[Special Lesson 64] The Faith of Endurance and the Process of Being Born Again

The lesson describes being “born again” as a repetitive process, not just a one-time experience of receiving salvation. This does not mean a believer’s salvation status fluctuates, but rather it speaks to the continuous spiritual growth and transformation required in the Christian life. Being born again repeatedly involves having the old sinful nature, wrong thinking, and lies from Satan uprooted and torn down from one’s heart and mind. This allows the new nature in Christ – God’s truth, righteousness, and the indwelling of His Spirit – to be rebuilt and replanted within the believer.

It is an ongoing process of receiving the imperishable seed, which is the living and enduring Word of God, symbolized as the water and the Spirit. As one continues to receive, meditate on, and apply God’s Word, they are progressively renewed and transformed more into the image of Christ. However, this process requires endurance, perseverance, and a hunger to keep growing, lest complacency allows Satan to regain a foothold.

The goal is to become firmly rooted like the good soil that retains the seed, overcomes challenges, and produces an abundant spiritual crop and fruit. Yet this lifelong journey is not achieved by one’s own efforts, but by God’s grace continually revealing His truth and empowering the believer. So being born again repeatedly speaks to the believer’s continual need for spiritual renewal, not repeatedly losing and regaining salvation itself, but allowing God’s Word to uproot the old nature and rebuild His nature within.

 

Study Guide SCJ Bible Study

The Process of Being Born Again and The Faith of Endurance

Encouragement

So this past week has not been an easy one for a lot of us here. And by God’s grace, the lesson we’re going over today is just in time. But I really want to take a moment to acknowledge the pain that some of you are going through right now.

 

It has not been easy. And this is something we see a lot that takes place. When people begin to study the Word, Satan begins to fight them hard.

 

And so one of the things that always encourages me is all of you who, despite the things happening, still come anyway and still show up and still give your best. I find that extremely inspiring. And your efforts do not go unnoticed.

I really hope every time you read this passage, you become a little bit more encouraged than the last time. 

 

What is God’s ultimate will? To return. This is God’s ultimate will, to come down.

 

It always has been since the very first fall of man, ever since Genesis. Ever since he had to, in Genesis 6:3, leave. God’s desire has been to come back.

 

And everything that he has done for the last 6,000 years is for this. But not to return for a short period of time. To return for how long?

 

To return forever. That’s his mission. That’s his duty.

 

And so, God in the holy city, New Jerusalem, intends to come to those who are waiting for them at the new heaven and new earth. And the first heaven and first earth pass away. And the sea is no more.

 

And for those at this place, the old order of things. I love how it is called old here. Because when this passage is fulfilled, it will become old.

 

But for us, it’s the current order of things. So, what is the current order of things, everyone, that must go away?

Satan and his evil. Amen.

 

And how are Satan and his evil described in verse 4?

Death, mourning, crying, and pain.

The way the world is today. The status quo currently.

 

And many of us here in Class have been going through a lot of this recently. And it’s very painful. But we know that what is God’s desire?

For this to end. But in order for us to get to Revelation 21, Revelation 21 is the second to last chapter in the whole Bible. So, there is a lot that happens before Revelation 21 can fully come.

And I really like the way that 2 Peter describes this about the coming of the day of the Lord.

The Lord is not slow. Instead, He is patient, patiently waiting for all to come to repentance. If we desire New Heaven and New Earth to take place, there’s some work we gotta do. There’s a lot of work to do.

 

Right now, we are learning about that work that must take place so that when God feels that the time has come, He can return quickly, even a day sooner.

Be encouraged, Class. God’s promises are 100%. They are yay and they are amen.

 

If God promises that there will be no more death, mourning, crying, and pain, it’s going to happen. May it happen quickly.

 

Let’s jump into our content for today.

Content

Special lesson: The process of being born again and the faith of endurance. The word “process” is quite key.

 

Keep this word in mind. The process of being born again refers to the steps, order, and direction involved. We’ll discuss that.

