JESUS CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF REGENERATION Part 8

Last time we closed our post by saying, In Genesis 1, The emphasis is on the creation in power.

But, Now, it is creation in love, and the word changes from ''God'' to ''Lord God''-A
Gracious, Sovereign Preserver, Protector, and Benefactor.

The name ''Lord,'' refers to Jesus Christ, Who, at this point, discusses Himself.
God the Father, has been seen by no man, but God the Son, constantly appeared as The Jehovah of
The Old Testament.

Now, there must be a progressive revelation of God to Man, because of Man's limitations, by
Nature.
And The Old Testament is a record of that progressive Revelation.

The Lord Jesus is God's last word to Man-Hebrews 1;1-3-[Turn].

Jehovah first appears in Genesis 2;4 as The God of Providence.
The next occurrence is related to The Creation of Man-
Genesis 2;7-''And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.''

God's dealings with man, in kindness and love, come through Jehovah.
It was Jehovah, Who announced The Redeemer-Genesis 3;11-[Turn].

It was Jehovah, Who accepted Abel's offering [Genesis 4], and Who gave Noah, the pattern of The Ark [Genesis 6], and Who demanded the sacrifice of The Passover in Exodus 12.

Jehovah gave The Law, at Mount Sinai [Exodus 19-20].

It was by the significant introduction of the name, ''LORD God,'' that we are led to apprehend the true nobility of man, as the offspring and product of Divine forethought and affection.

He, Who was promised to Adam, as The Seed of the Woman, was declared to be The Seed of
Abraham-Genesis 3;15; Galatians 3;16-[Turn].

It was not through Abraham's progeny, but through Christ, The Earth was blessed-John 8;58-
[Turn].

Christ had to be the seed of Abraham, so He became a man-And He could not be The Saviour of men, unless He is God.

In Genesis 22, God commanded Abraham, to offer up Isaac, as a sacrifice. But The Angel of
Jehovah arrested his hand, at the moment of sacrifice-Let's see what He said-Genesis 22;12, 16-17-[Turn].

The Angel of Jehovah, and Jehovah, are names given to the same Person, Who swears by Himself, and promises the blessing of a numberless posterity to Abraham-Thus, He is a Divine
Person

In Exodus 1, We have the revelation of God, as Moses, on Mt. Horeb related.
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses, at the burning bush.

The Angel of the Lord is identical with Jehovah, and is declared to be The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Exodus 23;20-21-''Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions; for my name is in him.''

The phrase, ''for my name is in him,'' is equivalent to ''I am in him''.

The name, ''God'' often means God Himself, as manifested.
It is said of The Temple, in I Kings 8;29-''My name shall be there.'' I.E. ''There will I dwell''.

Isaiah 9;6-[Turn].
''A child is born'' refers to The Eternal Son-ship of The Lord Jesus Christ.

The Elect of God were chosen in Christ-Ephesians 1;3-14-[Turn].

The Name ''Son'' was eternally in The Mind of God the Father.

4 factors are absolutely necessary, to understand Christ's Person--
Number 1-He was truly human, so all declared of man as man-not of man as fallen-can be said of
Him.
Number 2-He was truly Divine.
Number 3-He was one person with 2 natures.
Number 4-The 2 Natures in Christ, could not be separated, yet were not mingled, nor confounded.

Jesus Christ was both Son of Man and Son of God-These names imply a present humiliation, a future glory, and a heavenly pre-existence.

The Eternal Son in becoming Man, descended to reach Man's highest conceivable exaltation.

His origin was from Heaven, and He came to save men.

END OF BLOG

JESUS CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF REGENERATION-Part 7

Last time, we ended our remarks, by saying, that to everyone, who believes that Jesus Christ is truly God, as well as, truly Man, His Word on Manhood and Son-ship is fatal.
Luke 24;27-'' And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.''

Jesus regarded Moses, not as a title, by which, certain books are known, but, as the instrument, used by God, in giving both History and Prophecy, concerning The Lord Jesus Christ--
John 5;45-47-'' Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one that accuseth you, even Moses in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words/''

Jesus Christ is The God man, Son to both.

When He said, ''. . .Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it and was glad'' [John 8;56], He was referring to the Day, The Son of Man should be revealed.
As the Son of God, He had no Day; as the Son of Man, He was revealed.

Hebrews 5;8--''Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;''
He was not a Son by Creation; Adoption, or Office; He was a Son by Nature, being the Only
Begotten of the Father, and having the same Nature and Perfection as the Father.

Genealogies of Christ were given by Matthew and Luke. Matthew places his, at the beginning of his Book; Luke doesn't give his, until after Christ was baptized.

The first important thing with Matthew, was to establish our Lord's Davidic Lineage.
Luke's concern was the real human birth and growth through boyhood to youth, to manhood.
Our Lord's Pedigree, as given by Luke, ends with a wonderful leap from Earth to Heaven.

Matthew gives The Genealogy, through Joseph, who was legally, although not actually, The
Father of Jesus Christ.
Luke gives it through Mary, Who was really the Mother of His Manhood.

Matthew's Genealogy comes down from Abraham to Jesus Christ, while Luke comes from
Jesus Christ to Adam, and to God.

Here is the reason, for the two views of the Genealogies;
[1] The Jew found the basis of his thought, in a revelation, which proceeds from cause to effect.
[2] The Greek possessed nothing, beyond the fact, and proceeded from the effect to the cause.

The first time, the full title of ''The Son of God'' is used, in The New Testament, is found in;
Matthew 16;16-17-''And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.''
Notice, Peter's Confession, was a Revelation from Heaven.

I John 4;15-[Turn].

By the title, ''The Son of Man,'' Christ claimed to be man, in the highest and absolute sense, and
by the title, ''The Son of God,'' He laid claim to Deity.

Now, as there is more than one person, in the Godhead, so there's a distinction between ''God,''
and ''Lord God''.
Genesis 1;26-''And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air; and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.''
Genesis 2;4-''These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.''

In Genesis 1;26, the word, ''image,'' means that Man was fitted with capacities, as God's
Representative.
The word, ''likeness,'' means that, Man, before The Fall, was inclined towards God.
In Genesis1, the uniform word for The Almighty is ''God'' [Elohim].

In Genesis 2;4, a new name is introduced-''LORD God''.
Now, the change is significant.
When Moses advances to Man's Creation, he reveals a more intimate side of God's Character.

''Lord,'' means owner, possessor; One Who treasures and cherishes; Whose affections center upon what He has made.

In Genesis 1, the emphasis is on creation in power.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF REGENERATION-Part 6

Today, There are some Theologians, Who believe in The Divine Trinity, but have some strange views about the names of Father and Son.

They emphasize expressions such as,''Eternal Generation,'' and '' Eternal Son-ship, which should never be used. They maintain that these experiences, involve the serious error, that, in some way,
The Deity of The Son is derived, or, is communicated from The Father, and is, therefore, of subordinate character.
They also maintain that Theologians of the past, failing to see that word ''Begotten,'' refers to Jesus
Christ, as One born of the virgin, in time, tried to escape the difficulty by inventing non-scriptural phrases of ''Eternal Generation,'' and ''Eternal Son-Ship''.

