Regarding the topic of being born again, again, in Psalm 51:10 New King James Version (NKJV), it states, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Commentary:
Only God can renew our spirits. If we have sinned, we must confess our sins and repent of them and ask for God’s forgiveness. Then and only then can we be restored to full fellowship with Him. Without godly sorrow, we are just playing and faking. God sees all things and knows all things. Godly sorrow is more than saying “I am sorry.” It is evident by ashes and sackcloth. You mourn for at least 30 days. If you have committed sin against God, you must walk with your head down in godly sorrow. Otherwise, you are just playing games. You are not real. (Miyagi)
What this means to me is that I must check the condition of my heart daily. If I overlook or make excuses for the sin that the Holy Spirit is warning me about, then I am committing the sin of co-mission. Without true repentance, I have no relationship with the Lord. This is because I have broken fellowship with God. Light and darkness cannot co-exist. Restoration must take place.. The process used to restore fellowship is to be born again, again. To be born again is to be renewed and restored in the Holy Spirit. (Miyagi)
In Philippians 2:12, it states “.....work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”
Commentary:
This means that we must make sure that we live in such a way that is in accordance with God’s word. We are to do God’s will which is to follow His word in all that we do. We must live as if Jesus is standing right next to us because He is. Today, the prevailing spirit in our Christian community is “as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone, it’s ok.” This lukewarm spirit is prevalent in society even as we speak. So when God sends a messenger to a church, 99 percent of the time, what happens to that messenger of God? They despise him and reject him as they did in the days of Jesus. The people don’t want to hear the message. They don’t want to hear the warning, especially if the pastor is in sin and denial. Jesus is suppose to be the Head Pastor of every church. But many senior pastors in the local church refuse to give up their authority to the Lord Jesus. They want to be the head and call all the shots. Therefore, Jesus becomes someone they preach about but not someone that they have truly submitted to or have fully surrendered to. He is not someone that they honor and glorify. And they do not even want His second coming. They are enjoying the power too much. (Miyagi)
For me, working out my salvation is the renewal process of submitting to Christ, addressing sin issues to ensure that the spirit man is in union with the Holy Spirit. This daily process is to be born again, again. For me working out my salvation in fear and trembling means being born again, again. If I don’t have this attitude of ensuring that Christ is governing my life, I might be in collusion with the strongman. The Christ or the stronger man must have full rights and authority over me. The natural man in me has an accumulation of cultural values and belief system. These are in opposition and direct contradiction to the spiritual man, the Christ in me. I have personal revelation knowledge that if I don't crucify myself daily, then the natural man will take over and be in charge. One of the things that I do in the morning is that I ask myself this question, “Miyagi, who is in charge today? The Christ or you.”. Over a function of time, the identity should be like Christ Jesus.
In the book “How People Grow” by Cloud and Townsend on page 145-146 it states:
“ The theology of redemption is one of total destruction, of starting all over again, at birth. We are not to be “improved”; we are to be crucified and born again.. As Paul says, the old has been crucified, and all things have become new (2 Cor 5:17; Gal. 2:20). (Remember he says “new,” not “complete,” as some would teach.) So we need to enter an entire developmental process. John speaks of us as “children” who are learning, whether young or old (1 John 2:12-14). Peter uses the term “newborn babes” (1 Pet 2:2). Hebrews refers to “infants” (Heb 5:13). The spiritual developmental path is one of reconciling the creation to the way it was supposed to be. “
To paraphrase what Cloud and Townsend said further is that none of us is complete because of the sin of Adam. We already are born into a dysfunctional family called the human race because of sin. So how do we get out of it? We have to go through a rebirth and a re-growing up, this time in a new family. This family is called the Body of Christ. This means it has nothing to do with denominational dogma. (Miyagi) “Nurturance, modeling, truth, love, accountability, development of talents, and more are all to be present in this family to give the new born babes what they need to grow up to maturity and completeness” (Cloud and Townsend 146).
Cloud found out how spiritual growth address and solve life’s problem. It was through being born again, again. He saw that all he had been learning that helped people grow was right there in the Bible all along. Everything that was needed to change lives was right there in the Scripture (Cloud and Townsend 20).
I, Miyagi, have not been perfected and complete. That is why I must be born again, again. I must crucify the flesh daily and make no provision for the flesh. I must put away any pre-supposition and pre-understanding about the subject of being born-again. I must seek the Lord to counsel me on what the Scripture is saying. Without having the Holy Spirit, I will not be able to see the revelation of the written Word of God. Without being born again, I cannot see the kingdom of God or the revealing of the Word of God. And so to relate to this idea of being born again, again, many in the Christian community is preaching that “once saved, always saved.” This, to me, is a warning that I must check myself, my relationship, and my status with the Lord Jesus on a regular basis.
Galatians 2:20 New King James Version (NKJV)
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
2 Corinthians 4:10 New King James Version (NKJV)
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
Romans 8:13 New King James Version (NKJV)
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
John 3:5-7 New King James Version (NKJV)
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
Galatians 5:24 New King James Version (NKJV)
24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
The King James Study Bible commentary for John 3:3 states:
“Born again” may be translated either “again” or “from above.” Perhaps, both ideas should be combined here to indicate the repetition of an act from another source. John might have said “again” had he wish to indicate repetition of an act from the same source.
In conclusion, inasmuch as various local denominations adhere to their related theology, the truth still remains. There is one Lord, one God, one Spirit and one Savior. The foregoing commentaries are my personal revelations. For those who may have a difference, please consult the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and counselor. If we sin against the Holy Spirit, there is a dreadful result. Jesus is saying that when a person sin against God or Jesus, there is still hope if he repents. However, if he sins against the Holy Spirit, there is no more hope. He may have cross the point of no return.
Matthew 12:31
31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy (every evil, abusive, injurious speaking, or indignity against sacred things) can be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the [Holy] Spirit shall not and cannot be forgiven.
Miyagi
The Body of Christ Jesus Fellowship
Makaha, HI USA
Work Cited
Cloud, Henry and John Townsend. How People Grow. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 1996. Print.
The King James Study Bible. Thomas Nelson Publisher: Nashville. 1988. Print.
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