When Christ explains how to obtain eternal life, He compares it with how we obtain physical life; as we’re conceived and born physically, so we must be conceived and born spiritually. (Jn 3:6-7) Apart from being born of the Spirit we can’t enter into God’s kingdom (5); we can’t even see the kingdom. (3)
To most of us, this sounds like a New Testament concept, something new Christ introduced as part of the current dispensation, unique to Christianity in this Age of Grace. The problem with this idea is that Christ expected Nicodemus, a Jew living in the Old Testament era (before Christ’s atoning sacrifice) to already understand this. (10) Christ was telling Nicodemus and all his colleagues they were missing the boat since they weren’t born again. (7) So, being born again isn’t a New Testament principle: it’s timeless. (Re 13:8)
The seed which brings this spiritual life into us is the Word of God (1Pe 1:23), the eternal Word of Truth. (Ja 1:18) We’re born of God Himself as we receive and believe on Christ the Word (Jn 1:12-13), and become new creations in God. (2Co 5:17)
This new creation concept isn’t new at all; it’s woven all through the Old Testament (2Ti 3:15), the idea of having a new heart, a new inner being created by God. (Eze 36:26)
Abraham believes in God and is justified by faith (Ro 4:3), a faith that rests in God’s future provision of a divine sacrifice to atone for his sin. (Jn 8:56) We’re saved the same way. (Ro 4:23-25)
David prays for this clean, new heart (Ps 51:10), the kind of heart that hears, perceives and obeys God (De 29:4), and ultimately receives this gift of God. (Ps 21:1-2) We’re no different, believing God is, and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. (He 11:6)