Now, the answers to these terms, are very simple, to The Bible Student. The word, ''Generation'' means individuals, having equal status, at the same time. This simply means that both Father and Son, have always been Co-Equal and Co-Eternal.

Now, Get this thought; THERE NEVER WAS A TIME, WHEN THE THOUGHT OF FATHER AND SON, WAS NOT, IN THE MIND OF GOD.
God knows Future, Present, and Past, all at once;
He is one mind--Job 23;13-''But he is in one mind, and who can turn him/ and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.''

Now, There is no succession in God's knowledge and understanding, but there is, in Man's.
God's knowledge is from Eternity; He is before and above Time.
God knows all things by one act of intuition; and there is no division in His knowledge.

God's name of Father was not revealed until there was a Divine Person on Earth, as Man, to declare Him--
John 1;18-''No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.''

The Son of God, as The Divine Person, in manhood, spoke of The Glory, He had with The Father;
Before The Foundation of The World--
John 17;5, 24-''And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.''
The Glory, which Jesus had with the Father, before the foundation of The World, was a glory proper to His Eternal Person.

He descended from the Glory, which he had with the Father, for the purpose of completing the work given to Him, to perform.
A Divine Person couldn't remain in humiliation;
thus after finishing the work, the Father sent Him to do, He ascended back, to The Father.

He is now glorified, as man, with the Father, and the Glory, which He has with the Father, is the same Glory, He had with Him, BEFORE THE WORLD WAS.

The Deity of Jesus Christ is asserted in Hebrews, chapter One. It is in Manhood, that God spoke by Jesus Christ.
And, as man, He set Himself down, on the Right Hand of the Majesty on High.

As man, God addressed Him, as His Son.
As man, He was brought into The Habitable World as Firstborn, and worshipped by all God's Angels.
As man, He will have The Millennial Throne and Scepter.

But this man is God, and is addressed as God;
His Deity is unquestionable.

The subject of Hebrews 1;5-13, is The Greatness and Deity of the Messiah, God's Anointed Man, as prophesied, in Old Testament Scriptures.

Let's now consider the main objections, to the statement of Christ's Eternal Son-ship.

Number 1-Some take the proposition, that the 2nd Person, of The Trinity, is known to us, as having become man, and bearing the titles, ''Son of Man,'' ''Son of God''.
They assert that The Bible speaks of The Eternal Spirit [Heb. 9;14], but that doesn't justify the position of those, Who speak of Christ, as The Eternal Son.

Now, They also state,the fact of advancing such an argument, soon finds difficulty in securing a Scriptural Foundation.
then, They say, the use of the word ''eternal'' in Hebrews contradicts what God has brought in, now, through Christ, and His Death, with what was known as Judaism.

Their argument concludes by stating, ''The Spirit is not a name of relationship like father and son; The Spirit has not been manifested like the Son, or, revealed like the Father. He remains in
His eternal character, as The unseen Spirit, and can therefore, be spoken of as ''Eternal Spirit''.
But The Spirit does not speak of the eternal Father, or the ''eternal Son,'' because the Father and Son are names, which give character as our present knowledge of God. They are names which can be known, only through the incarnation'' [UNQUOTE].

Now, to everyone, who truly believes that Jesus Christ is truly God, as well as, truly Man, His
Word on Manhood and Son-ship is fatal, [which we will see next time.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF REGENERATION-Part 5

There is a progressive revelation of God to man, in the Bible.
In The Old Testament, God was pleased, to be known, by certain names, which gave character to the knowledge and faith of His people.
The people couldn't go beyond, what was known of God, in these names.

The Patriarchs didn't know God, by the name of Jehovah, and The Old Testament saints, didn't know Him, by the name of Father.

God's Name is the way, He is pleased to be known by men, and it has always been in keeping with what they have needed, for support, in any given time.
We know Him now as Father, but He wasn't revealed in Old Testament times, as such.

Knowledge of Him was formed by other names.
The reverence for God as Father, was held in reserve, until The Incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Now, The Relationship of a Father and a Son, offers an interesting study, in The Bible.
NUMBER 1-We find that a Son is at the disposal of his Father.
GENESIS 22;8-[TURN].
EXODUS 22;29-''Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors; the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.''
PROVERBS 1;8-''My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother;''
PROVERBS 23;22-''Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.''
A man's son is born unto him, as a subject of care-

Deuteronomy 1;3-''And it came to pass in the 4oth year, in the 11th month, on the 1st day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them;''
A Father is to command his son, and to require obedience of Him;
a son is to honor, reverence, and serve his Father--
EXODUS 20;12-''Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.''
LEVITICUS 19;3-''Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths; I am the LORD your God.''
MALACHI 1;6-''A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master; if then I be a father, where is mine honour/ and if I be a master, where is my fear/ saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name/''
Malachi 3;17-''And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.''

Then, a father is to chasten his son, when necessary--
Deuteronomy 8;5--''Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.''
Hebrews 12;5-11--[TURN].
These Scriptures prove that, while the relationship of father and son is associated, they are never regarded as being co-equal.
And to suppose, they are, is to throw the whole structure of scriptural thought into confusion.

In The Old Testament, a son's disobedience to his father, brought forth the Death Penalty--
Deuteronomy 21;18-21-[Turn].

Now, the relationship between God the Father and His Son, is quite different from earthly relationships of father and son.
The Son of God was in every way holy, sinless, and perfect. He never knew corrective chastening,as the sons of man, so constantly experience.

Every feature of Son-ship, which The Old Testament brings out, was found to perfection, in Jesus. He was begotten of God, the subject of the Father's love and care, and ever in subjection, to the Father's Will.
He always honored and served His Father-Hebrews 10;7-[Turn].

John's Gospel clearly and fully reveals these characteristics of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was constantly in the place of obedience, receiving instruction from the Father, as to What He should say, and do.
He even stated, ''The Son can do nothing of himself'' [John 5;19].

He received everything from the Father;
He was under the Father's Commandment, and the object of The Father's love.
All that God desired in A Son, was in Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus had a subordinate place for the purpose of fulfilling God's Eternal Decree.
Even in the place of subjection, The Lord could say, ''I and my Father are one'' [John 10;30].

The Jews understood that anyone, who could say, that God was His own Father, made himself equal with God--
John 5;18--''Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.''
Therefore, They took up stones to stone Him, because He made Himself, EQUAL WITH GOD.

part 4 continued.

[As I was saying, before I hit the wrong key, Christ was perfect in both His positions, as The Son of God, and The Son of Man.]

As to His Person, He is eternally Divine;
but in becoming man, He has come into a place, which in itself, is inferior to the place and condition of Deity.

But in Person, He is all that He ever was;
Thus, He is even as man, God's Fellow--
Zechariah 13;7-[Turn].

The word, ''Inferior,'' when used, in connection, with our Lord, applies to the position taken, and not, to The Person, Who took it.

If we do not admit His coming into a lower, or inferior position, in becoming a man, we have lost the meaning of The Incarnation.

It must be understood that neither The Son, nor The Holy Spirit, is subordinate in Deity. To
entertain such a thought, would be heresy.
But, They both, have been pleased, to take a subordinate place, in the economy of Revelation.

