Was Moses and Joshua "born again"? What about John the Baptist?
The term “born again” was introduced by Jesus when He spoke to Nicodemus:
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
John 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Notice Jesus said no one may see the Kingdom unless that person is “born again” spiritually. To be born again means to have been given a new spirit through faith in the Messiah. The Bible tells us that faith in God’s promises results in this new spiritual life that brings us into righteousness and the Kingdom by God’s grace (see Hebrews 11).
Therefore, since the Old Testament believers were promised entry into the Kingdom, we can safely say that all Old Testament saints were “born again” in this way, because otherwise they could not see the Kingdom. So not only were Moses, Joshua and John the Baptist “born again” but so were Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, the prophets and more.
