Born Again
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. John 3:3.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). The whole life of Christ upon earth was lived for the purpose of manifesting the will of God on earth as it is in heaven. Said Christ, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.... 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” (John 3:3-6).
Christ does not acknowledge any caste, color, or grade as necessary to become a subject of His kingdom. Admittance to His kingdom does not depend upon wealth or a superior heredity. But those who are born of the Spirit are the subjects of His kingdom. Spiritual character is that which will be recognized by Christ. His kingdom is not of this world. His subjects are those who are partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And this grace is given them of God.
Christ does not find His subjects fitted for His kingdom, but He qualifies them by His divine power. Those who have been dead in trespasses and sins are quickened to spiritual life. The faculties which God has given them for holy purposes are refined, purified, and exalted, and they are led to form characters after the divine similitude. Though they have misapplied their talents and made them serve sin; though Christ has been to them a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, because they stumbled at the Word, being disobedient, yet by the drawing of His love they are led at last into the path of duty. Christ said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
Christ draws them to Himself by an unseen power. He is the light of life, and He imbues them with His own Spirit. As they are drawn into the spiritual atmosphere, they see that they have been made the sport of Satan’s temptations, and that they have been under his dominion; but they break the yoke of fleshly lusts, and refuse to be the servants of sin. Satan strives to hold them. He assails them with various temptations; but the Spirit works to renew them after the image of Him who created them.—The Review and Herald, March 26, 1895.
This devotional is taken from Ye Shall Receive Power by Ellen G. White.