To be born again means to become a new man. To become a new man means to become like Christ. Being born again is a process. It begins when a man first believes in the LORD Jesus Christ and ends when he becomes like Christ in nature and works. A believer who still commits sinful acts or behaves/thinks in a way that is not Christlike is not yet fully born again. As Christ is, in nature (holy, faithful and loving, etc.), so are we to be in this world. To be born again means to be born of both water and spirit. Some may have been born of water, but they are still to be born of spirit.
Jesus replied, "Truly, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again from above." Nicodemus said, "How can there be rebirth for a grown man? Who could go back to his mother's womb and be born again?" Jesus replied, "Truly, I say to you: No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit (John 3.3-6).
A man becomes born of water when he first believes in Jesus Christ and is reconciled to God. The man receives the life of the eternal God into his Spirit and, his dead spirit comes alive. This living spirit though not yet changed in nature begins to sense a closeness to God. This living spirit, though not yet new, begins to desire spiritual things. Such a man is a living man, but he is not yet a new man because his sinful nature still dominates.
The word of God is water. It cleanses the human heart when received in faith (Acts 15.9). A person who hears the word of God and does not believe with his heart cannot experience this cleansing. It is the word of God received in faith that causes a man to be born of water (1 Peter 1.23, Eph 5.26). A person who is born of water receives the life of the eternal God into his heart (Titus 3.5). This life is like a well, welling up to eternal life (John 4.14). Water baptism is an outward symbol of cleansing that has taken place within. It is also public declaration of the faith within.
We are born of water when we receive the word of God with faith (Ephesians 5.26). The living water washes us within and brings life inside of us (Acts 15.9). It is by this washing of water for rebirth that we become righteous (right standing with God). One who is born of water has received the first purification attained by obeying God’s first command: to believe in His son, Jesus Christ (1 John 3.23). This is the first work that God requires of all men to do to be saved (John 6.28).
To be born of spirit means to put on God’s nature. The old sinful nature goes away, and a believer puts on a new nature – the nature of Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, a believer can become a new spirit with a new personality and character (God’s character).
To be born of Spirit means a man has put off the old man (the old spirit) with his deeds and has put on the new man Christ Jesus with His deeds (Romans 13.14, Gal 3.27). To be born of Spirit means to be perfected in holiness (2 Corinthians 7.1 KJV). One who is born of Spirit has been transformed into the image of Christ and his spirit becomes like Christs’. He is completely different from his old self. His new spirit is Christlike. He no longer commits sin because he is now like Christ - the sinless one. He bears the full testimony of 2 Corinthians 5.17: Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.
Those who carry the cross of self-denial and discipleship are the ones on the path that leads to the perfection in spirit. Not every believer gets to be a disciple because not every believer is willing to pay the price. It is by obedience that we purify ourselves into being born of spirit. We are changed daily in our spirits as we follow the LORD daily till, we attain perfection.
We must die in order to become truly born again. “Truly, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much fruit”. It is by carrying the cross of self-denial that a believer will be born of spirit. The new man (born of Spirit) no longer has the tendency to sin because he has put on the loving nature of Christ (1 John 4.7). To be born of water can be instantaneous but becoming born of spirit takes some time and it demands total cooperation with the Holy Spirit.
The seed of life implanted in our hearts at conversion makes us connected to God, but the seed needs to grow and bear fruits to make us sons of God. When the seed of human life (male sperm) is deposited in a woman’s womb, she becomes pregnant. That seed needs to undergo a nine months transformation to become fully human and be born on the earth. Receiving the word of God (the seed) in faith will makes a man to be born of water, but he must undergo a transformation process for a change of nature in spirit.
To be born of Spirit means to become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5.21). We become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus when God’s righteousness is revealed through our new Christlike person. When we have put on Christ Jesus and His works, we become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus because God’s righteous nature is seen through our new nature.