We’ll also delve into the deeper meaning of being born again, hopefully on a more profound level than we have learned in the past. Additionally, we’ll explore the significance of faith and endurance.

We’ll examine what we must endure and overcome. That’s what we’ll be focusing on today.

 

Our hope is to understand the process of being born again so that we can enter the kingdom of heaven.

Let’s gain that understanding today. We’ll be examining some crucial prophecies and how they were fulfilled.

We’ll also discuss what their fulfillment means for us and why understanding what has been fulfilled is important for our journey.

1. Main Reference

Jeremiah lived 600 years before the first coming of Christ. Keep this in mind as we read these words today.

 

This should sound familiar because you may remember when we discussed what it means to be cleansed by figurative fire. We read Isaiah 6, where Isaiah testifies about an angel, representing the Lord, putting a coal on his mouth, and his sins were cleansed. We acknowledged that if this were literal, putting a coal on someone’s mouth would be an extremely uncomfortable experience. However, we understood that it was, of course, figurative language.

Jeremiah is doing something very similar here. The Lord is putting His words in Jeremiah’s mouth and giving him a crucial task.

Jeremiah is told to do four main things after receiving the word:

 

1. To uproot
2. To tear down or destroy
3. To rebuild
4. To replant

 

We added the word “re” because once something is torn down, it needs to be rebuilt, and once something is uprooted, it needs to be replanted. So, Jeremiah is first told to destroy something, and then to create something new.

 

This process of destroying the old and creating or building something new has been God’s process since Genesis 1, and this cycle has been repeating all this time. However, was Jeremiah the one who uprooted, destroyed, built, and planted? No.

It says the words were put in his mouth, and God was speaking to him. This is a parable, a figurative representation.

 

How do we know it’s a parable? Because of OPAG, and people can be used as parables in this book of prophecy.

Amen. Now we’re getting somewhere.

 

Do you remember OPAG?

O stands for Objects.

A stands for Animals.

G stands for Graphical location.

H stands for Historical Events.

P stands for People.

 

People themselves can be used figuratively in prophecy. When Asaph said, “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world,” and when Isaiah or Ezekiel was told, “Speak to the bones, son of man. Speak breath into them,” or when Isaiah or Ezekiel was told, “Eat this and then testify,” they were speaking in the first person in their prophecies because this is what they were seeing in visions.

 

However, they were seeing them in visions. So, if you go to sleep tonight and eat the most delicious steak in your dream, and then you wake up with your stomach growling, did you actually eat the steak? No.

 

Now you want the steak, so you have to go and make it in reality. But if you’re seeing it in a vision or a dream, you’re not actually carrying out those events in reality. Instead, God is telling these prophets to testify to what they had seen and write down the words that have been given to them, ensuring that people receive those words.

 

The prophets, of course, went through a lot of trouble because of what God asked them to do. Many of them were killed by those to whom they had to testify. And Jesus even rebuked the Pharisees for being part of the same spiritual lineage as those people who persecuted the prophets.

That’s what he said in Matthew 23: “Their blood is on your hands because you’re doing the same things that your ancestors did when they killed the prophets.” It was not easy for the prophets at all during their time when they had to testify to what they saw.

 

But they were not the ones who did the things they saw. They had to record them. So, tell me, please, who was the prophet talking about? Himself or someone else? 

Who was the one that was given the word from God that uprooted and tore down the old and rebuilt and replanted something new?

Jesus.

 

This lesson is going to be a lot of review. We shouldn’t be saying too many new things today, although we will see some new things. Most of this should be a review.

Jesus was the one that lived out the words of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. He lived out their words. He was the reality of their words.

 

Though the prophets spoke, oftentimes in the first person, “I,” they were really talking about Jesus, who was the real “I,” the fulfillment of that “I.” Now, what is it that must be uprooted? What is it that must be torn down?

 

What kind of language is used for “tear down”? What is it that gets torn down? Just physically, in normal life, when we say “tear down,” what is it that is being torn down?

Buildings and structures are what are torn down.

What about “uproot”? Plants.

