8. Born from Above – The Seed of God for New Life

8. Born from Above – The Seed of God for New Life.

“God’s Seed” in 1 John 3:9 – (Greek word “sperma“) – The seed of divine life introduced into a believer by the Father through the Holy Spirit; the provision of a new family name and identity; the miraculous infusion of the Father’s DNA, a new spiritual genetic framework within a believer; the transmission of new characteristics from the Father with a new heredity as a child of God; through His spiritual seed, God “fathers-forth” a new race in Christ.

“People conceived into life by the Father don’t make a habitual practice of sin. How could they? God’s seed is deep within them, making them who they are. His principle of life is at work in them. It’s not in the nature of the God-begotten to deliberately and knowingly practice sin. After all, they are children of the Father! They have His nature permanently within them! Whoever has been born of God will refuse to keep sinning, because they have been fathered by God Himself, and contain His nature. Here is how God’s children can be clearly distinguished from the Devil’s children: Anyone who does not demonstrate righteousness does not belong to God, nor does the one who refuses to love fellow believers.” (1 John 3:9-10. This is a weaving together of different authorized versions, including the Message, the New King James Version, the New Living Translation, the Passion Translation, the Amplified Bible).

“Oh, but I was so much older then. I’m younger than that now.” (Bob Dylan, My Back Pages).

Are we truly new creatures in Christ, or merely improved versions of the old creatures? After we become new, do we just gradually become old again? If we are born again, does that mean we acquire a new bloodline?

Maybe our newness looks something like this… In the beginning, the Spirit hovered over the chaos and darkness, and then finally breathed life into His creatures, allowing them to live into their new beings. And in the new beginning, the same Holy Spirit hovers over the darkness of sin, and seeks to breathe new life into humanity once again, producing people born from above, creating a whole new creature. Only the breath of the Spirit is capable of creating those who can be progressively renewed from one degree of glory to another, providing a new hope and destination of eternal glory with the triune God. Our newness is utterly dependent on the Spirit’s creation-power.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t merely reform or revive the old creature, He transforms it, literally renews it, making it new again.

• It’s not like patching up an old coat, it’s wearing a whole different coat.
• It’s not like an incorrigible person who is reformed into changing his behavior or is rehabilitated into civilized society. Instead, the incorrigible person receives an entirely new conscience.
• It’s not like an unmotivated student who is reeducated into being a good student at a different school. Instead, the unmotivated student receives an attitude transplant.
• It’s being born from above and given a new spiritual bloodline, complete with a new eternal family and an incorruptible inheritance. Think of it: Being born a second time through the seed of God and the Holy Spirit, means we live into the spiritual gene pool of the Godhead, given a heavenly DNA and the vast potential of brand new hereditary traits!
• It’s not like a broken branch being grafted back onto the same vine. Instead, the broken branch is grafted onto a totally different vine, generating new fruit, a red grape branch grafted onto a green grape vine, producing green grapes, not red.
• It’s not just an epiphany with the old mind, it’s a transfiguration into a new mind.

Becoming a new creature is not a resuscitation, it’s a resurrection. It’s not merely resuscitating an old spirit just to breathe the same old air. We’re talking about a resurrection into a new spirit, breathing fresh air from the exhale of the Holy Spirit into our new lives, gradually transforming each of us into a life of newness, from one level of brightness to the next. And the more the Spirit changes us, the newer we become. We are new creatures, and getting newer all the time.

The Father’s Seed. In many ways, the human father’s sperm is an interesting picture of the Father’s seed. Maybe that’s what God had in mind in the first place. There is something embryologists all “active disposition,” which means that at conception when the sperm protonucleus fuses with the female protonucleus, a one-cell zygote is produced. This zygote, at the moment of conception, is instantly programmed with everything necessary for the new life to continue within itself. The human zygote has unique DNA, the genetic framework for the new person that has been created. The zygote miraculously already has a distinctive identity, it is already one of a kind, and will develop itself into maturity the way it has been programmed by the DNA, assuming the right conditions of protection and nutrition. Assuming full health, the new very “little one” is full of momentum for the new life to grow, to mature, to move forward in development from one stage to the next. The parents’ DNA provide the building blocks for this new life, and it’s all systems go.

New spiritual life also has to be kick-started with a seed, God’s seed, in order for the Holy Spirit to bring new spiritual life to a person. God’s seed has an active disposition as well, full of life and wired to develop according to God’s plan. This new creature has become a partaker of God’s nature, by receiving the seed from God Himself. When we are born anew from above, we are conceived according to the plan of God, and the Father’s very nature is passed on to us as new creatures. The Lord of new life has enabled each of us to share family characteristics, as His children, and God considers us His true sons and daughters. As the Orthodox Church puts it, “We become by grace what God is by nature.”

“Behold! What manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! What an incredible quality of divine love the Father has given us! The Father has lavished us with marvelous love.” (1 John 3:1).

Notice that significant word at the beginning of John’s passage above? There are some individual words and short phrases in Scripture that need to be highlighted as they are read, words or phrases that are significant or point to something meaningful. Some phrases might be: Fear not. Here I am. Woe to you. One another.   And maybe some single words are: Amen. Hallelujah. Blessed. Abba. Come.  The word Behold! is one of those significant words, an exclamation that is intended to get our attention. Listen, people, this is something you need to hear! “Behold” says to the audience, Look at this and take note! You would be wise to remember these words and think about them! Careful now, don’t be deaf to what I am about to say! Stop what you’re doing and listen up! As the Eastern Orthodox Christians say before they read the Gospel in the Liturgy… Attend!

By being welcomed into God’s family through rebirth, we partake of God’s nature. We receive all the privileges of God’s household, including love, the Holy Spirit, a new life now, eternal life with God. By being children of God, we become His heirs, not only of God’s glory, but also of Christ’s suffering. And by being welcomed into the family of God, God’s broken image we inherited from the old Adam is restored into the image of the new Adam, Christ. We develop a family resemblance to Jesus and are gradually transformed into His glorious likeness.