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The Holy Spirit as the life-giver
This brings us to the doctrine of regeneration, the basic meaning of which is birth and the beginning of life. One
of the terrible consequences of sin is that it has brought humanity into a state of death both physically and
spiritually. Is there any future for a dead man so far as this world is concerned? The answer is decidedly `no', unless
he can be brought to life again. Ephesians 2:1 describes believers as being `dead in trespasses and sins' as far as the
past was concerned, and many other Scriptures clearly show the ravages that sin has made on the human mind and
understanding.
How does God remedy this? He does so in two ways (1) by giving sinners a second birthday, a spiritual one,
hence the Lord's words to a religious man, `ye must be born again' (John 3:3,7). This only goes to show it is
possible to have religion without life! (2) By making men new creations (2 Cor. 5:17). The Lord Jesus Christ
described this spiritual life as a `must', declaring to a leader of Israel, Nicodemus, that without this he could not `see
the kingdom of God' (John 3:3,7).
Now the Author or Begetter of this new life is none other than the Holy Spirit, for Christ declared that a man
must be `born of the Spirit' (John 3:5-8). He is the quickener, the life giver. Let us not lose truth because an archaic
word `quicken' is used. To quicken has nothing to do with pace or movement, but means `to give life' and this is
the basic need of all sinful mankind which is under the dominion of sin and death. All must start here from the
spiritual angle. It is possible to be very religious, to be absorbed in ritual and good works and yet to be dead
spiritually. Thousands do not realize this, and they imagine that by their religious activities they are fully meeting
God's demands, but these can never of themselves produce the life of God which is eternal.
The second effect of the Holy Spirit's work in regeneration is to bring these quickened ones into family
relationship with God. It is a generally accepted idea, but quite false, that God is the Father of all mankind, and so
all the world can be looked upon as His children. The statement of John 1:11,12 shows the error of this:
`He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power
(the right) to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name: which were born, not of blood, nor
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God'.
It is only by the spiritual birth and creative activity of the Holy Spirit that any person becomes a child of God
and can look to Him and call Him Father. All mankind has relationship to God as Creator and Judge, but not as
Father. The universal fatherhood of God is an untruth, lulling the minds of the unsaved into a false sense of
security.
It has been the habit of some dispensationalists to keep regeneration to Israel and the new creation to the Body of
Christ. But we need to remember that the word translated regeneration occurs after Acts 28 in Titus 3:5 and if we
want unadulterated truth, we must be prepared to be absolutely accurate in our study. It is easy to make rigid
distinctions which do not have the backing of Scripture. On the other hand, it is true to say that creation goes deeper
than birth. Adam was created, but Abel was born. Nevertheless the basic thought underlying these two conceptions
is the beginning of spiritual life, and this is where we must all start if we have any place in God's great redemptive
purpose.
Some confuse regeneration with conversion. Regeneration is solely God's work. Conversion, or turning, is the
act of man as a result of this work. Regeneration deals with life, just as justification and sanctification deal with sin.
These different aspects need to be clearly distinguished. As we study the Word we shall find that the whole
Godhead is concerned with regeneration:
The Father.
`... the Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of His own will begat He us
with the Word of truth ...' (James 1:17,18).
The Son.