Right. So plants need to be uprooted, and buildings need to be torn down. And then those same buildings and plants need to be rebuilt and replanted.

 

Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 3 to really read the reality of what must be torn down and what must be rebuilt.

Apostle Paul addresses the church in Corinth, stating that the people are God’s field and God’s building or temple. A field is where things are planted, and a structure or building is where things can dwell inside. When Jesus carries out the work of uprooting and tearing down, he needs to uproot people’s sin from their hearts and tear down what is in their minds. The dwelling place of the enemy must first be destroyed before it can become a dwelling place for God’s spirit.

 

Jesus spoke about an empty house that an evil spirit left, as mentioned in Matthew 12. The evil spirit leaves the house, searches in arid places, but finds no resting place. Upon returning, the spirit finds the house swept clean and put in order, but empty. The spirit then brings seven even more wicked spirits, and the man’s end result is worse than the first. 

 

Jesus refers to a person who was receiving the word of truth, causing the evil spirit with lies to leave. However, the person became empty again, allowing the spirit to return.

Being born again is a repetitive process, meaning that someone can be born again in the image of God, then in the image of Satan, and so on. 

 

God told Adam, “From dust you were, and to dust you will return,” which is not a good thing to return to being born again in the wrong direction with the wrong seed. 

This was the reality of the evil spirits that returned to the house that had been swept clean but was now empty.

 

As believers, we should never rest on our laurels, thinking everything is good and done, as this mindset can be grabbed hold of by Satan and used to pull someone down. We should always be diligent, hungry, and thirsty, seeking to grow and receive more. 

 

Let us not be caught in the trap of complacency when it comes to God and our work of faith, but instead, by God’s grace, continue to seek growth and understanding.

2. Why Must I be “Born Again”?

First, we must look at why it is important to be born again. 

We’ve read this passage many times in class, and we will read it many more times. But each time, I pray that you’re able to take something new from it. I have now concluded the parables section of the course and are about to move into the intermediate level, where we’re really going to start looking at the logic of the Bible and God’s fingerprint.

 

You have a lot of keys now, which is important to retain and use. So first of all, who are God’s people in this passage, and what is their state? They can go by a few names, such as believers, chosen people, Israelites, or spiritual Israelites. The disciples are not in this because they’re actually in heaven now as martyrs. 

 

This passage is talking about people who are alive, which can even include us.

So where are God’s people in Revelation 18? They are in Babylon, the home for demons. And which nations are in Babylon? It’s not just some nations, but all nations. All means all, and it’s a big statement to make.

 

So what are spiritual nations? Since this is Revelation, we shouldn’t be taking anything literally that we read. 

A nation represents a church. We know this because God should dwell in a church, but if a church is being called Babylon and God is not there, it indicates that nations represent churches.

 

This passage has been around for a long time, and for many, this is the first time they’re hearing something like this. How can we know? We can look at parables we’ve learned, such as the figurative field (Jesus’s field) in Matthew 13, which calls the field the world, and Jesus’s field is the church. Another example is the figurative mountain, as there are many mountains in a physical nation. We can also consider the figurative war between Jerusalem and Babylon from Matthew 24, which talks about nation taking up sword against nation. Jerusalem and Babylon, when used in a figurative prophetic sense, talk about a group of chosen people and a group of Gentiles, but spiritually. 

 

After the first coming, the physical state of a person no longer mattered for what God was doing going forward.

 

So what instead mattered in determining who was one who can be considered a chosen person versus the opposite? It’s those who kept his commandments, his covenant, and those who believed in His son. 

 

A nation is described in a few ways, such as a cooking pot where the city is the pot and we are the meat being cooked within it, or when Jesus said in Matthew 5, “You are a city on a hill,” talking to his disciples. A nation is a gathering place of many people or a kingdom ruled by someone.

 

When it says all nations, it really is talking about God’s people, whom he’s really concerned about. 