The Son of God, as well as, The Holy Spirit, is God, in the most absolute sense.
But The Son and The Spirit have been pleased, to take a relative position, which is not commensurate with Their full Personal Glory.

The Son, in Manhood, is seen , in a subordinate position, fulfilling the Father's will.
The Holy Spirit is also revealed, occupying a subordinate place;
He doesn't speak of Himself, but that, of which, glorifies The Son-John 16;7-14-[Turn].

Both The Son and The Spirit render Their wonderful service, in order to make known The
Father.

God as Father, has been made known by the Son. Our knowledge of God revealed by the holy name of Father, is dependent on The Incarnation.
Hence, Divine names and titles are used in The Bible, to identify The Persons.

Jesus Christ was not actually the Son of man, before the incarnation;
but, The Person, Who is now revealed as the Son of Man, was from Eternity;
and He is now ascended up, where He was before--John 6;62-[Turn].

As God told Moses [Exodus 6;3], that He was not made known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by the name Jehovah,
so, God The Father, and Jesus Christ were not actually revealed, by these names, until the incarnation.

Ephesians 1;3-4-[Turn].

God cannot be the God of another Divine Person, when both are absolute Deity.
But Jesus Christ, having come in the flesh, could say, ''My Father and my God''.

He was in the position of a man, relative to God, and The Son in relation to God the Father.

''The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ'' is God, as He is known in relation to Jesus Christ,
in HIS Meditorial capacity.

The Persons of the Godhead are eternally the same, though in Divine Wisdom, They may be known, by names not publicly revealed in Old Testament times.
We know Divine Persons only when They're made known to us, by names, which we can understand.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF REGENERATION-Part 4

Man's position is inferior to God, and is always presented, in this way, in The Scripture.

The great mystery of The Incarnation is that, in self-humiliation, and by the Descent of Infinite Love, Christ took the position of man, which is lower than the position, that eternally belonged to
Him, as God.

He was as perfect in the inferior position, in the form of a servant, as He was in the form of God-
Philippians 2;6-7-[Turn].
And, it couldn't be otherwise, if we think of Who it was, Who became man.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF REGENERATION-Part 3

John 3;1-13

Since Nicodemus had acknowledged Christ to be ''a teacher sent from God,'' Our Lord would have Nicodemus, A Teacher of Israel, to know that Christ was the only Perfect Teacher of Heavenly Things.
Only The Lord of Heaven, could teach such Heavenly Things-

Deuteronomy 30;12-''It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it/''
Romans 10;6-7-''But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven/ [that is, to bring Christ down from above;] or, Who shall descend into the deep/[ that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.]''

Agur gives us a wonderful picture--
Proverbs 30;4--''Whom hath ascended up into heaven, or descended/ who hath gathered the wind in his fists/ who hath bound the waters in a garment/ who hath established all the ends of the earth/ what is his name and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell/''

''What is his name/'' God is above all names, because He is Infinite.
Infinity can't be measured by names.

''What is his son's name.'' Christ has many names in The Scriptures.
The names given to Him, reveal a clear distinction of the Persons of The Godhead.

Bot, the Son is co-equal, and co-eternal with the Father-
Matthew 11;27-[Turn].
John 14;7-9-''If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye know him, and hath seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip/ he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father/''
Hebrews 1;3-''Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;''
Who is able to tell/ Matthew 11;27.
The Mirror, in which, we behold the Father and The Son, is found in Psalm 30;4-''Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.''

Now, Get this truth; IT IS AS IMPOSSIBLE, FOR MEN, IN THEIR NATURAL CONDITION,
TO COMPREHEND SPIRITUAL MYSTERIES, AS FOR ONE TO CLIMB UP TO HEAVEN, AND
ENTER INTO GOD'S SECRET COUNSEL.
But, there's a sense, in which, a man, born of the Spirit, ascends to understand spiritual things.

But only, The Mediator between God and man, has direct access into Heaven.
Thus, by His Incarnation, The Lord Jesus Christ did not cease to be God;
but continues to fill Heaven and Earth, for the purpose of infallibly teaching man.

The Son of God, in the bosom of the Father, was pleased to condescend, to manifest Himself unto
The World, in human nature.
Scripture makes it clear, that Jesus Christ is a Divine Person, Eternal and Changeless--
Now, this is true, whether He subsists, in the form of God [Phil. 2;6], or, is ''Come in the flesh''.

I John 4;2--[Turn].

He's the same forever, and has a Divine title conveying the thought of Eternal Immutability--
Hebrews 13;8-[Turn].
Micah 5;2--''But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.''

The Glory of Christ's Eternal Person is vividly portrayed in our Gospel text--
John 3;31-''He that cometh from above is above all; he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth; he that cometh from heaven is above all.''

The Person of Jesus Christ is unchanged in The Incarnation.
Whatever place, service, or relationship, Christ assumed to accomplish, GOD'S ETERNAL
PURPOSE MADE NO CHANGE IN HIS PERSON.

John has many references to Jesus as ''The Sent One''.
The word ''sent'' implies a relative position, which is not one, of absolute equality.
It implies authority on the Sender's part, and subjection in the part of The One sent.

Now, we can't think of Jesus Christ, as God, assuming a place of utter subjection.
God, absolutely considered, can't be in subjection to anyone, but Jesus Christ, as The Sent One, from The Father, is under authority.
He was in a subordinate relation, to The One, Who sent Him.

If we don't distinguish between The Mediatorical Glory of Christ as The Sent One, and the proper Glory of His Person as God, absolutely considered, we shall lose something of the true character of both.
The Mediatorial Glory of Christ, derives its luster from His Personal Glory, but to make His
Mediatorial Glory, the full measure of His Personal Glory, is derogatory to Deity.

Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the ''Son of Man'' was sent by the Father, for the purpose of declaring The Father.
The word ''sent'' indicates His place as Mediator, as the Son of Man--Hebrews 10;5-7-[Turn].

Jesus Christ was essentially God, but, as the Son of God, in Manhood, He is said to be ''sent'' and
''given.''
No One called Him, ''The Son of Man'' while He was on The Earth, in the Flesh.
The title is applied to Jesus Christ only 3 times, by others, in the Bible;
Acts 7;56-''And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.''
Revelation 1;13-[Turn].
Revelation 14;14-''And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.''

The Title, ''The Son of Man'' is used many times in the New Testament, this is what Christ called
Himself.
Several times, ''The Son of Man,'' is used in connection, with Divine Undertakings.
In like manner, the title, ''The Son of God''is used a few times, in association with human features.

Thus, The Son of God assumed human nature, into such union, that what is proper to either nature, is ascribed to The Person, under whatever name, He chose to call Himself-John 3;13-
Luke 1;35-[Turn].

JESUS CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF REGENERATION-Part 2

JOHN 3;1-13

Just as in Natural Birth, a new creature is brought forth, so it is, that in Regeneration, a new nature is given unto the recipient of grace.
You see, Regeneration is not patching up the old nature, but imparting a new nature.

When a child is brought, into this world, it is invested with properties and dispositions AGREEABLE to the nature, that begat it.
Thus, in Regeneration, there's a new principle of life, endued with properties and dispositions,
AGREEABLE to the nature of God.
Every baby is sensible to things contrary to its life, and every born again person is sensitive to things, contrary to Grace.

