When it comes to studying that glorious event known to many as conversion, we do not have to read far into the New Testament to find that the primary illustration employed is that of the birth of a child. God is termed a father and the believers sons and daughters. Conversion is described as a new birth, produced by seed. As a child, the believer is a partaker of the Father's nature and will always bear a resemblance to the Father. The new birth, being born from above, is described by many terms, but I wish to emphasize the Biblical terminology of the birth. Born again of seed
A key verse on this subject is found in I Peter 1:23, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through [by] the living and enduring word of God" (NIV). There is surely no doubt that this verse refers to the new birth. What we have here is an accurate description of how God accomplished this miracle. We believed what the Word said, how God raised Jesus from the dead, and we confessed with our mouth Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9-10), and the miracle happened -- we were "born again".
The human family, nearly all the animal kingdom, and a large part of the vegetable kingdom, use seed as the means of propagation. This seed is "perishable", it is capable of decay. However, the seed that is placed in the believer is declared to be "imperishable"; it will never decay. Let us next note that the believer is said to be born again "of" imperishable seed, "by" the Word of God. The text does not read, "...which is the Word of God"; yet so many read this into the verse. They do this since they are acquainted with the parable of the sower in the gospel records of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, where the seed is stated to represent the Word of God. But this does not prove that every time we read the word "seed" in the Bible it refers to the Word of God. In the parable of the tares in Matthew 13, the seed is clearly stated to be "the sons of the kingdom" (verse 38). In I Peter 1:23, God uses prepositions with great care to show that the seed is not the Word of God. Vincent's Word Studies gives this note, "Of (ek) seed -- by (dia) the word. Note the difference in the prepositions; the former denoting the origin or source of life, the latter the medium through which it imparts itself to the nature". We are born again of "imperishable" seed, through [by means of] "the word of God". That is the clear teaching from I Peter 1:23.
God's Word has a distinct part to play. "How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?... So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:14,17 KJV). No one can experience the new birth unless they have read in the Word of God that it is available and the part they must play in its reception. That part is to believe what God's Word declares, and when Romans 10:9-10 is acted upon, then the Father places His imperishable seed within the person and they become a child of God.
The word "seed"
Before I go any further into this great subject, I would like to share some scriptures that demonstrate the usage of the word "seed" as applied to spiritual children. (The word is used a number of times in reference to children of earthly parents, and these you can discover for yourself with a concordance.) Let us first note this comment in a passage regarding the promise to Abraham, "Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring -- not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all" (Romans 4:16). In verse 11, Abraham is called "the father of all who believe". This is a beautiful figure of speech, teaching that our heritage in believing goes back a long way. It has to be a figure, for other scriptures plainly state that God is our Father -- the father is always the one who has contributed the seed.
A similar passage is found in Galatians 3:28, 29, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." The context is similar to that of Romans 4, that is, law versus believing.
I John 3:9 declares this outstanding truth, "No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him..." Vine's Expository Dictionary states, "The seed signifies the principle of spiritual life as imparted to the believer, which abides in him without possibility of removal or extinction." We are born again of imperishable seed from God, and that seed remains in the believer.
The answer of Jesus to Nicodemus in the Gospel of John, chapter 3, will help us understand the nature of the seed. "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again [or, from above]... I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again' " (John 3:3, 5-7). Verse 6 makes the truth so plain. "Flesh gives birth to flesh..." It cannot be improved; it will always remain flesh. In fact, there is no process known or available in this age that can change flesh into spirit.
However, flesh can receive a gift of spirit. This does not change the flesh but it does add a spiritual dimension to the person, for now they are a child of God. "...the Spirit gives birth to spirit." The gift of spirit does not need improvement; it will always remain spirit. Religion tries to improve the flesh; Christianity is the way of a Father with His family. The one is human; the other is divine. The one is for the earth walk only; the other is eternal.
Christ in you
Christianity has been described as having "Christ in", and there is truth in that statement. "You, however, are controlled not by the [flesh] but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9 -- the NIV incorrectly paraphrases the word "flesh" to "sinful nature". The Greek text is clearly "flesh"). The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ refer to the same gift. They are terms of character (the genitive case is used) and draw attention to the nature or character of the one spirit that dwells in every believer. The "Spirit of God" indicates origin; the "Spirit of Christ" indicates union with Him. Any person who does not have this one spirit within is not born again and is not a child of God.
"The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:26-27). The secret is out -- it is "Christ in you"; not the resurrected Christ who sits at the right hand of the Father in the heavenlies (Ephesians 1:20), but the Christ-life which is the seed of the Father in all believers. Now perhaps we can better understand Galatians 2:20, "I was crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (KJV). Christ is still at the right hand of the Father, but that Christ-life -- with all the love of Christ, and all the power of Christ, and all the authority of Christ -- dwells in me. That is a thrilling truth!
The birth of a child of God
Let me share a few more verses about this wonderful event -- the birth of a child of God. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation..." (II Corinthians 5:17). That "new creation" is the impartation of spirit, the imperishable seed from the Father. "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us" (I Corinthians 2:12). What a tremendous verse! The spirit which every believer has received is the spirit which is from God. This spirit is God's gift to us, since it is "by grace you have been saved, through faith -- not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Romans 5:5). Do you have that Holy Spirit? Yes, every child of God has been given the gift, the seed. And since you are a "partaker of the divine nature" (II Peter 1:4), then God can only give you that which He is -- holy, eternal, perfect, powerful, unchangeable spirit. What a spiritual "gift package" the Father has given to us!
"Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.' So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir" (Galatians 4:6-7). Praise God; that thrills me. The Christ-life contains the family image and the right to the family wealth. Only the children share the family fortune (at least, in God's kingdom). Now we are to take our position as sons and daughters. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (I John 3:1). Some people are still shocked when I declare that I am a son of God with power. But anything less is a denial of God's provision through the death of Christ. I am no longer a servant, but a son.
"And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us... We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit" (I John 3:24; 4:13). Again and again, in the epistles addressed to the churches and in other epistles, the truth is boldly proclaimed, plainly stated, and never doubted, that every believer has been given God's gift of spirit. "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body -- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free -- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink" (I Corinthians 12:13). We are one body, and our oneness comes from the fact that all believers were given the one spirit to drink, and thus have received, the one gift of spirit.
Perhaps you feel I am labouring this point, but I would remind you that countless Christians have been taught otherwise, unfortunately lessening the power and effectiveness of the new birth. Some teach that conversion is simply the moment when you make Jesus the Lord of your life, and that you need a second crisis experience to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, as they term it. On the other hand, some teach that every person has this "spark of divinity" in them and the new birth is simply the moment when you become aware of this. I believe both viewpoints are a "put down" of the work of Christ, and the very common former teaching forces believers into a works-conscious religion that inhibits the God-given potential for the more abundant life. I trust I have opened your mind to the possibility of what I find is a simpler, God-glorifying understanding of the new birth or conversion.
The basic truth that you should seriously consider is that the seed, the spirit in you, is perfect, permanent, and with potential. It is God's gift that enables everyone who believes to become a child of God. "The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
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