Regeneration means being transformed from the seed of the serpent to the seed of the woman. This cannot simply be equated with baptism (or circumcision in the Old Testament) because most of the “broods of vipers” identified for us in the Bible were covenant members.
First One Father, Then Another
Regeneration means becoming the seed of another—ultimately, having one family tree and then acquiring another. My father used to be Adam and now he is the second Adam. My father used to be the devil and now he is Abraham. A creature being summoned into being ex nihilo is being created. We might say he …
Starting With Generation
Before talking about regeneration, we have to remember the importance of generation. Out of the five points of Calvinism, three of them have to do with the decrees of God. “Total depravity” has to do with this morning’s newspaper (the record of man in the past), and is not one of the secret things hidden …
Crossroads
This is the beginning of all spiritual wisdom. Among the sons of Sarah, we find sons of both Sarah and Hagar. Among the Jews, we find Jews and Gentiles. Among the regenerate, we find the regenerate and the unregenerate. Among the elect, we find the elect and the reprobate. Until the resurrection, why do these …
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A Perennial Problem
But these pockets of “unregeneration” have caused more than a few theological headaches. How can a part of the whole not have what the living whole has? Moreover, how can a part of the whole not really have what that part, as part of the whole, has?
Pockets of Death
It should not surprise us to find pockets of “unregeneration” in this world made new. The yeast works through the loaf gradually. But the yeast is alive, and brings life to the whole. Thus we find creatures who hate the new creation around them. Thus we find baptized covenant members who inexplicably hate the church …
Church of the Firstborn
Jesus Christ, the firstborn, is therefore head of the Church of the firstborn (Heb. 12:23). All of this is indicated in Paul’s interpretation of the second psalm— And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that …
Born Again from the Dead
Christ was born again from the dead. Because of this, the whole created order was born again from the dead. Because of this, Israel was born again from the dead, and is now the Church. Because of this, a man can be born again and enter the Church. If he was already in the Church, …
New Nation, New Members
As we talk about what it means to be “born again,” we have to preserve the scriptural pattern and order. First, as the cornerstone of all doctrines of regeneration, Jesus was born again from the dead (Col. 1:18). Because of Christ’s birth from among the dead, the whole created order was made new in Him. …
From Greater to Lesser
There is an important sense in which regeneration has to be understood as applied to individuals. But this is not the primary thrust of the scriptural emphasis. If we emphasize individual regeneration alone, we will lose the glory of the biblical message of Regeneration. But if we keep the scriptural emphasis, we lose nothing with …