 

God wants all people to be his people, but for that to happen, God needs a people to go out and get them – a holy nation to bring God’s true and good seed to many peoples, nations, languages, and kings. But those people first have to come out of Babylon and identify where Babylon is, which is hard to do without the word. However, it’s not hard when one has the word.

 

We can learn a lot about what we need to do in our time by learning about what happened at the first coming of Jesus.

When the Son of Man comes, what is he worried he will find? He is concerned about faith.

 

Why is this a worry? Why would Jesus say something like this? It’s because he has already been rejected once before.

Oh, that’s interesting. He already knows what it’s like to come and have people still reject him.

 

He understands how difficult it is to believe in fulfillment when it actually takes place. It is never what people expect. It never happens the way people are waiting for it to happen.

Therefore, someone really has to be humble in order to accept how fulfillment takes place. This is what Jesus is worried about. When he comes, there will be many who believe in him and that he is the Son of God.

However, will they believe in the work that he will be doing at the second coming? Will they be willing to put down their own thoughts and accept how God and heaven did things this time? That’s what he’s worried about.

ONE – Jesus is having a discussion with the famous Pharisee, Nicodemus.

Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to Jesus at night to avoid being seen. Jesus told him that to see the kingdom of heaven, one must be born again. Nicodemus made the classic mistake of interpreting Jesus’ words literally, thinking, “How can a man enter his mother’s womb and be reborn?”

 

We should not think, “Oh, silly Nicodemus. Obviously, Jesus wasn’t talking literally.” Instead, we should reflect on ourselves and consider what things we have been interpreting literally that are actually meant to be understood figuratively.

 

Jesus described two scenarios: if someone is born again, they can see the kingdom of heaven, but if someone is not born again, they will not be able to see it. To understand this, we need to discuss what it means to be born again and what it means to see.

 

In the past, being born again has been understood as accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, saying the sinner’s prayer, being baptized, or other interpretations depending on one’s denomination. While it is important to begin one’s life of faith by accepting Jesus as the Son of God, confessing that he came and will come again, this is just the start of one’s life of faith.

 

Jesus said that one must be born again of two things: water and the Spirit. We should understand this deeply. Before exploring that, let’s take a detour.

TWO – For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable seed.

 

Perishable seed has two meanings. It can refer to the physical seed from which we were born, but it can also figuratively represent the sealed word or lies. In contrast, the imperishable seed is the seed that will never perish.

 

When we examine water and spirit, we find that they are in agreement with each other. They are essentially referring to the same thing.

 

Deuteronomy 32:2 and John 1:1 are verses that compare water to the Word.

 

God is a spirit, and he compares himself to the Word.

 

When many of Jesus’ disciples left him after he told them that they should eat his flesh and drink his blood, he compared the spirit and the flesh to emphasize a lesson.

The spirit gives life, and the flesh counts for nothing. The words that Jesus spoke are spirit and life, as stated in John 6:63. In John 1:1, it is written that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Furthermore, John 4:24 declares that God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and in truth. God compares himself to both the Word and the spirit, indicating that the spirit and the Word are one and the same, without distinction.

 

It is a false notion to believe that one can receive the spirit of God without fully understanding the Word or that someone can fully understand the Word without having the spirit. This is like saying someone has H2O but doesn’t have water, which is illogical since H2O is simply another term for water. The spirit and the Word are inseparable; they always come together as a package deal.

 

God compares himself to the Word, and God is spirit. Spirits work through words, people, and their thoughts. When we grasp this concept, we can truly comprehend what Jesus is saying. Once a person understands the Word, they will be able to see the kingdom of heaven because their perception will be transformed, enabling them to see the reality that was previously hidden.

 

Now, let’s delve into the meaning of “seeing” in this context, specifically referring to seeing the kingdom of heaven. What does it truly mean to see?

THREE – Jesus is addressing his disciples after distinguishing between them, who received the explanation of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, and everyone else.

 

Jesus declares, “Blessed are your eyes because they see.” In the following verse (verse 17), Jesus mentions the righteous men of the past who yearned to see and hear what the disciples can now perceive, but they were unable to do so. The reason for their inability to see and hear was not due to a lack of righteousness.

