James 1:18

Plain English Version

He wanted us to be in his own family, so he sent his true word to us. And when we believed that word it was like we were born all over again. That’s how he made us his really special people.

Cross References

John 1:13

Yes, those people are in God’s family, but they were not born into it the way kids are born into human families. And they did not come from what a human mother or father wanted. God himself gave them new life and made them his kids.

Romans 4:17

God promised that a long time ago, and it is in his book. God told Abraham, “I will make you the father of lots of nations.” Abraham believed that God can do that. You know, God can do anything. He can even make dead people alive again, and he can make new things out of nothing.

1 Corinthians 4:15

I’m like a father to you. I was the first person to tell you the good news about Jesus Christ, and he gave your spirits new life, so I’m your spiritual father on this earth. And even if you have lots of other people teaching you about God, I was the first person to tell you about him, so I’m the only one that is like your father in Christian things.

Ephesians 1:12

At first he picked the Jewish people. They were the first to trust Jesus Christ, and to wait for him to save them. God wanted the Jews to be the first people to praise him, and to say that he is really great.

Ephesians 1:13

Now it is your turn. You people that are not Jews, you heard that good news that God saves you, and you believed in Jesus Christ. And God gave you his Holy Spirit, just like he promised. His spirit in you is like his sign on you, to show everyone that you belong to him.

2 Timothy 2:15

Try your best to be the sort of teacher that God likes. He likes teachers that teach the true message, and that help people understand it properly. That’s how you have to work for God.

James 1:21

So you have to stop doing all those things that are dirty and wrong. You have to listen properly to the word from God, that he put right inside you, and you have to do what it says. Don’t think that you are so good that you don’t need God’s word. No. You have to do what it says, then that word will save you.

James 3:14

But if you only think about things that are good for yourself, and if you are jealous of other people, and if you hate other people, you are not thinking God’s way. That’s the devil’s way. He is the boss over the bad spirits. You can’t hide the way you think by telling lies about it, and by saying that you are really good.

1 Peter 1:23

God gave you new life. It’s not like the life you got from your mother and father. That life will end. But when you listened properly to God’s message, he gave you new life, like you got born again. Your new life will not end, because God’s word will never finish up. It lives for ever.

1 Peter 1:3

God is very good to us. We went wrong, but he feels sorry for us, and he is good to us. Now he puts new life in us, like we get born all over again. Jesus died, but God brought him back to life. From that we know that God will save us too. So let us thank God, the father of our leader, Jesus, and say that he is really good.