L

CORRESPONDENCE COURSE
An International Course of Biblical Understanding
You Must Be Born Again!
LESSON 8
2
Ambassador Col lege Cor respondence Course
l esson 8
tfliatOUR
STUDENTS SAY


CORRESPONDENCE COURSE
LE S S ON 8
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An international course of Biblical undemanding publ ished by [he De-
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EDITOR
H ERBERT W. A RMSTRONG
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Garner Ted Armstr ong
DIRECTOR
David Jon Hi ll
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Ri chard H. Sedliacik
S/aff Writm
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Creat ion is still going on!
All human beings since
Adam represent only t he
FIRST PHASE of man's creat ion. Al l peo pl e - including
t he beautiful baby on our cover - must be " bo rn again" to
complete God 's supreme master pi ece of creati ve work -
manship. Just what is God creati ng in mortal man? W hat
does it reall y mean to be " born again" ? Thi s ver y import an t
lesson makes the Bible answers plain!
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"I have just finishe d lesson number 6 and rated
good on t he qu est ions. . . . Have been studying t he
Bible serious ly for a good many years and t he first
t hing I learned was t hat what t he Bibl e teaches is
not at all like I had been t aught. I could not
reason t his ou t at firs t , bu t now 1 see, t hanks t o
these lessons an d your broad casts."
- G. T., Richmond , Vir gini a
" I am learn ing much more from your Bible les-
sons since you have revised t hem and feel that in
Lessons 5 and 6 t he subjects of 'Deat h' and 'Hell'
have at last been mad e perfectly clear t o me. 1 am
sure that everyone else who does t hese lessons
must feel t he sa me way."
- Mrs. E. M., Bat tl e Creek, Michi gan
"I have received my first and seco nd lessons of
your Bibl e study course and am delighted to find
t hat it is based on t he facts of the Bibl e, instead of
some reli gion's beliefs or some man's ideol ogy."
- Student, Salt Lake Cit y, Utah
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dor College Corres pondence Course. I am t he
owner of 5 di pl omas of different Bi bl e courses. Yet
I've never seen, nor will I ever come to know, a
be tt er Bibl e Correspondence Course t han t he one
prepared at Ambassad or College . It is a blessing
an d revelati on. Even t ho ugh I' ve only 6 lessons, I
want yo u to kn ow that I 'm working wit h t he m
and that I highly treasure them above a ll of my
earthly possessions except, of course, my Bible."
- Jack F., Jamaica, New York
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE
"BORN AGAIN"
Many professing Christians sincerely believe they have been
"BORN AGAIN" - but do not understand the REAL MEANING
of the new birth. The truth about being "born again" is not
only surprising - it is startling - the MOST AWESOME
REVELATION of your Bible!
N
ICODEMUS was a high-r anking Phari see -
one of the rul ers of the J ews. He knew
Jesus was a miracle- working prophet sent
by God, and was deeply int erested in His teach-
ings.
But because Nicodemus did not want to be seen
speaking with this man the other Pharisees ca lled
a "heret ic" and a "deceiver of th e peopl e," he came
t o J esus secretly at night.
J esus told Ni codemus a profound truth - some-
t hing t ha t complete ly mystified the man.
"You Must Be Born Agai n!"
"Verily, veri ly, I say un t o th ee, Except a man be
born again, he cannot see t he kingdom of God, "
sa id J esus (John 3:3).
Nicodemus was t otalIy perplexed. He asked
Jesus : "How can a man be born when he is old?
Can he enter the second time into his mother's
womb, and be born?" (Verse 4.)
J esus told him: " Marvel not that I said unto
t hee, Ye must be born again" (verse 7). But Ni co-
demus simply did not compre hend what J esus was
talking about (verses 9-12). How like so many
people t oday! They, too, are baffled by these
simple words of Christ.
Most professing Christ ians t bink t hey were
"BORN AGAIN" when they "accepted Christ" and
were "baptized." From that time, supposedly, they
received t he Holy Spi ri t and have been living a
NEW LI FE in Christ .
True, a real Christ ian has received the Spirit of
God, and is indeed living a NEW LIFE in Christ
(Eph, 4:22-24). But is this what it means to be
"born again"?
The new birth described in the Bible is FAR
MORE t han most professing Christians have
assumed. When J esus spoke of being "born aga in,"
He did not mean what most people think.
Two Literal Births
Nicodemus was familiar only with t he process of
physical birth. Therefore he unders tood when
Jesus said to him, "That whi ch is born of the flesh
is flesh." But then Jesus explained we must be
born again - not again of the flesh - not again
e nteri ng our mot her's womb , as Ni cod emus
t hought He meant. He explained t hat we must be
born of the Spirit - born of God! God must be our
Father this time! As we were born of t he flesh
t hro ugh fleshl y human par en ts, even so we must
be born of th e Spirit . of our spirit ual heaven ly
Father.
Here are two different kinds of birth - one
physical , t he ot her spirit ua l. When you were born
of your fleshly par ents you were composed of fl esh.
But "t hat which is born of the spiri t is SPIRIT"
(John 3:6) - no longer composed of flesh, but of
spirit !
There will be no blood in the body of one "born
of the Spirit." He will not ha ve t o breathe ai r to
exist. He will be lit er all y COMPOSED OF SPIRIT,
declared -Iesus.
That's the plain teaching of your Bibl e! The
4 Ambassador College Cor respondence Course l esson 8
new birth is not an emotional experience, hut a
literal birth!
So Nicodemus would not mi stake the true
meaning of being born of t he Spir it , Jesus
expla ined t o him: " T he wind bloweth wh ere it
listeth [where it wills], and thou hearest t he sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it come t h, and
whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the
Spirit" (verse 8) .
Notice t hat carefully. When you are " born
again," born of t he Spir it of God, you wi ll be
invisi ble t o mor t a l eyes like the wind (unless yo u
choose to manifest yo urself). The effects of t he
wind may be easily discerni ble, but the wind
itself ca nnot be seen.
Clearly , Jesus compared the spirit ua l birth to
t he physical birth. T he latter is a type of t he
former. Human parents pass on a physical nature
at birth to their ch ildre n; so when we are born of
our heavenl y Father, we will possess His Spiritual
nature in its fullness!
Man the " Clay Model "
God formed the first man, Adam, not out of
spirit , but "of the du st of the ground" (Gen . 2:7) .
God said to Adam: " DUST thou art" (Gen. :J: HJ ).