There's a visible relation between every child and its parents, and there's a visible manifestation of the grace of the union, in everyone born of The Spirit.

5. Nicodemus asked, '',...can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born/'' [John 3;4].
This question made him look upon The New Birth as being impossible.

Christ replies that Nicodemus cannot enter into the kingdom, except by The New Birth.

''Seeing the kingdom'' is by the exercise of faith, which is planted in Regeneration.

''Entering the kingdom'' will take place, when it is established. 2 Peter 1;10-11-[Turn].

6. Nicodemus asked, ''How can these things be/'' [John 3;4].
The natural reason of depraved man is conquered only by God's Truth, applied by The Spirit-
2 Cor. 10;4-5-[Turn].
The ''strongholds'' are; Sin, Satan, Unbelief, Pride, Hardness of Heart, etc.

The imaginations of the mind are silenced and conquered by Applied Truth.
Thoughts are brought to the obedience of Christ.
The enlightened soul looks to Christ, for Salvation, and embraces Him and His truths, and obeys from a heart, made willing, by The Spirit.

Christ asked, ''If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things/'' [John 3;12].
Now, that doesn't mean, that The Truths He delivered, were Earthly, but He had presented heavenly things, in a most suitable manner, foe a lost man, to grasp.

But Spiritual Things, presented in terms of earthly similitudes, are but earthly things, in comparison to what they actually are, if presented in heavenly language.

There's an immanency in spiritual things, which can never be expressed, by the use of earthly similitudes.
As God's essential Glory had to be veiled in human nature, for man, to be able to see and handle The Word of Life, so spiritual truths had to be expressed in similitudes of man's understanding.

The Operations of The Spirit are set forth, under the symbol of the wind.

7. Nicodemus asked,''How can these things be/'' [John 3;9].
These are legitimate questions, but Nicodemus' question was an objection, to the possibility of such a birth.
Water, Spirit, and Wind all seemed confusing to his natural mind.

Christ asked, ''Art thou a master [teacher] of Israel, and knowest not these things/'' [John 3;10].
Our Lord rebuked Nicodemus for his ignorance, because of his position, as Teacher of Israel.

Now, What hope of eternal life, does man have, apart from The Spirit's Regenerating Work/

The Lord Jesus concludes His discussion on The New Birth-John 3;13--
Christ showed Nicodemus that, no man can ascend to Heaven, and learn heavenly things, and then return to earth, to instruct men.
You see, that prerogative belongs to the second Person of The Godhead;
for it was The Lord Jesus Who came down from Heaven, for the purpose of declaring the Father-
John 1;18-''No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.''

Now, LISTEN... Christ didn't bring His human nature from Heaven, but, as The Divine Person,
He assumed human nature, When He came to earth. You see, at the same time, He was on Earth in His Human Nature, He was in Heaven, in His Divine Nature.
The Assumption of human nature into union with His Divine Person, didn't destroy His Omnipresence, Infinity, or Immensity.
And, The Lord Jesus Christ did not cease to be, What He eternally was, but He did assume What
He didn't eternally possess-a human nature.

The Phrase,''...No man hath ascended up to heaven'' [John 3;13], is not to be taken absolutely.
The Prophet Elijah, ascended up into Heaven, before The Lord Jesus, but his ascension was by
God's Power, as was Enoch's.

Now, Get this truth; CHRIST, ALONE, HAD THE POWER TO GO TO HEAVEN, AND BRING
BACK KNOWLEDGE OF HEAVENLY THINGS.
You see, No Person ascended into Heaven, for that purpose, but The Son of Man, Who is in
Heaven.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE REVEALER OF REGENERATION-Part 1

JOHN 3;1-13

The discourse between Christ and Nicodemus illustrates an important principle, which, every witness for Christ should observe;
Christ took the very statements, Nicodemus made, and turned them, upon the unregenerate
Teacher.

1. Nicodemus declared--''We know that thou art a teacher come from God'' [John 3;2].
The Jews knew that the Messiah, was to be a teacher--
Isaiah 2;2-3--''And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.''

Isaiah 48;17--'' Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy
God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.''

Men can have knowledge of such things, and yet be unaffected by what they know.
Nicodemus said, ''We know,'' but he was the only one, who came to Christ.

This proves, men, who come short of the knowledge of Salvation, may have high thoughts about
Christ.
Christ said, ''We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness'' [John 3;11].

Our Lord, in His reply to Nicodemus, in verse 12 said, that we, who are engaged in preaching the truth, know what we are proclaiming.
Now, Here is a real warning, for every Preacher and Bible Teacher. Each is required to know not only mentally, but also, experientially, what he is seeking to diffuse.

The Lord Jesus Christ, also stated, ''We have seen'' i.e. Christ saw through His omniscient Eye,
all the effects of the Regenerating Spirit in the changed lives of men.

They were able to see the effects of Regeneration, as they saw the effects of the wind.

Now, Get this truth; KNOWING AND SEEING ARE THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A WITNESS
FOR THE LORD.
I John 5;13-[Quote]
Acts 26;16-''But rise, and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;''
The Eternal Son manifested great condescension, by including men with Himself, in the same yoke of bearing witness to Gospel Truth.

Although these men often make mistakes about the truth, committed to their trust, the truths themselves are infallible.
For Example; John Baptist was a witness for Christ, but who will say, that his knowledge was as perfect as Christ's/ John 3;23-36-[Turn].

The climax of Christ's reply to Nicodemus was, ''Ye received not our witness'' [John 3;11], and
this proves that Nicodemus was yet, in his sins.
You see, the strongest external evidence of truth's confirmation doesn't effect the unregenerated heart.

The Spirit, alone, can confirm the truth of the gospel, internally. Thus, the subjective confirmation of objective truth, is the work of The Holy Spirit.

Now, One may witness the conversion of many Regenerated people, but he, himself, will never receive the witness, until a work of grace is wrought in his heart. One must be Spiritual to discern The Spiritual.

2. Nicodemus said, ''Thou art a teacher'' [John 3;3].
The prophecies concerning ''Teacher'' were known to him, but, his ignorance is seen in his statement, ''Thou art a teacher''.
The Eternal Son of God was more than a teacher. He was ''The Teacher''--The Teacher of all teachers, as He is The Lord of lords, and King of Kings.

Our Lord said to Nicodemus, ''Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things/''
[John 3;10].
Now, Nicodemus was not a common teacher;
he was a teacher, in their great Sanhedrin. Though his fame was known, all over Jerusalem and
Judea, he was ignorant of the first and most important point in Religion--
his circumcision of the flesh didn't effect the circumcision of his heart-
Galatians 6;15-''For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.''
Men may have much learning, and be Religious Teachers, and yet, be ignorant of Regeneration.

What a tragedy, it is, for men to be teachers of God's Word, and be strangers to The Incarnate Word, Whom The Scriptures clearly proclaim.

Now, Get this truth; THE OLD TESTAMENT CLEARLY REVEALS THE DOCTRINE OF THE
NEW BIRTH--
Ezekiel 11;19-''And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh.''
Ezekiel 35;25-26-''Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.''

