What Does Colossians 2:6-7 Teach Us about Our Faith Walk? The parables of Jesus further illustrate this doctrine. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). But no matter how far one is able to proceed in the reformation of the old life, no amount of improving the fallen nature can serve as a substitute for the Divine Nature which is given us of God when we are born from above. The Holy Scriptures are both living and life-producing. . (I Corinthians 12:13). The body is not the entire man, but it is the vehicle of the human spirit and the temple of the Holy Spirit. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God . A woman, whose parents were missionaries to India, told me that she did not need to be born again because she was born right the first time and simply needed to continue being good. The Bible so solemnly shows us that he who justifies himself by his own works must be condemned by God, but he who condemns himself and trusts in Christ will find complete justification in Him. God justified Abraham before Isaac was born (Genesis 15:6). Of this miracle John wrote, This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed on Him (John 2:11). Regeneration is the cause, and conversion is the effect. See ESCHATOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, IX. Behold, even the moon hath no brightness, and the stars are not pure in his sight: how much less man, that is a worm! After his conversion, and during his visit to Antioch in Pisidia, he said, Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses (Acts 13:38, 39). There is a divine initiative It is by means of our bodies that God gets His work done. This aspect of the believers Sanctification is then a matter of choice on our part. . (Romans 8:30). As a matter of fact, I have never met an advocate of the death to self movement who could tell me how I might die to self. The New Birth is no less a mystery than is the Virgin Birth of our Lord. "The body is dead because of sin" (Romans 8:3-11; Ephesians 2:1). The utter inability of the natural man to enter into the Kingdom of God shows the necessity of being born again. According as He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love (Ephesians 1:4). However, a day, a tabernacle, a house, or a mountain cannot sin. God has separated us unto Himself. WebThe Meaning of Regeneration: 1.To be born again is not self-improvement; it is to be born of God with a new life, the life of God: John 1:12-13 and note 132; John 3:1-6 and notes But give the divine Spirit the glory He deserves! Who then are the sanctified? Whenever we come to a verse in the Bible, such as this one, about which there is disagreement and difference of interpretation, we must be patient and prayerful in our pursuit of other Bible passages which shed light on the subject under discussion. The believer does not ascend to the peak of Christian joy until he appreciates and appropriates this aspect of the grace of God. This baptizing work of the Holy Spirit is synonymous with Positional Sanctification. None but the justified who walk by faith can rejoice in the midst of tribulation, for rejoicing in tribulation is not natural to the unregenerate heart. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2). Perhaps some of you think that it is all too cheap and not worth bothering about. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them (Isaiah 11:6), and the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9). Elsewhere Paul speaks of the peace of God (Philippians 4:7), an experience of those believers who learn to cast their cares on Him. This includes even that little member (James 3:5) which too often hurts the membership. Regeneration is the act of God by which a spiritually dead person becomes spiritually alive. And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the LORD, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand (Leviticus 27:14). For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body . The Holman Bible Dictionary gives this definition: The radical spiritual change in which God brings an individual from a condition of spiritual defeat and death to a renewed condition The Reformed creeds and confessions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries carefully articulate the doctrine of regeneration in contradistinction to both of these aberrant views. Inasmuch as our Lord said, Ye must be born again, you better believe it! The new life from God is compared to a wedding garment in the parable of the Marriage of the King's Son (Matthew 22:11). . Malachi 3:2), and there is no doubt that John the Baptist found in such passages the ground for his practice of baptizing the Jews who came to him (John 1:25-28 and parallel's). Water baptism points to the promise of the new creation. By taking heed thereto according the Thy Word (Psalm 119:9). Jesus said, I am come that they might have life (John 10:10). While in the post-apostolic days we frequently find traces of a proper appreciation of an underlying spiritual value in baptism (compare Didache vii) many of the expressions used are highly misleading. What is impossible for the Christian who is resisting or grieving or quenching the Holy Spirit is possible for the one who is walking by the Spirit. It becomes a stronghold in temptation. They refuse to believe that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), and until we are born again, there is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:12). This I say then, Walk in (by) the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). 