Wide Wor ld Pho to
HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS - You con" see
the wind, but the effects of its tremendous power in
a storm are quite visible. When " born again" you
will be invisible like the wind cnd possess tre-
mendous power!
No t immort al spirit - just plain old eart h! Man is
mortal, ph ys ical, not ye t immortal or s piri t ual.
Adam was a perfect physical specimen. What
God created was a physical , fleshly man - a mor-
tal fl esh and bl ood human bein g. He was the per-
fect " clay model" which God in t ends to mold and
reshape spiritually into a perfect SPIRITUAL Son of
God'
Adam, in ot her words, was not created complete.
He was created to need a second "birt h" - a
SPIRITUAL bi rth!
But how? When ? Why? All these vit al questions
will be answered in this tremendously important
lesson.
No SU BJECT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO YOUIt LIFE!
Unless YOU become "horn agai n," you cannot
enter the Kingdom of God ! So be sure t o open
your Bible to every scripture reference cit ed in
answer to the questions asked, and PROVE to your-
self just what it means to be "born again."
l esson 8 Wh o' It Means to Be " BORN AGAIN" 5
LESSON 8
Who - What - I s "God"?
To fully understand what it reall y means to he
"born agai n," it is necessary to comprehend some
very basic reve lat ions conce rning what God Him-
se lf is - and the very PUH POSE for your existence.
Turn t o t he very beginning of t he Bible. The
first words are: " In the beginning Go n creat ed t he
heaven and t he eart h" (Gen . I : 1). T he original He-
brew word for "God," here and t hroughout t he ac-
cou nt of creation, is Eloh im, which act ually means
more tlia n aile. It is the pl ural form of Hebrew
Eloah, whic h in English means "Mighty One." So
Elohim means "Mighty Ones" - more than just
one person.
Elohim is a uniplural or collective noun, such as
"church," or "family," or "kingdom." In ot her
words, Elohim stands for a SINGLE CLASS com-
posed of TWO or l\IORJo: individuals. Elohim, then, is
t he "God KI NGDOM" or "God FAMILY. " (I n actual
usage t he word wa s also applied to any single
member of t he God Family or, by analogy, even to
a heat hen idol.)
But who are the individuals presentl y com-
posing "Elohirn "? Let 's not ice what t he Bible r e-
veals :
1. Who was wit h "God" when God created t he
universe'? J ohn 1:1. Is t he "Word" also God '? Ver-
ses 1-2. Was it the Word who act ually crea t ed all
things'? Verse 3. What did t he Word later become'?
Verse 14.
2. By whom was "II the material uni verse cre-
a t ed - including this earth and mankind'? Eph.
3: 9; Col. 1:16-17. Who, t hen, is the "Word" of John
1: I'? And who is the other di vine member of the
God Kingdom'? I Cor. 8: 6.
COMMENT: ,Jo hn 1: 1 and Ge nesis 1:1 are two
acco unts of the sa me event - the original creation
of the uni verse. They both reveal that these t \..o
Supreme Beings of the God Family created all
things.
The Greek word translat ed int o En gli sh as
" Word" in .Iohn 1: 1 is Logos. It can al so mean
spokesman, or one who speaks. It was ac tually the
LOliOS, t he "Spokesman" - t he "Word" of the God
Family - who said, "Let us make man in OUR im-
age" (Gen. I:26), thus. executing His awesome of-
fiee as the execut ive of the God Kingdom. And so
everything was created and made hy the divi ne
being who later became t he human Jesus Christ!
The " LORD" of the Old Testament
Do you know which one of the two members of
the God Kingdom took part in the affairs of this
world in Old Testament times'? Was it the
"Father"? Could it possibly have been Christ '?
Very few have underst ood t his important truth.
But the Bibl e makes it pl ain .
1. Has any human bein g ever seen the Father'?
J ohn 1:18. What did Chr ist say regarding the
Father'? John 5:37.
2. But did people eve r look upon the God of the
Old Testament'? Gen . 17:1; 18:1,22; 32: 30; Ex.
24:9 -11; 33:18,20-23. (Not ice in Exodus 33: 18 that
Moses had specifically re quested to see t he LORD
in "II His "glory," bu t could not view Him directly
in Hi s glor ified state lest he DIE from seeing His
brilliance !)
COMMENT: Clearl y, then, the God of the Old
Testament could not have been the "Father,"
3. Who was called the " Roc k" in Old Testament
times'? II Sam. 22:2-3. Did David call the LORD his
" Rock" and hi s " God'''? Psalms 18: 1-2.
The King J ames Version of t he
Bible and some other translations use the word
" LORD," usu ally in capit a l let t ers, t o t rans late the
Hebrew word YHWH. Most scholars believe
YH WH to be some form of the verb " t o be" or "to
exist." Hence YHWH signifies " the self-existent
One," One who "lives" - from eternity , and to
THE "LORD'S" NAME - Trc ns-
literat ed into English, these Hebrew
char acters (reod from right to left)
spell aut YHWH - the " LORD" of
the Old Testa ment. The exa ct pro-
nunciat ion of these Hebrew che r-
acters is uncert ain and unimportant
today, but His ide ntity is very
plain.
Ambassador Colfege Art
etern ity. Revel ation 1:8 clarifies th e meaning of
t his name, spea king of Christ , "the beginn ing and
t he ending which is , and which was, and which
is to come " Conseq uent ly bot h Moffatt's 'T he
Eternal"and Fenton's "Eoer- Living" are excellent
transl ations.
In ancient Hebrew, the vowels were not writ-
t en. They were suppl ied by t he reader. Since
the ancient J ews considered the name YHWH
t oo holy t o pron ounce , they read instead
Adonai or "Lor d," or occasiona lly Elohim.
When the Masore t es - Jewish tex t ual scholars -
wrote down the vowel points (abo ut 600-800 A.D.)
to preserve the proper pronunciation, they wrote
the vowel poi nts of Adonai or Elohim with each
occurrence of YHWH. From this combinat ion later
came the hybrid form "Jehovah." Thus t he precise
pronunciati on of YH WH is not definit ely known
today, nor is it necessary for us to know it today.
4. According to I Corinthians 10:4, who was
(and sti ll is) the " Rock"?
CO"'IENT: Thus the Bible ident ifies the
"Rock" as Christ! How surprising to those who
have assumed that the God of the Old Testament
was t he one t he New Test a ment calls "t he
Fat her "
And so t he "LOHD" who spoke and was seen of
men was always the one who became Jesus Christ.
