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Abraham and many others -
prophets and writers of the Bible -
were begotten. of God - they were
in the same identical state as human
Christians who have God's Spirit
within them today. But they have
not, even yet, INHERITED -
entered
into
-
the Kingdom of God. They
have not yet been BORN ofGod.
Jesus had to be the FIRST to be
BORN of God - the FIRSTBORN of
many brethren. That was H is
second
birth, as the resurrection will be
ours! "And these all, having ob–
tained a good report through faith,
received not the promrse [were not
born into the KINGDOM]: God hav–
ing provided sorne better thing for
us, that they without us should not
be made perfect" (Heb. 11 :39-40).
This, again, PROYES that the con–
version in this life - receiving the
Ho ly Spirit - is only a
begellal
-
NOT a birth! For Old Testament
fathe rs and prophets
received
God's
Spirit - but they were not "born
again" beca use Jesus was the
first
so
born!
How does this PROCESS of being
born again take place?
What ls the WAY?
Peter gave the WAY. and the condi–
tions. Repent, he said, and be bap–
tized. as an act of FAITH in Christ,
H is shed blood in payment of the
penalty of our sins, and H is resur–
rection mak:ing possible our eterna!
life and being born again. Then, he
said, we shall receive the Holy
Spirit. Those in whom the Holy
Spirit dwells ARE CHRIST'S (Rom.
8:9); all others are not. But
Jf
God's
Spirit dwells in them, God will, by a
resurrection AS He raised Christ
from the dead. bring forth al! such
in immortal spirit life - composed
of spirit as Christ is.
All these scriptures MAKE
CLEARLY PLAIN that we are to be
BORN AGAlN by, and ONLY by. a
resurrection to spirit composition.
We are now heirs of God and
joint-heirs with Christ - NOT YET
tNHERITORS. or possessors of the
Kingdom.
The Human Bírth
What is a birth - what is meant by
being born?
The
PLAIN TRUTH February 1977
All who now are
begotten sons of God
shall then be born
-
elevated from mortal to
immortal, from decaying
flesh to spirit
-
from human to divine!
The actual final
birth
is called
parturition-
a baby being delivered
out ofits mother's womb.
But this
birth
requires a father, as
well as a mother!
lf
it were not for
the PART the father contributes in
the process, there would be no fetus
to be
born.
But THERE IS A TIME
ELEMENT.
Th~
father 's part in what
shall. later, be the
birth
is to beget –
to gender - to sire. From his body
emanates the sperm cell that unites
with and
starts
life in an ovum
within the mother.
This
occurs nine
months
prior
to
parturition
-
or
birth.
We
never
say, in the English lan–
guage, that immediately when an
embryo is conceived in the mother
- sired or begotten by the father -
that the embryo has already been
BORN! Birth has not occurred! To
say it would sound idiotic, ridicu–
Jous!
From conception must foUow the
PROCESS called
gestation
for nine
months. The embryo takes on
human form and is caUed a fetus. Lt
must develop and grow physically
to be born.
So with being born again,
in
a
spiritual birth.
What comes from the divine
Father is the Holy Spirit. J ustas the
unborn child in the mother's womb
is. even in the fetal state, the child
(yet unborn) of its parents, so those
in whom God's Spirit dwells are,
already, children of God. But they
are still
OF
this
first birth
-
still
human - stiU composed of physical
ftesh. They are still in their spiritual
Mother - the Church - which is
sti l\
in
this corruptible present
world, though not
of
it. When
born
of the Spirit, said Jesus. they shall
BE spirit.
But lF God's Holy Spirit dwells
in them, God
then
will resurrect
them (if they are dead), or
change
them (if still living) from physical to
spirit composition at Christ's com–
ing. They will then be
brought for!h
-
delivered
from their Mother, the
Ch urch of God, into the Kingdom
ofGod.
Of the
first birth,
we are, and re–
ma in, FLESH! HUMAN beings!
Of the
second birth,
which is spiri–
tual, we shall SE spirit, no longer
ftesh - but SPIRIT beings! - Divine
Beings!
Glorious World Tomorrow
What WONDERFUL, almost INCOM–
PREHENSIBLE, GLORIOUS GOOD
NEWS!
And the BEST NEWS is, that the
COMING OF CHRIST is now drawing
VERY NEAR! J ust a very few more
years! And then - the PEACEFUL,
HAPPY, GLORIOUS WORLD TOMOR–
ROW!
All who NOW are
begotten
sons of
God shall then be BORN - elevated
from mortal to CMMORTAL, from
decaying FLESH to SPlRIT - from
HUMAN to DIVINE!
And that true born-again experi–
ence will be incomparably more
GLORIOUS than the false, vague,
meaningless, so-called "born-again
experience" that deceived THOU–
SANDS think they have had now.
Can your mind grasp what an in–
credible, transcendent GLORY is the
true potential of those who do BE–
LlEVE, REPENT and OBEY?
But , the scriptures that break be–
fore our eyes this GLORIOUS GOOD
NEWS, aJso warn
US
to TAKE HEED,
and to make our calling and election
sure !
o
RECOMMENDED READING
lf you would like to receive this article in
booklet form, please write for
Jusi What
Do You Mean . . . Born Again?
Book–
lets by Mr. Armstrong on related
subjec ts include:
What Do You
Mean . .. Salvation?, What Will You Be
Doing in the Next Lite?
and
Just What
Do You Mean . .. Conversion?
These
booklets are provided free of charge by
the Worldwide Church of Godas a ser–
vice
in the public interest. Worldwide
mailing addresses are on the inside
front
cover.
35