You’ve been born again through the living word of God, which lasts forever. You haven’t been born again from a seed that will die, but from one that can’t die.
May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be praised! In his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope because Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
They hadn’t committed sexual sins; they’d kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among human beings as a first offering to God and the Lamb.
You’ve come to a special community of people: God considers each and every one of them to be his firstborn child! Their names are written in heaven. You’ve come to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of godly people who’ve been made perfect.
Other people might be your guardians in Christ, but even if there were 10,000 of them, you still wouldn’t have many fathers. I became your father in Christ Jesus by telling you the good news.
As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations.” The God Abraham believed in considers him to be our father. This is the God who gives life to the dead and creates things that didn’t exist before.
You also came to belong to Christ when you heard the message of truth, the good news about how you could be saved. When you believed, God stamped you with an official mark, the Holy Spirit that he promised.