GOD'S AWESOME CRE
ATION - It was by His e w e-
some POWER that God crea ted
the f at homless uni verse. At
right is a spectacular spiroI gal-
a xy contai ning billions of stars.
Above is a small section of our
own Milky Way GalaxyI which
is similar in shape and size.
For no mortal man has ever seen or heard the
Father! (Jo hn 1:18; 5::l7.)
S. Was it also t he Word - t he One who became
Christ - who spoke the Ten Commandments? Ex.
20:1-2.
CmIMENT: The Hebrew word for "Lord" in
Exodus 20 is YHWH. So here agai n it was the
Logos, t he "Spokesman" - who later became
Christ - who actually spoke t he Ten Command-
ments!
But what difference does this revelat ion make?
It makes all t he di fference.
Understanding t he true identi ty of the God of
th e Old Test ament is vital to becoming re-born
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with t he spirit ual nat ure of God. For t he God of
t he Old Test ament , commonly assumed to have
been harsh and stern, was really our SAVIOR
loving, kind, mercifu l and just (Ex. 34:5-7).
The POWER of God
Most of professing Christ ianit y today also as-
sumes t hat God is a "tri nit y" composed of God t he
Fat her, God th e Son and God t he " Holy Spirit. "
Could t his be true? Let 's learn what t he Bibl e tell s
us about t he Spirit of God .
1. Is God's Spiri t the POWER by which He cre-
a tes? J er . 32:17; Gen. 1:1-3; Psalm 104:30.
COMMENT: It was by t he Spiri t of God t hat t he
Eternal (YHWH) - the Logos (Christ) - created
the entire vas t uni verse. Invisible spirit energy was
literally transformed into the material creation we
see about us (He b. 11:3). And by His Spirit , God
refor med t he surface of th e ea rt h (Ps, 104:30). No
wonder t he Bible calls it the "power" of God!
2. How did t he Eternal God ut ilize His Spirit of
power to bring His various creations into being?
Psalm 148:1-5. Noti ce the word "commanded" in
verse 5. Also read Psalm 33:8-9 and Genesis 1:2-3.
COMMENT: God, the ul t imat e source of all
power, will ed that spirit ene rgy emanating from
Himself be TRANSFORMED int o physical ene rgy
8 Ambassador College Cor respondence Course lesson 8
and matter. Christ - t he Logos, or "Word" (J ohn
1:1) - "spake and i t was done ." He is t he One who
said, "Let there be light ." And t he Spirit of God ,
moving over the face of t he waters performed the
command, and "t here was ligh t " (Gen. 1:3) .
3. Does God al so us e His Spirit of power to sus-
tai n, preserve and rule His vast creat ion'? Neh. 9:6;
Heh. 1: 2-3; Psal m 66:7.
COMMENT: God sit s at t he cont r ols of the en-
tire universe - He rules and sustains everything
by the POWER of His Spirit!
4. Does God 's Spirit fill t he entire uni verse?
Psalm 139:7; J er . 23:24. But do t he Father and
Chr ist have definite form and shape? Gen. 1:26;
John 14:9.
COMMENT: God' s Spir it is not a " t hird per son"
in the God Family. It is His divine POWER that
emanates from Him and permeates the universe !
5. But what about I John 5:7 which many sup-
pose proves God is composed of three per sons'?
COMMENT: This verse is left out of most mod-
ern translations of the Bible - for a very good rea-
son ! It is spurious - a fraud! Most an y Bibl e
commentary reveals that thi s vers e is not found in
any old Greek manuscr ipt and was not found even
in t he La ti n Vulgate until as lat e as the eight h
cent ury. Admits Adam Clarke: It is lacking in "all
t he ancien t versions but the Vulgate; and even of
thi s version many of the most ancient and correct
MSS. [manuscripts] have it not ."
Those who bel ieve in a " t r inity" gras p at t h is
verse to support their belief becau se t hey have NO
Bible pr oof for t heir conviction! Rather , history
reveals the trinity concept is a pagan invention
and belief found in many ancient countries. The
Egyptian trinity consisted of Isis, Osiri s and
Horus; the worship of t he t rinity t races back to
the worship of Nimrod, Semiramis and Tammuz
soon after t he Fl ood!
6 . Is t he Ho ly Spirit referred to in the Bible sim-
ply as "it " - not a person'? J ohn 1:32; Rom.
8: 16,26; I Peter 1:11.
COMMENT: In Greek , as in English , the word
"spi rit" is neut er. It naturally requires a neuter
pronoun which is rightly translated into English
as "it," and is usually so translat ed. However, in
some cases the transl ators have used a masc uline
pronou n where the original Greek uses "it." ,John
14:17 is such a case. The pronouns "he" and "him"
should have been rendered "it ." No doubt t he
transl ators erred because t hey themselves as-
sume d t he Holy Spirit to be a person .
In John 14:26; 16:7-8, 13-14 t he Holy Spi r it is
personified as the "Comforter" (Greek parahleto s,
which is grammat ica lly masculine), hence t he pro-
noun "he" (eheinos) was used in the ori ginal Greek
to agree with "Comfor ter," but should also be
translated "it" in an English version.
Ambassador College Art
TRINITY SYMBOLS - Most of profes-
sing Christianity today believes that God is
limited to a " trinity" composed of three
persons - God the Father, God the Son
(Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit.
Shown here are two of many symbols used
to represent the Trinity.
The plain fact of the whole matter, whi ch few
have ever realized, is that the commonly accepted
" t rinity" doctrine attempts to limit for all ti me t he
size of the Family of God . It denies t he very PUR-
POSE for which Elohim created mankind! You will
grasp t his ast onishing truth more full y as you con-
tinue st udying.
The Nature of God
1. What is the composition of God ? John 4:24.
But of what is man composed'? I Cor. 15:47.
COMMENT: One of the great differen ces be-
tween t he God Kingdom and the human kin gdom
is that God is composed of invisible spirit, while
man is mortal flesh and blood - made fr om t he
dust of the earth.
2. Just befor e He was t aken to be cru cified, to
what st ate did Christ as k Hi s Father to restore
Him'? John 17:5. Was Christ again to share His
Father 's glory in the God Family'?Same verse.
3 . How do Christ's and t he Father 's powerful,
glori fied spiri t bodies appear? Rev. 1:13-16. Th e
"Son of Man" men ti oned here is the glorified
Christ !
