1. Natural Man Is Spiritually Dead
Before regeneration, every person is dead in trespasses and sins. This is not physical death but spiritual death—a state of separation from the life of God. The natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God, because they are spiritually discerned. He is by nature a child of wrath, walking according to the course of this world and the prince of the power of the air. No amount of education, morality, or religion can raise the dead. Only God can give life.
2. The New Birth Is Absolutely Necessary
Jesus declared to Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He repeated it: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” The new birth is not an option or a supplement to religion. It is the non-negotiable requirement for salvation. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; only that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
3. Regeneration Is a Work of God Alone
The new birth is not of blood (human descent), nor of the will of the flesh (human effort), nor of the will of man (human decision), but of God. It is not by works of righteousness which man has done, but according to God’s mercy. God the Father begets believers according to His own will. God the Spirit gives life. Man does not regenerate himself any more than he gave himself physical birth.
4. Regeneration Precedes and Produces Faith
Faith is the fruit, not the cause, of the new birth. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. But also, as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe—and these are born of God. The order is that God first gives life, and then the living soul believes. A dead man cannot believe; he must first be made alive. Faith is the evidence of regeneration, not the means of it.
5. Regeneration Is a Mysterious, Sovereign Work
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Regeneration is not controlled by human will or ritual. It is a sovereign act of God, mysterious in its operation. It cannot be observed directly, only through its effects.
6. Regeneration Brings a New Nature and New Desires
Whoever is born of God does not continue in sin, because God’s seed remains in him. He cannot go on sinning, because he is born of God. The new birth produces love for God, love for the brethren, victory over the world, and a longing for righteousness. A new heart is given, and a new spirit is put within. Old things pass away; all things become new. This is not perfection but a fundamental change of direction and desire.
7. Regeneration Is Inseparable from Repentance and Faith
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves the one born of Him. Where there is true regeneration, there will inevitably be repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. The new birth does not exist apart from these fruits. Conversely, where there is no faith and no repentance, there is no evidence of the new birth.
8. Regeneration Is a Permanent Work
Being born again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever. The seed of God remains in the one who is born of God. This new life cannot be lost, because it is not sustained by human effort but by the living God. Regeneration is the beginning of eternal life, and eternal life is, by definition, eternal.
Conclusion
Do not marvel that Jesus said, “You must be born again.” The new birth is the great dividing line between the saved and the lost. It is the gracious, sovereign, supernatural act of God that changes a heart of stone into a heart of flesh. Have you been born again? This is the question of questions.