John 3:6-7, Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:1
Born of the Spirit
When Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again, Nicodemus was confused. Jesus clarified:
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' — John 3:6-7
The new birth is not a human achievement or a religious process. It is a sovereign act of the Holy Spirit — bringing spiritual life to those who are spiritually dead.
The Condition Before Regeneration
The Bible's diagnosis of unregenerate humanity is stark. People apart from Christ are described as:
- Dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1)
- Unable to receive the things of the Spirit of God — they are foolishness to them (1 Corinthians 2:14)
- Hostile to God — the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God (Romans 8:7)
- Unable to come to Christ unless drawn by the Father (John 6:44)
This is not a description of people who are slightly spiritually unwell and need a boost. It is a description of spiritual death — complete inability to respond to God apart from His intervening grace.
The Spirit's Regenerating Work
Into this spiritual death, the Holy Spirit comes with life. Regeneration is the Spirit's sovereign act of making a person spiritually alive — giving them new desires, a new heart, and the capacity to respond in faith.
He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. — Titus 3:5
Regeneration is described here as a washing — a complete cleansing and renewing. It is entirely God's work, entirely merciful, and entirely apart from human merit.
Regeneration and Faith
A crucial question is the relationship between regeneration and faith: does a person believe and then receive the new birth, or are they born again and then able to believe?
The Reformed tradition generally holds that regeneration precedes faith — the Spirit must first make a person alive before they can respond in faith. The reason is the condition described above: spiritually dead people cannot choose God. Life must come first.
Others hold that regeneration and faith occur simultaneously, with the Spirit working faith in the heart at the same moment as the new birth.
Whatever the precise ordering, what all agree on is this: regeneration is entirely the Spirit's work. The new birth is not something we achieve — it is something that happens to us, by grace, through the sovereign and life-giving work of the Holy Spirit.