Counsels on Self-Identity

Counsel #10 — How Are We Changed?

Picture: Counsel #10 — How Are We Changed? CI 12.1

The Holy Spirit is the Agent of change in our characters, renewing us in the image or likeness of God. Nicodemus, a religious leader of the Sanhedrin when Jesus was on earth, wanted to know about this and came to Him for a late-night explanation.^[10] Jesus told him we are changed, or born again, by the Spirit, and without that new birth experience, we can’t enter the kingdom of heaven. CI 12.2

This change isn’t just a one-time experience. Every day we are privileged to ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit and empower us to live like Him. CI 12.3

“Jesus answered [Nicodemus], ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’” John 3:5 NKJV CI 12.4

“By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature.” Ellen White in The Desire of Ages, p. 391.1 CI 12.5

Reflect: What do you think it means to be “born of water and the Spirit?” CI 12.6