J
J
1
l esson 8 Wh ot It Meons to Be " BORN AGAIN" 9
COM" E"T: To be "glor ified" means t o have
GRAT POWER and BRIGHTNES S! The power of the
Father and Christ is so great t hat it makes their
spirit bodies shi ne as BRIGHT AS THE SUN IN FULL
STRENGTH!
4. What is another great di fference between God
and ma n - what is God's characte rist ic attitude
and gene ra l men tal makeup? Psalm 99:9. Is t he re
anyone as "holy" as God? I Sam. 2:2. Would you
consider man of hi msel f as being "holy"? Rom.
;l: 1O- 18, 23; 8: 7; J er. 17:9.
COMMENT: The word "holy" mean s pure of
heart or free from sin. The two Persons presently
composing the God Fa mily possess a sinless,
" holy," spiri tual at tit ude and mind.
But what does a ll t his have to do wit h your
being "born again"?
EVERYTHING! When born again you will possess
t he same power, glory a nd holiness of God! But
more about this la ter.
A " Fa t her- Son" Re lationship
Have you ever wondered how the " Fathe r-Son"
relat ions hip of t he God Fa mily developed? This is
vit al to know, to understand the pu rpose and Plan
of God, and being "born again."
1. What did .Iesus say of Himsel f and His
"Fat her"? J ohn 10: 30; 17: 11. Yet who is greater in
author ity? J ohn 14:28. Notice also I Corinthians
11:3.
COMMENT: Th e Father and Son are one in pur-
pose and attitude. But t he Father is grea ter in au-
t horit y since Christ - t he "Word," or Logos -
ma de all t hings by His aut hori ty . The Father has
always bee n in supreme command in the Family
or Kingdom of God - long before the Word be-
came a human being.
2. Wby did t he Logos (Christ) become a flesh-
a nd-blood human being? Heb. 2:9, 14.
COMMENT: All ma nkind has sinned (Rom.
:3: 23). And "t he wages of sin is [eternal] death"
(Rom. 6:2:3). T he Logos beca me a mortal man so
He could di e to pay t he death penalty for the sins
of ALL mankind. Christ was able t o do t his because
His human life was far more va luable t han the
lives of all human beings put toget her - He was
God incarnate - GOD made flesh! (John 1:14.)
3. But exactly how di d the Logos become com-
posed of flesh and blood? Matt. 1: 18-21. ("Ghost"
in t his passage, as elsewhere, is an unfortunate
translat ion in t he Kin g J ames Version. It should
rat her be rendered "Spirit" as it is in most other
t ranslations of t he Bible.) What title did the other
member of the God Kingdom acqui re as a resul t of
t his miraculous beget t al? Mat t. 18::l5; ,John 1:14.
COMMENT: Befor e Christ (t he Logos ) was con-
ceived in Mary, He was not the "Son of God." He
was one of t he two origi nal members of t he God
Ki ngdom. He, like the one who became t he
" Father," had existed eternally. But He is nowhere
in God's Word referred to as a SONof God pr ior to
His concept ion in Mary. His human birth was His
first birth. He gave up t he glory He had shared
wit h t he other divin e being, who became His
"Father," in order to be born into the worl d as a
human being, live a perfect life, and then give His
life to pay t he penal ty of all t he sins of mankind.
And so J esus was begott en within His human
mother Mary. But unlike all ot her men, He was
miraculous ly begotten by the One who became the
Father , through the agency and power of t he
Spirit of God (Matt. 1:20; John 1: 14 - here is fur-
t he r proof the Spirit of God is not an other person ).
Christ t hus became the "Son " of God, and He
called t he other person of the God Kingdom His
"Father." And so began the " Fat her-Son" relati on-
ship, whi ch is a FAMILY relat ionship!
Now let 's begin to understa nd exactly what all
t his has to do wit h our being "born again."
Man Created in God's Image
Man is not just another "animal" as evolution-
ists cla im. God's purpose for creating man sur-
passes any t hing ever conceived by t he mind of
man. Let's t urn to the first chapt er of Genesis and
begin to understand the most astounding revel a-
t ion of your Bible!
1. Aft er what "ki nd" were t he animals crea te d?
Gen . 1:20-25.
COMMENT: These verses pl ainly say , wit hou t
any int erpretati on, t hat God created fish to repro-
du ce afte r their own pa rt icul a r kind, birds after
their parti cular kind, and cat tl e after t he cat tle
kind. Each kind may have many varieties within
it , but all creatures reproduce onl y after their own
"kind." T hat is why dogs reproduce dogs, monkeys
reproduce monkeys, sheep reproduce shee p, etc.
2. But what about man ? After whose "image"
and "likeness" was man created? Gen . 1:26-27.
COMMENT: In God's pat tern for all life, like re-
produces like. And j ust as each creat ed form of
plant or an imal reproduces after it s own ki nd, so
man reproduces man . But UNLI KE any of the ani-
ma ls create d by God, man was cre at ed in God's
likeness.
These scri ptures refute t he theory that man is
merely t he "highest " of the animals, having
"evolved" from lower mammals. They clear ly
state t hat God created man after H is own "image"
and "likeness"! God made man LIKE Himself
- same form and shape. And He is now creating
men after HIS KIND!
10 Ambassador College Correspondence Course Lesson 8
Onl y a very few have really grasped t he t remen-
dous signi ficance of this astounding t ruth. But this
is what salva t ion is all about. This revel ation af-
firms that God is REPRODUCING HIMSELF.
Our destiny is to become t he lit eral "children" of
God - MEMBERS of Hi s own di vine Family!
3. Eve n though man is made in t he likeness of
God, are both now composed of t he same ty pe of
"materi al"? J ohn 4:24; Gen. 2: 7.
COM MENT : There is a vast difference between
spirit and dust. Although man was created in the
very shape and likeness of God, he was NOT cre-
ated out of the sa me materi al. He was made of the
dust of the eart h, subject to decay. Bu t God's pur-
pose is to event ually create him out of spirit!
In I Corint hians 15:46 we read: "Howbeit t hat
was not first which is spirit ua l, but that whic h is
natural; and AFTERWARD that whic h is spiritual.
The first man [Ad am] is of the earth, earthy: the
second man [Christ ] is the Lord from heaven . . . .
And as we [speaking of converted Christ ians ] have
borne t he image of the earthy, we shall also bear
the image of the heavenl y" (verses 46-49).
Clearly, man is mu ch more t han any an imal.
Man has t he potentia l t o become divine spirit -
just as G OD is spirit!
Our Awesome Destiny!
