Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
Under the Old Testament, a man's first, natural birth made him a child of God. To be born naturally of Jewish parents, regardless of where on this earth it happened, automatically made a person a member of God's people: Israel. In the Old Testament, the congregation of God's saints was sometimes referred to as "Zion". Every Israelite born under the Law of Moses belonged to Zion. But prophesying of the new, second birth of the New Testament that would make a man a part of the new Israel of God, the Psalmist said, "And of Zion it shall be said, 'This and that man was born in her', and the Highest Himself shall establish her. The LORD shall count when He writeth up the people [His people], that 'this man was born there.' Selah." (Ps. 87:5-6).
In this New Testament, when a person is born again by the incorruptible Word of God, no matter where on earth it happens, that person is also born into Zion. The only difference is that now Zion is called by a different name. God, through Isaiah, foretold of the event:
"For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go
forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the
Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory. And thou shalt
be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name" (Isa.
62:1-2).
When did this astonishing event transpire? When did the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ give the people of God a new name? We find the event recorded in Matthew 16:18, when Jesus, speaking to Peter, bestowed upon the congregation of the Lord the new name of "ekklesia".
"And I say also unto thee that 'Thou are Peter', and upon this rock I
will build my ekklesia, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Yes, "the mouth of the Lord" Jesus Christ gave to Zion a new name, the name "ekklesia" (a word that means "congregation", or "called-out people", or "assembly"), just as Isaiah had prophesied hundreds of years before. Now, in this New Testament, whenever a person is born again, he is born again into the congregation of called-out people, the earthly family of God. God's called-out people are the new Israelites of God into which, on the terrible Day of His Judgment, the Lord "shall note when He writes up the people that 'This or that man was born in her.' " I hope that your name is on the list.