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CORRESPONDENCE COURSE

An International Course of Biblical Understanding

You Must Be Born Again! LESSON 8

2 Ambassador College Cor respondence Course l esson 8

tfliatOURSTUDENTS SAY

/""~. ',~~~ /JA>#A~~j ~l~ CORRESPONDENCE COURSE

LE S S ON 8

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An international course of Biblical undemanding publ ished by [he De­paHmenc of Th cologv, Ambassador College, 300 W est Green Sr., Pasa­dena, California, 91105. ©1972 Ambassador College for the entireconrems of rhis publicarion.v Ail righ ts re!\ef\'ed

EDITOR

H ERBERT W. A RMSTRON G

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

G arner Ted Arm str ong

DIRECTOR

David Jon Hill

MANAGING EDITOR

Richard H . Sedlia cik

S/aff WritmLawson C. Brigg s W illiam F. D ankenbriog

Editorial Assistant

Ronald Bcideck

AboutOurCover.

A rt EditorThomas Hawort h

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Creat ion is still going o n!All human beings s in ceAdam represent only the

FIRST PHASE of man 's creat ion. Al l peo ple - includingthe beautiful baby on our co ver - must be " bo rn again" to

complete God 's supreme master piece of creati ve work ­manship. Just w hat is God creati ng in mortal man ? W hatdoes it reall y mean to be " bo rn again" ? Thi s ver y impo rtan tlesson makes the Bible answers p lain!

Am erican Stock Photo

" I have just finishe d lesson number 6 and ratedgood on t he qu est ions. . . . Have been studying theBib le serious ly for a good many years and the firs tt hing I learned was that what the Bible teaches isnot at a ll like I had been taught. I cou ld notreason this ou t a t firs t , bu t now 1 see, thanks t othese lesson s an d yo ur broad casts."

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- Student, Salt Lake City, Utah

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- Jack F., Jamaica, New York

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE

"BORN AGAIN"Many professing Christians sincerely believe they have been"BORN AGAIN" - but do not understand the REAL MEANINGof the new birth. The truth about being "born again" is notonly surprising - it is startling - the MOST AWESOME

REVELATION of your Bible!

NICODE MUS was a high-r anking Phari see ­one of the rulers of the J ews. He knewJesus was a miracle- working prophet sent

by God, and was deeply interested in His teach­ings.

But because Nicodemus did not want to be seenspeaking with this man the other Pharisees ca lleda "heretic" and a "dece iver of th e people," he cameto J esus secretly at night.

J esus told Nicodemus a profound truth - some­thing tha t complete ly mystified the man.

"You Must Be Born Again!"

"Verily, veri ly, I say un t o th ee, Except a man beborn again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,"sa id J esus (John 3:3).

Nicodemus was totalIy perplexed. He askedJesus : "How can a man be born when he is old?Can he enter the second time into his mother'swomb, and be born?" (Verse 4.)

J esus to ld him : " Marvel not that I said untothee, Ye must be born again" (verse 7). But Nico­dem us simply did not compre hend what J esus wastalking about (verses 9-12). How like so man ypeople today! They, too, are baffled by thesesimple words of Christ.

Most professing Christ ians tbink t hey were" BORN AGAIN" when th ey "accepted Christ" andwere "baptiz ed." From that time, supposedly, theyreceived the Holy Spi ri t and have been livin g aNEW LIFE in Christ .

True, a real Christ ian has received the Spirit of

God, and is ind eed living a NEW LIFE in Christ(Eph, 4:22-24). But is this what it means to be"born again "?

The new birth described in the Bible is FAR

MORE t ha n most professing Christians h aveassumed. When J esus spoke of being "born aga in,"He did not mean what most people think.

Two Literal Births

Nicodemus was familiar on ly with t he process ofphysical birth. Therefore he unders tood whenJesus said to him, "That which is born of the fleshis flesh." But then Jesus explained we must beborn again - not again of the flesh - not againe ntering ou r mot her's womb , as Ni cod emusthought He meant. He explained t hat we must beborn of the Sp irit - born of God! God mu st be ourFather this time! As we were born of the fleshthro ugh fleshly human paren ts, even so we mu stbe born of th e Spirit .of our spiritual heaven lyFather.

Here are two different k inds of birth - onephysical , the ot her spiritua l. When you were bornof your fleshly parents yo u were composed of fl esh.But " that which is born of the spiri t is SPIRIT"(John 3:6) - no longer composed of flesh , but ofspirit !

There will be no blood in the body of one "bornof the Spirit." He will not ha ve t o breathe ai r toexist. He will be literally COMPOS ED OF SPIR IT,

declared -Iesus.That 's the plain teaching of your Bible! The

4 Ambassador Co llege Cor respondence Course l e sson 8

new birth is not an emotional experience, hut aliteral birth!

So Nicodemus wou ld not mistake the truemeaning o f being born of t he S pir it , Jesusexpla ined t o him : " T he wind bloweth wh ere itlisteth [where it wills] , a nd thou heares t t he soundthereof, but ca nst not tell whence it come t h, andwhither it goeth : so is every one that is born of theSpirit" (verse 8) .

Notice t hat carefully . When y ou a re " bornag ain," born of t he Spir it of God, you wi ll bein visible t o m or t a l eyes like the wind (u nless yo uchoose to manifes t yo urself). The effects of t hewind may be easily discernible, but the winditself ca n not be seen.

Clearly , Jesus com pared the spirit ua l birth tot he physical birth. T he latter is a type of t heformer. Human parents pass on a physical natureat birth to their ch ild re n; so when we a re born ofour heavenl y Father, we will possess His Spiritualnature in its fulln ess!

Man the " Clay Model"

God form ed the first man, Adam, not out ofspirit , but "of the du st of the gro u nd " (Gen . 2:7) .God said to Adam: " DUST thou art" (Gen. :J:HJ ).

Wide Wor ld Pho to

HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS - You con" seethe wind, but the effects of its tremendous power ina storm are quite visible . When " born again" youwill be invisible like the wind cnd possess tre­mendous power!

No t im mort al spirit - just pla in old eart h! Man ismorta l, ph ys ical, not ye t immortal or spiri t u a l.

Adam was a perfect physical specimen . WhatGod created was a physical , fleshly man - a mor­tal fl esh and bl ood human bein g. He was the per­fect " clay m ode l" which God in t ends to mold andreshape spiritually into a perfect SPIRITUAL So n ofGod'

Adam, in other words, was not created complete.He was created to need a second "birth" - aSPIRIT UAL birth !

