Born again? Not Yet!

 I mentioned this idea in one of my other posts, but I felt it deserved a post of its own because it's such a unique and incredible revelation.  All these years as Christians, we've been told that once we give our lives to Jesus, we are born again. But I've come to believe that might not be the case.

We get this phrase from Jesus, Himself, who said in John 3:3  Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Let me ask you a question. Do you see the kingdom of God? I would say the answer to that is No. You may sense it in your spirit, you may see evidence of it, but you don't actually SEE the Kingdom of God.

This, then, logically flows to the assumption that  when we are born again, we will see the Kingdom of God.

The only other place in the Bible where the phrase "born again" is used is when the Apostle Peter also mentions it in in the following passages.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,  1 Peter 1:3-4

Notice Peter says we are "born again" TO a living hope. What is that hope? An inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and reserved for us in heaven.

Also in that same chapter, Peter mentions "born again" one more time.

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible  1 Peter 1:22

Have you been born again of incorruptible seed? Do you have your new glorified body that does not die, age, or get sick? Hmm. I don't. 

The Apostle Paul describes our new incorruptible bodies in 1 Corinthians 15

So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
.....Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

In other words, our bodies are currently in corruption, but WHEN we are raised again or raptured, we will be raised in incorruption with new bodies that never die. In our current corrupted state, we CANNOT inherit (or see) the kingdom of God.  

Is it possible that when the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples of Jesus at Pentecost that the church was NOT "born" but instead "conceived" ? Remember it was the Holy Spirit who conceived Jesus in the womb of Mary. Wouldn't it make sense that He also conceived the church in the hearts of those who believe?

We true believers are the body of Christ, right?
 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ  1 Corinthians 12:12

And Christ is the Head of the Body
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

Notice the "we will grow" phrase. The Body of Christ is not completely formed yet because we still have believers to be added to the Body. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes how each of us is a body part. Some are hands, some are feet and we all have a part in the functioning of the body. Well, a baby can't be born until all its parts are formed and functioning. 

So when Jesus talked about being "Born again" He was talking about His Body of believers being completed, raptured, and given new bodies that are now incorruptible and can SEE the Kingdom of God!

This fits completely with the Revelation 12 sign of the rapture, which describes a birth. So, the rapture of the church is the BIRTH of the Body of Christ. He (The Head of the Body) has already come out. (The head of the baby is always first). But at the rapture, His Body (us!) is finally born.

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.  Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth... She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up (the word means raptured) to God and His throne.

If you missed my post on why this child is us, click here
If you missed my post on the connection of labor pains with the rapture click here.

So, big deal, you might say. We are not "born again". It's just a phrase. True. But to me, it has great importance. It's a matter of perspective. If we say we are already born again, it has a sense of finality about it. We are saved, born again.. now we just live out our Christian lives the best we can. But when we realize we are not  born from above yet, that we are still in the womb, it gives a different perspective.. a hope, a longing for something better. God is NOT done with us. The seed of the Holy Spirit has been planted in our hearts, but that is only the Beginning. It is the tip of the iceberg as they say. It is only a down payment of things to come.

We are still infants in the womb, being formed, shaped and molded together into the body of Christ. We are saved, but not yet born again. We don't know what we will be like when we are born but we know we will be like Him.

 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  1 Corinthians 15:52-53
 
(I give credit where credit is due: I first heard this online from a guy named Scott Clarke. Check out his YouTube channel. He's awesome)