Born into the Human Dilemma
Have you ever cursed the day you were born? Did you ever have to face a crisis that was so intense and overwhelming, that you actually regretted being born into this world? Are you trapped right now in a dilemma--a situation where you find yourself with your back against a wall of insurmountable circumstances, or caught in a prison of emotional turmoil from which there is no escape? Have you loaded your life with a myriad of challenging projects and social endeavors to try and find purpose and meaning, yet at the end of the day, when you are alone with your thoughts, you must honestly admit that you just aren't really happy deep down inside? Do you face weaknesses and bad habits that are impossible for you to break out of and come to terms with? Is there any other aspect in your life that overwhelms you and drives you into dark dungeons of despair? If any of these circumstances apply to you, or have applied to you are in the past, you know that you are one of many whom have been born into this world, and so face the consequences of a dismal dilemma that is intricately woven into the fabric of life on this planet. Each child that is born comes from descendants who rebelled against the Kind Master Creator who gave them life, and gave them gifts for survival and for support. The descendants of each person born into this world chose to follow the arch opponent to this Kind Master Creator, and so, have been trapped with him in his economy of darkness throughout the ages. The circumstances you face, or have faced in the past, come packaged in the economy of Satan--an economy loaded with his principles, his attitudes, and his philosophies. These are the circumstances that each person suffers through when they are born into this world.
 

The Natural Qualities of Those Born into This World
There is a miraculous escape from the dilemma each of us face--this article will show the simple steps of how to embrace the Divine Power of the Awesome, Holy, and Unconditional Loving God who created each of us. But first, to get the full picture of where we are without God, we must look at our dilemma. From the day a baby is born, it starts with its demands to be satisfied with its basic needs. In addition to demanding food, warmth, comfort and a human presence, the youngest baby has strong selfish tendencies to want things a certain way. The youngest little mind has very specific demands that will keep growing unless they are restrained by the parent. Have you ever seen a two year old child walking around a living room pulling ornaments off the coffee table, tossing CD's on the floor, or grabbing at the TV control buttons? From that young age, a person travels a journey of "self" enrichment and elevation. While in preschool each child wants to be first, or get the biggest serving at meal times, in grade school children compete for the best grades and position in the class, in elementary school they compete for the best place in the sport teams, in academy they try to be in the most popular social groups, in college they strive for the best career, and in their career they strive for the highest paying and most prestigious position, and they join the competition in "keeping up with the Jones". Yes, unfortunately, every person born by human descent has inherited the characteristics of the arch opponent of the Creator God--satisfying, and serving "self". Every person has inherited the characteristics that are opposite to their loving, holy Creator--graciously giving without limit. The Bible gives us an idea of what these characteristics are:

Romans 3:10-12
As it is written: "There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, on-one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-one who does good, not even one." (Ps 14:1)

2 Timothy 3:1-4
But mark this: "There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." (Note how many of these traits and practices revolve around "self.")
 

The Prime Inherited Trait is Selfishness
Selfishness was the seed from which evil and corruption blossomed. Satan, or Lucifer, the arch opponent of the Loving Creator God of the Universe, turned his focus away from the Awesome Wonder of his Maker, and gazed at "his" position, "his" popularity, and "his" progress. There was someone "greater" than "he" was, and that thought festered until he was overcome with self reflection and self assessment. He began analyzing the economy of God, and with "self" as a measuring stick, found everything that God did offensive to "his" hunger for more and more of exalting "self". How ironic that he could have been envious of someone "above" him, when God's whole economy functions on the "greatest being the least." Anyway, the fact still remains that each one of us have been born with that same overwhelming hunger to satisfy and serve "self". "Self" must be looked after first, "self" must be protected, and "self" must be respected and honored. All the hatred, criticism, theft, murder, sexual abuse, violence and fraud, grew out from this one insidious seed, serving "self". People spend their whole life acquiring more and more possessions, using relationships to meet their needs, pursuing higher and better positions in their work and in their communities. Success is always paired with wealth, education, and position--"self" being the pivotal factor of all these. The seed of greed, selfishness and self exaltation germinates and grows into the economy that Satan has fused into the world--an economy that comes so naturally for all that have been born into the human heritage.
 