But how? When ? Wh y ? All these vita l questionswill be answered in th is tremendously importantlesson .

No SU BJECT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO YOUIt LIFE!Unless YO U become "horn agai n," you cannote nter the Kingdom of God ! So be sure t o openyour Bible to every scrip ture reference cit ed inanswer to the questions asked , and PROVE to your­self just what it mea ns to be "born again ."

l esson 8 Wh o ' It Mean s to Be " BO RN AGAIN" 5

LESSON 8

Who - What - Is "God"?

To fully understand what it reall y means to he"born agai n," it is necessary to com prehend somevery basic reve lat ions conce rning what God Him­se lf is - and the very PUH POSE for your existence.

Turn t o the very begin ning of t he Bible. Thefirst words are: " In the beginning Go n created theheaven and t he earth" (Gen . I :1). T he original He­brew word for "God," here a nd t hroughout t he ac­cou nt of creation, is Eloh im, whic h act ually meansmore tlia n aile. It is the pl ural form of HebrewEloah, whic h in English means "Mighty One." SoElohim means "Mighty Ones" - more than justone person.

Elohim is a unip lural or collective noun, such as"church," or "family," or "kingdom." In ot herwords, Elohim stands for a SINGLE CLASS com ­posed of TWO or l\IORJo: individuals . Elohim , then, ist he "God KI NGDOM" or "God FAMILY. " (I n actualusage t he word wa s a lso a pplied to any singlemember of t he Go d Family or, by analogy, even toa hea t h en idol.)

But who are the individua ls presentl y com­posing "Elohirn "? Let 's not ice what t he Bible re­veals :

1. Wh o was with "God" when God created t heu niverse'? J oh n 1:1. Is t he "Word " also God '? Ver­ses 1-2. Was it the Word who actually crea ted allthings '? Verse 3. What did t he Word later become'?Verse 14.

2. By whom was "II the material universe cre ­a ted - including this earth a nd mankind '? Eph.3:9; Col. 1:16-17. Who, t hen, is the "Word" of John1: I'? And who is the other divine member of theGod Kingdom'? I Cor. 8: 6.

COMMENT: ,Jo hn 1:1 a nd Ge nesis 1:1 a re twoacco unts of the sa me event - the origina l creation

of the universe . They both reveal that these t \..·oSuprem e Beings of the Go d Family crea ted a llthings.

The Greek word translat ed into En glish as" Word" in .Iohn 1:1 is Logos. It ca n al so meanspokesman, or one who speaks. It was ac tually theLOliOS, t he "Spokesman" - t he "Word" of the GodFam ily - who sa id, "Let us make man in OUR im­age" (Gen. I:26), thus. executing His awesome of­fiee as the exe cut ive of the God Kingdo m. And soeverything was created and made hy the divinebeing who later became the human Jesus Christ!

The " LO RD" of the O ld Testament

Do you know which one of the two members ofthe God Kingdom took part in the affairs of thisworld in Old T estament tim es'? W as it the"Father"? Cou ld it possibly have been Ch rist '?Very few have understood t his important truth.But the Bibl e makes it pl ain .

1. H as a ny human bein g ever seen the Father'?J ohn 1:18. What did Ch r ist say regarding theFather'? John 5 :37.

2. But did people eve r look u pon the God of theOld Testament'? Gen . 17:1; 18 :1,22; 32: 30; Ex .24:9 -11; 33:18,20-23. (Not ice in E xod us 33 :18 thatM oses had specifically re quested to see t he LORDin "II His "glory," bu t could not view H im directlyin His glor ified state lest he DIE from seeing H isbrilliance !)

COMMENT: Clearly , then, the Go d of the OldT estament cou ld not have been the "Father,"

3 . Who was ca lled the " Roc k" in Old Testamenttimes'? II Sam. 22:2-3. Did Da vid ca ll the LORD his" Rock" a nd his " God'''? Psalms 18: 1-2.Cmt~lENT: The King J ames Version of t he

Bible and some other translations use the word" LORD," usu ally in ca pit a l let ters , t o t ra ns la te theHebrew word YHWH . Most scholars believeYH WH to be so me form of the verb " to be" or "toexist." H en ce YHWH signifies " the self-existentOne," One who "lives" - from eternity , and to

THE "LORD'S" N AME - Trc ns­

lite rat ed into English, these Hebrew

char acte rs (reod from right to left)

spell aut YHW H - the " LO RD" of

the O ld Testa ment. The exa ct pro­

nunciat ion of these Hebrew che r­

acters is uncerta in and unimporta nt

toda y, but His ide ntity is very

pla in.Ambassador Colfege Art

etern ity. Revelation 1:8 clarifies th e meaning ofthis name, spea king of Christ , "the beginn ing andt he ending whic h is , and which was, and whichis to come " Conseq uently both Moffatt's 'T heEternal" and Fenton's "Eoer- Living" are excellenttranslations.

In anc ient Hebrew, the vowels were not writ­t en . They were suppl ied by the reader. Sincethe ancient J ews considered the name YHWHt oo holy to pron ounce , th ey read in steadAdonai or "Lor d," or occasiona lly Elohim.When the Masore tes - Jewish tex tual scholars ­wrote down the vowel points (abo ut 600-800 A.D .)to preserve the proper pronunciation, they wrotethe vowel points of Adonai or Elohim with eachoccurren ce of YHWH. From this combinat ion latercame the hybrid form "Jehova h." Thus the precisepronunciation of YH WH is not definit ely kn ownto day, nor is it necessary for us to know it today .

4. According to I Corinthians 10:4, who was(and still is) the " Rock"?

CO"'IENT: T hu s the Bible identifies the"Rock" as Christ! How surprising to those whohave assumed that the God of the Old Testamentwas the one t he New T est a men t ca lls "theFat her "

And so the "LOHD" who spoke and was seen ofmen was always the one who becam e Jesus Christ.

GOD 'S AWESOME CRE·ATION - It was by His e w e­some POWER that God crea tedthe fathom less universe . Atright is a spectacular spiro I gal­a xy co ntai ning billions of stars.Above is a small section o f ourown M ilky Way Galaxy I whichis similar in shape and size.

For no mortal man has ever seen or heard theFather! (Jo hn 1:18; 5::l7.)