The Bible constantly warns against false teachers and prophets-
Jeremiah 5;31-''The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so; and what will ye do in the end thereof/''
Jeremiah 6;30-''Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.

Now, When teachers have been tried and found wanting, they are called Reprobate silver.''
This was confirmed, by the LORD'S rejection of them, as being those, He called out, and sent.

The one, great business of teachers, is to know the way of Salvation. And, only those, who have come, by the way of grace, CAN SHARE IT, WITH OTHERS....

3. Nicodemus said, ''no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him''
[John 3;2]. He was speaking of the miracles, Christ performed at the Passover in Jerusalem.

Miracles were expected to be wrought by the Messiah, but Nicodemus, not knowing that this was
the Messiah, thought Christ was nothing more, than a man.
And this is all, that men who claim that Jesus Christ was Peccable [capable of sinning], see in Him
Today.

The Lord Jesus answered Nicodemus, by saying, ''Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God'' [John 3;3].

Regeneration of the soul, which includes the impartation of faith, is required, to be able to penetrate Christ's Human Nature, and behold The Impeccable Person of The Divine Son of God.

Nicodemus' spiritual blindness is seen in the fact, that he acknowledged Jesus Christ, as only a teacher, NOT Lord and Saviour.

There are many Religious Teachers today, who are no where in Jesus Christ, than Nicodemus was, when he came to Christ by night.

4. Nicodemus asked, ''How can a man be born, when he is old/'' [John 3;4]. Here, the natural mind of the teacher of Israel, is brought out to light, by this question.

There's quite a difference between Nature and Grace-Nature declares The Glory of God's Power and Wisdom, objectively--
Psalm 19;1-6-[Turn].
Romans 1;19-20-[Turn].
Grace applies The Redemption, wrought out by Jesus Christ, subjectively.

Psalm 19 gives 3 aspects on Revelation--
[1] Natural-in creation-verses 5-6.
[2] Revealed-in Bible-verses 7-11
[3] Experimental-by grace-12-14.

Christ answered, ''Except a man be born again...born of water and the Spirit''-He can neither see nor enter the Kingdom of God.
The New Birth is wrought by the Holy Spirit, and this is accomplished, like water cleansing from filth-Ezekiel 36;25-26-[Turn].
[we will take up in our next entry].

REGENERATION IS THE IMPARTATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE-Part 3

Nicodemus was a Teacher of Religion, here stumbling over, one of the first principles, of The
Doctrine of Christ.
Now, this wasn't the first time, Nicodemus had asked ''How/''
To ask ''How'' of God is a sure sign of unbelief.

In the things of God, it is not the ''How'' but the ''Who'' that counts.

Natural men often admit facts in the Natural Realm, which are as perplexing to them,as The New
Birth is in the Spiritual Sphere.
They don't spend time, questioning how the wind cools and refreshes in the Summer, levels the giant Oak in a storm, lashes the sea into foam, in a Hurricane.
It matters little ''How'' these things are accomplished;
the important thing is they are performed.

But, When it comes to Spiritual Realities, depraved men want to know the ''how'' of things, as did Nicodemus.
This is only, a manifestation, of their depravity.

It is a greater sin, for Religious teachers, to be ignorant of Divine TRUTH, because of their Position--Matthew 15;13-14--[Turn].
They were blind as to the Person of the Messiah, as to Regeneration, and the Gospel of Christ.

Isaiah had predicted this-Isaiah 42;19-20-[Turn].
These leaders were blind, leading the blind, into the ditch of ignorance, despair, and eternal destruction.

REGENERATION IS THE IMPARTATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE-Part 2

God's Acts of Creation are the result of Fore-ordination, Election, and of Predetermination.
Now, I ask you, Would Man be so foolish, as to suggest that God created without a plan/

There is a Primary, and a Secondary Creation.
Primary Creation is seen in Psalm 148;5--''Let them praise the name of the LORD; for he commanded, and they were created.''
Primary Creation must be viewed in the light of Divine Intelligence. The Creation, which was formed by Divine Intelligence, became the external Reality of God's absolute power.

Secondary Creation belongs to the province of God's Providence. Here, again, Divine Intelligence is clearly manifested.
We don't deny The Laws of Nature, but, there is, in the course of Nature, a varied and a ever-varying stream.
No 2 events, or objects, are exactly alike. This proves Divine Intelligence is actively engaged, in the work of Providence.

God's creation is for His own pleasure-Romans 11;36-''For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things; to whom be glory for ever. Amen.''
All things are ''Of God'' by Creation, ''Through Him,'' by Providence, and ''To Him,'' by everything being directed to His Glory.

Therefore, Election, Redemption, and Regeneration all spring from God's sovereign will;
they are accomplished by His Divine power and disposed to His Glory.

Paul is speaking of all that comes within the created and providential order.
This proves that, God didn't create, for the sake of His own creatures, but, for His own Glory-
COL. 1;16-[Turn].

Now, Get this truth; GOD LIVES FOR HIS OWN ETERNAL PURPOSE.
Today, many Religionists have the idea, that God lives primarily, for His creatures.
This shows their Scriptural ignorance.

For What, did God live, before He created/
Since God lived eternally, to please Himself, did He change, after Man's Creation/

Since Creation, does God live for man, or, does He continue to live, for His own pleasure/

GOD CANNOT LIVE FOR ANY OBJECT, GREATER THAN HIMSELF, FOR THERE IS NO
OBJECT GREATER THAN GOD.
Isaiah 40;18--''To whom then will ye liken God/ or what likeness will ye compare unto him/

Isaiah 40;25--''To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal/ saith the Holy One.''

Isaiah 40;28--''Hast thou not known/ hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary/ there is no searching of his understanding.''

God cannot live for any object, lower than Himself because that, would make the cause, live for the effect.

Now, Get this truth; IF GOD LIVES FOR HIS CREATURES, THEN THE GREATER WOULD
BE SUBORDINATED TO THE LESSER.
This is the doctrine of all false Philosophers. They are not only living on a descending scale, but they would have God, live on the same descending estimate of life.

They prefer the physical to the spiritual, the creature to the Creator, and the blessing for the Blesser.
This false concept of God, makes the infinite Being live for the slime. It is like saying, The Sun exists for the dunghill.
The conclusion of the Philosophy is given in Romans 1;18-32.

The Bible nowhere implies that these are conditions, to any of God's creative acts, but, the one act, with which, we are interested is Regeneration.

2 COR. 4;6--[Turn].
The facts referred to, in this text, include two great events;
[1] God caused light to shine in the place, where natural darkness covered the earth;
[2] God caused, by the same word of command, the light of the Holy Spirit to shine in the soul,
which was totally dark.

His first words in regenerating a soul, are, ''Let there be light''. The Bible is a light, which requires light from The Holy Spirit, to enable one, to see and understand it.

The light of Regeneration is neither the increase of, nor the improvement of Nature's light.
It is a new light, caused in the understanding of man, by the Holy Spirit in Regeneration.

Now, LISTEN,-The heart of Man by Nature is like the darkness of the earth's surface, before
God said, ''Let there be light''.

