Born Again or Born From Above

Have you turned your life over to Christ? Do you consider yourself reborn? How do you define that term? Like Nicodemus said, one cannot return to his/her mother’s womb and start over again. Personally I have trouble with this verse because Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin which means that he understood the Hebrew meaning of what Jesus had spoken. But then again, to understand why it is recorded that he made that statement we would have to understand the context. 
Lost in Translation The New Testament was written in Greek and Latin. The Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations misinterpreted much of the Hebrew and Aramaic which completely changed the meaning of many statements made by Christ. The most important mistranslation to me is the one we are addressing here.                                                                                                                                                                                   Hebrew 101
 
What if I told you that the original Hebrew actually translates to slightly different words which would change our understanding of being reborn. Jesus’ words, “yivvaled ish milma’ǝlah” are often translated as “born again”, however the word ma’alah in Hebrew means “above”. Jesus words were spoken in Aramaic and Hebrew. So what Jesus actually said to Nicodemus was one must be born from above.
The expression “reborn” is often found in Rabbinic literature. One of great significance is when describing Israel after receiving the Torah. They were born from above through choosing to turn back to God. When Gentiles would turn away from pagan gods to the God of Israel the final process was to go through waters cleansing known or mikveh. When he emerged out of the water, he was considered as being ‘reborn’, or ‘born from above’. The person chose to turn to God and His Word, following His ways and His Commandments.

Are You Born Again or Born From Above
The difference between being born again and born from above is actually very significant in a person’s life. To be born again in worldly terms means a change in attitude, lifestyle, and characteristics that are not of God. These can be very damaging when the choice leads to physically unhealthy and spiritually sinful ways. The choice to live in the world and be of the world is exactly what Satan wants us to do. Being born again may sound enticing to some because it means living your best life now. The problem is the inability to let go and once physical death occurs so does spiritual death.

Being born from above means that you may suffer ridicule, and pain in this world. But the up side is this… Communing with those who are part of the Body of Christ, following His ways and living by the Commandments makes it possible to have eternal life because you choose to trust and have faith in God. This means you have made the choice to live a Christ-like life giving of oneself without the need to receive material accolades and putting others above yourself.

Which sounds more appealing, dying twice or the chance to being a part of something greater than yourself? The choice is yours, as for me and my family, we choose Christ.

In the Loving Arms of God,

 Rob, His servant