What does it mean to be born again, according to the Bible?

To be born again means to receive supernatural life from God. According to Jesus, this new birth takes place through “water and Spirit,” which the Church has always understood as Baptism (Jn 3:5).

What Jesus said. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Unless one is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:3). The Greek word can mean both “again” and “from above.” Nicodemus first thought Jesus meant a second physical birth. Jesus clarified: “Unless one is born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:5). This is a spiritual birth given by God, not a human achievement or merely a strong religious feeling.

How Baptism gives new birth. Baptism is “the basis of the whole Christian life” and “the gateway to life in the Spirit” (CCC 1213). Through it, a person is freed from sin, becomes an adopted child of God, is joined to Christ, and becomes a member of His Church (CCC 1262-1270). St. Paul describes Baptism as “the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Ti 3:5). He also teaches that in Baptism we die and rise with Christ so that we may “live in newness of life” (Rom 6:3-4).

Faith and conversion belong with Baptism. Adults receive Baptism through faith, repentance, and a desire to follow Christ. St. Peter told the crowd at Pentecost, “Repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38). Infants can also be baptized because salvation is God’s gift before it is our achievement. Their parents and the Church profess the faith for them and undertake to raise them as Christians (CCC 1250-1252).

New life must be lived. Baptism leaves a permanent spiritual mark and cannot be repeated (CCC 1272). A baptized person can still sin, neglect grace, or even turn away from God. For that reason, Christians need continuing conversion, prayer, the Eucharist, and Confession. When serious sin destroys the life of grace, Christ restores the repentant sinner through the sacrament of Reconciliation (CCC 1446).

If you have been validly baptized with water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thank God for that new birth. Then renew it daily by rejecting sin and living as His adopted child.