Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As most of you know, I just returned from a three-week ministry in Mexico. For the past year and a half since my last trip to Oaxaca, I had heard about how God was working in Iglesia Hogar (Home Church). I had heard about the spiritual and numerical growth of the church. I had seen pictures of many individuals and families who had trusted in Christ as their Savior and are now active and growing members of the church, most within the past six to nine months. But while I was there during this month, I saw with my eyes what God has been doing and continues to do in their lives. On my first Sunday, July 11, I had the privilege of baptizing fourteen believers, thirteen of whom had trusted in Christ within the past year. Then, in the weeks to follow, I spent many hours in each of their homes, on trips and hikes, in church services, in English classes, and on a men’s retreat developing relationships with each of these new believers and getting to know them personally. What a blessing this was! It was refreshing to see how God has brought each into a relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ. I saw firsthand the results of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in many lives. A year ago they were all spiritually dead, but now God has made them alive! It was so encouraging!
In the past six articles, we have been studying the Holy Spirit, our Divine Comforter. We have observed the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Book of Acts. Since the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, several ministries of the Holy Spirit unique to the Church age have occurred, even to this present day. In our last study, we began examining the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of unbelievers. We focused on His convicting ministry as He clearly reveals the truth of the gospel to the heart of the unbeliever. In this study, we will address His work of regeneration. Many believers don’t know what that term means. But when I use the term “born again” or “the new birth,” we see the core of what regeneration means. We will answer the question: “The Holy Spirit: How Does He Produce New Life?”
How do we define the Spirit’s work of regeneration?
The English term “regeneration” is only used twice in the New Testament: once in referring to the future time when Jesus sets up His kingdom on the earth (Matt. 19:28) and the other pointing to the present work of the Holy Spirit in saving a sinner (Tit. 3:5). Though the term itself is rare, the concept is often seen in the New Testament. The meaning of regeneration, or the new birth, is not a difficult concept: it is the act of God by which He imparts eternal life to the sinner who trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation.
It is totally the work of God—each Person of the Trinity has a role in this work.
It is the work of God the Father (John 1:13; Jas. 1:18).
It is the work of God the Son (John 1:12; 5:21-27).
It is the work of God the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-8; Tit. 3:5).
It occurs in an instant at the very moment a sinner trusts in Christ—it does not occur over a process of time (John 3:3-5; 5:24).
It involves taking one who is spiritually dead and making him spiritually alive as he is given eternal life (Eph. 2:1, 5).
He becomes a new creation (II Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:24).
He receives a new nature (II Pet. 1:4).
He enters into a new relationship (John 1:12).
(The above points were taken from class notes, Soteriology, Professor Otis Stone, Calvary Bible College, 1978.)
It is conveyed by three figures (adapted from Major Bible Themes, L. S. Chafer, revised by John F. Walvoord, pp. 98-99).
It is a rebirth (“born again”—first birth is physical, second birth is spiritual) (John 1:12-13; 3:1-8).
It is a spiritual resurrection—the spiritually dead are raised to life (Rom. 6:13; Eph. 2:1, 5).
It is a new creation—the creation of a “new man” (II Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:24).
How do we describe His regenerating work?
There is a universal need for the new birth. Jesus declared, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). Man is spiritually dead—he needs new life (Eph. 2:1, 5). Man has a totally corrupt nature (Rom. 8:7)—he needs a new nature (II Pet. 1:4). Man is the devil’s child (John 8:44; I John 3:8, 10)—he needs to become God’s child (John 1:12). Man is blind to spiritual things (I Cor. 2:14)—he needs a new understanding of the truth. Man is unable to change his spiritual condition (Eph. 2:1, 5)—God must do it.
There is only one source of the new birth. God is the source, not man (John 1:12-13); it is a birth “from above” (John 3:3, 5, 7).
The primary agent in the new birth is the Holy Spirit (John 3:5, 6, 8; Tit. 3:5).
The major reason for the new birth is not man’s work, but God’s mercy (Tit. 3:5; I Pet. 1:3); not by our will, but by His will (Jas. 1:18).
The key instruments in the new birth which are used by the Spirit are the gospel message (I Cor. 4:15; Jas. 1:18; I Pet. 1:23) and the human messengers proclaiming the message (I Cor. 4:15; Philem. 10).
The personal reception of the new birth is by faith in Jesus Christ alone, not by human effort (John 1:12-13; 3:9-18).
The visible results of the new birth are many: a cleansed heart (John 3:5; Tit. 3:5), an exalted position (Eph. 2:1, 5-6), a heavenly inheritance (I Pet. 1:3-4), a new creation (II Cor. 5:17), a new righteousness (I John 2:29; Eph. 2:10), a new victory over sin (I John 3:9), the world (I John 5:4), and the devil (I John 5:18), a new love (I John 4:7), and a new faith (I John 5:1).
(Adapted from class notes, Soteriology, Professor Otis Stone, Calvary Bible College, 1978)
If you have never been born again, trust in Christ today as your Savior, and you will experience the regenerating work of the Spirit as He imparts to you eternal life. If you are a believer in Christ, remember that the work of regeneration is God’s work only, but He uses you and me as instruments to proclaim the gospel message. What a privilege! Let’s proclaim this message daily in His power!
Because of His Grace—Pastor Charlie