We Are Born of God

“We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.” 1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

• “He who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him”

• There is always a Scripture verse that makes me think, this is one of them, So, what does it mean to be “born of God"? Jesus said that God is Spirit(John 4:24). So, is to be “born of God”, to be born of His Spirit?
• Jesus addresses this with Nicodemus, when he came one night to talk with Jesus. John 3:5-8 says, “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 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.””‭‭
• Jesus says, in this verse, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”, so, to be “born of God”; “born again”, is Jesus talking about death to self? My way of thinking or seeing things; a “worldly” view?Recognizing my own sinfulness and need for God, in order to be “born again”? Paul says in Romans 8:13-14, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
• ‭‭And again in John 1:12-13, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”‬‬ So it is in believing in God and receiving Him into our hearts and accepting the sacrifice He made for our sins, that the work of the Holy Spirit can begin to transform us, and in daily dying to self we become more like Jesus; children of God; born of God!
• Now, “Being born of God” doesn’t mean we will never face temptations, the Bible says we will. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, Paul reminds us, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” We have a part in all this though, this verse says, the one born of God, “keeps himself”(NKJV). What does this mean? Proverbs 4:23 reminds us to guard our hearts because everything we do flows from it! And Paul reminds us, in Ephesians 4:1, to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. So as those “born of God”, our lives should show evidence of that we are follower’s of Jesus.
• The reassuring promise, in this verse for me is, since I/we are born of God, the evil one cannot touch us! One thing I’ve learned is, “satan can try to influence our thinking, but only God knows our hearts.” We have the promise of 2 Thessalonians 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” We are not alone in our struggle to overcome temptations and sin. We are not left to our own strength. We have the Holy Spirit within us to help us overcome! 1 John 4:4 teaches us, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” And again in Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”” Lastly, Zechariah 4:6, “Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord…Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”
• ‭‭How awesome it is to be “born of God” and to know the evil one cannot touch us! And that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength! (Philippians 4:13)