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Born of God, Born of his Spirit
Becoming part of God's family;
There are a lot of things we could say to answer this question, but with us it starts with the heart! God's work of conversion with us starts in the heart. From the inside out, not the outside in! Just putting on different clothes doesn't make one a Christian. Changing habits or stopping this or that bad thing, even going to church - doesn't automatically make one a Christian.
It really is from the inside out!
But let's start from the beginning!
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
We always have to start with God! Everything starts with God.
And God said, let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creepers creeping on the earth. And God created the man in His own image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female. (Genesis 1:26&27)
And God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden, to work it and to keep it.
And God commanded the man, saying, Eating you may eat of every tree in the garden;
but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you may not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, dying you shall die. (Genesis 2: 15-17)
We all know what happened; Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Because of this, even as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death passed to all men, inasmuch as all sinned. (Romans 5:12)
Man was created in God's image; but when Adam sinned; Adam lost the righteousness he had and we have become more and more corrupted ever since.
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, having come into being out of a woman, having come under Law, that He might redeem the ones under Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4:4&5)
Jesus Christ came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave authority to become children of God, to the ones believing into His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but were born of God. (John 1:11-13)
in whom also you, hearing the Word of Truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also believing you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, (Ephesians 1:13)
We all are descendants of Adam, because we have been born into this world. But that doesn't make us children of God. In Adam we all died, through Christ Jesus we are made alive to God again. Through Adams offense, sin entered the world and death because of sin. Therefore now all men sin and all men die for the wages of sin is death. But Christ Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, therefore now we can be born of God, born of his Spirit and become adopted members of God's family and we can be with our Heavenly Father forever.