The nuts and bolts of salvation. How you are born again
By E. Palmer Cobb 02/17/25
In the book of John, Chapter 3, Jesus has an encounter with the Pharisee
Nicodemus. Jesus told Nicodemus: "You must be born again to enter the
kingdom of heaven." Specifically, the word for “born again” means to be
born from above. To enter the kingdom of God, you must be born of the
Spirit of God. Romans 10:9,10 tells you the steps to being saved, being
born again. But what is being saved? What happens at the moment of
salvation? The word saved in Greek is “SOZO”. SOZO means to save,
to rescue, to deliver, to heal, to preserve. You are saved and delivered from
eternal damnation, hell, and punishment. And most importantly, you receive
the gift of eternal life. Saved from eternal death.
So, where does the Bible explain the process of "being born again, becoming
saved?" God explained it clearly about 600 years before Jesus, the Son of
God appeared on earth in the flesh as a man. In the 36th book of Ezekiel,
God gave a detailed description of the born-again process.
Ezekiel 36:25 "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean
from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.
And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of
flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my
statutes and be careful to obey my rules." ESV.
Step 1: Cleansing Ezekiel 36:25 "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and
You shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will
cleanse you."
From the “Old Covenant” point of view, they probably thought Ezekiel was
referring to the ceremonial washings in Leviticus 30:18-20. Ceremonial
washings were for the outside, external washing of the hands. But now we
know it is the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sins. A spiritual
cleansing of the inner man. Why is Jesus's blood so important? Because Jesus
is the God-man. The physical manifestation of the invisible Father God. The
second person of the triune Godhead who humbled himself and became a
man. Jesus, the God-man, came, took our place, and bore our punishment for
our sins. The blood that Jesus shed was, in reality, the blood of God. Blood is
considered a person's life force. Undeniably, the most important blood (life
force) in all the universe was Jesus, the God-man. The only blood that could
cleanse you of your sin and unrighteousness.
Cleansing Part 2: “And from all your idols I will cleanse you.”
Before the experience of salvation, your spirit was dead to God. You had
various idols. Many of you didn’t even realize you had them. It might have
been habits, addictions, hobbies, money, jobs, and so forth. Anything you
put before God would be an idol. You may have sought after some forms
of god(s) and other religions that were not of God or of God’s realm. But
now, God promises to cleanse you of your idols. You may receive an instant
deliverance from some idols, or it may be a gradual process over time.
When you surrendered your life to Christ, He began the process of cleansing
you. He has promised to remove every idol.
Step 2: Receiving a new heart. “And I will give you a new Heart,”
The heart is the part of your inner man that represents your nature. In the
ancient world, the heart was the center for volition and the intellectual
catalyst for feeling and action. A ‘heart of stone’ implied inflexibility and
willfulness, while a ‘heart of flesh’ meant submission and compliance.”
(Vawter and Hoppe).
A heart of stone is dead to God, with no connection to God whatsoever.
Often spoken of in the bible as the Old Man, Old Nature, or the Flesh. The
heart of stone will follow whatever inner godless desires it wants. The
desires of the flesh. Whatever feels good to you.
The heart of stone is like having a cell phone with a dead battery. Someone
is calling, but your phone is dead. It is totally inoperable. In your stony
heart, God wants to talk to you, but you cannot hear or receive anything.
The new heart or heart of flesh gives you a new nature. The ability to sense
or connect to God and hear Him in the Spirit realm. This new heart will
grow, develop, transform, and mature.
Ephesians 4:23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds (the new
heart). See also Romans 12:2, be transformed by a renewing of your mind.
Step 3: Receiving a new spirit, “and a new spirit I will put within you.”
This is the next most important step in the salvation process. Your old spirit
was dead, cut off, separated from God, the same as your heart of stone.
From the moment that Adam sinned, the spirits of men became dead to God.
It is only when you go through the salvation experience that a new, perfect
spirit from God will replace the old, dead one. People often use the
term ‘we are being restored.’ But that is wrong. A restored item still looks
restored. God gave us a brand new spirit. New, not restored.
2 Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has
passed away; behold, the new (a new heart & spirit) has come.
Ephesians 4:24 and to put on the new self (the new creation spirit), created
after the likeness (or image) of God in true righteousness and holiness.
(a perfect spirit)
You will have a new and perfect spirit. A perfect spirit that is created in the
likeness and image of God. Similar to when God first made man in His image
at creation (Ge 1:26. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after
our likeness.”) The new creation spirit is once again made in His likeness.
Step 4: Receiving the Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke often about the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit would be our comforter, our power, and more. He wants to
guide us and direct us. He wants to speak to us and through us. The Holy
Spirit is our direct connection to Jesus and the Father.
There are volumes written about the Holy Spirit. The most important point
here is that the Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Triune Godhead.
And now God the Holy Spirit lives in you. God is not up there somewhere
in the heavens, hiding silently away. There is no barrier between you and
God. Jesus removed all the barriers. The Holy Spirit now dwells in you. He
is your inheritance. He is in your thoughts, your mind, your body. You are
His home, His temple; you’ve become a member of the body of Christ.
Therefore, it is important to live your life righteously, solely because God
has taken up residence in you. You should want to know Him intimately,
His plans and desires for you.
Learn how to become an empowered Christian. Learn to release the power
and gifts of the Holy Spirit that lives in you. Envision the things you are now
capable of because the creator of the universe dwells in you.
Step 5. Obeying God. “And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to
walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules (laws)."
I often wondered how God was going to make us walk in His statutes. One
day, I realized what He was talking about. It is simple. To obey His law, He
wants us to walk in love because love is the fulfillment of all the Law.
Much of Paul’s teaching was based on love and unity. 1st Corinthians 13
declares the meaning of love. Remember, God is love. You are now a
container of God’s love. It’s one of the abilities and gifts you must learn to
release.
Matthew 22: 37-40 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the
great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your
neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law
and the Prophets.”
John 13:34,35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one
another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this,
all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another.
So how does a person become born again and a New Spiritual Creation?
Follow the instructions in the scripture below.
Romans 10: 9,10 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved.. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth,
one confesses and is saved.
The process is simple:
First: believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord
Second: verbally confess that God has raised Him from the dead, and
then you will be saved.
