The Prodigal and Being Born Again

CatholicConvert · Jun 27, 2003

This is a response for DHK. He posted the following questions on a closed thread.

Could you elaborate on that a little more Brother Ed. In the story the son became "born" physically at birth into the family. But at what point did he become born again.

DHK -- Thank you for your good question. I think that the answer lies in the fact that a parable teaches a physical/spiritual truth.

I believe that you would agree that we are born the first time into the family of man, separated from God and alienated in our natural state. Thus, we must be born into the family of God, reunited to God, and restored to sonship by the adoption of Grace.

As such, the birth of the Prodigal in the parable corresponds to the birth of the believer spiritually. The Prodigal is a type of the believer -- a son of his father who gave him life without anything done on his part to warrant that. Likewise, our birth into the family of God is a gift of grace, given to us in our most helpless state as babies when we are babtized in accordance with the command of the Lord.

The Prodigal sinned against his father in a most grievious way. To ask for the inheritance while the father was still alive is akin to saying "I wish you were dead." Nasty.

It is a picture of how offensive our sins against the Father are. When we sin against God, we reject His Law, spurn His counsel, and in essence say "You might as well be dead to me, and I wish you were so I could keep on doing this sin."

See? There are parallels in the parable.

Jesus said you must be born "again" or you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. There are two kinds of birth: one physical, and the other spiritual.

Absolutely. On this we are agreed, and Jesus Himself states "except you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God." Very clear and quite exclusionary.

[b\]You say that one is born again at the point of baptism which occurs sometime around the age of eight days while the child is still an infant.[/b]

It CAN happen then. It can also happen when an adult is baptized. It is not the age which matters. It is the act of making covenant with God by the means which He ordained. Romans 6:3 speaks of our being baptized into Christ's death. We are entered into Him, are severed from the world and entered into the Father's kingdom. The reason that the New Testament, especially the book of Acts, mentions adults so much is that they were the logical ones who were coming out of Judaism and were making the New Covenant with God by their acceptance of and faith in the Messiah Whom Peter and Paul preached.

Nowhere in the bible is the born again experience referred to as an experience applicable to infants.

Scott Hahn has a really nice tape series in which he answers this. This gist of it is this: the first believers were Jews. As such, they were used to a covenant which included their children. Whenever a male baby was born, he was circumcized into the covenant. Now do you think that the Jews would have accepted a new covenantal relationship which excluded their children? Do you think that they would have just quietly let this happen if the apostles had said "You guys can come, but leave the babies and kids out of this. This is for adults only."

No, there would have been a near riot if the families had been severed like that. Not only that, but the New Covenant is a "better covenant which speaks of better things." How would it be better than the Old Covenant if it left the kids out when the Old Covenant included them?

The prodigal son was born into his father's family, but when was he born again?

As I mentioned, his being born into the family in the parable is a picture of our being born again.
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Thanks for the good questions.

Cordially in Christ,

Brother Ed

BobRyan · Jun 27, 2003

IN Romans 2 Paul states that the spiritual "reality" behind the symbol of national affiliation for male infants - is in the Spirits work on the adult - believer's heart.

Affiliation with the "nation" was not the same as being born again. Not even in the OT. Paul affirms that just because you are a Jew - does not mean you are born again. Nor did it ever. It is the "children of the Promise" not the children of the flesh.

In Christ,

Bob

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