3. God’s Divine Nature
Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:18)
As Christians we must realize that we are born of God and possess His divine nature within us. Our born again experience is divine and not of the flesh. Just as we did not generate our own human birth, like wise we cannot generate our spiritual birth. Ours is to believe and receive the gift of God, which is Jesus Christ but it is God through the work of the Holy Spirit that performs the miracle.
It is Gracious
We did not earn or deserve this divine birth; God gave us this divine birth of His own will and grace. ‘Which were born not of blood (human descent) , nor of the will of the flesh ( human efforts) , nor of the will of man ( human assistance), but of God’ – ( John 1:13). No one can be a partaker of the divine birth because of his/her relatives, his/her resolution, his/her family background, his/her financial standing, or his/her Church. The divine birth is solely the work of God.
It is through God’s word
Just as natural birth requires two parents; – male and female, so also divine birth has two parents; – the word of God and the Spirit of God. As the scripture says; ‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit (John 3:6). Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever – (1 Pet1:23). The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to bring about the miracle of the new birth. Since the Word of God is ‘living and powerful’ (Heb 4:12), it creates life in the heart of a sinner who believes in the finished work of Christ on Calvary; and that life is the life of God.
It is the finest birth possible
The divine birth we have in Christ gave us the privilege of been ‘a kind of first-fruit of God’s creatures’. The Old Testament Jews brought their first-fruits to the Lord as an expression of their devotion, obedience, honor, and a celebration of His faithfulness towards them. Of all the creatures of God in this universe, Christians are the Highest and the Finest! because we share in God’s Divine Nature. For this reason it is beneath our Dignity to accept satan’s bait or to desire sinful things. A higher birth must mean and translate in a higher life there on earth.
By granting us a new birth, God declares that He cannot accept the old birth. It is this experience of the new birth that helps us overcome temptation.
The solution to temptation for every child of God is basically in a close, unbroken relationship with the Father and a constant response to His life giving Word. We must learn to put our trust in the unchangeable nature of God who is the source of our light and again rely solely on His life-giving Word of Truth. (cf Eph 1:13; Col 1:5; 2Tim 2:15).
