Alive Again

The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. John 5:28-29

Every four years at our school we study the Renaissance. Renaissance means “rebirth,” and in history studies it refers to a revival of classical learning that took place roughly 1450-1650. I really enjoy this period, especially for its great art and literature. Think Michaelangelo and Shakespeare and the King James Bible!

When we think of words like rebirth and revival, we think of something old or out-dated having new life breathed into it.

But when Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3 that we must be “born again,” he wasn’t talking about a need for a little updating, like a house with peeling wallpaper and furniture that was stylish thirty years ago. Someone who is in sin is dead. Spiritually dead. Like Marley. Dead as a doornail. (Forgive the non-Renaissance Dickens reference.) Being “born again” doesn’t mean getting a fresh coat of paint. It isn’t putting a new patch on an old garment (Matthew 9:16). Nor does it mean re-emerging from the womb as Nicodemus suggested (rhetorically, I presume) in John 3:4. It means coming out of the grave.

This is why the father of the prodigal son celebrated when his son returned home. The young man wasn’t physically dead but spiritually dead. He had completely severed himself from his father. But his father had been watching for his return, and joyfully declared:

This my son was dead and is alive again!

When we separate ourselves from God with our sins (Isaiah 59:2), we cut ourselves off from the source of spiritual life. So we need to be “born again,” that is, spiritually raised from the dead. Notice how baptism is pictured as a burial and a resurrection:

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4

When we’re “born again,” it’s a resurrection from spiritual death!

This my son was dead and is alive again!

When God said of the forbidden fruit, “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die,” (Genesis 2:17), He didn’t mean they would drop dead right then and there. But when they sinned, right then and there they did die, spiritually.

Of course this also meant eventual physical death. Even though their lives continued outside the garden, away from the tree of life their bodies became mortal as well.

But if physical death were the end, being spiritually re-born wouldn’t really be worth much.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. 1 Corinthians 15:19

Jesus said that someday there will be a resurrection for everyone:

The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. John 5:28-29

What good can we do to make sure we are resurrected to life? In a sense, there’s nothing we can do. “All have sinned,” (Romans 3:23), and “the wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23). But if we are spiritually resurrected now, raised with Christ to walk in newness of life, then the good that Jesus has done can be applied to our account at the final resurrection and judgment.

The value of spiritual rebirth lies in the promise of resurrection from physical death. And this is guaranteed by the physical resurrection of Jesus himself.

As the threat against him increased, Jesus didn’t re-brand himself or try to breathe new life into his ministry. He went to the cross. And when they took him down, he was dead, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Nor was there any doubt about his resurrection. It must have been rather shocking and awe-inspiring for the hundreds who were witnesses to it (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). When Thomas saw the resurrected Jesus, it seems he couldn’t find any words other than to proclaim, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

But oh, how the Father must have rejoiced!

This My Son was dead and is alive again!

Dear God, thank You for making a way for us to have spiritual life through the death and resurrection of Your perfect Son. Help us to realize the seriousness of our need for salvation and for walking in newness of life. Re-make us into the image of Christ. In His name, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins