By P. G. Mathew, M.A., M.Div., Th.M.
Copyright © 1995 by P. G. Mathew

We want to speak to you today concerning regeneration. We discussed salvation previously as deliverance from the wrath of God, deliverance from sin and guilt, deliverance from Satan and deliverance from death and hell. But it is not only a deliverance from something - it is also a deliverance unto something - unto God, unto fellowship with God, unto service to God, and unto enjoyment of eternal life.

When we speak about salvation, the Scripture gives us various steps in the whole process of salvation. In many places in the New Testament we are given a partial listing of these various steps. One place is Romans 8:29-30, where we read, For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

Now there we are given certain steps of salvation: foreknowledge and predestination. Foreknowledge means God's loving us before the creation of the world, from all eternity. The cause of our salvation is revealed therein. The cause is God's loving us before the creation of the world. And predestination is the end of our salvation. Now these two steps took place in the mind of God in eternity.

But the step that affects a sinner in his life in time and space is the step known as God's call. Calling has reference to the preaching of the gospel, by which God calls sinners to fellowship with him. When you study calling, you will discover there are two aspects to the preaching of the gospel. The first is the external call which everybody hears. However, those who are not foreknown and predestinated, those who are not the chosen of God, those who are not the elect of God, will reject the gospel call. They will reject the claims of Jesus Christ. But those who are chosen of God will certainly hear the external call with their ears. Additionally, they also will hear an internal call - a call effected by the Holy Spirit within the individual sinner. As a result of that internal, creative call, the elect of God respond to the gospel call just as Lydia responded to the call of the gospel from St. Paul in Acts 16.

So there is calling - that is, preaching of the gospel - and then we have to insert other steps between calling and justification, because these steps are taught elsewhere in the Scriptures. What are they? The first is regeneration; then there is repentance and faith, and then, of course, sanctification and glorification. So if anybody wants to know what the steps of Christian salvation are, we could say they are foreknowledge, predestination, effectual calling, regeneration, faith and repentance, sanctification and glorification. There are seven of them.

Now we already stated that the first two take place in the mind of God in eternity. God has chosen us to salvation from all eternity. But the first step in the process of salvation an individual sinner experiences in his life is regeneration, which occurs in the context of gospel preaching, or with the call of God. As we said, this call of God is both external and internal. The non-elect hears the gospel, but rejects it out-of-hand, like the seed that fell upon the pathway (Luke 8:5-15). The birds came and took it away. That demonstrates how Satan takes the entire gospel away from the mind of the non-elect. The non-elect does not experience any internal effectual call of the Holy Spirit. But the elect not only hears the outward call, but he also hears the internal call and so he is enabled to respond to the call of God to come to God and to have fellowship with him forever. That is what this call involves: Like an invitation for a banquet, the call is to come and enjoy the great banquet of salvation in Jesus Christ.

So in the life of the elect, God's call is effectual. Why is it effectual? Because it is according to God's eternal and sovereign purpose, and God's purposes are never frustrated. Specifically, that which enables a person to respond to the gospel call in repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the experience of regeneration, or new birth.

Now we need to ask the question why is regeneration or new birth necessary. It is necessary because man, being a sinner, is not only guilty before God objectively, but subjectively he is also depraved and polluted in his being. He is an enemy of God, and incapable, we are told, of receiving spiritual things in his mind, will and affections. A sinner is unable to do anything to please God. A sinner is dead - dead in trespasses and sins. So he is totally unresponsive in himself toward God. Being a sinner by nature, he can only do sin. Like a bad tree, a sinner continually brings forth bad fruit. The psalmist David says, Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies (Psalm 58:3). David himself says concerning himself, Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me (Psalm 51:5). Jeremiah says, The heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9).

In other words, the human condition is so bad that there cannot be any human solution to make it good, because no human being even understands the depravity of the human heart. Only the Lord understands it, and therefore it is only the Lord who is able to deal with it and change it. Jeremiah says also, Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil. (Jeremiah 13:23). So we conclude that man cannot save himself. And because of that moral inability of man, a radical and complete transformation must be performed in the soul of the sinner by God the Holy Spirit, by virtue of which he becomes a son of God, a new man, a new creation.

