Self-birth

The whole metaphor of new birth or birth from above (John 3) suggests that we can't give ourselves this spiritual life. No one ever gave birth to himself. The initiative of his parents was required. So with the spiritual birth, we need life from outside ourselves, for God the Father to become our spiritual parent and to give us this birth.

It is no good saying to a dead body, "Get a life!". It is dead. It can do nothing for itself.

Our spiritual condition without Christ is not to be a bit spiritually off colour or under the weather. God's diagnosis is not that we have a spiritual cold or tummy bug but that we are spiritually dead, lifeless and hopeless without his supernatural power from beyond ourselves.