REBIRTH (IN THE BIBLE)

The concept of a rebirth is one of the ways by which the NT seeks to explain the riches of Redemption that have been communicated to the Christian; before taking up the NT teaching, however, this article will refer to some passages from the OT intertestamental literature that throw light on the subject.

Old Testament and Intertestamental Literature.

The idea of a new birth or rebirth is well represented in the philosophical and religious literature of the Greco-Roman world, but it is absent from Jewish writings prior to Philo. In the OT, Israel—and later its king and people—could be described as "sons of God" (Dt 1.31; 8.5; Hos 11.1; 2 Sm 7.14; Is 30.1, 9; etc.), but this relationship was not thought of in terms of a birth or rebirth. Such ideas had polytheistic and idolatrous associations and were therefore avoided (Jer 2.27). Even those expressions that might suggest a divine generation of Israel or its king [Ex 4.22; Dt 32.18; Ps 2.7; 109(110).3 (Septuagint)] are subject to a moral or "adoptionist" interpretation. To express the idea of a new beginning, which is implied in the term rebirth, the OT speaks of a New Creation (Is 65.17–18; 66.22–23), which was ultimately given a futurist eschatological setting and associated with the in breaking of the eternal age to come (Ethiopic Henoch 72.1;91.16–17; Jubilees 1.29; 2 Bar 32.6; 4 Ezr 7.75). This doctrine is reflected also in the Qumran documents (Serek hayyahad (Rule of the Community, Manual of Discipline) 4.25; Hôdâyôt (Thanksgiving Hymns from Qumran Cave1) 13.11–12), and it is made a present reality for those candidates entering the eschatological community (Hôdâyôt (Thanksgiving Hymns from Qumran Cave 1) 11.10–13); but these events are never described as a rebirth. This concept was foreign to Jewish thought.

New Testament. The concept of a new birth or rebirth is found in a limited number of passages in the NT. In the Johannine literature it is described as a being born of God (Jn 1.13; 1 Jn 2.29; 3.9; 4.7; 5.1, 4, 18) or being born anew or from above (Jn 3.3, 7), terms that stress the source of this new birth. In the other texts the terminology is more elastic, with the noun rebirth (παλιγγενεσία Mt 19.28; Ti 3.5) or the verbs to regenerate (ἀναγεννάω 1 Pt 1.3, 23) or to bring forth (ἀποκυέω Jas 1.18) being employed to describe the total process. With the exception of Mt 19.28, which reflects Stoic terminology and refers primarily to the Jewish idea of the renewal of the cosmos in the age to come, all these passages describe a personal rebirth, the reception of a new, spiritual principle of life during the present physical existence. The rebirth concept is not found in the Synoptics, the closest contact being their insistence on the need for a conversion and beginning in life, becoming like a little child, in order to enter the kingdom (Mt 18.3; Mk 10.15). Nor does this notion occur in St. Paul, who remains within the Jewish framework of a general renewal. For him man has become a new creature (2 Cor 5.17; Gal 6.15); the Old Covenant has yielded to the New (2 Cor 3.6); the old man has been put off, the new put on (Col 3.9–10; Eph 4.24; cf. 2 Cor 4.16); all men are created a new man in Christ (Eph2.10, 15).

In those passages in which this notion of a personal rebirth occurs, it has an eschatological content. The individual's new birth is brought about by God the Father (Jas 1.17–18; 1 Pt 1.3) through the Resurrection (1 Pt 1.3) or glorification of Christ (Jn 3.13–15; Ti 3.6), in the hope of salvation and eternal life (Ti 3.7) in the kingdom of God (Jn 3.3, 5). These are eschatological goods that, according to the "realized" aspect of Christian eschatology, are already present in Christ and His work. [see eschatology (in the bible)]. Rebirth is therefore more than a conversion and new beginning; it is the attainment of a new life and salvation by the Christian. It is based on faith; it makes Christians the first fruits of God's creatures (Jas 1.18; cf. Ex 4.22) and the children of God (Jn1.12–13). It is at present reality communicated to the Christian by the word of God (1 Pt 1.23) and the Spirit (Jn 3.5, 8), the principles of this new birth. The word is the revelation of God found in the gospel. It is planted as a seed in the human heart (Mk 4.1–20), where it remains and confers eternal life (Jn 6.63, 68). This develops the OT themes of the word of God as the law of God (Dt 29.28) put in the hearts of men (Dt 30.11–14; Jer 31.31–34) as a guide for their lives. It is the Wisdom of God (Wis 9.1–2) that itself is the law of God (Sir 15.1–10; 24.23–34); it is a source of life (Wis 7.12) and immortality (Wis 6.17–18; 8.13) to those who possess it. The Spirit is the life-giving power of God that is poured out upon the Christian community (Acts 1.8; 2.1–11). This suggests the OT themes of the Spirit as the principle of physical life (Gn 6.17; Jb 34.14–15) and eschatological life (Ez 11.19; 36.26; Is 32.15; Jl 3.1–2), as well as a means of understanding, interpreting, and expressing the Word in both the OT and the NT. It is at Baptism that the new life of the resurrected Christ is given (Rom6.3–11) and that the Spirit is communicated to man (Mt 28.19; Acts 2.38), and so it is Baptism that is the moment of rebirth (Jn 3.5; Ti 3.5), the moment when the interacting Word and Spirit of God produce their effect.

Although the terminology used in these passages shows the influence of Greek thought, the ideas expressed are Christian. They develop themes found in the OT and are not merely borrowed from the Greco-Oriental mystery religions. This terminology was employed to explain to Gentile converts the true significance of the baptismal event.

See Also: baptism (in the bible).

Bibliography: j. dey, Παλιγγενεσία (Münster 1937). r. reitzenstein, Die Vorgeschichte der christlichen Taufe (Leipzig 1929) 103–126. e. sjÖberg, "Wiedergeburt und Neuschöpfung im palästinischen Judentum," Studia Theologica 4 (1950) 44–85; "Neuschöpfung in den Toten-Meer-Rollen," ibid. 9 (1955) 131–136.

[s. parsons]