S. Was it also the Word - the One who becameChrist - who spoke the Ten Commandments? Ex.20:1-2.

CmIMENT: The Hebrew word for "Lord" inExodu s 20 is YHWH. So here again it was theLogos, the "Spokesman" - who later becameChrist - who actually spoke t he Ten Command­ments!

But what difference does this reve la t ion make?It makes all the di fference.

Understanding the true identi ty of the God ofth e Old T estament is vital to becoming re-born

America ... Stock Photo

with the spir it ual nature of God. For the God ofthe Old T estament , com monly assumed to havebeen harsh and stern, was really our SA VIO R

lovin g, kind, mercifu l and just (Ex. 34:5-7).

The POWER of God

Most of professing Christ ianit y today also as­sumes that God is a "trinit y" com posed of God theFat her, God th e Son and God the " Holy Spirit. "Could th is be true? Let 's learn what t he Bibl e tellsus about the Spirit of God .

1 . Is God's Spiri t the POWER by which He cre ­a tes? J er . 32:17; Gen. 1:1-3 ; Psalm 104:30.

COMMENT: It was by the Spiri t of God tha t t heEternal (YH W H) - the Logos (Christ) - crea tedthe entire vas t uni verse. Invisible spirit energy wasliterally transformed into the material creation wesee about us (He b. 11:3). And by His Spirit , Godreformed the surface of th e ea rth (Ps, 104:30). Nowonder the Bible ca lls it the "power" of God!

2. How did the Eternal God ut ilize His Spirit ofpower to bring His various creations into being?Psalm 148:1-5. Notice the word "com manded" inverse 5. Also read Psalm 33:8-9 and Genesis 1:2-3.

COM MENT: God , the ul t imate source of allpower, will ed that spirit ene rgy ema nating fromHimself be TRANSFORMED into physical ene rgy

8 Ambassado r College Cor respondence Course lesson 8

and matter. Christ - t he Logos, or "Word" (J ohn1:1) - "spake and it was done ." He is t he One whosaid, "Let there be ligh t ." And t he Spirit of God ,m oving over the face of t he waters performed thecommand, and "t here was ligh t " (Ge n. 1:3) .

3. Does God al so us e His Spirit of power to sus­tain, preserve and rule His vast creat ion'? Neh . 9 :6;Heh. 1:2-3; P sal m 66:7.

COMMENT: God sit s at the cont rols of the en­tire universe - He rules and susta ins everythingby the POWER of His Spirit!

4. Does God 's Spirit fill the entire universe?P salm 139:7; J er . 23:24. But do t he Father andChrist have definite form and shape? Gen. 1:26;John 14:9 .

COMMENT: God' s Spir it is not a " th ird person"in the God Family . It is His divine POWER thatemanates from Him and permeates the universe !

5 . But what about I John 5:7 which many su p­pose proves God is com posed of three persons'?

COMMENT: T his verse is left out of most mod­ern translations of the Bible - for a very good rea­son ! It is spurious - a fraud! Most an y Biblecommentary reveals that thi s vers e is not found inany old Greek manuscr ipt and was not found evenin t he La ti n Vulgate until as late as the eight hcen tury. Ad mits Adam Clarke: It is lacking in "allt he ancien t version s but the Vulgate; and even ofthi s version many of the most ancient and correctMSS. [manuscripts] have it not ."

Those wh o believe in a " tr inity" gras p at th isverse to support their belief becau se t hey have NOBible proof for their conviction! Rather , historyreveals the trinity concept is a pagan inventionand belief found in many ancient countries. TheEgyptian trinity consisted of Isis, Osiri s andHorus; the worship of the t rinity t races back tothe worship of Nimrod, Semiramis and Tammu zsoon after t he Flood!

6 . Is t he Ho ly Spirit referred to in the Bib le sim­ply as "it " - not a person'? J ohn 1:32; Rom.8:16,26; I Peter 1:11.

COMMENT: In Greek , as in English , the word"spi rit" is neuter. It naturally requires a neuterpronoun wh ich is rightly translated into Englishas "it," and is usually so translated. However, insome cases th e transl ators have used a masc ulinepronou n where the original Greek uses "it." ,John14:17 is such a case . The pronouns "he" and "him"shou ld have been rendered "it ." No doubt t hetranslators erred because t hey them selves as­sume d t he Holy Spirit to be a person .

In John 14:26; 16:7-8, 13-14 t he Holy Spi r it ispersonified as the "Comforter" (Greek parahleto s,which is gram mat ica lly masculine ), hence t he pro­noun "he" (eheinos) was used in the original Greekto agree with "Comfor ter," but shou ld also betranslated "it" in an English version.

Ambassador College Art

TRINITY SYMBOLS - Most of profes­sing Christianity today believes that God islimited to a " trinity" composed of threepersons - God the Father, God the Son(Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit.Shown here are two of many symbols usedto represent the Trinity.

The plain fact of the whole matter, whi ch fewhave ever rea lized , is that the commonly accepted" t rinity" do ctrine a ttem pts to limit for all ti me thesize of the Family of God . It denies t he very PUR­POSE for which Elohim created mankind! You willgrasp this ast onish ing truth more full y as you con­tinue st udy ing .

The Nature of God

1. What is the com position of God ? John 4:24.But of what is man com posed '? I Cor. 15:47.

COMMENT: One of the great differen ces be­tween t he God Kingdom and the human kin gdomis that God is composed of invisib le spirit, whileman is mortal flesh and blood - made from t hedust of the earth.

2 . Just before He was t aken to be cru cified, towhat st ate did Christ as k His Father to restoreHim '? John 17:5. Was Christ again to share HisFather 's glory in the God Family'?Same verse.

3 . How do Christ's and the Father 's powerful,glo ri fied spirit bodies appear? R ev. 1:13-16. T h e"Son of Man" men ti oned here is the glorifiedChrist !

J

J

1

l e sson 8 Wh ot It Meons to Be " BO RN AGAIN" 9

COM" E"T: T o be "glor ified" means to haveGR£AT POWER and BR IGHTNES S! The power of theFather and Christ is so g reat that it mak es theirspirit bodies shine as BRIG HT AS THE SUN IN FULL

STRENGTH!

