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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.
"For the Bread of God, is He Which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life
unto the world" (John 6: 33 and see 10: 28; and 17: 2).
The Holy Spirit.
"The wind bloweth where it listeth . . . . . so is every one that is born of the Spirit"
(John 3: 8).
The same is true of the resurrection of Christ (Gal. 1: 1; John 10: 18; I Pet. 3: 18).
As the life of God is a basic need for a dead world, we are not surprised to find that it is
not confined to the Gospels. Both Titus 1: 1, 2 and II Tim. 1: 1 clearly teach that this
unending life is a precious possession of each member of the Body of Christ, for what is
the use of speaking about blessing in heavenly places without life to enjoy it?
"Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's
elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness: in the hope of eternal
life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began (the beginning of time)
. . . . ." (Titus 1: 1, 2),
and in his last epistle: