The theological term for being born of the Spirit is regeneration. Regeneration expresses the work of God’s Spirit in a believer by which a person becomes a new creation, as referred to in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
The classic statement about being born of the Spirit is what Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:3, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Toward the end of His words to Nicodemus, Jesus explained this new birth by referencing wind, saying, “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 it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” With these words Jesus connected the work of regeneration or new birth with the agency of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit’s conviction
Regeneration by the Spirit is preceded by conviction from the Spirit. When a person responds to the Spirit’s conviction concerning sin and His convincing that faith in Christ is the way of salvation, the decision to repent toward God and believe in His Son makes possible regeneration by the Spirit. The result is the onset of newness of life.
Centuries before Christ came the prophet Ezekiel announced God’s intention to make new birth possible. God’s promise stated, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules” (Ezek. 36:26–27). New birth brings a new heart. The new heart then becomes the habitat of the Holy Spirit.
New birth with the resultant new heart is mandatory to having God’s Spirit dwell in us. The Spirit who is holy does not inhabit places that are unholy or unclean. New birth is God’s way to a clean heart. The good news of the gospel is that a clean heart is not one that has never sinned, but one that has been cleansed through God’s forgiving grace.
Starting point
The path leading up to the new birth may be winding, rocky and difficult as the Holy Spirit makes the burden of unforgiven sin unbearable. However, this experience of regeneration is not the finish line of God’s plan for a person, but is the starting point for Him enabling us to become a new creation. Using the analogy of baseball we might say that new birth is like reaching first base safely and within the rules of the sport. First base, however, is not the goal. Reaching home plate is the goal toward which first base is the initial step. Regeneration is the first base of the Christian life. The goal is to make it home safely.
Becoming a new person in whom the Holy Spirit resides makes possible touching some additional bases on the way home, something we could not accomplishment without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit residing in us and working through us. Beyond regeneration by the Spirit is the sanctification of the Spirit (1 Pet. 1:2). But that process of is another theme for another day.
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