4 . What is another great di fference between Godand ma n - what is God's charac te ris t ic att itudeand gene ra l men tal makeup? Psalm 99 :9. Is the reanyone as "h oly" as God? I Sam. 2:2. Would youcons ider man of himsel f as being "holy"? Rom .;l: 1O- 18, 23; 8: 7; J er. 17:9.

COMMENT: The word "holy" mean s pure ofheart or free from sin. The two Persons presentlycomposing the God Fa mily possess a sin less," holy," sp iri tual at tit ude and mind.

But what does a ll this have to do with yourbeing "born aga in"?

EVERYTHING! When born again you will possessthe same power, glory a nd holin ess of God! Butmore about this la ter.

A " Fa ther- Son" Re lationship

Have you ever wondered how the " Fathe r-Son"re la t ionship of the God Fa mily developed? This isvital to know, to understand the pu rpose and Planof God, and bein g "born again."

1. What did .Iesus say of Himself and His"Father"? J ohn 10:30; 17:11. Yet who is greater inauthority? J ohn 14:28. Notice also I Corin thians11:3.

CO MME NT: Th e Father and Son are one in pur­pose and attitude . But the Father is grea ter in au ­thorit y since Christ - the "Word," or Logos ­ma de all things by His authori ty . T he Father hasalways bee n in supreme comm and in the Familyor Kingdom of God - long before the Word be­came a human being.

2. Wby did the Logos (Christ) become a flesh­a nd-blood hum an being? Heb . 2:9, 14.

COMMENT: All ma nk ind has sinned (Ro m.:3: 23). And " the wages of sin is [eternal] death"(Ro m. 6:2:3). T he Logos beca me a mortal man soHe cou ld die to pay the death pen alty for the sinsof ALL mankind. Chris t was able to do this becauseHis human life was far more va luable than thelives of all hum an beings pu t toget her - He wasGod inca rnate - GOD m ade flesh! (John 1:14.)

3 . But exactly how did the Logos become com ­posed of flesh and blood? Matt. 1:18-21. ("Ghost"in this passage, as elsew here, is an unfortunatetransla t ion in the Kin g J ames Version. It shouldrat her be rendered "Spirit" as it is in most othert ranslations of the Bible.) What title did the othermem ber of the God Kingdom acqui re as a resul t ofthis miraculous beget tal? Mat t. 18::l5; ,John 1:14.

COMMENT: Before Christ (t he L ogos ) was con -

ceived in Mary, He was not the "S on of God." Hewas one of the two origi nal members of the GodKingdom. He, like the one who became the" Father," had existed eternally. But He is now herein God 's Word referred to as a SON of God pr ior toHis concept ion in Mary. His human birth was Hisfirst birth . He gave up the glory He had sharedwith the other divin e bein g, who becam e His"Father ," in ord er to be born into the world as ahuman being, live a perfect life, and then give Hislife to pay the penal ty of all the sins of mankind.

And so J esus was begott en within His humanmother Mary. But unlike all ot her men, He wasm iraculous ly begotten by th e One who becam e theFather , through the agency and power of theSp irit of God (Matt. 1:20; Joh n 1:14 - here is fur­the r proof the Spirit of God is not an other person ).Ch rist t hus becam e the "Son " of God, and Heca lled the other person of the God Kingdom H is"Father." And so began the " Father-Son" rela tion­ship, which is a FAMILY relat ionship!

Now let 's begin to understa nd exactly what allth is has to do wit h our bein g "born again."

Man Created in God's Image

Man is no t just ano ther "animal" as evolution­ists cla im . God 's purpose for creating man sur­passes any thing ever conceived by the mind ofman. Let's turn to the first chapter of Genesis andbegin to understand the most astounding revela­t ion of your Bible!

1. Aft er what "kind " were the animals crea te d?Gen . 1:20-25.

COMMENT: These verses plainly say , withou tany interpretation, t hat God created fish to repro­du ce afte r their own pa rt icul a r k ind, birds aftertheir parti cular kind, and ca t tl e after the cat tlekind. Each k ind may have many varieties withinit , but all creatures reproduce only after their own"k ind." T hat is why dogs reproduce dogs, monkeysreproduce monk eys, sheep reproduce shee p, etc.

2. But what about man ? After whose " image"and "likeness" was man created? Gen . 1:26-27.

COMMENT: In God 's pat tern for all life, like re­produces like. And just as each created form ofplant or an imal reproduces after its own kind , soman reproduces man . But UN LIKE any of the ani­ma ls create d by God, man was cre ated in God'sliken ess .

These scri ptures refute t he theory that man ismerely the "highest " of the animals, having"evolved" from lower mammals. They clear lystate that God created man after H is own "image"and "likeness" ! God made man LIKE Himself- same form and shape. And He is now creatingmen after HIS KIND!

10 Ambassador College Correspondence Course Lesson 8

Onl y a very few have really grasped the t remen ­dous signi ficance of this astoundin g t ruth. But thisis what salva t ion is all about. This revelation af­firm s that God is REPRODUCIN G HIMSELF.Our destiny is to become the literal "children" ofGod - MEMB ERS of His own divine Family!

3. Eve n though man is made in the likeness ofGod, are both now composed of t he same ty pe of"material"? J ohn 4:24; Gen. 2:7.

COM MENT : There is a vast difference betweenspirit and du st. Although man was created in thevery shape and liken ess of God, he was NOT cre­ated out of the sa me material. He was made of thedu st of the ea rth, subject to decay . Bu t God's pur­pose is to event ually create him out of spirit!

In I Corin thians 15:46 we read : "Howbeit thatwas not first which is spiritua l, bu t that whic h isnatural; and AFTERWARD that whic h is spiritual.The first man [Ad am] is of th e earth, earthy: thesecond man [Christ ] is the Lord from heaven . . . .And as we [speaking of converted Ch ris t ians ] haveborne t he image of the earthy, we shall also bearthe image of the heavenl y" (verses 46-49).

Clearly, man is mu ch more than any an imal.Man has the potentia l to become divine spirit ­just as G OD is spirit!

Our Awesome Destiny!

Astonishing as it may seem , God is now in theprocess of creating His greatest creat ion of all ­His supreme masterpiece! God's Plan is to createperfect spiritual cha racters out of mortal man­kind. Notice the overwhe lming evidence:

1. Is God sti ll in the process of forming and

molding man as a potter works with clay? Isa.64:8.

