Part 1 — Born Again: A New Creation and a Son of God
Why this series, and why it starts here
Most believers know that something happened the day they came to Christ. What many are not sure of is exactly what happened — and what it means for the way they live right now.
Too many born-again men and women are living well below their birthright. Not because they don't love the Lord, but because nobody has sat them down and shown them, plainly from the Word, who they actually are. They feel uncertain, defeated, or vaguely guilty — when the Bible says they are new creations, sons of God, accepted, righteous, and filled with the Holy Spirit.
That is what this series is about.
Over seven parts we are going back to the Bible and building in order — from the ground up, brick by brick. What God has made us when we were born again. What standing we have before the Father. What power He has placed within us. Where He has set us in the body of Christ. And how we walk it all out — not as a theory, but as a daily, practical reality.
Because knowing who you are in Christ changes everything. It changes how you pray, how you face the enemy, how you handle failure, and how you get up and keep walking when the road gets hard.
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God [Colossians 1:10 KJV].
That verse is the target. This series is the road there.
We start in Part 1 with the foundation: Born Again — A New Creation and a Son of God. If you are not clear on what the new birth actually did to you and for you, everything else will be shaky. So we begin there — and we build from there.
Who We Are in Christ!
Part 1 — Born Again: A New Creation and a Son of God
Where every Christian begins — a new life, a new family, a new name…
Nothing Less Than a New Birth
Before we can know who we are in Christ, we must be honest about how we got here — because most of our confusion about the Christian life starts with a shaky understanding of how it begins. And it does not begin with us. It begins with God, and it begins with a birth. Not our first birth, but a second one. Nicodemus was a religious man, a teacher of Israel, and yet Jesus looked him in the eye and said, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God [John 3:3 KJV]. Not “try harder.” Not “turn over a new leaf.” Born again — a completely new start, a new life given by God.
That phrase is worth sitting with. You did not organise your first birth; you contributed nothing to it. You were simply given life. The new birth is the same. It is not a reward for good behaviour, nor a certificate you earn by attending church, praying enough, or cleaning yourself up first. Many people spend years trying to become Christian by improving the old life, when God's offer is not an improved old life but an entirely new one. Nicodemus wrestled with that very thing — “How can a man be born when he is old?” [John 3:4 KJV] — and that is precisely the point. You cannot arrange it. Only God can give it.
From Sinner to New Creation
So how does this birth happen? God does the work, but He does it through our response to the gospel. Paul makes the door plain: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved [Romans 10:9 KJV]. Two things — heart and mouth agreeing together: that Jesus is Lord, and that God raised Him from the dead. This is not a magic formula muttered once and forgotten. It is the genuine turning of a whole life to Christ, believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth that He is now Lord.
And in that moment something happens that no amount of self-improvement could ever produce: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new [2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV]. Not repaired. Not renovated. Recreated. Picture a house so far gone that the builder does not patch the cracks but knocks it down and builds new on the same ground. That is nearer to what God does. He does not merely tidy the old you; He makes a new you. This is why the Christian life can never be reduced to behaviour management. At its root it is not about doing better — it is about being born again.
But here many believers stumble, because the feelings do not always match the fact. Someone will say, “I don't feel like a new creation.” Feelings are real, but they are not the foundation. The new birth rests on what God has done, not on the changing weather of our emotions. A newborn child does not feel its way into existence; it simply is born. So are we.
From Stranger to Son
Now comes the wonder that ought to steady every believer for life. When you are born again, God does not merely forgive you and leave you standing at the door as a pardoned stranger. He brings you inside and makes you family. 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 1:12 KJV]. Forgiveness clears the record; sonship gives a home. You move from outsider to son, from guest to child of the house.
And the proof of it is the Spirit God places within you. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father [Romans 8:15 KJV]. That word Abba is the word a child uses for a trusted father — close, warm, unafraid. It is the very opposite of the old fear that keeps its distance and wonders whether it is truly welcome. The born-again believer does not creep up to God as a beggar hoping to be tolerated; a child runs to a father.
Sonship, like the new birth, is not a feeling but a fact — and God seals it Himself. In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise [Ephesians 1:13 KJV]. In the ancient world a seal was a mark of ownership and a guarantee of what was promised. The very presence of the Holy Spirit within you is God's own mark that says, this one is Mine. And should you ever doubt it, His quiet work within is the witness: The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God [Romans 8:16 KJV].
This is where “who we are in Christ” begins — not with what we do, but with what God has done. Born again. Made new. Adopted. Sealed. And once we truly know we belong to Him, we have solid ground under our feet — not a hope that we might one day be His, but the settled fact that we already are.
Key Takeaways:
- The new birth is God's work, not self-improvement — no one enters the kingdom without it. [John 3:3 KJV]
- Salvation comes by confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in His resurrection. [Romans 10:9 KJV]
- In Christ you are a brand-new creation, not a patched-up old one. [2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV]
- Being born again makes you an adopted son, not a pardoned stranger. [John 1:12 KJV]
- The indwelling Holy Spirit is God's seal and witness that you belong to Him. [Ephesians 1:13 KJV]
Where to go from here:
If this teaching has settled something in you, do not let it stop at agreement. Take your Bible and read [John 3:1-8 KJV] slowly, then [Romans 8:14-17 KJV], and let God tell you plainly what He has made you. Thank Him out loud that you are His child — not hoping to be, not working to be, but born again and sealed by His Spirit. And if you have never truly confessed Jesus as Lord and believed that God raised Him from the dead, settle that first; everything else rests on it.
Watch this teaching 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdNqudzxNtc&list=PLEPKdqB9RuLI&index=1
Next — Part 2: Accepted and Righteous: Your Standing Before the Father 👉 https://back-to-basics-christian-living.ghost.io/part-2-accepted-and-righteous-your-standing-before-the-father/
That is where we begin: who we are in Christ, taken in order. Then, Monday to Thursday, we take one truth and look at it from four sides. Fridays, we work through a series. One email on Sunday closes the week and opens the next.
Write and tell us what God has done 👉backtobasicschristianliving@gmail.com, and let us know if we're free to share it in The Christian Compass on Sundays, to encourage someone else. And if this helped you, send it to one person who needs it this week.
Back to Basics: Christian living — plain, practical, powerful Bible teaching, every day of the week.
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