 

The reason they could not see and hear what the disciples were able to was that the word had not yet been opened, fulfilled, or revealed.

 

Consequently, those righteous men of the past were unable to see or understand these things. However, the disciples’ eyes could now see, and their ears could now hear.

Their hands could now touch. “Blessed are your eyes because they can see, and your ears because they can hear.” (This should say “ears.”)

 

The disciples were in a truly blessed situation, weren’t they? Incredibly blessed because they could see and hear. Seeing and hearing, in this context, signify reality.

Reality has appeared. It is no longer in a prophesied state but is tangible, like words becoming flesh or the pages jumping out of the book and standing in front of you. Reality has appeared.

The kingdom of heaven that the disciples were able to see was the one they could discern as having been fulfilled.

Let’s delve into the meaning of “understand”.

 

I’ve encountered questions in this class and previously, questioning if a lack of understanding equates to an inability to be saved. Let’s deeply explore this concept. For instance:

The Bible warns us against relying on our own understanding, as it can often lead us astray and make us blind to the truth. However, the disciples of Jesus did not rely on their own understanding when it came to recognizing who Jesus truly was. They did not simply reason from reading the Old Testament that Jesus was who he claimed to be, as others were attempting to do.

 

The understanding that the disciples received was different from the self-understanding of others because it came from God. It was not something they arrived at through their own efforts or by reading the scriptures repeatedly and making assertions. Instead, their understanding was a result of divine grace, meaning that it was revealed to them by God.

 

When God brings someone to reality, and that person looks at reality, listens to it, and acknowledges that it makes sense, they accept and believe. This acceptance is not something they achieve on their own; it is a result of grace.

 

True understanding is attained through grace and faith, not by one’s own efforts. This is the kind of understanding we aim to cultivate in this class.

 

Jesus – First Coming (Old Testament Prophecy + Fulfillment)

So, who was Jesus talking about in Matthew 13:33 at the time of his first coming?

 

Jesus was talking about himself. He was the one who gave teachings to many people to change them into God’s image. The yeast that he was teaching was the Old Testament prophecy and its fulfillment.

Jesus referred to various passages in the Old Testament, such as Isaiah, Zechariah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, and Amos. He explained the parables found in these books.

For example, the stone represents a person with the word, and that person with the word was Jesus. Similarly, the light that comes out of Galilee is talking about a person with the word, and Jesus declared himself to be that light that came out of Galilee.

 

Jesus was explaining these things to people, emphasizing that one must understand the parables not through their own understanding or by interpreting them on their own, but by hearing the explanation, confirming its truth, and believing what they are hearing.

This is how Jesus testified 2,000 years ago.

New John (One Who Overcomes) – Second Coming (New Testament Prophecy + Fulfillment)

Jesus entrusts the task of overcoming at the time of the second coming to someone he trusts. Jesus himself is the one who overcomes during the first coming, and he desires all to overcome at the time of the second coming. However, this process unfolds according to a heavenly plan.

 

The word of fulfillment flows from God to Jesus, then to the angel, to the new John, and finally to many peoples, nations, languages, and kings, including you and me. 

 

Those who hear and accept the words of fulfillment will also overcome. However, first, one must overcome—someone whom God, Jesus, and the angels trust to faithfully carry out this word and testify how New Testament prophecy and fulfillment have taken place, as described in the book of Revelation.

 

The fulfillment of Revelation 1:9, 1:10, verse 11, verse 19, and verse 20 should be explained in detail. Revelation 2 and 3 introduce the seven stars and the seven messengers, their locations, and their actions. This is the message we need to hear today.

 

Most people are only familiar with Old Testament prophecy and its fulfillment at the First Coming of Jesus, often with incomplete or poorly explained details. Now, we have the opportunity to understand it all. So, what is the process for us to be born again in our time?

 

Of course, accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior is the first step, but what do we need to do to be born again today? How do we take the next step in the process of being born again, and how does it begin? We will examine a parable we have studied before, but hopefully, we will understand it with greater insight today, revealing why we must be born again, again, and again in this process.

