The New Birth ‑ Voice of the Lord
The 29th Psalm is all about the voice of the Lord. In verse 4 the psalmist states, “The voice’ of the Lord is powerful…” From the very beginning of the bible we see the power in God’s voice manifest as he said, “Let there be light: and there was light.” By simply speaking,
God created the natural universe in which we live! Now that is power! In contrast, the voice of man can either hurt or soothe the eardrum, but it cannot bring anything into existence. Only God’s voice has the power to create.
God’s voice gives life to the dead. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, it was written that Jesus “cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus come forth”. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes…” Jesus with his voice spake the name of Lazarus and he came forth from the dead. In 1 Thes. 4:16 we read about the resurrection of our bodies from the grave, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice’ of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with him in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Similarly this power of Jesus’ voice in raising the dead bodies from the grave is written about in John 5:28, 29, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth…” Thus, we must conclude that the efficient cause of the resurrection of the dead bodies in the grave is the “voice” of the Son of God!
Before we are born of the Spirit of God (born again) the bible describes us as being dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). When we were dead in trespasses and sins, we had no spiritual life. As God is the creator of all things, it is He who has “created us in Christ Jesus unto good works.” This creation is the new birth. Please note, as follows, that it is the voice of the Son of God and not the voice of man that brings Spiritual life into the dead faculties of our heart and soul:
a. John 5:25, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the >voice of the Son of God:’ and they that hear shall live.”
b. John 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that >I speak’ unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
c. John 10:16, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear >my voice;’ and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”
d. John 10:27, 28, “My sheep hear >my voice’ and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
To the above I make the following observations:
a. It is the “voice” of the Son of God that gives life to those who were before spiritually dead.
b. The flesh does not assist in giving spiritual life because “the flesh profiteth nothing.” Thus, the preacher, teacher, friend, or parent cannot give eternal life nor can my actions as a fleshly being help cause the new birth.
c. All those to whom the “voice” of the Son of God is spoken hear and are given eternal life.
d. All those that the Lord speaks life into are preserved from perishing.
Now we may ask ourselves the question, “Have I heard the voice of the Son of God and what did it sound like?” When Elijah the prophet fled from the wicked queen Jezebel, the Lord told him in 1 Kings 19:11‑13, “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.’ And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle…” A still voice would make no naturally audible sound. Yet the still voice of the Lord is more powerful that the great wind, earthquake, and fire! God brings forth the new birth with a still small voice that our natural ears cannot hear. Yet we can know we have been born again by the evidences in our lives. This we shall address in another essay.
Finally we read in Isa. 55:10, 11 of the certainty of the new birth to those to whom God speaks, “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” When God speaks his word into the dead faculties of the heart and soul, it does not return to God void, but it accomplishes what God pleases (the new birth) and it prospers in the thing whereto he sent it.
Praise God for his powerful still small voice that caused us to be born again.