The Selfless Contrast of God's Economy
Through endless ages past, created beings have been, and are in awe as they focused on the All-Knowing, All-Powerful, All-Present, All-Seeing God, who is the "least" among them--a God who never takes anything for Himself, but always gives good gifts unconditionally and constantly to His creatures. It is beyond the understanding of even the perfect created beings. It is not only the perfect created beings that are the recipients of God's unfathomable gifts, but also this planet that is in open rebellion against Him. God provides this rebellious planet with the very gifts for it's survival--air, sunshine, water, and food in order for man to have life. He further provides gifts of support--animals, the expanses of nature, friends and families, to make life meaningful. He provides gifts that are special, and add spice, additional enjoyment, and variety to man's life--music, art, creative abilities and inventions. Then He provides spiritual gifts like His Word, the life, teachings, and death of His Son, and spiritual abilities made possible through His Spirit--all to draw mankind back to Him again. Books can't contain the extent of God's free and unconditional gifts to man, but the point of this is that the seed of God's economy grows into the good and the positive aspects of life that save this world from self destruction. We will talk about this later. This unfathomable God sends His Son to give this planet of rebels a glimpse of what He is really all about. That in spite of being the Great and Awesome Creator and Controller of the Universe, He is the very least in His Kingdom. Jesus Christ, the Son and Himself equal to the Father, comes to this earth as a slave, and servant and a steward to ignorant rebels. Jesus does not act on His own behalf even once, He doesn't even think a thought for His own betterment--His sole aim is to give to, and serve others. His life was a window through which to view the nature of the Triune Godhead--Father, Son, and Spirit--the least among their creation, always giving in love, and never taking for self or exalting self.
 

Reversing the Birth into This World--Being Born Again
I am worn out trying to cope with the situations that surround me. I have stacked up circumstances in such a way that I would be guaranteed success and security--only to find failure and frailty. As I contrast the economy of God to the economy of Satan which I was born into, I long to reverse my birth into this world and escape from the dilemma in which I find myself. I search and search to find how I can practically implement a rebirth procedure that will release me from the predicament which I find myself in. I have heard so many Christians speak of being "born again," and they hold loyally to a specific time and place where they were "born again." In my church, the "born again" experience has always been seen occurring on the day of baptism--going into the water representing the old man dying, and coming up out of the water representing the "rebirth" of the new man. Both these views show being "born again" as a "once-off" experience that happens in unusual and very moving circumstances. Is this what being born again is all about? Can a "once-off" experience of making a decision to follow God have such an impact on the rest of my life? How can that "once-off" decision contain the power to reverse the inherent selfishness and self-centeredness locked into every fiber of my being? Why, after I have already been baptized, and have already knelt at the altar of decision, do I have insurmountable bouts of despair, depression and discouragement? Why are the weaknesses and bad habits, which have practically destroyed my life, still strangling and suffocating me? This traditional process of rebirth must be incomplete. There must be more to what it takes to be "born again." So if I am experiencing the traits of the Arch Opponent of the Creator God in my life, there must be something terribly wrong with my personal process of the rebirth experience. Let's take a closer look at what the Bible clearly states about what it takes to be "born again."
 

Jesus' Teaching on Being Born Again
Jesus, speaking to Nicodemus, in the gospel of John in the third chapter from verse 3, tells the importance of being "born again," and how this takes place. Read carefully to pick up an additional factor in this discussion:

Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit . . . Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." John 3:3-6; 14, 15

There are three factors that Jesus mentions here that every person needs in order to be born again: water, the Spirit, and the uplifted Son of Man. Or to condense it down to three words: water, Spirit, and blood. Yes, these three are the crucial factors that you and I need in order to practically experience a life changing, powerful, and tangible rebirth into an economy where there is a contrast to the conditions we have experienced in the economy of the self seeking Satan.
 