This radical, fundamental work of God is called regeneration or new birth. It can be likened to what Jesus did to Lazarus, who was dead and buried. You know the story as it is related in John 11. At the creative command of Jesus, "Lazarus, come forth!" Lazarus responded to the call because Jesus raised him from the dead. Even so, to respond to God's calling of us to come and fellowship with him and to enjoy eternal life forever, we who are dead must be raised to spiritual life by the miracle of regeneration.

Let's look at two passages from John's gospel about regeneration. John 1:12-13 says: Yet to all who received him [Jesus Christ], to those who believed in his name. . . Now that is response to the gospel call. The question is, How can anybody respond? This receiving and believing are activities of the sinner, but how can he respond in that way? Look at it again: Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name - receiving means believing - he gave the right to become children of God -children, born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband's will - we can simply say not based on anything to do with human activity, but born of God.

Turn to chapter 3, which is an interview between Jesus and Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, a very learned man who recognizes Jesus also as a teacher. Probably he came to have a professional relationship as a teacher with a teacher. Look at the first few verses of John 3: Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of God." In other words, the sine qua non of kingdom life - that indispensable condition for seeing and entering the kingdom of God - is what? Regeneration. That is what Jesus is explaining in this passage - regeneration by the Holy Spirit of God.

Now, then, I want to discuss with you from John 3:1-8 nine things with reference to regeneration.

1) Regeneration is a depth-change in our soul. That's why it is radical. Radix means root; radical means affecting the very root of our being. It is a radical change, a fundamental change. It is a change that takes place within the core of our being. It is a change that takes place internally, while externally, physically, we remain the same as before.

Regeneration is not the superficial, moral change which many people can bring about themselves. Rather, it is making a bad tree good so that it will produce good fruit. It is like making a lion into a lamb. It is making a stranger into a son. Jesus Christ himself says that the effect of regeneration is this: Before regeneration the sinner can be described as flesh, but as a result of regeneration, he is described as spirit. That's why it is a depth-change, a radical transformation. It is making an enemy of God into a friend of God. You need to think in these terms so that you can decide whether you have experienced this work of regeneration.

Let us look at a couple of scriptures: Titus 3:5 says: He saved us, not because of righteous things we have done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit. And in Ephesians 4:24 we read, . . . and to put on the new self. . . A new self! That is the effect of regeneration - . . . created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. And as a result of this deep, internal, radical, fundamental work of regeneration, you are enabled to reflect imageo Dei - the image of God - once again. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but now, as a result of this initial work of God in regeneration, we are once again enabled to reflect the nature of God in righteousness and holiness of truth.

2) We must understand that regeneration is a divine work, and that is why it is effectual. In other words, it is not a work of others - our parents, our Christian friends, our society, our government - performed by their influence upon our lives. It is not a work that I myself can bring about in my life. We have already shown that that is impossible. So it is a work of God Almighty, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Just as no infant born into this world produced its own birth, even so no sinner can effect his own new birth. It is the work of God - specifically, of God the Holy Spirit.

3) Regeneration is a direct, immediate work of God. There is no mediating agency. God is not bringing about this deep work of regeneration through an agent such as a preacher or a priest. It is a direct work of God in the soul of a man, and it is not a mediate work - it is an immediate work. "Regeneration," according to the late Princeton professor B. B. Warfield, "is an immediate and direct creative work of God the Holy Spirit upon the human soul." No priest can baptize a person and give him new life. No pastor can give anybody new life. You remember the story in Acts 16 of Lydia in Philippi. St. Paul preached the gospel, but we are told in Acts 16:14-15 that God opened her heart to respond to the gospel call. That was the direct and immediate work of God in the soul of sinner Lydia.

4) This work of regeneration is a decisive work. In the Greek the tense used in describing regeneration in John 3 is the aorist tense of the verb genao which means to beget or to bear. And that tense tells us it is a decisive act. As a result of this work of God in the soul of man, the sinner forever ceases to be the horrible man he was before. He is different. Once and for all, he is different. He is a new person, a new man, a new creature forever. It is a miracle! Think about whether that has happened in your life.

