Spiritual gifts part 50: The new birth is completely by grace

Pastor-Teacher
John Farley
Thursday,
November 11, 2010

Spiritual Gifts Part 50: The new birth is completely by grace.

The Doctrine of Spiritual Gifts

Point 2. The Giver of the Gifts: The Person and Work of God the Holy Spirit.

B. The second ministry of the Holy Spirit at salvation is called regeneration or being born again. It is taught in JOH 3:3-8; TIT 3:5; 1PE 1:23.

The true miracle takes place when someone believes in Jesus Christ for salvation!

Every human being needs to be born again.

Man needs a new position and therefore a new birth.

aor- pass- subj
γεννάω
gennao
to procreate (properly, of the father, but by extension of the mother); figuratively, to regenerate:

Here in JOH 3:3, in the passive voice, it means “to be born”.

Aorist tense: Regeneration is instantaneous and happens once, never to be repeated.

Passive voice:
it is totally the work of God, and in no respect the work of man.

Subjunctive mood: Regeneration is a possibility for whosoever, but becomes a reality only for those who believe in Christ.

The adverb is anothen which can either mean “from above” or “again, anew”.

Here in context it refers to a second or repeated birth.

Regeneration consists of the impartation of the life of God, eternal life, spiritual life to a sinner who is spiritually dead.

The human race had the spiritual life from God, but lost it in the fall.

Born spiritually dead but physically alive, we need to be born again, born a second time. We need to made alive spiritually.

1CO 2:14
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

We need to be born again, this time by means of God the Holy Spirit.

At physical birth, we became creatures of the flesh.

Now we need to become spiritual creatures.
(JOH 3:6)

This life that we receive at the moment of salvation is a life that is spiritual in nature.

It is a life that is eternal. It has no beginning and no end, and it is the same kind of life that God has.

John 3:16 shows the human mechanics of regeneration - faith in Christ, and the divine result - eternal life .

to take hold of or to receive a gift that is given, with the implication that the gift is undeserved and unearned.

Receiving here means to receive the Son - by faith in Jesus Christ, by believing.

Faith is the absence of human merit. It is the only non-meritorious system of perception.

No matter what, we are God’s sons and daughters for eternity!

This is another result of regeneration, or being born again of the Spirit.

exousia = the power of authority and of right.
It refers to the privilege of authority and rank, and it also means enablement.

To believe in His name means to believe that He is what His name claims to be.

MAT 1:21
"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."