COMMENT: Man 's crea tio n in the Garden ofEde n was complete onl y in the p hysical sense.Adam was created a perfect physical speci men ­bu t not a perfect S PIRITUAL creat ion. He was cre­ate d of the dus t - no t of divine SPIRIT. He wascreate d corr uptible - no t incorruptible. He wascreated subject to death - no t imm ortal.

But God did not intend man should remain thatway !

2 . Did J ob realize God was forming a spe cialcreation in his life? Job 14:14-15.

COMMENT: Notice especia lly the latter part ofverse 15: ". . . th ou wilt have a desire to the WORKof thine hands." T be "work" was J ob. Job kn ew hewas merely a piece of divine workmanship in th ehands of the Master Potter.

3 . Are true Christians being fashio ned by Godfor a specific purpose? Isa . 43:7 ; Eph . 2:10.

COMMENT: The wor d "we" in New Testamentlan gua ge usu all y refers to Christians, as Paul in­tend ed in verse 10. We, then - if we are Christ ians- are God 's "workmanship." We today are being"created" - WHY? - "unto good works." God,with the Ho ly Spirit He has pu t wit hin us, is form­ing in us perfect spirit ual character! He is creat ingus in His ow n cha racter- image ! He is creating ust o be the su preme masterpiece of a ll His works ofcreation - indi viduals who will ultimately be ca­pable of exercising awesome powers in the uni ­verse!

Man, the material creation, is onl y the firs tp hase . Now the clay model has to be fash ionedand molded by experience, and with the aid of

J

"IF A MAN DIE,SHALL HE LIVEAGAIN?" - Thesewe re the inspired wordsof Job (Job 14 ,1 4 ). Jobknew the answer. Heknew all the dead wouldawaken in a resurrectionto fulfill the purpose oflife. Photo shows G enera lDwight D. Eisenhower'scasket in funeralprocession.

Kilbvrn - Amba ssodor College

Lesson 8 Wh at It Me a ns to Be " BO RN AGAIN" II

Josip Cig o nov;c

POTTER AT WORK - As a po tte r sha pes andmolds a piece of pliable clay into a work of art ,God - the Moster Potter - is fashioning " mortalcla y" into His supreme masterp iece of creat iveworkmanship!

God 's Holy Spirit, int o t he finished spiritua l mas ­terpiece. An ana logy of this process would be acaterpilla r going through a metamorphosis andemerging a beautiful butter tly. Man must un dergoa spiritua l "metamorphosis," or CHANGE - toemerge as perfect SPIRITUAL l\IEMBERS in the di­vine GOD FA MILY!

What It Means to BeIIBorn Againl l

The Gospel J esu s brough t to mankind is simplythe "good news" of the Kingdom of God - andt hat Kingdom is DUAL. It is not only the ru linggovernment which Christ will establish on t heeart h when he returns, but it is also the FAMILYofGod - the God Kingdom composed of the spi ritmembers of the God Family.

And , incredible as it may sound, J esus ta ughtthat hu mans can be "born" int o the FAMILY, orKINGDOM, ofGod.

T here are only two members in the God Familyor Kingdom at the present t ime - God the Fathera nd Jesus Christ the Son . But God is increasingHis Family! And YOU can be "born " into it !

1. Does God plain ly show it is His purpose to in­crease His divine Fam ily by bringing many sonsinto it'! Heb. 2:10; Rev. 21:7. Isn 't J esu s Christ ac­tua lly th e "firstborn" of MANY sons of God'! Rom.8 :29 ; Col. I :18.

COMMENT: To be "conformed to the IMAGE" ofChrist mean s to become LIKE Him - to be glori­fied as He is glorified - to be of the divine FAMILYOF GOD as mu ch as Christ now is.

2. But what must happen to flesh-and-bloodChrist ians before they can enter God's Family'!I Cor. 15:49-51; J ohn 3:3-8.

CO:\tl\.'IENT: Jes us sa id we must be "born aga in"- CHANGED INTO S PIRIT! Yes, born again ­this t ime born of the Spirit of God as divine Sonsin the Family of God.

12 Amba ssador College Cor respondence Course l e sso n 8

Begotten Sons N ow ­Not Y e t Born Agoin

1. If we are true Christians , are we .a lreadv - int his life - the children of God? I J ohn 3: 1:2. Arewe al ready inheritors of the Kin gdom of God, oronly heirs to it? Rom. 8:14-17.

CO" ME" T: Notice that althoug h we are nowthe "sons" and "children of God," we are onlyheirs - ones who shall, in the fu ture , inherit.Why? Because we are now only begotten children.It is on ly when we are born of God that we becom einheritors of God 's Kingdom - di vine me mbers ofthe Family of God .

Before the second phase of man 's creation - ourspiritual crea tio n - can begin. God the Fathermust first beget eac h of us by placing His HolySpirit uiithin our minds. \Ve are then impregnated,so to spea k, by the "seed" or germ of etemal li fe. Itis the begettal of the spiritual life of God wit hinour minds. And much as a newly begotte n physi­ca l em bryo begi ns to grow in its mother's womb,we begin to grow in SPIRITUA L CHA HACTEH afterwe are begotten by God 's Spirit. This growt hcomes t hrough study , prayer, and walkin g withGod.

2 . No w compa re Ga latians 3:26 and Ephesians1:5 wit h Roman s 8:14-17. Do these verses revealthe sa me truth. - that Christ ians a re a lreadv thech ildren - the SONS - of God, destined to iI;heli teternal life?

COMMENT: Some versions of the Bible use theexpression "adopt ion of sons" or "adoption of chil­dren." Although ]jng~listically possibl e, these donot give the real mea ning. The original inspiredGreek expression huiothesia does simply mean"sonship." But when we receive the "spirit of so n­ship," as an impregnating "seed" (I Pet. I :23), thatis not an "adoption." The Holy Spirit mak es us theliteral begotten SOliS of God, for we are going to bejust like our Hea ven ly Father when fina llv borninto His Kingdom. -

And so all Sp irit-begotten Christians have be­come the (as yet ux born ) children of God theFather, in the same sense that an unborn humanfetus is the child of its human parents!

3. Do we actually receive of the di vine nat ure ofGod when begotten by His Holy Spirit? II PeterI :3-4. What are some of the divi ne characteristicsor "fruits" of God 's nature that are mad e manifestin the lives of obedient Christians after they arebegot ten by God's Spirit? Gal. 5:22-2:3.