John Confirms Jesus' Teaching
In 1 John 5:4-8, the apostle John confirms the three factors of being born again that Jesus taught in John chapter 3:

"For anyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. This is the one who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement."

John says that (1) Anyone born of God overcomes the world, (or the economy of Satan), (2) Those who believe in Jesus overcome the world, (3) Jesus came by the water, the Spirit and by the blood, therefore (4) Anyone born of God must also come by the water, the Spirit, and by the blood.
 

The Test of True Rebirth - Only God's Traits and Practices
In order to clearly contrast the economies of Satan and of God, the Bible represents each by the illustration of "darkness" and "light" respectively. These two contrasting elements cannot mix together or be found close to each other. They are opposites. There is either one or the other. Once again, Jesus in the gospel of John, and the epistle of John, beautifully complement each other in sketching this picture:

John 3:19-21
"This is the verdict: Light has come into this world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

1 John 1:5-7
"This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin."

1 John 2:9-11
"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him."

So again, as I look at my life, and I notice that although I have experienced the "traditional" rebirth experience, I have so many "traits of darkness" still present. These bad traits, or practices I had accepted, thinking that they were to remain in my life until Jesus came to change this "mortal into immortality," and this "perishable into imperishable." The passages in 1 John now really baffle me. Having the kingdom of Satan, with it's principles of selfishness, hate and greed on the one hand--representing darkness, and having the kingdom of God, with it's principles of selflessness, love and giving on the other hand--representing light, brings me to the conclusion that there is no mixing up of the kingdoms. Either I am in the one or the other. If I am dominated by the traits listed under Satan's kingdom, there must be something wrong with my process of being born again. The Bible speaks very, very emphatically about the fact that the two kingdoms don't mix. Click here to see the two extreme kingdoms--how far apart they are, and how contrasting the list of traits under each one is.

1 John 3:9, 10
"No-one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him, he cannot go on sinning because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother."
 

Am I Experiencing the Results of True Rebirth? If Not, What is the Process?
Overwhelmed and convinced by the fact that the "traditional" process of being born again just hasn't worked for me, I now scrutinize the two passages in John 3 and 1 John 5 listed above. How does "the blood, the water and the Spirit" work to process a powerful and practical rebirth experience for me? When does it take place? How often does it take place? And what is my role y in bringing this rebirth experience to be effective in my day to day routine?

The three following factors, which are essential in order to be born again, are discussed separately, but they constantly interact, expand, and complement each other--as John says in 1 John 5:7, ". . . the three are in agreement."
 

The Blood
The Blood is the first step in unfolding the mystery of the unfathomable, kind, giving, humble, and serving Character of God. The Blood is the ink in which God signed the release note that would free the rebellious planet from eternal death--all they had to do was accept it. The Blood shows how severe the consequences of sin is--that only death will release the sinner from his sentence. The Blood shows the sinner how much he needs God's forgiveness in order to live in this life, and in the eternal life to come. The Blood shows every fallen rebel that he too is commissioned to grant unconditional forgiveness to his fellow rebels in the same way God granted him forgiveness. The Blood shows every rebel how far he is from being anything like the selfless Son of God who shed His Blood on his behalf, becoming nothing, and accepting obedience which led to death--death on a cross. The Blood highlights and exposes the selfishness, hate, greed, lust, deceit, and murderous nature of Satan. The Blood contrasts Satan from the Son so dramatically that the believer is drawn from Satan's economy with an overwhelming force. The Blood drives the believer onto his face before God daily, hungering and thirsting for just a glimpse and a taste of that humble, giving nature that brings inexplicable peace and unmovable joy to each recipient. The Blood overwhelms the believer with gratitude and thankfulness for the constant drawing toward a God who never gives up, who never lies, and never breaks His promises--a God who authors a new chapter in the most desperate and hopeless life. The Blood is the foundation of every prayer that ascends to heaven--every prayer contains a plea to destroy self, to receive forgiveness from God and give forgiveness to all others, to express thanks for the countless, unconditional gifts of God, to call God into the lives of others, and for God to continue working and undertaking all aspects in the believers life. This is how precious the Blood really is. It is the medium by which the believer daily approaches the throne of God, finds acceptance, and enters the kingdom of God with all its good and positive traits and practices.
 