As there was no light upon this chaotic earth, before God spoke, so, There is no light, in the unregenerate heart, before God speaks.
Without the illumination of the Holy Spirit in Regeneration, there can be no repentance and faith.
Thus, The Spirit draws the soul to Christ, in Regeneration.

He, then, shines in that heart, by conviction of sin, that wounds, and then, the convicted man, embraces Jesus Christ for deliverance.
The same powerful word that caused the light to shine out of darkness is required, to make light shine into the heart of a darkened soul.

3 important metaphors are used to describe, The Regeneration of The Soul.
Creation is the first;
No preexistent matter is required-Ephesians 2;10-Quote.
Where there is no preexistent matter, there is no opposition.

''Resurrection'' is the second metaphor-This is the work of Omnipotent Power.
There is preexistent matter in Resurrection-Col. 3;1-[Turn].

The last metaphor is ''conquest''-
2 Cor. 10;3-5--''For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; [For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;]
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;''

Conquest supports opposition, therefore man's corrupt nature, dead in sin, was fully armed against God, but not able, to frustrate God's Purpose to save him.
When regenerated, the rebellious sinner is carried captive, not against his will, but with his will,
as a voluntary subject of Christ.

Nicodemus continued in ignorance because he was yet unregenerate, and unconverted.
You see, DIVINE TRUTHS THOUGH TOLD IN THE PLAINEST TERMS, REMAIN OBSCURE TO THE NATURAL MIND.
Carnal Reasoning continues until there is illumination, by The Holy Spirit-Hence, Nicodemus asked, ''How can these things be/'' [John 3;9].

REGENERATION IS THE IMPARTATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE--Part 1

Regeneration involves a new relation to God, a new dynamic, and a new direction of will.

1. A New Relation To God--The Father is The Fountain of Grace.
Grace is the free and unmerited love of God arising from His own sovereign will-2 Timothy 1;9-
[Turn].
This is to the praise of the Father's glory--Ephesians 1;6--[Turn].

This grace manifestedly appears in the election of men, to the position of sons. It was not necessary that the Father have sons, since He always had a Dear and Beloved Son.

He was always pleased with The Eternal Son;
Therefore, It was an act of Grace, for God the Father, to take out sons from among mankind, bt
Redemption and Regeneration, into His Family.

2. A New Dynamic-This flows from union with Jesus Christ.
This Union was effected by Regeneration.

The application of Christ's Redemption to the soul, is to the praise of Christ's glory-Ephesians 1;
12-[Turn].

3. A New Direction of Will-This is the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Man's will before Regeneration is directed against God, but, after The New Birth, It is subject to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

You see, God liberates the enslaved will of fallen man in Regeneration. Thus, the New Man is led by The Indwelling Holy Spirit, not dragged, nor forced.
This is to the praise of The Spirit's Glory--Ephesians 1;13-14--[Turn].

The ''Word of Truth'' can be heard only after the application of Redemption, which changes the direction of the will, to embrace the message of The Gospel.

Now, Get this truth; The New Birth is not the removal of anything, from the sinner, neither the changing of anything within the depraved person;
but it is the impartation of the principle of spiritual life, to the elect.
The principle of life never existed before, in The Chosen.

Thus he possesses a new heart, a new spirit, and a new ego [a conscious element that knows spiritual experiences].
Every descendant of Adam is born, with an ego, turned away from God;
but, in The New Birth, he is given an ego, that embraces Christ, as Lord and Saviour.

Today, There is a lot of confusion concerning Redemption's Application. Now, some earnestly contend that, Regeneration, Calling, and Conversion and Justification all occur at the same instant.
Hence, They say, that confusion comes from considering these as occurring in chronological order.
Their reasoning is that sensation and perception are not separated in time, even though the former is the cause, of the latter.

Their conclusion states that Regeneration, which makes man purely passive, has a benumbing effect upon Preaching.

They say that this antinomian dependence on the Spirit, extracts all vitality from the pulpit, and all sense of Responsibility from the hearer.
They strongly oppose the view, that Regeneration is so entirely due to God, that in no part of it, is man active.

Now, I use a Schofield Study Bible, but I don't agree with all of its notes.
Especially on The New Birth, in the Gospel of John--

There are 4 points, he emphasizes;
1. The Necessity of The New Birth grows out of the incapacity of the natural man, to see and enter [This is spiritual].

2. The New Birth is not a reformation, of the Old Nature, but a creative act of The Spirit-[Again this is spiritual].

But, Look at points 3 and 4-
3. The condition of The New Birth is faith in Christ, crucified.
4. Through The New Birth, the believer becomes a partaker of The Divine Nature.
The last 2 points demonstrate a lack of Biblical Interpretation.

Now, I ask, since when, have God's creative acts, been conditional/
The creative acts in Genesis 1, were conditional, upon what/
Was it necessary that God, get the approval of a nonentity, before He could create an entity/

Many people have lost sight of the fact, The New Birth is God's creative act, in the soul of man, who lacks faith, to embrace The Gospel.
No instrumental, or secondary causes are connected to God's creative act.

Now, Get this truth; When man's faith is made the condition of The New Birth, then necessity is laid upon God, to regenerate that person.
This is too ridiculous, to even think, much less for anyone, to propagate.

Did God, when He created the world, act because of any outside pressure/
The Answer is simple. . .
There was nothing outside to bring any pressure.
God, therefore, chose to create, not for the sake of creation, but for His own pleasure and glory.

The same principle is applied to all God's creative acts, whether to the heavens and earth, man, or the new creature in Christ Jesus.
God didn't create for the sake of His creatures;
neither does He redeem man for his sake.

There were no creatures when He created, and creatures must exist for their Creator, not the
Creator for the creatures.
As there was no creatures when God created, so there were no human beings, in fact, when God chose them in Christ, before the foundation of the world.

The elect people in view, therefore, must exist for the sovereign God, Who elected them. . .
God doesn't exist for people, who decide[/] They would like to have Him as Lord and Saviour.

3 important questions must be asked and answered, before Redemption, and its application can be properly understood;

Number1-Did God plan for Himself, or, for His creatures/

Number 2-Did God create for Himself, or, for His creatures/

Number 3-Did God live for Himself, or, for His creatures/

Now, Creation is the work of An Intelligent Being, The One, Who planned, or purposed, and works all things according to His plan, or purpose.

Luke 14;28-30-''For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it/ Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying this man began to build, and was not able to finish.''
Our Lord used this illustration to show that, that a bare profession of the Gospel, apart from
Regeneration, wouldn't continue.

Now, not professing high things, but living on the high by God's Grace, brings joy and assurance to the soul of the Redeemed--
Ephesians 2;6-''And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus;''
The One, Who first sits down, and counts the cost, is the One, Who considers whether the work of Grace is truly wrought in his soul.

Profession of faith is costly. It involves self denial, and must expect to suffer the loss of favor of lost relatives and friends.

Now, if our Lord expects this, of all, who profess to be His followers, What about His own purpose/
The foundation of God's plan, was laid in Eternity, by an all-wise Person.
the hands which laid the foundation, shall raise up the super-structure, of that which, He planned to accomplish.
And neither Satan, nor all his followers are able to thwart God's eternal purpose-
Isaiah 46;10-[TURN].
GOD'S PLANNING WAS FOR hIS OWN GOOD PLEASURE.