5) This work of regeneration is monergistic, meaning only one person does the work of regeneration. That person is not you, because we already proved that man is a sinner and he cannot save himself. He is dead. He is totally unresponsive. He is depraved. His heart is "deceitful above all things, and beyond cure. Who can know it?" Man doesn't even know his problem. He is incapable of diagnosing his spiritual problem. That is why he continually goes about saying how great he is. His whole interest is in self-esteem, and he somehow thinks he can save himself by continually repeating the mantra: "I am good."

Let's look at some scriptures before we discuss this point more fully. Turn to Matthew 12:33-35. Jesus says, Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you who are evil say anything good? That's not self-esteem. I said already that Jeremiah said only the Lord understands the wretched condition of the human heart. Here Jesus is saying, You brood of vipers! How can you, who are evil - the nature of a sinner is only evil - say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. Notice, then, how serious this condition is.

Look at Matthew 19, beginning with verse 16. You know the story of the rich young man to whom Jesus said, If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me! Verse 22 says: When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who, then, can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." This, then, is monergistic in the sense only one party does it and that party is not you. It is God doing it, God alone doing it and God doing it immediately and directly into your human soul.

As a result, a believer is one who is born of God, born of the Spirit. Only one party works, and that is God alone. You are passive in this work as a patient who is operated on is passive. But the regenerated person, of course, then cooperates with God in working out his salvation. But that is another subject, sanctification, which means godly living in this world. In the work of regeneration, God alone works. Notice, also, Lazarus did nothing to effect his resurrection. It was the creative word of Jesus Christ, the same word that brought into existence the whole universe, and the same word that sustains the whole universe. So regeneration is monergistic, and God alone is working in it.

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6) Regeneration is a sovereign act of God. In John 5:21 we read, For just as the Father raised the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. In John 3:8 we read, The wind blows wherever it pleases. James 1:18 says, Of his own will he gave birth to us. In other words, regeneration is not controlled by you or by me. It is entirely in accordance with the will of God. God alone determines who is given new birth. Nobody can dictate to him.

In Romans 8:15 St. Paul quotes what God said to Moses: I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. It does not therefore, says Paul, depend on man's desire or effort. Regeneration does not depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. I am sure that does not sit well with the self-esteem crowd.

7) Regeneration is an invisible work. No one can see it, just like no one can see the wind. Turn to Psalm 139. Concerning natural birth we are told, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful; I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you; when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. In the same way, our spiritual birth, our new birth, this regeneration is an invisible work of God.

8) Regeneration is not only invisible, but it is an irresistible work of God. This will surprise you if you do not believe in the depravity and total pollution of our being, or if you believe that man is in some way capable. It is an irresistible work of God. If God is bringing about his eternal purpose of saving you, he will regenerate you and you will not succeed in resisting his determination to save you. Just as you cannot resist the wind, you cannot resist the eternal purpose of God as he directly and immediately brings about this depth-change in the soul of a man.

9) Regeneration is a work whose effects will be visible to all. Just like we see the effects of the blowing wind - houses being destroyed, trees blown away - even so, the effects of the work of regeneration can be seen. Read 1 John 2:29. A person who is born of God does righteousness. In other words, that person obeys God as a result of this deep, internal transformation. Look at 1 John 3:9 and 1 John 5:18. These verses say that a regenerated person does not sin, meaning, he does not continue in sin. He is characterized by habitual obedience, not absolute perfection. The bent of his life is toward God, to love God, to obey God, as a result of this work of regeneration. Another effect is found in 1 John 4:7. The regenerated person loves his brothers. He loves Christians, members of God's family, and he loves them deeply. The last effect is found in 1 John 5:1, 4: A person who is truly born of God believes correctly. He is doctrinally correct. He believes correct doctrine as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and he overcomes the world. He enjoys victory over sin.

These are certain effects which anybody can see as a result of this irresistible, invisible, divine, monergistic, deep work God has performed in the soul of man. I want you to think about this and examine and see whether you have experienced this initial, first work of God in your soul. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

"NIV" and "New International Version" are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.

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