What does it mean to be born again...

John 3:1-10

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?

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Romans 10:9-10

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

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Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

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There are many ways to interpret the words in the Bible. Words are pointers to some meaning. Everyone experiences the meaning of words based on their life experiences. So what does it mean to die and be born again is full of many interpretations. Here is what I think it means.

Who are WE? What is important is to realize we are not just like each other, we ARE each other. None of us invented sex. It is just part of what it means to be a human being. Everyone is capable of having sex. The same thing is true with human character. None of us invented or owns our human character. Most of us have ego delusion. Everything we think is who we are exists in other people. Our way of looking at the world is not unique. What makes us happy and what makes us sad is not unique. Since you are not really uniquely alive as your ego delusion would have you believe, who you are lives on in the human race. As long as the human race is thriving none us will actual die.

Once you realize we are all the same, once you recognize your own ego delusion, you die and are reborn again to experience what being a human being really means. This new way of experiencing what it means to be a human being is like the golden rule on steroids. Seeing other people as yourself changes the way you experience and appreciate God. You are never alone because everyone around you is a friend. Knowing you will not die because you will live on in other people is very liberating. You attain a new found faith that no matter what happens everything is going be alright because everything you love and appreciate is going to live on in other people.

What does being born again mean to you? Please do not regurgitate meaningless phrases. Please use your own words.

This:

"Such things have come to pass in the days of every Manifestation of God. Even as Jesus said: “Ye must be born again.” Again He saith: “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.” The purport of these words is that whosoever in every dispensation is born of the Spirit and is quickened by the breath of the Manifestation of Holiness, he verily is of those that have attained unto “life” and “resurrection” and have entered into the “paradise” of the love of God. And whosoever is not of them, is condemned to “death” and “deprivation,” to the “fire” of unbelief, and to the “wrath” of God. In all the scriptures, the books and chronicles, the sentence of death, of fire, of blindness, of want of understanding and hearing, hath been pronounced against those whose lips have tasted not the ethereal cup of true knowledge, and whose hearts have been deprived of the grace of the holy Spirit in their day. Even as it hath been previously recorded: “Hearts have they with which they understand not.”
- Bahaullah

dfnj said:

...
What does being born again mean to you? ...

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To me, it means person’s mind is changed to righteous.

1213 said:

To me, it means person’s mind is changed to righteous.

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I believe that only happens with the new eternal body.

InvestigateTruth said:

This:

"Such things have come to pass in the days of every Manifestation of God. Even as Jesus said: “Ye must be born again.” Again He saith: “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.” The purport of these words is that whosoever in every dispensation is born of the Spirit and is quickened by the breath of the Manifestation of Holiness, he verily is of those that have attained unto “life” and “resurrection” and have entered into the “paradise” of the love of God. And whosoever is not of them, is condemned to “death” and “deprivation,” to the “fire” of unbelief, and to the “wrath” of God. In all the scriptures, the books and chronicles, the sentence of death, of fire, of blindness, of want of understanding and hearing, hath been pronounced against those whose lips have tasted not the ethereal cup of true knowledge, and whose hearts have been deprived of the grace of the holy Spirit in their day. Even as it hath been previously recorded: “Hearts have they with which they understand not.”
- Bahaullah

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I believe that makes for a nice philosophical point of view but it misses the mark in understanding the true nature of the event.

dfnj said:

John 3:1-10


Romans 10:9-10


Corinthians 5:17


There are many ways to interpret the words in the Bible. Words are pointers to some meaning. Everyone experiences the meaning of words based on their life experiences. So what does it mean to die and be born again is full of many interpretations. Here is what I think it means.

Who are WE? What is important is to realize we are not just like each other, we ARE each other. None of us invented sex. It is just part of what it means to be a human being. Everyone is capable of having sex. The same thing is true with human character. None of us invented or owns our human character. Most of us have ego delusion. Everything we think is who we are exists in other people. Our way of looking at the world is not unique. What makes us happy and what makes us sad is not unique. Since you are not really uniquely alive as your ego delusion would have you believe, who you are lives on in the human race. As long as the human race is thriving none us will actual die.

Once you realize we are all the same, once you recognize your own ego delusion, you die and are reborn again to experience what being a human being really means. This new way of experiencing what it means to be a human being is like the golden rule on steroids. Seeing other people as yourself changes the way you experience and appreciate God. You are never alone because everyone around you is a friend. Knowing you will not die because you will live on in other people is very liberating. You attain a new found faith that no matter what happens everything is going be alright because everything you love and appreciate is going to live on in other people.

What does being born again mean to you? Please do not regurgitate meaningless phrases. Please use your own words.

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I believe this is not true the evidence is to the contrary.

Muffled said:

I believe that makes for a nice philosophical point of view but it misses the mark in understanding the true nature of the event.

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What is it being missed exactly?
In Bahai view, the life after death is completely life of Spirit. There will never be a physical Resurrection, and when Christ or other Prophet spoke of resurrection, they were speaking figuratively about Spiritual Resurrection, which is a spiritual improvement and awakening by the Revelations of God. Thus, to be born again, from Bahai point of view, means, whenever a new Revelation comes from God, anyone who accepts and follows the New Way of Life, is as if, he has been born again s a New Man, who lives in the newness of life, which is taught by God's Revelation. Then, when such a person passes away, his Spirit is perfected to higher degree, and will be a happier soul in the Spiritual World of God.

A human person is made up of two parts. There is a physical body that you can see and touch and there is a spirit that you cannot see and touch. In order to form a new physical life an egg and a sperm join and then grow for nine months before being born. In orfer to form a new sprit God's spirit must join with the human spirit and grow before being born. Jesus said that those who are born again would be spirit beings and would be invisible like the wind. So when was Jesus born again? When He rose from the grave as a spirit being. And when will other humans be born again? When Jesus returns and they all rise from their graves. Anyone who thinks he is born again while still alive is sadly mistaken. If you can see and touch them then they are not spirit beings and not born again.

Muffled said:

I believe that only happens with the new eternal body.

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I think it must happen in this “life”, because Jesus tells:

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mat. 25:46

There has been many debates about
John 3:1-10.

Unless a person understands about the Three Heaven's and Earth ages.
Being born again, will not make any sense to them.

Many people will say, being born again, is by water baptism. But yet neither Jesus or Nicodemus said anything about baptism.
In their whole conversation in John 3:1-10.

Before anyone was born into this earth age, we all was with God, as it is written in the book of Jeremiah 1:5--"Before I formed you in the belly I knew you, and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet unto the nation's"

Seeing how before anyone came into this earth age, We all were with God, Therefore when we all came into this earth age, We all were born again into this earth age of flesh and blood.

We all were born Spirit beings in the first earth age.
And now being born again in this second earth age of flesh and blood.

Seeing people have no concept about the Three Heaven's and Earth ages. Which the bible does talk about throughout the pages of the bible.
Not even Nicodemus understood what Jesus was talking about, But yet Nicodemus was a master of Israel of knowing the scriptures.
That prompted Jesus to say to Nicodemus
In veres 10--"Jesus answered and said unto him, aren't you a master of Israel, and knows not these things"

As it is, not only did Nicodemus not understand, but many people to day have no clue or idea what Jesus is talking about being Born Again.
As for being born of the Spirit.
In the book of 1 Peter 1:22-23---"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently"

23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever"

Therefore being born again of the Spirit, is by the word of God. Throughout the bible scriptures.