Astonishing as it may seem, God is now in the
process of creating His greatest creat ion of all -
His supreme masterpiece! God's Plan is to create
perfect spiritual cha racters out of mortal man-
kind. Notice t he overwhelming evidence:
1. Is God sti ll in the process of forming and
molding man as a potter works wit h clay? Isa.
64:8.
COMMENT: Man's creatio n in t he Garden of
Ede n was complete onl y in the physi cal sense.
Adam was created a perfect physi cal speci men -
but not a perfect SPIRITUAL creat ion. He was cre-
ate d of the dust - not of di vine SPIRIT. He was
create d corr uptible - not incorruptibl e. He was
created subject t o death - not immor t al.
But God did not intend man should remai n that
way !
2. Did J ob realize God was for ming a spe cial
creation in his life? Job 14:14-15.
COMMENT: Notice especia lly the latter part of
verse 15: ". . . thou wilt have a desire to the WORK
of thine hands." Tbe "work" was J ob. Job knew he
was merely a piece of divine workmanship in the
hands of t he Mast er Pott er.
3 . Are true Christians being fashio ned by God
for a specific purpose? Isa. 43:7 ; Eph . 2:10.
COMMENT: The wor d "we" in New Testament
lan gua ge usu all y refers to Christi ans, as Paul in-
tended in verse 10. We, then - if we are Christ ians
- are God's "workmans hip." We today are being
"created" - WHY? - "unto good works." God,
with the Holy Spirit He has pu t wit hin us, is for m-
ing in us perfect spirit ual character! He is creat ing
us i n His own character- image ! He is creating us
t o be t he supreme mast erpiece of a ll Hi s works of
creation - indi viduals who will ulti mately be ca-
pable of exercising awesome powers in the uni -
verse!
Man, the mat erial creation, is onl y t he first
phase. Now t he clay model has to be fash ioned
and molded by experience, and wit h t he aid of
J
"IF A MAN DIE,
SHALL HE LIVE
AGAIN?" - These
were the inspired words
of Job (Job 14 ,1 4 ). Job
knew the answer. He
knew all the dead would
awaken in a resurrecti on
to fulfill the purpose of
lif e. Photo shows General
Dwight D. Eisenhower' s
casket in funeral
procession.
Kilbvrn - Amba ssodor College
Lesson 8 Wh at It Mea ns to Be " BORN AGAIN" II
Josip Cig onov;c
POTTER AT WORK - As a potte r sha pes and
molds a piece of pliable clay into a work of art ,
God - the Moster Potter - is fashioning " mortal
clay" into His supreme masterpiece of creat ive
workmanship!
God's Holy Spirit, int o t he finished spiritual mas -
terpiece. An ana logy of this process would be a
caterpilla r going through a metamorphosis and
emerging a beautiful butter tly. Man must un dergo
a spirit ual "metamorphosis," or CHANGE - to
emerge as perfect SPIRITUAL l\IEMBERS in the di-
vine GOD FAMILY!
What It Means to Be
IIBorn Again
l l
The Gospel J esus brought to mankind is simply
t he "good news" of t he Kingdom of God - and
t hat Kingdom is DUAL. It is not only t he ruling
government which Christ will establish on t he
eart h when he returns, but it is also t he FAMILYof
God - the God Kingdom composed of t he spi rit
members of the God Family.
And , incredible as it may sound, J esus ta ught
t hat humans can be "born" int o t he FAMILY, or
KINGDOM, ofGod.
There are only two members in the God Family
or Kingdom at t he pr esent t ime - God the Father
and Jesus Christ the Son. But God is increasing
His Family! And YOU can be "born" int o it !
1. Does God plain ly show it is Hi s purpose to in-
crease His divine Family by bringi ng many sons
int o it'! Heb. 2:10; Rev. 21:7. Isn' t J esus Christ ac-
t ua lly th e "firstborn" of MANY sons of God'! Rom.
8:29; Col. I :18.
COMMENT: To be "conformed to the IMAGE" of
Christ means to become LIKE Him - to be glori-
fied as He is glorified - to be of the divine FAMILY
OF GOD as much as Christ now is.
2. But what must happen to flesh-and-blood
Christ ians before t hey can enter God's Family'!
I Cor. 15:49-51; J ohn 3:3-8.
CO:\tl\.'IENT: Jes us said we must be "born again"
- CHANGED INTO S PIRIT! Yes, born again -
this t ime born of t he Spirit of God as divine Sons
in the Family of God.
12 Amba ssador College Cor respondence Course l esson 8
Begotten Sons Now -
Not Yet Born Agoin
1. If we are true Christians, are we .alreadv - in
t his life - t he children of God? I J ohn 3: 1:2. Are
we al ready inheritors of the Kin gdom of God, or
only heirs to it? Rom. 8:14-17.
CO" ME" T: Notice t hat although we are now
the "sons" and "children of God," we are only
heirs - ones who shall , in the fut ure, inherit.
Why? Because we are now only begotten chil dren.
It is only when we are born of God that we become
inheritors of God's Kingdom - di vine me mbers of
the Family of God .
Before the second phase of man's creation - our
spiritual crea tion - can begin. God the Father
must first beget eac h of us by placing His Holy
Spirit uiithin our minds. \Ve are then impregnated,
so to spea k, by t he "seed" or germ of etemal li fe. It
is t he begettal of t he spirit ual life of God wit hin
our minds. And much as a newly begot te n physi -
cal embryo begi ns to grow in its mother's womb,
we begin to grow in SPIRITUAL CHAHACTEH after
we are begotten by God's Spirit. This growt h
comes t hrough st udy, prayer, and walkin g with
God.
2. Now compare Ga latians 3:26 and Ephesians
1:5 wit h Roman s 8:14- 17. Do t hese verses reveal
the same truth. - t hat Christ ians a re a lreadv t he
children - t he SONS - of God, destined t o iI;heli t
eternal life?
COMMENT: Some versions of t he Bible use t he
expression "adopt ion of sons" or "adoption of chil-
dren." Although possibl e, t hese do
not give the real mea ning. The original inspired
Greek expression huiothesia does simply mean
"sons hip." But when we receive the "spirit of so n-
ship," as an impregnating "seed" (I Pet. I :23), t hat
is not an "adoption." The Holy Spirit makes us the
literal begotten SOliS of God, for we are going to be
just like our Hea ven ly Father when fina llv born
into His Kingdom. -
And so all Spirit -begotten Christians have be-
come the (as yet ux born ) children of God t he
Father, in the same sense that an unborn human
fetus is the child of its human parents!