4 . Is love ("charity") the greatest single attri­bute of God 's nature that is transmi tted to us bvHis Holy Spirit '? I .I ohn 4:Hi ; Rom. 5:5; [ Co;.1:3 :1- 1:3 (notice espec ially verse 13) . Is this th esallle love that ena bles us to "fu lfill" - to OH EY ­God's Law'? Hom. 13:10.

COMMENT: T he Holy Spirit that a person mayreceive from God can be compared to the sperm ofa human father. God 's Spirit transmits His spiri-tu al attributes to us, eve n as a physical sperm cell 0...../transm its a hu man father's attributes to his new lyconce ived offspring. The Holy Spirit - the germor "seed" (I Pet. 3:23 ) by which we are spiritua llybegotten - impa rts to us t he nature and very lifeof God our heaven ly Father.

If you are t ruly the kind of Christ ian describedin t he Bible, then you are now a begot/en child orson of God. God the Father placed within yourmind His Spirit, the sperm, so to speak, of etern a llife. He begot you with the Holy Spirit just as thesperm from a human fat her im pregnates the egg ofthe mot her. Your mind can be compared to an"egg" or ovum. You were impregnat ed with thespirit ual germ or sperm of ete rn a l life so you couldbegin the process of sp iritual grouith, But vou arenot yet born of God - not ye t composed of spirit- not yet immortal. If you ar e not ye t truly con­verted - a genuine Christ ian - the n you have notye t even begun th is process!

Born Agoin ot the Resurrection

1 . Ca n flesh and blood inher it God' s Kingdom'?I Cor. 15:50. What must happen before we can beborn as divine sons in God's Family? Verses 5 1-53.

C OMMENT: Whatever is born of spirit IS spirit ,said Jesus (John 3:6). But we have not yet beenborn of spirit. We are STILL I"LESH AND BLOOD ! Ifyou think you have already been "born again,"then take the "pin test." Stick a pin in your finger .Do you feel pain? Does your finger bleed? T henyo u are sti ll flesh and blood - yo u haven 't been"born again."

When Ch rist was res urrected - "born again" ­He was ab le to pass through solid wal ls (Jo hn20:19,26). Do you think t hose who claim to havebeen "born again " can match this feat?

Obviously, any h um an beings who claim to bealready born again are te rrib ly mis taken, for theyare still flesh and blood. .Jesu s said you must be"born of spirit" - you must become composed ofspirit - to ever see or enter the Kin gdom of God(John 3:3,5) . And so the new birth is somethingyet to occur at the resurrection!

But exactly why aren 't a ll t ru e Ch ristians al­ready born of God ? Notice :

2 . What are Chris t ia ns exhorted to do in thislife'? II Peter 3:18; Eph. 4:15. How and by whomare they to be "fed " and nu rtured so they ma yg row into the stature of Christ'? I Peter 5:1-2; Ep h.4 :11-13.

COMMENT: T he Fa t her beget s. He does not"bring forth "; the mother does that , la ter. Afterthe fathe r's part, which initia tes th e PHOCESS,

l esson 8

t here is a lways a lapse of time leading to fina lbirth . At t he time of begetta l, birth (par t urit ion)has not ye t occ u rred . In t he case of human beings,it follows about nine months la t er.

Durin g the intervening time, just as the mothernourishes and protects the unborn son or daughterin her womb during the gest ation period, so thetrue Church is com missioned to nourish and pro­tect true Christians in her spiritual womb - to" feed t he flock." God 's spirit- bego tten ch ild renm ust be nourished on the sp iritual [ood su ppliedby God - the words of Scripture - and live byevery word of God , in orde r to grow up spirit ua lly .

If by the return of J esus Christ we have grownand matured in spiritual character, we will becomeborn "ch ildren of God," bein g "children of the res­urrect ion" as Christ was at His resurrection. Wewill the n no longer be subject to death (Luke20:35-36 ). Bu t if t he spirit-begotten ch ild of Goddoes n.ot grow spiritually , he can become a spiri­tual miscarriage - an abortion.

3. Speakin g of t he res urrection. whe n the secondbir t h will occ ur , what did Paul say regarding thenew body Chris t ians will receive? 1 Cor. 15:42-44.Will they become as J esu s Christ is today? P hil.3:20-21; I J ohn 3:2 ; Mat t. 17:1-2; Rev. 1:13-16;Matt. 13:4:3 ; Dan . 12: :3.

C OM MENT: Because God is spirit, when one is" born" of his heavenly Fa t he r he wil l B E S P IR IT ­

he will be compose d of t he sa me subs tance of

BegettalofHuman Life

These seven steps illustratethe impregnat ion of a

human ovum, or " egg,"by the male sperm, andsubsequent growth. This

process of physical begetta land growth of human life

is anal ogous to the spiritualbegettal of a Christian's

mind by the Spirit of G od,and subsequent growth in

spiritua l character.

Ambossado, College Art

14 Am bassador College Correspondence Cou rse l esson 8

whic h God is composed. He will be given a spiritbody just like Christ's and will be GLORIFIED andgive n trem endous SPIRITUA L POWE R. The spirit ualpower and glory "born-agai n" Christians sha ll re­ceive at the resurrection will be so great that itwill ma ke their sp irit bodies shine as the sun, andmake their raimen t dazzlin g white !

And all who are thus "born of God " will be ableto see God becau se they will be in the Kingdom ­the divine Family - of God!

The Great Difference BetweenI 'Begotten li and IIBorn"

Most professin g Christians assu me they were"born again" when they first "accepted Christ ."Then by misapplyin g t he Kin g J ames Version 'srendition of I J ohn 3:9, "Whosoever is born of Goddoth not commit sin: for his seed remaineth inhim: and he cannot sin , because he is born ofGod ," many also assume that t hey are no longercapable of sinning in this life.

That assumption is false! Notice :I , Did the Apostle J ohn say that Christ ians do

sometimes com mit sins? I J ohn 1:8-10. Did he usethe present tense of the verb in verse 8? Then hemeant they sin after becom ing Christia ns, didn 'the? Notice that he includes himself by say ing"we."

2, Was the Apostle Pau l beset wit h recurring sinlong after he repented and received - was begot­ten by - the Holy Spirit? Rom . 7:14-25. Is there ajust ma n on earth who does not at some time com­mit sin? Eccl. 7:20. So isn't it plain that Christiansin this mortal flesh are no t now perfect - not yetborn of God?