UNION WITH GOD IS THE RESULT OF REGENERATION-PART 2

At the outset, I want you to get this truth; A REGENERATED MAN IS ONE WITH 2 NATURES.
The Christian is a new creature-2 Corinthians 5;17-[Turn].

His body is the same, but the disposition of his soul, is changed. The unrighteous soul of man is made righteous, by the uncreated Righteousness of God.

Regeneration brings in a new nature, which contends with, and conquers the corrupt nature.

Isaac born into the tent, where Ishmael formerly dwelt alone, is an illustration of The New Birth.
Isaac [the new nature] MUST contend with Ishmael [the old nature] until the tent [body] falls in
Death, and Ishmael [the flesh] is cast out.

A Husbandman does not cut down an en-grafted tree, but only takes away, wild branches below the graft;
neither does a Regenerated man, crucify immediately his body, but mortifies its deeds.

2 Peter 1;4--[Turn].
Made ''partakers of the divine nature'' cannot be understood, in the literal sense, for man can never be a partaker of The Divine Essence.

The word, ''DIVINE'' means Godlike, and ''Partaker'' means companion.
Thus, the word ''Nature'' cannot be essence, or substance, but, it is a disposition, or moral qualities.

Here, Peter was teaching that, when we put off the vices of the flesh, we shall become partakers of the blessing of God, in a way, proper to believers.
We shall be One with God, as far as, our capacity allows.

Peter contrasted heavenly glory to the corruption of the world.


Now, Get this truth;
The moment, The New Life tastes the graciousness of the Lord, the saint is spoiled for the world.

The Lord's desire for His people is that, we be more and more conformed to His image, even now.

2 Peter doesn't refer to a God-Nature, but, to a God-like nature. The God-like Nature is made of those Divine qualities called;
1. The Image of God-Colossians 1;15-[Turn].
2. The Life of God-John 10;10-''The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy;
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.''

As God became like us to redeem, so we become like Him, in Regeneration.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and Christians. are the children of God.
But, this doesn't make the Son-ship of Christ, or that, of Christians, the same nature.

Christ is the Son by Eternal Generation, believers are Sons by Regeneration.
Hence, to be the Son forever, and to be adopted, as a Son, are contrasts.

Another contrast, is that Christ has a Divine Nature inherently in Himself, and believers are only partakers of The Divine Nature.

Life is communicated immediately, by Regeneration;
but, once, life is imparted, the promises become a living message, to the New Life.

The mere words of a promise will not communicate Divine Life to men's souls.

Sanctification, not union with Christ is emphasized, in the 1st part of 2 Peter, Chapter One.

The ''exceeding great and precious promises,'' are given to those, who have obtained ''like precious faith''--
2 Peter 1;1--''SIMON Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;''

God calls His people to pursue glory as their object, thus gaining victory, over all their enemies.

Since those united with Christ, have escaped the corruptions of the world, Peter exhorts them to flee inward corruption, and add to their faith, Christian Graces.

Now, Get this truth; A like precious faith will produce like precious practice.

Regeneration signifies A New Birth-God first makes a man new, by giving him, a new heart-
Ezekiel 36;26--[Turn].

The Holy Spirit gives man an new understanding, thus, the commandment is new to the man--
I John 2;7-[Turn].

New Life must be cultivated, before it becomes a mighty tree of Righteousness--Psalm 1;1-3--
[Turn].
Years may pass before full stature is reached--

Even though the Regenerate has a new heart, life, standing, commandment, and state, yet in the future, he will have many new things, such as;
A New Body,
A New Name,
A New Robe,
A New Song and A New Home.

UNION WITH GOD IS THE RESULT OF REGENERATION-PART 1

The effect of The Spirit's Work in Regeneration is Union With God.
Union with God is a great and impenetrable mystery.

When and How, does this union take place/
Now, to say it occurs at the point of faith, is not, the whole truth.

There are 5 stages of this union;
1. This union was planned in God's eternal decree with His Son.
Thus, a relationship was established between the Father and those given unto Christ, in the
Covenant of Redemption--Hebrews 13;20-21--[Turn].

2. The provision of this union was initiated When Christ, in The Incarnation, passed from purpose, into actual existence.
Christ, in the flesh, carried all whom, the Father gave Him, in the loins of His Grace.

When Jesus Christ ''died and rose'', We died and rose, WITH and IN HIM.

3. This union is actually effected, when the elect are regenerated.
Union takes place, when, in the time of love, the Spirit implants the principle of life, in the souls of
those, for whom Christ died.
Until Regeneration, the mystic union was hidden in God's Eternal Purpose.

4. The Consciousness of the union of the regenerated comes through the exercise of faith.
Consciousness of this union, must be distinguished from Regeneration.

The faculty of faith implanted in Regeneration, may not immediately manifest itself in a conscious faith and conversion.
For example; A child possesses its mother from the 1st moment of existence, but a conscious enjoyment of this possession, is awakened and increased, AFTER BIRTH.

Therefore, the conscious enjoyment of our union with Christ, comes after the New Birth-The subjective union starts at Regeneration.

5. The last stage of Union does not attain its fullest unveiling, until believers see Jesus Christ,
face to face--I John 3;2-3-[Turn].

Union of Christ and His people has a nature, peculiar to itself, and the realization of the mystical union drives the elect from themselves to God, for an answer to the mystery, which cannot be explained by other unions.

The answer is made known by the Holy Spirit--Romans 8;15-17-[Turn].

As believers cannot understand the union of 2 natures in Christ's Person, so, we cannot comprehend the mystical union of Christ and believers.

Men are not at liberty, to interpret this union, according to their own opinions.

Finite men Are not expected to be able, to comprehend the infinite, but, What they can't comprehend, they apprehend by faith.

Now, I want you to beware of a very subtle teaching about our union with Christ. It begins with the antithesis [contrast] existing between God and man, and says;

''God is the Creator; man is the creature. God is infinite; Man is finite. God dwells in the eternal;
man lives in the temporal. God is holy; man is unholy''--

Now, so far, there is absolutely nothing wrong--but, Let's look at the next statement--

''In the first place, there is God; This is the Thesis [proposition]. Opposed to this thesis in God, the antithesis [contrasts] appears in men.
Thus, The Thesis and the Antithesis find their reconciliation [synthesis] in the mediator, who is both infinite and finite.''

Now, Let's see the subtleness of the heresy; ''Christ is Mediator equally between Jews and Gentiles, God and man, spirit and body, Heaven and Hell, and time and eternity''.

Finally, the climax of this teaching is damnable--''The Reconciliation causes all contrasts to disappear''.
But, the contrasts between God and man, Heaven and Hell, shall never disappear.

A Reconciliation must be brought about for the sinner;
but, this reconciliation does not destroy the contrast between God and man, neither between
Heaven and Hell.

Nature's best illustration of Regeneration is the Art of Grafting. The Trunk, into which, the good branch is grafted, is absolutely wild.

By Nature, the wild trunk sucks the sap, and forces it throughout the tree. But, the graft, has the wonderful power of converting the sap, and vital forces of the wild trunk, into something good, causing the tree, to bear good fruit.

