“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.” Ezekiel 36:26-28
The term “regeneration” mean many things to many people. For our purposes here I will limit its definition to the awakening of faith within the fallen sinner. And what is the source of this awakening of faith? Is it man, himself? Is it some series of worldly events? Is it a desire to be closer to God? Fortunately for mankind the answer to all of these is an emphatic “No!” The source of the spiritual awakening in man is God, Himself, and only God.
As our heavenly Father says in Ezekiel 36:26-28, He will give . . . He will put . . . He will be. It is all from a loving and merciful God that we are graced with a new heart and new spirit. Regeneration is the work of God. We merely receive the blessing.
Why? Why does God select us for this awakening? In one of the two occurrences of the word “regeneration” in scripture Paul tells why God grants us this most prized blessing. “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” - Titus 3:3-7.
Mankind is simply and ultimately sinful. Without God’s perfect gift of regeneration we could never be saved. We would never seek God if left to our own devices. Something about us had to change or be changed and that is our hearts. It is because of God’s kindness, love, and mercy that we are regenerated with God’s spirit. It is a one time event and it awakens in us our need for God. According to Herbert W. Lockyer, “The moment faith receives Christ, the miracle of regeneration takes place.”
God’s gift is regeneration; our role includes both repentance and yielding to Christ through faith. Then we are truly “new creations” in Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 . A new heart; a new spirit; we are His people and He is our God.
All glory and honor to Jesus Christ, forever and ever.
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