Born of God

We find the phrase born of God  only in 1John.  This epistle tells us the lifestyle of people who are truly born of God.  A short summary of these references is that people who are truly born of God:

• 1John 3:9 - do not live in lifestyle sin even though they might do one-time sins.
• 1John 4:7 - Has a lifestyle of loving the way that God love and a lifestyle of continuing to learn more about God.
• 1John 5:1 - Has a lifestyle of following Jesus Christ in how to live in this flesh and how to become spiritually mature.
• 1John 5:4 - Has a lifestyle of overcoming the temptations of this world through true Biblical faith.
• 1John 5:18 - Does not live in lifestyle sins but has a lifestyle of avoiding temptation.
• 1John 2:29 - Has a lifestyle of doing righteousness  as defined by the Bible.

Now, it is possible for someone to be truly saved and not have these things in their life because they have not spiritually matured since they received eternal life.  However, if someone claims to have been saved for years and still do not have these things as their lifestyle , then they need to check their claim of salvation and make sure that they have not deceived themselves by believing a religious doctrine which is not Biblical.

Having dealt with the summary, we need to look at the details and context of these references.

• 1John 3:9 says: doth not commit sin.
• People who are truly Biblically saved do not 'commit sin as a lifestyle action'.  Yes, they will sin but not make it a lifestyle .  The th  on the word doth  means that they 'keep on keeping on doing as a lifestyle '.
• First we need to clarify the difference between 1John 1 and 1John 3 because of the doctrinal error and confusion caused by what seems to be contradicting statements.
• They are not contradicting.
• The context of the two chapters is different which gives us two different applications.
• 1John 1 is dealing with the actions of saved people.  1John 3 is dealing with the legal standing of saved people in God's criminal court system.  While the Bible has only one interpretation, it has many applications.
• Therefore, the two different applications, which are dealing with two different context, are not contradicting.
• People who ignore context teach doctrinal error.  We will look at what is said within the context.
• In addition, 1John 1 is dealing with one-time sins while 1John 3 is dealing with lifestyle sins.  These are totally different according to the true doctrine of the Bible and according to common sense.
• 1John 1:6-10 says: If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
  • 1John 1 is talking about what we do.  1John 3 is talking about our legal position in Heaven.
  • When we receive salvation, the record of our sin (violations of God's law) are blotted out in God's criminal court system called the 'Great White throne judgment', we are adopted by God as His children; our legal record is moved to His family court system, called the judgment seat of Christ, and the sins which we do are dealt with in that court system.
  • We have 'diplomatic immunity' in God's criminal court system, and are never charged there, which is why 1John 3:9 says that God's children (his seed remaineth in him)  he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
  • People who are truly born of God  are not charged in the court system that 1John 3 talks about but are charged in the family court of the judgment seat of Christ.

Every one of these references which tell us about people who are born of God  tells us about lifestyle changes.  Anyone who does not have these lifestyle changes either just received salvation or has a problem with their claim to be saved.  The Bible tells us to test and prove our claim of true Biblical salvation.  Therefore, everyone needs to examine their own life and be sure that they have these things in their life.