1. God could not set apart an unclean sinner for His possession and purpose, therefore, He purchased and purified the sinner by the Blood of His Son. That there is something incomprehensible about Regeneration no one can deny. There was no discrimination among the mixed multitude of believers in Corinth. These items are neither moral nor immoral; they are amoral. The First Corinthian Epistle contains some pregnant passages on this theme. Grace has dug a foundation so deep that men have been drinking from its cleansing, justifying stream for centuries. I understand the expression "first-fruits" in the sense in which we have noticed Paul's final hope in Romans 8:21-32, where the regeneration of the believing people of God (regardless of nationality) is the first stage in the regeneration or restoration of all creation. Regeneration is to Paul, no less than to Jesus, connected with the conception of purity and knowledge. We have here a new creation as against the old creation. . Perfect Sanctification is the goal God has set for every believer. I interpret Peters scathing rebuke to mean that there was a man who, though he was baptized, was never regenerated. I cannot know the will of God for my life if I neglect the Word of God. (4) Regeneration manifests itself in the conscious soul by its effects on the will, the intelligence and the affections. Faith is the vital point of contact between the sinner and God. Young believers must not feel that they are not making progress because they are not surging ahead at a fast rate of speed. It works! Paul wrote, . It is the glory which shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18), for whom he justified, them he also glorified (Romans 8:30). If the problem in the Christian life is to bring our practice up to our position, then let us become men and women of the Word. Spiritually speaking, you are either born or unborn. They believe that a person must believe, repent, confess, and It originates not with man but with God ( John 1:12 John 1:13 ; 1John 2:29 ; 1 John 5:1 1 John 5:4 ). A judge has no right to condemn the innocent or to clear the guilty. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren (I John 3:14). Esteemed British pastor D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said: Conversion is the first exercise of the new nature in ceasing from old forms of life and starting a new life. Here we learn that God is the Source and Cause of all things. In Christs day miracles were a substantial aid to ones faith. But this spake He of the Spirit . The Holy Spirit is the active Agent in regeneration. Men change in their thinking. Positional Sanctification is not a second work of grace to be sought subsequent to the experience of Regeneration. I am not suggesting that there is no experiential aspect in Sanctification in which practical holiness will manifest itself in the Christians life. This was always recognized as impossible to mere human endeavor. What do I do about calling a priest father at my Catholic University? The garment, the gift of the inviting king, had been refused by the unhappy guest, who, in consequence, was `cast out into the outer darkness' (Matthew 22:13). His willful sin brought death, both physical and spiritual, so that in his fallen, sinful state he is alienated from the life of God (Ephesians 4:18). Spiritually dead men and women are utterly dependent on God to sovereignly give them spiritual life. Paul, indeed, lays more stress on the specific facts of justification and sanctification by faith than on the more comprehensive head of regeneration. The Epistle of Jude commences and concludes with a similar emphasis. There is no promise in Gods Word that those who are justified by faith shall escape tribulation. In summing up our study of the doctrine of Regeneration, we may conclude that the regenerated person has been given the power to obey God and to grow in grace. This means that no one can trust in Christ apart from the initiative of Gods saving gracenamely, regeneration. In Christ Jesus our Lord . And how does God guide us? Most assuredly does the work of Sanctification in the believer involve victory over sin in his daily life. Positional Sanctification takes place at the time of Regeneration. Paul is here addressing all believers in the Corinthian Assembly, not only those who were spiritual but the carnal ones also. This birth is "of the day, free, delivering from passions, taking away every veil of our nature or birth, i.e. WebRegeneration, while sometimes perceived to be a step in the Ordo salutis ('order of salvation'), is generally understood in Christian theology to be the objective work of God in a believer's life. Thus Gregory Nazianzen (Orations, xi.2) calls baptism the second of the three births a child of God must experience (the first is the natural birth, the third the resurrection). It is not the tranquility and quietness of our own feelings and emotions. This truth is emphasized for us in I Peter 3:18, where we read: For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. The last phrase of this verse, that He might bring us to God, can be translated, that He might provide for us access into the presence of God. This blessed privilege is all of grace. he is a debtor to do the whole law (Galatians 5:3). Thus having been born from above, we are to seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. In other words, when God called us it was with the view that we should obtain the glorified state. Sanctification is used with reference to God. Genesis 15:6; Galatians 3:6). Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19). But let us never lose sight of the glorious fact that our Lord Jesus Christ, through His Death, is the sole ground of our justification. The fellowship of those born again is the most satisfying and productive among all fellowships. How does one pursue Sanctification? 1:2 ). Remember, it is by Gods perfect standard of justification that we all will be tried. That He came to earth none can deny, but any biological explanation remains a mystery. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him. But to insist that the new birth occurs as the result of water baptism makes regeneration a matter of external ritualism. The writer knows from experience that when the truth of justification burst upon his soul, his joy and rejoicing increased. (2) A building and its contents can be sanctified. Practical Sanctification differs from Positional Sanctification in that Positional Sanctification is solely the will and work of the triune God, while the Practical Sanctification involves human responsibility. Immature Christians are spoken of (as were the proselytes of the Old Testament) as babies, who were to grow to the stature, character and knowledge of "full-grown men" (5:13,14). The most remarkable apostolic gloss or commentary on the subject is found in John 7:39. In John 3:8, Jesus teaches that regeneration is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit who produces new hearts in the elect. He did not use it with reference to repeated action, but rather in contrast to our physical birth which is from beneath, or earthly. Notice the order; they are said to have been Sanctified before they were Justified. The sin of Israel is recognized as the sin of the individual, which can be removed only by individual repentance and cleansing. 10:1; 1Peter 3:1820). WebRegeneration is a Biblico-dogmatic term closely connected with the ideas of justification, Divine sonship, and the deification of the soul through grace. You cannot buy it with money, for it is freely by His grace. You cannot work for it with your hands; it is freely by His grace. You cannot receive it through any rite or ceremony; it is freely by His grace. You cannot lay claim to it because you are not so bad as others, for it is freely by His grace. It is useless to wait until you improve, because it is freely by His grace. If you hope to be justified before God apart from grace, you have a false idea of the value of the Christian Gospel. The verb sanctified means set apart, and the corresponding noun saints are those persons who have been set apart, the set-apart ones. This is incorrect and therefore misleading. God set apart Jacob before he was born, in preference to his twin brother, Esau (Genesis 25:23, cf. WebDefinition. The theological term "regeneration" is the Latin translation of the Greek expression palingenesia, occurring twice in the New Testament (Matthew 19:28; Titus 3:5). They trusted in the Law. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect? At the time of Regeneration He sets the believer apart, sanctifying him positionally. Some sincere students of religion have made wrong deductions from the Bible passages which speak of regeneration. the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Titus 3:5 (AV). God Himself is the Justifier. Certainly it is not through struggling nor self-confidence nor by trying to duplicate those experiences to which others testify. Christians have time for sports, entertainment, travel, and socializing, but little or no time for communion with God in prayer and the study of His Word. But in the case of biblical justification, all men are sinners, and since all sin is against God, He only must be satisfied. Adam, in his original state, was created with the gift of life; this was the implantation of life through the creative process. In 1:18-32 the unrighteousness of the Gentiles is exposed to the light. What is in view here is the perfect Sanctification of the whole man, the time of its accomplishment, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fact that God Himself will bring it to pass, for Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it (verse 24). . James is stating how a believer who has been justified by God is justified before men, namely, by works. On account of our offenses He died, and on account of our justification He arose, the latter being the ratifying counterpart of the former, the confirmation of the completeness and satisfaction of the atonement. There is a mystery attached to both. How does one mature in the Christian life? How can He declare an unrighteous man righteous and Himself remain right? It is Gods gift to every regenerated man (Romans 5:17). He makes his point clear by use of illustration: Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? (James 2:21). When one is born again he instinctively is drawn to those persons of like precious faith. In ages to come the Church will display that glory because the God of all grace hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus (I Peter 5:10). When great numbers of Samaritans heard Philip and believed and were baptized, Simon also accepted the facts and came forward to be baptized. Abraham was justified, not by rites of religion, for circumcision was not required until later, nor by the deeds of the law, for the law was not yet given, but through faith in Gods Word. To the child of God who reads and studies the Bible, it becomes a cleansing, sanctifying power in life. The verb in Romans 6:6 is in the past tense, so that the correct translation reads, Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Christ. The reference is not to something the Christian must try to accomplish, but to the perfect and completed work of Christ. The Christian who is out of Gods will is an unsaintly saint. When they were saved they were set apart through the operation of the Holy Spirit. The kingdom of Christ on earth will be a time of world-wide subjection to the authority of Christ, when sin, sorrow, sickness, suffering and strife will not touch earths inhabitants. This word literally means a "new birth." Regeneration is part of what God does for us at the moment of salvation, along with sealing (Ephesians 1:14), adoption (Galatians 4:5), reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:1820), etc. Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? Here the apostle uses well-known Old Testament expressions foreshadowing New Testament graces (Isaiah 61:6; 66:21; Exodus 19:6; Deuteronomy 7:6), but he individualizes the process of regeneration in full agreement with the increased light which the teaching of Jesus has brought. Possible the latter term comes closest to the Greek word. It means simply a new birth, a new beginning, a new order. In our consideration of Preparatory Sanctification the sovereignty of God was stressed, and rightly so.
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