3 , Now notice I John 5: 18. Does this verse fur ­t her substantiate the fact that Christians are notyet born of God?

COMMENT: The person who has been fina lly" born of God" will not sin any longer. Once we areborn of God at the resurrection we will be able tolive without ever sinning again. How? Simply be­cause we will then possess the fullness of God'sperfect charac ter a nd divine nature. We will nolonger possess a nature which ca n fall victim toSIn.

But as lon g as we are only "begotten" of God wemust "keep ourse lves" - we must cont inue to re ­sist the evil temptations of the fl esh . Such a onecan commit sin. When caught off guard or in amoment of weakness, lve can sin! But we cannot"practice [or continually live in] sin " and be thebegotten sons of God , which is another possiblemeaning of I John 3:9.

Life, to the begotten Christian, is a cons ta ntstruggle against the wiles of the devi l, tem ptationsin the wor ld, and the pulls of his own flesh. AI-

though he has now received the begettal of God'sdivine nature (II Pet. 1:4), he still has human na ­ture as well , and the one wars aga inst the other(Gal. 5:17). <:»

Bu t wha t about the Old T estament me n ofGod? How can we prove whe ther any of them wereeithe r begotten or born of God? Let's understan d :

4 . Did David have God's Holy Spirit? Ps. 51:10­11. Wh at about a ll the "holy men of old," in­cluding Abra ham, Isaac and J acob? II Pet . 1:21;Rom . 8:14; Luke 13:28. And ye t , was J esus Christthe "FIRSTborn from the dead"?Col. 1:15, 18.

COMMENT: No w since those Old T estam entperson ages had God's Holy Spirit , and yet Christwas firs t to be born of God by vir tue of His resur ­recti on , then it follows that those men of old weremerely "begott en" of God - not yet "born" intoHis Family. And t he sa me is TRUE OF EVERYCHRISTIAN SINCE CHRIST!

The Greek Word Gennao

Much of the confusion abo ut being "born again"has resu lted from misi nter pret ing the originalGree k of the New Testamen t. With one exception(J ames 1:15,18) the Greek word used in refe renceto sp irit ua l beget tal a nd bir th - spiritua l sa lva­tion - is always gennao. T his word means both"to conce ive," or "to beget," and also "to bear," or"to be born " - all or any part of the wh ole processwhich produ ces a new indivi dual hu man being;whe reas in E nglish we use two separate verbs ­"begott en"and "born."

Since both beget tal and birth are included in t hemeaning of gennao, we must often let the Bible in­terpret the Bible in order to kn ow which meani ngis intended in a particula r passage.

Here are several examples where the Greek wordsho uld righ tly have been ren dered begotten, nothorn : J ohn 1:12-13; I John 2:29; 4:7; 5:1 (threetimes) ; 5:4. T he King .Iames Version is correct byusin g "begotten" in I Corinthians 4:15; Hebrews1:5 and I John 5:1.

Now wha t about the scriptures that ca ll Christth e "ONLY-begotten"? (John 1:14,18; 3:16; I ,John4:9.) Do these, after a ll, disprove the truth t ha tt rue Christians are only "begot ten" of God'sS pirit, growing to ward bein g born of God at theresurrection?

Of course not!T he simple answer is that all these verses are re­

ferri ng to Christ's miraculous begettal in Hismother Mary 's womb. Christ's physical begettaland birth (gennao) were unique. No other person- ever - has been begotten by the Spirit of theFather in a hum an mother's womb! In this se nseHe is - and always shall be - "ONLY-begot ten ."But many have been "begotten aga in" (I Pet . 1:3)

Le sso n 8 W hat It Me ans ta Be " BO RN AGAIN" 15

to ultimately hecome - thro ugh t he process ofspirit ual grow th a nd birth - the spi rit-b orn so nsof God.

You MUST Be Born Again!

What God crea te d at the time described in thefirst chapt er of Gen esis was a physical creat ion.Ma n, made of the du st of the ground, was the MA ­TEHIAL being which God planned to mol d, shapeand form into a perfect S PIHITU A L creat ion. He pic­tures us as the clay, Himself as t he Po t ter - form­ing us in to t he spiritual image of Himself!

God uses hu man reproduction to picture theprocess by which He is repr oducing Himself. Eachhuman since Adam a nd Ev e star ted from a tinyovum, t he size of a pinpoint , produced in the bodyof the mother. But the egg is incomplete of itself.It lives only about 48 hours, according to some au­thorit ies. Unless fertilized by the life-giving spermcell from th e human father within the limi tedtime, it dies. A human life can only begin whe nthat sperm cell impregnates - enters - theovum .

Spiritually speaking, each human mind is likean egg. Each of us was BOHN INCOMPLETE - ableto live only a relatively short span of years. Wewere made to need t he impregnating sp irit ua l lifeof God's Holy Spirit so we cou ld be create d inGod's spiritual "image" and live forever!

The physical ovum, once it is fertili zed, becomesa begotten human life ca lled an embryo. Themother's womb nourishes and protects it - car­rying it in that part of her body where she maybest protect it from physical injury or harm - un­til it has grown enough to be born. After a numberof weeks, the embryo develops to what is ca lled afet us, and at birth it is ca lled a human baby.

Likewise God 's CHURCH protects and spirit uallyfeeds begotten Christ ians with the Word of God sot hey may GHOWSPIRITUALLY (II Peter 3:18) in thedi vine chara ct er of God until rea dy to be born intoH L, Family.

Bu t there is one great differen ce in this analogy !The physical fetus does not attain physical an d

mental mat urity before birth. However, th e spirit ­begotten Christi an must attain a reasonahle mea­sure of spirit ua l maturity before he is spirit -born.The newborn physica l ba be's main growth occursafter birth, but this is a ty pe of the spirit ual grow­ing which sp iritually begotten Christ ians must dobefore their spiritual birth (I Pet. 1:23; 2:1-2).Christ did not grow into spiritual perfection afterHe was res urrected, but during His human life­time, set t ing us the exa mple, bein g made perfe ct(H eh. 2:10 and 5:8-9).

Sure ly nobody will be foolish eno ugh to suggestt hat when Christ was BOHN the very son of God by

the resurrection (Rom. 1:4) He was resurrected asa tiny infant's body composed of spirit ! He wasres urrec ted full grown. How did the apost les knowHe was the sam e Jesus? Because they knew what.Iesus looked like - and in His resurrected bodyHe looked the same as He had before in the flesh ,except He now was composed of spirit instead offlesh a nd blood !

