What Does Regeneration Mean?

Posted by Steve on Nov 10, 2009 in Bible Study, Theology |

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In this series of articles we’re defining and exploring 5 key theological words that are essential for us, as followers of Jesus, to know and get our heads around, in order to understand our God, His Word, and how to live lives that bring glory to Him.

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This next article in the series deals with the topic of regeneration or what’s commonly known as “being born again”. First, a definition.

To The Point

The act of God whereby, through the power of the Holy Spirit, He recreates the fallen spiritual condition of a sinner who expresses faith in the atoning work of Jesus, resulting in a new heart, new mind, and new, eternal, life.

The classic text for this is 2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Our first parents – Adam and Eve – disobeyed God and brought into the world sin, death, and decay. They were plunged into a state of sinfulness and depravity in which they were cut off from God and seperated from His presence, worthy of His wrath and unable to re-connect.

Since then, all who have desecended from them have been born with this inherent disconnection from God, and likewise have been deserving of His wrath and naturally His enemy. In order to be reconnected to God we need to be reborn – supernaturally – with a new heart and new mind, one that desires God loves God and seeks His glory and His will.

This sinful state is what Jesus came to remedy.

Through His death on the cross He paid the penalty for our sin and absorbed the wrath that was due to us, allowing us to draw near to God and enter into that Father-Child relationship with Him, the way it was meant to be. When a sinner accepts this substitutionary death of Jesus by faith and believes, the Holy Spirit renews their heart and mind and takes up residence in them to empower their new life

The experience of this moment in the life of a believer varies between people. It may be sudden and visible or may be quiet and less dramatic but the effect is still the same – a transformed life, with new desires for God, His word, and the good of others.

This is not to say that a believer no longer sins, because remnants of the old nature remain and both natures are constantly warring to master our life and it is a constant battle for the believer. Paul encourages us to:

“..put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)

This is not easy and by ourselves we just can’t do it.

It is only by abiding in Jesus through constant prayer, immersion in the Bible and by depending fully on the grace of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit that we will effectively live the regenerated life.