3. Do we actually receive of the di vine nat ure of
God when begotten by His Holy Spirit? II Pet er
I :3-4. What are some of the divi ne characteristics
or "fruits" of God's nature that are made mani fest
in the lives of obedient Christians after they are
begot t en by God's Spiri t? Gal. 5:22-2:3.
4 . Is love ("charity") the great est single att ri-
bute of God 's nat ure t hat is transmi tted to us bv
His Holy Spirit'? I .I ohn 4:Hi ; Rom. 5:5; [ Co;.
1:3 :1- 1:3 (notice especially verse 13) . Is t his th e
sallle love that ena bles us to "fulfill" - to OHEY -
God's Law'? Hom. 13:10.
COMMENT: The Holy Spirit that a person may
receive from God can be compared to the sperm of
a human fat her. God's Spirit transmits His spiri-
tu al attri butes to us, even as a physical sperm cell 0...../
transmits a human fat her's attributes to his newly
conceived offspring. The Holy Spirit - the germ
or "seed" (I Pet. 3:23) by which we are spirit ua lly
begotten - imparts to us t he nature and very life
of God our heavenly Father.
If you are t ruly the kind of Christ ian described
in t he Bible, then you ar e now a begot/en child or
son of God. God the Father placed within your
mind His Spirit, the sperm, so t o speak, of eterna l
life. He begot you wit h the Holy Spirit just as the
sperm from a human fat her impregnates the egg of
the mot her. Your mi nd can be compared to an
"egg" or ovum. You were impregnat ed with the
spirit ual germ or sperm of ete rn a l life so you could
begin the process of spiritual grouith, But vou are
not yet born of God - not ye t composed of spirit
- not yet immort al. If you ar e not ye t truly con-
vert ed - a genuine Christ ian - t he n you have not
yet even begun this process!
Born Agoin ot the Resurrection
1. Ca n flesh and blood inher it God' s Ki ngdom'?
I Cor. 15:50. What must happen befor e we can be
born as divine sons in God's Family? Verses 51-53.
C OMMENT: Whatever is born of spirit IS spi rit ,
said Jesus (John 3:6). But we have not yet been
born of spirit. We are STILL I"LESH AND BLOOD ! If
you thi nk you have already been "born again,"
then take t he "pin test." Stick a pin in your finger .
Do you feel pain? Does your finger bleed? Then
yo u are sti ll flesh and blood - yo u haven't been
"born again."
When Christ was res urrected - "born again" -
He was ab le to pass through solid wal ls (Jo hn
20: 19,26). Do you think t hose who claim t o have
been "born again" can match t his feat?
Obviously, any human bei ngs who claim to be
already born again are te rribly mis taken, for t hey
are still flesh and blood. .Jesus sai d you must be
"born of spirit" - you must become composed of
spirit - t o ever see or enter t he Kin gdom of God
(John 3:3,5). And so t he new birth is somet hing
yet to occur at the resurrection!
But exactly why aren't all t rue Christians al-
ready born of God? Notice:
2. What are Chris t ia ns exhorted to do in t his
life'? II Peter 3:18; Eph. 4:15. How and by whom
are they t o be "fed " and nu rtured so t hey ma y
grow into t he stature of Christ'? I Peter 5:1-2; Ep h.
4: 11-13.
COMMENT: The Fa t her beget s. He does not
"bring forth"; the mother does t hat , la ter. Aft er
the fathe r's part, which initiates the PHOCESS,
l esson 8
t here is a lways a lapse of time leading to fina l
birth. At t he ti me of begetta l, birth (par t urit ion)
has not ye t occurred. In t he case of human beings,
it follows about ni ne months lat er.
During the intervening time, just as the mother
nourishes and protects the unborn son or daughter
in her womb during the gest ation period, so the
true Church is commissioned to nourish and pro-
tect true Christians in her spirit ual womb - to
"feed t he flock." God's spirit- begotten children
must be nourished on the spiritual [ood supplied
by God - the words of Scripture - and live by
every word of God , in orde r to grow up spirit ually.
If by t he ret urn of J esus Christ we have grown
and matured in spiritual character, we will become
born "children of God," being "children of the res-
urrect ion" as Christ was at His resurrecti on. We
will t he n no longer be subj ect to death (Luke
20:35-36 ). But if t he spirit -begotten child of God
does n. ot grow spiritually, he can become a spiri-
tual miscarriage - an abortion.
3. Speaking of t he res urrection. whe n t he second
bir t h will occur , what did Paul say regardi ng the
new body Christ ians will receive? 1 Cor. 15:42-44.
Will they become as J esus Christ is today? Phi l.
3: 20-21; I J ohn 3:2; Mat t. 17:1-2; Rev. 1:13-16;
Matt. 13: 4:3 ; Dan . 12: :3.
COMMENT: Because God is spirit, when one is
" born" of hi s heavenly Fa t her he wil l BE SP IR I T -
he will be compose d of t he sa me subs tance of
Begettalof
Human Life
These seven steps illustrate
the impregnat ion of a
human ovum, or " egg,"
by the male sperm, and
subsequent growth. This
process of physical begettal
and growth of human life
is anal ogous to the spiritual
begettal of a Christian's
mind by the Spirit of God,
and subsequent growth in
spiritual character.
Ambossado, College Art
14 Ambassador College Correspondence Course
l esson 8
which God is composed. He will be given a spirit
body j ust like Christ's and will be GLORIFIED and
give n tremendous SPIRITUAL POWER. The spirit ual
power and glory "born-agai n" Christians sha ll re-
ceive at t he resurrection will be so great that it
will ma ke their spirit bodies shine as the sun, and
make t heir raiment dazzling white!
And all who are t hus "born of God " will be able
to see God becau se t hey will be in t he Kingdom -
the divine Family - of God!
The Great Difference Between
I'Begotten
li
and IIBorn"
Most professin g Christians assu me they were
"born agai n" when t hey first "accepted Christ ."
Then by misapplying t he Kin g J ames Versi on's
rendition of I J ohn 3:9, "Whosoever is born of God
dot h not commit sin: for his seed remainet h in
him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of
God," many also assume t hat t hey are no longer
capable of sinning in this life.
That assumption is false! Notice:
I , Did the Apostle J ohn say t hat Christ ians do
sometimes commit sins? I J ohn 1:8-10. Did he use
t he present tense of t he verb in verse 8? Then he
meant they sin after becoming Christia ns, didn 't
he? Notice that he includes himself by saying
"we."
2, Was the Apostle Pau l beset wit h recurring sin
long after he repented and received - was begot-
ten by - t he Holy Spi rit? Rom. 7:14-25. Is there a
just ma n on earth who does not at some time com-
mit sin? Eccl. 7:20. So isn't it plain t hat Christians
in this mortal flesh are not now perfect - not yet
born of God?
3, Now notice I John 5: 18. Does this verse fur -
t her substantiate the fact that Christians are not
yet born of God?
COMMENT: The person who has been fina lly
" born of God" will not si n any longer. Once we are
born of God at t he resurrecti on we will be able to
live without ever sinni ng again. How? Simpl y be-
cause we will then possess the fullness of God' s
perfect character a nd divine nature. We will no
longer possess a nature which ca n fall victi m t o
SIn.
But as long as we are only "begotten" of God we
must "keep ourse lves" - we must cont inue to re -
sist the evil temptations of t he fl esh. Such a one
can commit sin. When caught off guard or in a
moment of weakness, lve can sin! But we cannot
"practice [or continually live in] sin" and be t he
begotten sons of God , which is another possible
meani ng of I John 3:9.
Life, to t he begotten Christian, is a cons tant
struggle against t he wiles of the devi l, temptations
in the wor ld, and the pulls of his own flesh. AI-
though he has now received t he begettal of God's
divine nature (II Pet. 1:4), he still has human na -
ture as well , and the one wars aga inst the other
(Gal. 5: 17). <:
Bu t wha t about t he Old Testament men of
God? How can we prove whet her any of them were
eit he r begotten or born of God? Let's understan d:
4 . Did David have God's Holy Spirit ? Ps. 51:10-
11. Wh at about all t he "holy men of old," in-
cludi ng Abra ham, Isaac and J acob? II Pet . 1:21;
Rom . 8:14; Luke 13:28. And yet , was J esus Christ
the "FIRSTborn from the dead"?Col. 1:15, 18.
COMMENT: Now since t hose Old Test ament
personages had God' s Hol y Spiri t , and yet Christ
was first to be born of God by vir tue of His res ur -
recti on, t hen it follows that t hose men of old were
merel y "begott en" of God - not yet "born" into
His Family. And t he sa me is TRUE OF EVERY
CHRISTIAN SINCE CHRIST!
The Greek Word Gennao
Much of the confusion abo ut being "born again"
has resulted from misi nter pret ing the original
Greek of t he New Test ament. With one exception
(J ames 1:15,18) t he Greek word used in reference
t o spirit ua l beget tal a nd bir th - spiritua l sa lva-
tion - is al ways gennao. This word means both
"to conceive, " or "to beget," and also "to bear," or
"to be born" - all or any part of the whole process
which produces a new indivi dual hu man being;
whereas in English we use two separate verbs -
"begott en"and "born."
Si nce both beget tal and birth are included in t he
meaning of gennao, we must often let the Bible in-
t erpret the Bible in order to kn ow which meani ng
is intended in a particula r passage.
Here are several examples where the Greek word
should ri ghtl y have been ren dered begotten, not
horn : J ohn 1:12-13; I John 2:29; 4:7; 5:1 (three
times) ; 5:4. The King .Iames Version is correct by
using "begotten" in I Corinthians 4:15; Hebrews
1:5 and I John 5: 1.
Now wha t about the script ures that call Christ
th e "ONLY-begotten"? (John 1:14,18; 3:16; I ,John
4:9.) Do these, after all, disprove t he truth t ha t
t rue Christians are only "begot t en" of God's
Spirit, growing toward being born of God at the
resurrection?
Of course not!
The simple answer is that all these verses are re-
ferri ng to Christ's miraculous begettal in His
mot her Mary's womb. Christ's physical beget tal
and birth (gennao) were unique. No other person
- ever - has been begotten by t he Spirit of t he
Father in a human mother's womb! In this se nse
He is - and al ways shall be - "ONLY-begot t en ."
But many have been "begotten aga in" (I Pet . 1:3)
Le sson 8 What It Means ta Be " BORN AGAIN" 15
to ultimately hecome - t hrough t he process of
spirit ual growth a nd birth - the spi rit-b orn sons
of God.
You MUST Be Born Again!
What God crea te d at the time described in the
first chapt er of Genesis was a physical creat ion.
Ma n, made of the dust of the ground, was the MA-
TEHIAL being whi ch God pl anned to mol d, shape
and form into a perfect SPIHITU AL creat ion. He pic-
tures us as the clay, Himself as t he Po t t er - form-
ing us int o t he spiritual image of Hi mself!
God uses hu man reproduction to picture the
process by whi ch He is repr oducing Himself. Each
human since Adam a nd Eve start ed from a tiny
ovum, t he size of a pinpoint , produced in t he body
of the mother. But the egg is incomplete of itself.
It lives only about 48 hours, according to some au-
thorit ies. Unless fertilized by t he life-giving sperm
cell from the human father within the limi ted
time, it dies. A human life can only begin whe n
that sperm cell impregnates - enters - the
ovum.
Spiritually speaking, each human mind is like
an egg. Each of us was BOHN INCOMPLETE - able
to live onl y a relat ively short span of years. We
were made to need t he impregnati ng spirit ua l life
of God's Holy Spirit so we could be create d in
God's spiritual "image" and live forever!
The physical ovum, once it is fertili zed, becomes
a begotten human life ca lled an embryo. The
mother's womb nouri shes and protects it - car-
rying it in that part of her body where she may
best protect it from physical injury or harm - un-
til it has grown enough to be born. Aft er a number
of weeks, the embryo develops t o what is ca lled a
fet us, and at birth it is called a human baby.
Likewise God's CHURCH protect s and spirit ually
feeds begotten Christ ians with the Word of God so
t hey may GHOWSPIRITUALLY (II Peter 3:18) in the
di vine chara ct er of God unt il rea dy to be born into
HL, Family.
But there is one great di fference in this analogy!
The physical fetus does not attain physical an d
ment al mat urity before birth. However, th e spirit -
begotten Christi an must attain a reasonahle mea-
sure of spirit ual maturity before he is spirit -born.
The newborn physica l ba be's main growth occurs
aft er birth, but this is a ty pe of t he spirit ual grow-
ing which spiritually begotten Christ ians must do
befor e t heir spirit ual birth (I Pet. 1:23; 2:1-2).
Christ did not grow into spiritual perfection after
He was res urrected, but during His human life-
time, set t ing us the exa mple, being made perfe ct
(Heh. 2:10 and 5:8-9).