• 1John 3:9 says: Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God
• Notice the word doeth  which means 'keeps on keeping on doing sin'.  The truly saved do not continue in lifestyle sin.  They stop it or God kills them.  The people who teach doctrinal error claim that this verse is talking about one-time sin and claim that they never sin no matter what they do.  They are ignoring the context and using the wrong definition fore the word doeth
• Next notice that our verse says, for his seed remaineth in him.  The word remaineth  means 'keeps on keeping on remaining'.  This is eternal security with the seed  being 'the word of God'.  People who can't remember how they got saved or what the Bible says have a problem.  In addition, this is talking about our ongoing personal relationship with the Son of God Who is the being who keeps us saved.  People who only did a one-time religious act of saying a 'prayer of salvation' and did not start an ongoing personal relationship with the Son of God also have a problem of their claim not matching what this verse truly says.
• 1John 4:7 says: Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
• Most people confuse fleshly lust with true Biblical love.  The world gives us a wrong definition of love.  True Biblical love  is: 'doing what is best for the other person with the emphasis on what is best for the other person eternally even when that includes short-term physical loss for the person doing the love or the person receiving the love'. According to 1John 4:9 (part of our reference), our best example of Biblical love  is Jesus dying on the cross to provide for our eternal salvation.  He felt nothing that the world associates with love  while He suffered and died and yet He agreed to suffer all of this, in His flesh, because that is what was required for our eternal spiritual good called salvation.
• God had the apostles show their love by dying a martyr's death and providing the witness of blood  that John mentions in 1John 5:8.  God also had other saints die a martyr's death.  God loved them while they did that because they received eternal rewards that they could not have received any other way.  They manifested God's love in their life by being willing to die as a martyr.  That is what John tells us to do in the last verse of our reference.
• 1John 4 is the true Biblical chapter on love.  The other chapter which people give this title is actually dealing with charity.  1John 4 probably has the word love  in it more than probably any other chapter in the Bible.  The reader would be well advised to underline every occurrence of this word within their Bible for 1John 4.  Then read what John actually tells us about this word and it should be obvious that this is not what the world calls love.  Our reference saye that people who are truly born of God  do what John describes in this chapter as a lifestyle .
• In addition, 1John 2:15 says: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  This very clearly says that we can not use the definition of love  which comes from the world.  It also gives us a very clear test to verify if we truly have the lifestyle of God's love
• In addition, to loveth,  our reference also says that people who are truly born of God  also knoweth God  as a lifestyle .
• John clearly tells us about this lifestyle in 1John 2:3-5 which says: And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
• Once more we see that keepeth not his commandments  and keepeth his word  are lifestyle actions.
• We also see that our assurance of eternal salvation (hereby know we that we are in him) is dependent upon our lifestyle of keepeth not his commandments  and keepeth his word.  Once we are truly Biblically saved, we can not lose our salvation but we can lose the assurance.  When someone says that they are not sure of their salvation, we need to tell them to obey God's word instead of repeatedly telling them verses which promise eternal life.  Only God's Holy Spirit can give true assurance and when a truly saved person is disobeying, God removes the assurance.  Therefore, people can fight against God if they try to give people assurance any other way besides their obedience to God's word.
• 1John 5:1 says: Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him
• This sentence leads into our next reference and the truth of this sentence is what allows truly saved people to do the next sentence.
• People who truly believe this truth let their ongoing personal relationship with Christ cause them to mature spiritually.  The true Biblical definition of belief  causes someone to act upon that belief.  A person who claims a belief  that they do not live by only has 'intellectual agreement'.  That is a 'head belief' and not a true 'heart belief'. The word believeth  means that we 'keep on keeping on believing as a lifestyle '. People who do a one-time religious act do not fulfill the true Biblical definition of this word.  True Biblical salvation does not result from a one-time 'prayer of salvation' but is provided by the person who is 'God in human flesh', Jesus Christ.  He gives us eternal life when we accept Him as our personal Lord,  which means we are starting an ongoing personal relationship just like marriage is started by saying I do  to the vow.
• The phrase believeth that Jesus is the Christ  means: 'believe and act upon the belief that the human man named Jesus  fulfilled God's requirement to become God's Christ  and through that role He will cause true believers to spiritually mature and turn from the way of the world to the way of God'.  Again, this is a lifestyle which means that people who truly fulfill this phrase will become more like God, with His holiness and righteousness, as they live longer.
• Ephesians 5:32 tells us that the relationship between a man and his wife is a picture of the relationship between Christ  and the church.  This epistle is one of the places where we find the true Biblical antichrists  who preach against (anti) the ongoing personal relationship with God which the Bible identifies as Christ.  A man would be a fool to believe that he could enjoy all of the blessings of a marriage relationship while he abandoned that relationship.  Yet these antichrists  preach that people can enjoy all of the blessings of God, which are only given in Christ,  even while he abandons the ongoing personal relationship which the Bible identifies as Christ.  Returning to our main reference, we see that someone who truly believeth that Jesus is the Christ  must reject the doctrine of antichrists  which includes things like 'the Health and Welfare gospel' or 'losing your salvation'.
• People who reject this truth are probably not truly Biblically saved since true Biblical salvation is dependent upon receiving Jesus Christ  as our Lord
• 1John 5:4-5 says: For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.
• People who are truly Biblically saved 'keep on keeping on overcoming the temptations of this world' and live / walk by faith.  Notice that our reference literally says that our faith  is what overcometh the world.  In order for our faith  to do that, it must remain consistent and not wavering.
• Please notice that our second sentence, of this reference, literally tells us that we do this by fulfilling 1John 5:1, as just explained.
• 1John 5:18 says: We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not
• People who are truly Biblically saved do not have 'a lifestyle of sin'.  While Satan might get them to sin from time to time, Satan does not 'keep on keeping on winning the battle of temptation'.
• The verses just before this talked about a sin unto death.  Simply put, if someone is truly Biblically saved and refuses to stop a lifestyle of sin, God will kill them early so that they do not continue to live a lifestyle of sin. The phrase keepeth himself  means he has 'a lifestyle of keeping himself away from the temptation and addiction of sin'.  All sin is addictive and someone who becomes addicted to sin has not keepeth himself  but gave control of himself over to the sin. The phrase that wicked one toucheth him not  means that the devil can not touch someone with sin while they are living to please God and following God's direction to avoid sin and temptation.
• In addition, we find the phrase born of him (God) in: 1John 2:29 which says, If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him
• People who do not 'do righteousness as a lifestyle action' have problems with their claim of being truly Biblically saved.
• However, people who doeth righteousness  have God's Holy Spirit constantly assuring them of their personal salvation.  That is, you personally (ye)  will be 'absolutely, positively, undeniably certain' (know)  that you are saved (born of him) when your lifestyle is: doeth righteousness.

If you are sure that you are saved, why don't you ask God the check your lifestyle against this epistle so that God can increase your assurance? In addition, let God show you where you can improve your lifestyle .

If you have never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord for an ongoing personal relationship, why don't you do that now? He will give you assurance of going to Heaven when you die as well as improving your personal life in this world by giving you God's love, peace and more.

If you have made a profession but are not sure of your salvation, why don't you resolve to learn God's commandments found in the Bible so that you can obey them as a lifestyle ? If you are truly saved, obedience will give you the assurance that you desire.  If you were deceived and are not really saved then, just like God sent Peter to Cornelius, so also will God send someone to you to show you how to be truly saved.  However, it requires you to obey first.

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