Hebrews 10:19-23
"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, this is, his body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."
 

The Water
Traditionally "the water" that Jesus mentioned to Nicodemus in John chapter 3 is often seen as symbolic for the water of baptism. When a person decides to become a follower of Jesus Christ, he or she goes through the waters of baptism. This practice symbolizes the dying of the old person as they are lowered into the water, and the resurrection of the new person as they are lifted out of the water again. It also symbolizes the washing away of sin. But is that where it ends? What does the water practically symbolize in my day to day life--or does the water only have a function when I am baptized right after my conversion? What a question to have to face! Well, once again, Scripture always clears up any mysteries we face when it comes to deeper and more progressive levels of truth. Indeed there is more to the water used in the process of being "born again." Microbiologists tell us that every single reaction in the body takes place in an "aquas" medium--or in water. Water is essential for nourishment to pass into each cell and for waste products to move out of each cell. Furthermore, water is the medium for cleansing the inside and the outside of the body. The Bible tells us that "spiritual water" is used for the exact same functions:

For Feeding: Isaiah 55:10, 11 - "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out of my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

For Washing: Ephesians 5:25-27 - "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

The Word of God is the water that is used for our rebirth experience. The Blood and the Word agree with and illuminate each other. Note the following two Scriptures:

James 1:18
"He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created."

1 Peter 1:22, 23
"Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God."
 

The Spirit
When Jesus was giving His disciples their final instructions before He ascended to heaven, He told them all about the Holy Spirit and the role that He, (the Spirit) would play in their lives. The Spirit would be their comforter, their guide, their instructor, their friend, and would lead them to further levels of truth. Note the following Scripture:

John 16:13, 14
"But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and make it known to you."

The Holy Spirit is not only a guide that will lead me into "all truth," but He is actually called "The Spirit of Truth." In other words, wherever the truth is, He also is--and wherever He is, the truth also is. They are inseparable. 1 John 5:7 confirms this by saying, "and it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the Truth." We pray earnestly for the "latter rain" to be poured out on us, where the Holy Spirit will mobilize marvelous miracles that will move the multitudes. Believers hold revival meetings, prayer meetings and evangelistic meetings to try and hasten the out pouring of the "latter rain." The "former rain" was poured out on a company of believers who had witnessed the blood, humbly examined their hearts, and who earnestly searched the Scriptures. The latter rain is poured out on every believer the moment he, (or she), does the same as that company of believers. When the Word of God is opened by someone with a true hunger and thirst for greater intimacy with God, humbled by the spilt selfless blood of the Son of God, the latter rain showers down on that person. There will come a time when, in the end time, a company of believers mirror the example of those early believers who were anointed by the Spirit shortly after Jesus ascended to heaven. Yes, the Holy Spirit completes the agreement between the blood and the water. These three bring the believer a new birth experience. The further functions of the Spirit are as follows:

Protection: 2 Timothy 1:14 - "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives IN us."

Sealing: Ephesians 1:13, 14 - "And you were also included IN Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory."

Click here to view the complete table of how the process of rebirth carries me from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light.
 

