1 JOHN ONLY ISRAEL CAN BE BORN AGAIN

[Doug]

1 John 3:9 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.

1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

1 John 5:1 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.

1 John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

1 John 5:18 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.

In all of the above verses John is addressing those who are "born of God".

Whosoever is born of God, does not commit sin, loves his brother, overcomes the world, keeps himself and that wicked one does not touch him.

1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Peter distinguishes being born again, as not being born of the corruptible seed of the flesh, the natural physical descent, but rather, the incorruptible word of God.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Israel had to believe on the name of Jesus to be born of God, not just born physically an Israelite.

Matthew 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Israel would not enter into the Davidic kingdom on earth, and reign with Christ, by being born children of Abraham in the flesh; Israel had to be born again by the Spirit of God (John 3:5-8).

John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

It is the nation of Israel that must be born again. It is not accurate to say members of the body of Christ, in this dispensation, are born again; in all of Paul's epistles being born again is never applied to members of the body of Christ.

 

[Lamb]

The original language is better translated as born from above. All believers are born from above by God, so I disagree with you that you don't think Christians are born "again" (from above).

1 John was written probably 85 AD to around 110 AD and written to believers.

As for Israel, believers are grafted in.

 

[Doug]

The original language is better translated as born from above. All believers are born from above by God, so I disagree with you that you don't think Christians are born "again" (from above).

1 John was written probably 85 AD to around 110 AD and written to believers.

As for Israel, believers are grafted in.

The KJV does not say born from above anywhere.
I chose to go with the best version of the Bible rather than other translations that change doctrine and are full of discrepancies.

 

[Doug]

The original language is better translated as born from above. All believers are born from above by God, so I disagree with you that you don't think Christians are born "again" (from above).

1 John was written probably 85 AD to around 110 AD and written to believers.

As for Israel, believers are grafted in.

The church, the body of Christ is not grafted into Israel.
This is based on misunderstanding Romans 11:17.
First of all there is neither Jew or Gentile in the body Galatians 3:28
Secondly it can be seen Paul in Romans 9 through 11 is talking of Israel.
Romans 11:5 is talking of the remnant of Israel, which believed in Christ from the preaching of Christ and the twelve apostles, not Paul.
Romans 9:24-27 is speaking of the believing remnant which was composed of both Jew and Gentiles.
It is the Gentiles in the remnant of Israel who are grafted in, not the body of Christ.
If the body of Christ has been grafted in we are in trouble because Romans 11:22 says we can be cut off and lose salvation.

 

[Lamb]

The KJV does not say born from above anywhere.
I chose to go with the best version of the Bible rather than other translations that change doctrine and are full of discrepancies.

It's always useful to know pastors who have learned the original languages in order to properly understand. All of my pastors/previous pastors learned Hebrew & Greek and so going by the KJV version instead of knowing how the verses were originally written is doing you a disservice. Look up born anothen.

 

[Lamb]

Here is an excellent article about the terms:

Born Again & Born from Above

Does Jesus tell Nicodemus he must be born "again" or "from above"? The Greek word can mean both. Nicodemus takes it as "again"; Jesus explains it as "from above."

www.patheos.com

Below are some quotes.

The word derives from ánō (ἄνω), meaning “above.” It literally and most usually means “from above,” as in describing the view from a mountain. But it can also mean “again.”

So which is it? You must be “born again,” or you must be “born from above”? Many evangelicals stress the necessity of a “born again experience,” whereas Lutherans, Calvinists, and others stress that God’s action brings us into faith. How should the passage be translated?

Nicodemus interprets the word in the sense of “again”:

4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

Jesus responds, using the word in the sense of “from above”:
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

This is not an ambiguity. The word in Greek carries both meanings. Nicodemus picks up on one of the meanings, then Jesus draws out the other.

An English translation, though, since it lacks a word that includes both senses, chooses one or the other. I would think that the meaning intended by Jesus should win out, though then we would miss Nicodemus’s puzzlement.

Go here for how the various English translations handle the verse. The most accurate renditions are probably the ones that combine both senses: “born again from above” (Contemporary Jewish Bible, Jubilee Bible); “reborn from above” (Amplified Bible). Luther, interestingly, renders it “jemand von neuem geboren werde,” which means “again,” but not so much in the sense of another time (“nochmal,” or “wieder”) but in the sense of “newly.”)

 

[RichWh1]

The KJV does not say born from above anywhere.
I chose to go with the best version of the Bible rather than other translations that change doctrine and are full of discrepancies.

The KJV is not the original language that the Bible was written in! The Greek language says ‘from above’
Jesus uses the same word in John 8:23 when He said “you are from below, I am from above “
Greek Word is anothen (ανοθεν)