Born of God!?
Channel: Zachrey Helmberger
Date: 26/03/2022

I really like 1John 4:7 and started to dig into it a little by looking at the Greek interlinear and focused in on G1080 "gennao" on biblehub:
https://biblehub.com/greek/1080.htm

What struck me was two things:

1) Strong's exhaustive concordance section said: "figuratively, to regenerate", which to me sounds like "to renew".
2) Thayer's Greek Lexicon section 2b it says:
"2. metaphorically,
...
b. in a Jewish sense, of one who brings others over to his way of life: ... (Sanhedr. fol. 19, 2 "If one teaches the son of his neighbor the law, the Scripture reckons this the same as though he had begotten him"; (cf. Philo, leg. ad Gaium § 8))

c. after Psalm 2:7, it is used of God making Christ his son;

a. formally to show him to be the Messiah (υἱόν τοῦ Θεοῦ), viz. by the resurrection: Acts 13:33...."

This set off a few mental fireworks in me and I started digging some more!

In John 3 there is the famous "you must be born again" exchange with Nicodemus which uses the exact same G1080 "gennao". So I believe that Jesus is using the metaphorical sense of G1080 to say to Nicodemus, "you are the son of my neighbor. I will teach you the law My Father taught Me when I became His Son in Psalm 2:7 and if you repent of the ways of your neighbor and walk in My Ways, you will be My Father's son, too!"

And a few verses later in John 3:21 is the kicker:
"21But whoever PRACTICES THE TRUTH comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished IN GOD (YHVH).”

So to be "born again" is to learn from Jesus the will of His Father who commanded us to love Him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength. And 1John 5:3-4 tells us plainly how to love God:

"3For this is the love of God, that we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. And His commandments are not burdensome, 4because everyone BORN OF GOD overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. "