When we are "horn agai n" - born of God ,changed into spirit bodies at the resurrection ­we, too, sha ll look esse ntia lly as we do now, as faras physical features are concerned. But the resur­rected body will be a different body - composed ofSPIHIT instead offiesh and blood (l Cor. 15:35-44).

Now what, exactly, is sp irit ua l growth? It isCHARACTE R DEVELOPMENT!

Suc h charac ter is the ability, as a free moralagent , to discern right from wrong - the true val­ues fro m the false - truth from error - and thento mak e the right choice or decision, even agains tself-des ire, impu lse or temptation ; plus the willand self-discipline to resist the wrong and to DOth e right.

But as mentioned before , we must BEGIN devel­oping spiritual cha racter and grow toward spiri­tual adu lt hood du ring this life - NOT AFTER weare born of God at the resurrection ! Our vile, car­nal nat ure (Rom. 8:7; J er . 17:9) must be graduallychanged NOW! T his spiritua l growth comes byfeeding on the Word of God, through prayer andwhol ehearted participation in the Work of God .

Then, when the glorifi ed Christ return s to earththe second time , we shall be resurrected, or instan­taneou sly changed, into bodies that will be likeHis (I J ohn 3:1-2) - full grown - adult ! At thatinstant , our present physical bodies will be madelike His glorified body - "BORN AGAIN" AS MEM ­BERS OF GO D'S OWN FAMILY - as God's own glori­ous offspring with eternal life inherent \"vithinourselves - as His imm ortal S ON S to reign alongwith J esus Christ our elder BROTHER!

Th at , according to your Bible, is what it meansto be "born again." God help you to comprehendthis glorious t ruth, and become one of His sp iritu­a lly begotten children!

ANSWERS TO QU IZ

' ·B 5 -C 9-0 13-F 17-12-A 6-B 10·8 14-T 18·FJ·B ] ·C 11·1 15-F 19 -(

4·A S-C 12-T 16·J 20 ·8

Rate Your sel f19-20 correct ... ....•. ..... ....._.....•.....••. excellent

16-18 _ good13- 15 fair

16 Amb assador College Correspondence Course

TEST YOUR MEMORYThis quiz is designed to help you remember the importantfacts you learned in the lesson. You simply circle or unde rlineeach correct answer. After you've finished the tes t, checkyour choices with the co r r e ct answers listed on page J 5 , and

then rate yourself.

l e sson 8

1 . "God" A. is one person . B. is a fami lypre sently composed of only two perso ns. C. is a" trinity" of three pe rsons - the Father, Son andHoly Spirit. D. has no pla ns fo r ex pan ding HisFomily-Kinqdom.

2 . The divine Person who became Jesus Christ A.wa s the " Spokes ma n" of the Go d Fam ily in O ldTestament times. B . wa s never th e Log os or" Word" of God. C. was never seen by mon inOld Te sta me nt times. D. d id not ex ist until theFather begot Him.

3 . The Spi rit o f G od A. is a di vine be ing . B. isthe ve ry power of the God Family. C. ma y betouched and felt . D. is not ever ywhere .

4 . The Fa the r and Son A. ar e bot h included inthe o riginal uniplura l Hebrew word for God - E/o­him. B. have a lway s hod that relationship to onea noth er . C. are of equal a uthority. D. bothdealt with mankin d in O ld Testam en t times.

5 . G od o rigi na lly create d A. an imal s thatevo lved into their own kinds . B. ma n after theGod kind. C. physica l man in God' s " likeness"a nd " ima ge." D. man of spirit .

6. Man was created A. a s the ultima te, co m­pleted, finished pro duc t. B. as only the cla ymod el which God would sha pe and develop in Hisown spiritual cha ra cter . C. with pe rfect spiritualcha racter. D. a s a g lorified be ing .

7. When Jesu s spoke of be ing " born agai n."Nico de mus A. und e rstood ex a ctly wha t Hemeant. B. thought He meant " be baptized an dlive a Christian life ." C. kne w He wa s ta lkinga bout a lite ra l birth , but d id not understand that itwas a spiritual birth. D. did not real ize Jesus wostal king about the subject of birth.

8 . To be " bo rn a gain" A. is to be chan ged intoa higher leve l o f human be ing. B. is merely ase ntimenta l experience . C. means to be changedinto a literal immorta l mem be r of the God Fam­ily! D. is just a metaphorical ex pressi on Jesusused in talk ing to Nicod emus.

9 . O ne who is born of God's spirit A. is anebulous ghost. B. will have no great power. C.

will be like the a ngels, but not like God . D. isspirit.

1O. True Christians now A. a re a lready born ofGo d and a re not able to sin. B. are only begottenof G od ' s Sp irit. C. a re a lre a dy inhe ritors ofGod's Kingdom. D. a re in no nee d of growi ng inGod's spiritua l characte r before be ing " bornagoin" at the re surrectio n.

TRUE O R FALSE

11. The Logos - the " Word" or " Spokesma n"- was a membe r of the Go d Kingdo m beforebei ng mira culously begotte n in Mary 's womb.

T F

12. The Spiritua l begettal of a Christian by theSpirit of God is analogous to the physical begettalo f an ovum by the sperm of a huma n fat her. T F

13. True Christ ian s call the Fa the r of Je sus Christ" O ur Father in heaven " because trad ition sa ys theyshould , not beca use the Father is now begettingmany sons to become "born again" bro thers ofJe sus Christ. T F

1 4. The Gr eek wo rd ge nnao desc ribes a processwhich includes bot h begettal a nd birth. T F

1 5 . It is impossible fo r us to sin once we ha ve beenbegotten by Go d', Spirit . T F

MATCHING

Draw a lin e from each phrase in th e left­hand co lum n to the corre ctly related p hrase

in the r ight-ha nd co lumn.

16. LORD. YHWH. A. The Holy SpiritRock B. At the resurrection

C. Character17 . Ge nnoo development

D. Never been seen1 B. True Christian s E. The Fathe r

F. Spirit begotten19 . Spiritua l G. Begettal only

growth H. Bi rth onlyI. Begettal a nd birth

20 . " Born again" J. Je sus Christ

I OOMS73