Spiritual Innovation: God’s Gift of our Regeneration

But to all who have received Him—those who believe in His name—
He has given the right to become God’s children.
John 1:12

The very moment a person trusts Jesus Christ, he or she is regenerated. The simplest way to explain the concept of regeneration is this way: When you know who He is, He changes who You are. That’s the reality of God’s innovative work of regeneration.

The concept of regeneration is not foreign to us today. I just got an electric car. And it relies on something called regeneration—where an outside source needs to pour energy, power, or “life” into my battery every day. If I don’t plug it in tonight, to get that power from that outside source, my battery will be as dead as a doornail in the morning. It won’t have the power to move me, to take me anywhere. So if I want to move, go anywhere, break out of the box of my garage, I’ve got to plug in.

And if you’ve believed in Jesus, you’ve become regenerated. And, thankfully, this is a once and for all dynamic, not a daily one. Regeneration purely, literally means born again (RE = again; GENERATE = born). Check this out: regeneration is basically then the theological term for spiritual innovation. It speaks of the instantaneous intervention of God Himself to pour new life, energy, power back into your soul. And becoming regenerated is the supernatural something that supernaturally happens by the power of the Holy Spirit at the very moment you trust in Jesus Christ. Your decision plugs into God’s activity in you—bringing about your spiritual rebirth in Him.

Regeneration means OUT with the OLD, IN with the NEW (2 Co 5:17). It’s the divine gift of living with a new heart and a new life in God’s new order. And this fundamental, radical change in our spiritual condition is not a feeling; it’s a fact. And it can never be undone or revoked or taken away from you. It is a permanent, forever-binding, God-given, revitalizing reality that is guaranteed by God Himself.

Can I give you a quick Top Ten List straight out of Scripture on what regeneration specifically means for you? As you read it, realize that these things are what God has already given you. Here’s what you already possess. Here’s what’s true of you at this very moment if you’ve trusted in Jesus. Ready?

1. A NEW BIRTH—”Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7 This speaks of your spiritual rebirth.
2. A NEW LIFE—”He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5
3. A NEW SELF—”Put on your new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:24
4. A NEW MIND—Now, “…we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16
5. A NEW HEART—”Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:5 You have a new heart filled with new hope. What an innovation!!!
6. A NEW WILL—”Offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life.” Romans 6:13b We were unable to do this before; but now we actually can!
7. A NEW NATURE to your soul—”He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature…” 2 Peter 1:4 Wow.
8. You’ve BECOME a NEW CREATION—”If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone. Behold, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
9. So you have a NEW DESTINY—”But our citizenship is in Heaven…” Philippians 3:20a Our new citizenship means a new eternal destiny.
10. You have a NEW INHERITANCE—”Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…” Romans 8:17a You are literally heirs with God. Now here’s a BONUS…
11. Bottom Line: You have a NEW IDENTITY—”The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’.” Romans 8:15

Your New Birth, New Life, New Self, New Mind, New Heart, New Will, New Nature, New Creation, New Destiny, & New Inheritance is all a package-deal part of your NEW IDENTITY! This is regeneration. And it represents a supernova explosion of innovation in your life. And all this and more was fully accomplished by a God who loves you and has done all this and more to be in relationship with you.

According to John 1:12 (see above), this is what you have become—instantly at the moment of conversion, that moment when you believed in Jesus Christ. These are NOT things you have to earn; these are things you’ve been given because of the infinite goodness and grace of God!

Considering these truths, I wonder: do you think regeneration is God at His innovational best?