to how his childhood emotional wounding had affected his adult dysfunction, the man still hadn’t changed. Coles asked, “Could we conclude that what this man needed wasn’t just information but transformation? But is transformation possible for human beings?”

The answer that the Bible gives is that transformation is definitely possible for human beings. Indeed, not only do angry, self-centered, and mean people need transformation; all people need transformation. Such transformation comes only by the new birth. The Holy Spirit regenerates and transforms people into new creations in Christ.

Let’s read about the new birth in 1 John 5:1-5:

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:1-5)

Introduction

The Apostle John wrote his First Letter around 90 AD. He was responsible for the oversight of churches in the region of Ephesus and it was to these dear people of God that John wrote this letter. The reason for the letter is that false teachers were denying that Jesus was the Son of God. So John wrote to correct the error of the false teachers and also to reassure the believers that they may know that they have eternal life.

John’s correction of the false teaching was done by setting down three tests by which one may evaluate whether one has a saving relationship with God. The tests are moral, social, and doctrinal, also known as tests of obedience, love, and belief. John has repeated and restated these three tests throughout his letter. Commentator John Stott summarizes John’s combination of the three tests as follows:

In chapter 2 he describes all three tests in order, obedience (3–6), love (7–11) and belief (18–27). In chapter 3 he treats only obedience (2:28–3:10) and love (11–18), while in chapter 4 only belief (1–6) and love (7–12). In 4:13–21 he has combined the doctrinal and social tests. Now, however, in the brief opening paragraph of chapter 5, we meet the three together again. The words “believe” and “faith” occur in verses 1, 4 and 5, “love” in verses 1, 2 and 3, and the need to obey or carry out “his commands” in verses 2 and 3. What John is at pains to show is the essential unity of his threefold thesis. He has not chosen three tests arbitrarily or at random and stuck them together artificially. On the contrary, he shows that they are so closely woven together into a single, coherent fabric that it is difficult to unpick and disentangle the threads.

Moreover, it is important to note that the link between these three tests is the new birth. John mentions the new birth in verse 1 (twice) and also in verse 4.

Lesson

First John 5:1-5 shows us what the new birth produces.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. The New Birth Produces Belief (5:1a, 4-5)

2. The New Birth Produces Love (5:1b-2a)

3. The New Birth Produces Obedience 5:2b-3)

I. The New Birth Produces Belief (5:1a, 4-5)

First, the new birth produces belief.

John writes in verse 1a, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” The New International Version translates verse 1a as follows, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” This gives the impression that the new birth is the result of belief. However, the English Standard Version has correctly interpreted the Greek text. The Greek word for “believes” is in the present tense and the Greek word for “has been born” is in the perfect tense. That means that the present activity of belief is due to the past completed action of birth. This is a very important point. The new birth produces belief.