How Often Am I Born Again
As was mentioned above, most Christians feel that their rebirth occurs only once, and this experience lasts them till Jesus comes again when they are changed into "immortals" and made "imperishable." Scripture teaches that this experience takes place every day. Because I am born into Satan's economy, with all my natural tendencies reflecting his selfish, hateful and greedy nature, I cannot rely on a "one-off" experience of being born again. Never! When I am born again at the beginning of each new day, I have the triune force of the blood, the water and the Spirit surging through my being--renewing, refreshing and revitalizing the rebellion and rot that was riveted in me the day I was born into Satan's economy. Note the Scriptures that support a daily rebirth experience:

Matthew 6:11
"Give us today our daily bread."

Luke 9:23-25
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever losses his life for me will save it."

1 Corinthians 15:31
"I die every day -- I mean that, brothers -- just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord."

2 Corinthians 4:16
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."
 

When in the Day is Best to Be Born Again?
Word has it that the Satanists are up at 3am in the mornings praying curses over Christian marriages and activities. There is a war going on between Good and Evil, and Christians are fast asleep to the last possible moment, tired and weary after another late night session in front of the TV. A believer doesn't deliberately have to choose the kingdom of darkness in order to fall under it's dominion--he simply has to neglect to ally himself with the Kingdom of Light. Before the day starts is the time when I am are born again. Before Satan can lure me into his deceitful traps I need to come under the miraculous spell of the Blood, the Water and the Spirit--the three most Powerful Forces in the universe. Before I am distracted by noise, by responsibility or by my daily demands, I need to hide in the Shadow of the Almighty--linked to the triune package of power that He has set up especially for my transfer from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. The illustration of Israel daily gathering manna in the wilderness so beautifully brings the point home that our birth through the Word, or the "bread of life," won't last more than one day. Just as the manna spoilt when certain of the Israelites gathered too much on a day, so too, our rebirth experience spoils and rots if we rely on past experiences of renewal and rebirth for today's challenges. Note the Scriptures below:

Psalm 88:13
"But I cry to you for help, O Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you."

Psalm 90:14
"Satisfy us in the morning with you unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days."

Psalm 143:8
"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul."

Lamentations 3:19-22
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

My New Life With God
I have moved on to a new level of truth and Christian living since I discovered how the "Process of Being Born Again" really works. No longer do I hold the traditional view that I experience a "once-off" rebirth at my baptism or the day I gave my life to God. No, I realize that I am born into an economy of selfishness, hatefulness, and greed--naturally living and acting under Satan's spell. I am tired of being a believer, having gone through the traditional rebirth experience, and still having the bad traits and practices of Satan in my life. Worn out and weary, I accept the new truth that if I fall at the feet of Jesus daily, calling on the Blood, drinking the Water, and accepting the Spirit, God Himself takes responsibility to bring His good traits and practices into my life. Because I adopt this process of the rebirth, through the "triune package," I am free of the claims and curse of the law. Being born into God's economy, where there are only good traits and practices, the law is no longer valid. What it basically boils down to is a friendship with God where I build my whole life around spending time alone with Him--time that activates and adopts the working of the Blood, the Water and the Spirit. What an amazing miracle. As the Three work in harmony together, they highlight and expose anything and everything that resembles Satan's kingdom. I flee from these. Through the ministry of the powerful triune package of rebirth, God gives me sharp spiritual sight and sensitivity--Satan can no longer seduce me with subtle stories. I have a deliberate and definite direction--doing things that imitate the traits and practices found in God's kingdom. This brings me a whole new level of fulfilment and happiness. Something I never got while I was tangled up in the lies of trying to please and gratify myself under Satan's command. My new life consists of a disciplined commitment to put God before everything in and around my life--before my most treasured romantic relationship, before my vocation, before my family and friends, before my interests and hobbies, before my ambitions for progress and prosperity, before any of my selfish wants and desires. I structure my daily schedule in such a way that I have the time to be all alone with God, before the day starts, in prayer, Scripture study, and quiet meditation, so that the process of rebirth into His Awesome Kingdom will be absolutely effective and productive in my life.