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image of the invisible God, the
first–
born ofevery creature"(Col.
l:
15).
Now notice a plain statement that
it is speaking of Christ being the
firstborn from the dead, by the res–
urrection:
"And he [Christ] is the head of
lhe body, lhe church: who is the
beginning, the
firstborn from the
dead;
lhat in all things he might
have the preeminence" (Col. l: 18).
There it is! Read it with your own
eyes in your own Bible. Chrisl is
HEAD
of the Church- lhe first of lhe
brethren in the Church lo be born
from the dead.
When we are converled, our sins
forgiven and we receive lhe Holy
Spi r it, we are then
begotten
of
God- not yet
born
of God. If this
has taken place- if we have been
converted, begotten- we are, truly,
already sons of God (1 John 3:2),
bul what we shall be, when born of
God, does not yel appear- for then
we shall be like
Him- like Christ in
His resurrected glorified body!
Now turn to the "resurrection
chapter"-1Corinthians 15:
" If in this life only we have hope
in Christ, we are of all men most
miserable" (verse 19). That is, if
merely being converted in this life–
being forgiven-p lace d under
grace-is all the hope we have-if
that is all there is to il- if there is not
lo be the resurrection lo the life to
come, lhen we are of all roen most
miserable. If "being born again"
takes place in this life, then we
have no hope for the eterna! life to
come!
"But now is Christ risen from the
dead, and become the firstfruils of
lhem lhal slept" (verse 20). That is,
Christ has been born again- born to
a second life-eternal life, becoming
the first of many brethren to be so
born. He is lhe firsl of those who
have died to be resurrecled- that is,
born- to a new and fulure life.
" For as in Adam all die, even so
in Christ shall a ll be made alive. But
every man in his own order: Christ
the firstfruits; afterward lhey that
are Christ's a t his coming" (verses
22-23). Christ was the flfst to be
born again-born from lhe dead.
Afterward-at His coming-they
that are Christ's-the many breth-
The
PLAIN TRUTH March 1978
ren- shall be born again from the
dead, justas Chrisl was.
These scriptures are plain. They
make plain the fact and the trulh
thal being "born again" is being lil–
erally bom of God, immortal, by
the resurrection.
That does
not
in any way nullify
lhe experience of conversion in lhis
life.
It
simply means that miJiions
have been deceived into calling thal
experience by the wrong name.
It
is
a begettal, not a birth. Each of us
was begotten in our mother's womb
before he was, la ter, bom.
Now notice Acts 26:23: "That
Read it
in
your Bible.
Even as Christ was
born again, born of
God, by His
resurrection, even so
we- the brethren–
shall be born again as
sons of God, through
the resurrection of the
dead, by His Spirit
that dwells in us!
Christ should suffer, and that he
should be the first that should rise
from the dead." There it is again.
Christ the
firstfruits- Christ
the
first–
born
of many brethren-the first lo
be born by the resurreclion from the
dead! These are plain statements of
Scripture-plain statements from
God. They do·not say- and 1 do not
say- that Christ was a sinner who
needed salvation.
What these plain statements from
God's Holy Word do say, is that
being born again is not that experi–
ence of conversion from sin in this
life- it is not anylhing any human
has experienced in this life-it is a
new birth to a new life by a resur–
rection. However, it is also true that
no one will be born again- born of
God to the new immortal life- un–
less he repents of sin, believes on
Christ and accepts Him as personal
Savior, receives the gift of the Holy
Spirit, and then is led by the Spiril
of God. But lhis experience is not a
"born-again' ' experience- it is a be–
gettal!
Are you now willing to believe
God's truth?
lt
is so infinitely more
precious and glorious than Salan's
counterfei ts with which he has de–
ceived the world.
o
SPACE SHUTTLE
(Continued from page 25)
"Everything about the project is
completely convent ional. The only
breakthrough required is a decision
on our part to go ahead."
Space shuttle service? Manufac–
turing planls operating in outer
space? Extraterrestrial power sta–
tions beaming energy back to earlh?
Cosmic colonies? Mankind estab–
lishing his dominion in new and
unexplored regions of the universe?
The era of lhe high frontier?
For many people, it's a matter of
faith in an age-old vision that some–
where beyond the earth's a tmo–
sphere lhere is a better place, a
better life, a chance to experience
awe, wonder, and an exhilarating
freedom from the limilalions and
fruslrations of our present mundane
exislence. Surely it is a goal worlhy
of one's lifelong dedicat ion.
Yel lhe irony- indeed lhe lrag–
edy-is lhat modern man seeks lo
find salvation nol lhrough lhe reve–
la tion of his Creator bul through his
own ingenuity and lechnological in–
novation. O
RECOMMENDED READING
The book ot Genesís states that God
created man in His image and gave
man dominion over the earth (Gen.
1:26). But the Bible also proclaíms
that a time will come when man will
have a direct
part
in exploring and even
creatíng new worlds. not just in our
solar system, but throughout the vast
reaches ol God's lantastic universe.
1
you would líke to know more about
man's awesome and inspiring destiny,
then write tor the free booklet
Why
Were You Born?
This booklet will gíve
you an amazing and encouraging
glimpse into man's incredible human
potential.
43