Surely nobody will be foolish eno ugh to suggest
t hat when Christ was BOHN the very son of God by
the resurrection (Rom. 1:4) He was resurrected as
a tiny infant's body composed of spirit ! He was
res urrect ed full grown. How did t he apost les know
He was t he same Jesus? Because t hey knew what
.Iesus looked like - and in His resurrect ed body
He looked the same as He had before in the flesh ,
except He now was composed of spirit instead of
flesh a nd blood !
When we are "horn agai n" - born of God,
changed into spirit bodies at the resurrection -
we, too, sha ll look esse ntia lly as we do now, as far
as physical features are concerned. But the resur-
rected body will be a different body - composed of
SPIHITinstead offiesh and blood (l Cor. 15:35-44).
Now what, exactly, is spirit ual growt h? It is
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!
Suc h charac t er is the ability, as a free moral
agent , to di scern right from wrong - the true val-
ues from t he false - truth from error - and then
t o make the right choice or decision, even agains t
self-des ire, impulse or temptation; plus the will
and self-discipline to resist the wrong and t o DO
th e right.
But as mentioned before, we must BEGIN devel-
oping spiritual cha racter and grow toward spiri-
tual adult hood during this life - NOT AFTER we
are born of God at the resurrection! Our vile, car-
nal nat ure (Rom. 8:7; J er . 17:9) must be gradually
changed NOW! This spiritua l growth comes by
feeding on t he Word of God, through prayer and
whol ehearted participation in t he Work of God .
Then, when the glorifi ed Christ ret urns to earth
the second time, we shall be resurrected, or instan-
taneously changed, int o bodi es t hat will be like
His (I J ohn 3: 1-2) - full grown - adult ! At t hat
instant , our present physical bodies will be made
like His glorified body - "BORN AGAIN" AS MEM-
BERS OF GOD'S OWN FAMILY - as God's own glori-
ous offspring with eternal life inherent \"vithin
ourselves - as His immort al SONS to reign along
with J esus Christ our elder BROTHER!
Th at , according to your Bible, is what it means
to be "born again." God help you to comprehend
t his glorious t ruth, and become one of His spiritu-
a lly begotten children!
ANSWERS TO QU IZ
' B
5-C 9-0 13-F 17-1
2-A 6- B 108 14-T 18F
JB ] C 111 15-F 19-(
4A S-C 12-T 16J 208
Rate Your sel f
19-20 cor rect ... ..... ..... ..... _........... excellent
16-18 _ good
13- 15 fair
16
Amb assador College Correspondence Course
TEST YOUR MEMORY
This quiz is designed to help you remember t he important
facts you learned in the lesson. You simply circle or unde rline
each correct answer. After you've finished the tes t, check
your choices with the cor r e ct answers listed on page J 5, and
then rate yourself.
l esson 8
1. "God" A. is one person. B. is a fami ly
presently composed of only two persons. C. is a
" t rinity" of three pe rsons - the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. D. has no pla ns for expan ding His
Fomily-Kinqdom.
2 . The divine Person who became Jesus Christ A.
wa s the " Spokes ma n" of the Go d Family in Old
Test ament t imes. B. was never the Log os or
" Word" of God. C. was never seen by mon in
Old Te sta me nt times. D. did not ex ist until the
Father begot Him.
3 . The Spi rit of God A. is a di vine being . B. is
t he ve ry power of the God Family. C. may be
touched and felt . D. is not ever ywhere .
4 . The Fa t he r and Son A. ar e bot h included in
the original uniplural Hebrew word for God - E/o-
him. B. have a lway s hod that relationship to one
a nother . C. are of equal a uthority. D. both
dealt with mankin d in Old Testament times.
5 . God o rigi na lly create d A. animal s that
evo lved into their own kinds . B. man after the
God kind. C. physica l man in God' s " likeness"
a nd " ima ge." D. man of spirit .
6. Man was created A. a s the ultima te, com-
pleted, finished pro duct. B. as only the cla y
model which God would sha pe and develop in His
own spiritual cha ra cter . C. with pe rfect spiritual
cha racter. D. a s a glorified be ing.
7. When Jesu s spoke of be ing " born agai n."
Nico de mus A. und e rstood ex a ct ly wha t He
meant. B. thought He meant " be baptized an d
live a Christian life." C. kne w He wa s talking
a bout a lite ra l birth, but d id not understand that it
was a spiritual birth. D. did not real ize Jesus wos
tal king about the subject of birth.
8 . To be " born again" A. is to be chan ged into
a higher level o f human being. B. is mer ely a
se nt imenta l experience. C. means to be changed
into a literal immortal membe r of the God Fam-
ily! D. is just a metaphorical expressi on Jesus
used in talking to Nicodemus.
9 . One who is born of God' s spirit A. is a
nebulous ghost. B. will have no great power. C.
will be like the a ngels, but not like God. D. is
spirit.
1O. True Christians now A. a re already born of
Go d and a re not able to sin. B. are only begotten
of God ' s Spirit. C. a re a lready inhe ritors of
God' s Kingdom. D. a re in no need of growi ng in
God's spiritual characte r bef ore being " born
agoin" at the resurrectio n.
TRUE OR FALSE
11. The Logos - the " Word" or " Spokesma n"
- was a membe r of the Go d Kingdo m before
bei ng mira culously begotte n in Mary' s womb.
T F
12. The Spiritua l begettal of a Christian by the
Spirit of God is anal ogous to the physical begettal
o f an ovum by the sperm of a huma n fat her. T F
13. True Christ ian s call the Fa the r of Je sus Christ
" Our Father in heaven" because trad ition sa ys they
should, not beca use the Father is now begetting
many sons to become "born agai n" brothers of
Jesus Christ. T F
14. The Gr eek word gennao desc ribes a process
which includes bot h begettal a nd birth. T F
1 5. It is impossible for us to sin once we ha ve been
begotten by Go d', Spirit . T F
MATCHING
Draw a lin e from each phrase in th e left-
hand co lum n to the corre ctly related phrase
in the right-ha nd column.
16. LORD. YHWH. A. The Holy Spirit
Rock B. At the resur rection
C. Character
17. Ge nnoo development
D. Never been seen
1 B. True Christians E. The Fathe r
F. Spirit begotten
19. Spiritual G. Begettal only
growt h H. Bi rth only
I. Begettal a nd birth
20 . " Born again" J. Je sus Christ
I OOMS73