3. Why Must I be “Born Again”?

Jesus is discussing the parable of the four fields in this passage. The four fields mentioned are the path, the rocky ground, the thorny ground, and the good soil. Each field represents a different response to hearing the message about the kingdom.

 

1. The path represents those who lack understanding when they hear the message.
2. The rocky ground represents those who face persecution after hearing the message.
3. The thorny ground represents those who are distracted by the worries and pleasures of life and do not mature in their faith.
4. The good soil represents those who hear the message, retain it, and persevere through trials and tribulations to produce a crop.

 

It is important to note that being the good soil does not mean a person never experiences the challenges represented by the other fields. At any given time, a person could be like the path, rocky ground, or thorny ground. However, those who are truly the good soil will overcome these challenges.

 

They overcome a lack of understanding by asking questions. They overcome persecution by retaining the word they have received, standing firm, and being careful with their words to prevent future persecution. They overcome worries and pleasures of life by always putting God’s word, His kingdom, and His righteousness first, as mentioned in Matthew 6:33.

 

The goal for those who hear the message with a noble and good heart is to produce a crop, which is the result of being born again. The parable of the four fields applies to those who hear the message about the kingdom, as revealed in Matthew 13:19. Hearing this message is connected to receiving the open word.

When anyone hears the message about the kingdom, also known as the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, the very ones that Jesus just talked about that are given to disciples but not to everyone else, this prophecy, this parable, applies to them. We are the ones hearing the explanation of the parables now. Which field were you today?

 

I hope you were the good soil. But some of us may have gone through a hard time. By understanding this parable, we can put intentionality into how we carry out our lives of faith.

 

All of these things are the seed that is being sown, and it is sown on all of the fields. Remember, this class started pretty big, but many people who started with us are not here now. The odds of being in the good soil are only 25%, while 75% don’t make it. These are not good odds, but let’s fight to be part of the group that hears, retains, perseveres, and produces a crop. We can do it, but it is a daily process.

 

This is why it is called a life of faith, not an instance of faith. It’s not about saying some words a few years ago and being forever good to go. It is a daily process.

4. Faith of Endurance

What it means.

Let these words be an encouragement for us.

 

So what is Peter saying here? Do not be surprised when you go through trials and tests. Expect them. Suffering is not strange. It should be expected as a believer, especially as a believer who’s learning the open word. Expect the challenges; they were guaranteed from the jump. They were prophesied. They were written. But instead, let us continue to do good.

This is what we should do instead.

Those who suffer according to what?

 

According to God’s will. What this is not saying is that it is God’s will for us to suffer. No.

 

What this is saying is that those who suffer as a result of doing God’s will should not stop but continue to do God’s will. That’s what the verse is saying. 

 

So as we’re doing God’s will today, which is learning the open word and understanding how revelation is being fulfilled, Satan will try his best to bring us more suffering, to dissuade us from our path or to throw us off course.

Don’t be thrown off course. Stay the course. One last verse for everyone today.

 

One that’s very similar to what Peter says here, but I just love the way it is phrased here.

Please read all of Romans chapter 8 in your private study time.

It is an amazing chapter. What did Paul say here?

 

Our present suffering is not comparable to the future glory that will be revealed in us. Glory to God! Who’s waiting for this right here?

 

Who’s excited for this? Amen. We’ll discuss more about this very soon – future glory.

But I pray that we’re all waiting patiently for this to happen. So, whatever you’re going through, and I know you’re going through a lot, this lesson was hopefully perfectly timed.

Know that God has a future glory planned. Stay the course. Amen.

Memorization

Please study for the retake if you need to take one. Even if you did well, take it again.

The test is a requirement to continue on. At the very least, take it once, but definitely take it to pass.

Amen. Most of you have already taken the test, and some of you have gotten your scores back and are making plans with your evangelists. Please continue to do so, so that we can move on into intermediate well.

 

Let’s Us Discern