Now, this does not mean, that the good branch has no opposition from the old trunk. The wild tree vigorously resists the good branch, by forming wild shoots, below the graft.

In this manner, the old trunk seeks to prevent the sap from flowing through the good branch, to the bud. Therefore the wild shoots below the graft, must be cut off.

Depraved man, by nature, is compared with Ishmael. Ishmael, a wild ass, was sinful by nature.
All his works were motivated by his deceitful heart.

Ishmael, the man after the flesh, can never become Isaac. Isaac, the son of promise, represents the work of Regeneration.

Now, as Ishmael represents man, born of the flesh, so Isaac typifies man, born of the Spirit.

Nicodemus, the un-regenerated ruler of the Jews, is compared with Ishmael. As Ishmael had observed the ordinances, so, Nicodemus, was one, who followed the vain traditions of his fathers-
I Peter 1;18--[Turn].

But, the natural seed of the Jews with whom, Nicodemus was affiliated, could not produce spiritual life.
By nature, Nicodemus couldn't produce The New Birth, any more than, the wild trunk of a tree, could produce good fruit.

Thus, as Isaac came in, solely by the promise and the power of God, so Nicodemus must be born of The Spirit.

We will continue on our next blog.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE AGENT OF REGENERATION--Part 4

Last time we began to look at the characteristics of The Holy Spirit in Regeneration.
We saw that 1. The free action of the Holy Spirit is vividly portrayed in the Bible, and 2. The Spirit is irresistible in Regeneration.

This brings us to;
3. The Spirit's work in Regeneration is incomprehensible.
God's mysterious dealings with men are never without reason, but, the reason is known only, to
Himself.

As there is both a mystery, and a manifestation, in The Incarnation, so, there is, also, mystery and
manifestation in Regeneration-I Timothy 3;16; Colossians 1;27--[Turn].

The word ''mystery'' signifies something hidden.

Even though, The Incarnation has been manifested, it is still a mystery, because it can never be
fully comprehended.

Grace is manifested in Regeneration, but, The New Birth, itself, remains a mystery.
That we live, we know, but how we live, we cannot describe.

Thus, the mighty gale, which blows from Heaven, wafts its way into the souls of the elect, performing a work, that is manifested only, by conversion and sanctification.

God has chosen, to reveal all things to men--
Deuteronomy 29;29--[Turn].

4. The Spirit's work in The New Birth is invisible.
The first movement of The Spirit in Redemption's Application is unseen.

It is the secret, creative, and immediate work of God, in the soul, and therefore, not subject to
the consciousness of man.

Though the impartation of life, in the soul of the elect, be momentous, yet man has no immediate
evidence of it.
Man is so accustomed to associate great events in History with outward display, that it's
difficult for him to be divested of the idea that external significance is inseparable from real importance.

In the Spiritual Realm, things of real and lasting importance, do not appear before men with great display of outward show.
The conception, birth, and early life of Christ manifests this fact.

Thus, it is, with everyone born of the Spirit. The mysterious agent of the Holy Spirit in
Regeneration is unseen to man.

5. The 3rd Person of the Godhead is absolutely essential, for man's survival on earth.
There is no place, Where God is not.

As God cannot be measured by time, so He cannot be limited by space.
As no place can be without God, so no place can compass and contain Him.
Psalm 139;7-8; Jeremiah 23;24--[Turn].

Every man is dependent on God for his existence--Acts 17;28-[Turn].
The natural life, which men live, is from God.
The beginning, maintaining, and continuing of life depend on God's power and providence.

6. The Holy Spirit has life-giving properties.
Regeneration is the communication of life by the operation of the Spirit.
This act of the Spirit in the soul, makes man, a fit subject for the effectual call and conversion.

Life and Death are opposites, and there is no third stage between them.

The immediate agency of the Holy Spirit is the efficient cause of Regeneration--Ephesians 2;1;
2 Corinthians 4;6--[Turn].

7. The Holy Spirit works without means in Regeneration, and with means in Conversion.
Prepratory Grace must not be interpreted as a means, to prepare sinners for the impartation
of life.
Nothing prepares for such a quickening.

You see, life comes entirely, from the work of God.
God by providence, disposes life and arranges its course, until the time of Regeneration, called in
Ezekiel 16, ''the time of love.''

Now, as the child of Ezekiel 16, was preserved, until God spoke life into his soul, so, the person
whom God gave to Christ, will be physically preserved until the day of Regeneration.

Prepratory Grace contributes nothing to the origin of life, which comes by the Spirit's immediate work.
God's giving of life to the spiritually dead, is distinct from His truth, just as sight is, from light.

Since Quickening is an immediate and creative act, no instrumental and secondary causes are connected with it.
Scripture is effective only, in those who are renewed--I Corinthians 2;12-14-[Turn].
But Scripture cannot produce life.

A saved man sees, because he is born of the Spirit--John 3;3--[Turn].
Once sight is given, the individual is guided by the Holy Spirit through The Word, to conversion.

The influence of the Holy Spirit is necessary to receive the Truth properly--John 6;64-65;
I Corinthians 2;12-15; Ephesians 1;17, 20; Acts 16;14--[Turn].

God's selection and Christ's blood can't save apart from the application of redemption by the
Holy Spirit.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE AGENT OF REGENERATION--Part 3

Since we stated that the Holy Spirit is the Agent of Regeneration, let's look at some of the
characteristics of the Holy Spirit in Regeneration--

1. The free action of the Spirit, is vividly portrayed, in the Bible.

He does as He wills, but He wills the eternal purpose of the Godhead.
He is both the Spirit of the Father, and the Son.

His purpose is to regenerate those, whom the Father elected and the Son purchased.

Now, Get this truth; GOD ALONE HAS FREE WILL, IN THE ABSOLUTE SENSE.

The Spirit's Arbitrariness, which characterizes His work, is not the same as arbitrariness in man.
Arbitrariness in man is revealed, when he refuses any norm or standard above himself.

Human Arbitrariness is always without a standard, but, God cannot be guilty of arbitrariness
because He is His own law.
There is no standard above Himself.

It's impossible to subject God to a law above Himself, that would restrict His own actions.
God's Sovereignty rules out arbitrariness, because His Sovereignty forms the enduring
Foundation of all authority.

Man must not start his reasoning with a law above God, for there is no law above God.
He must begin with God, Who is above arbitrariness.

God's Hand will always save those, He purposed to save.

2. The Spirit is irresistible in Regeneration.
Opposition to The Spirit and resistance by man, pertains only, to the external dispensation of
grace.

Acts 7;51 doesn't refer ti the Spirit's subjective work in Regeneration, but to the objective
proclamation of the Gospel--''Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so do ye.''

Now, contrast that with;
John 3;8-''The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.''

Romans 9;19-''Thou wilt then say unto me,Why doth he yet find fault/ For who hath resisted his will/''

The resistance of these Jews was not to the Spirit of God within them, for they were destitute of
The Spirit.
They resisted the Holy Spirit in His ministers, and particularly, in Stephen.

Their Subjective Darkness resisted The Objective Light of The Gospel--
John 1;5-''And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.''

The Holy Spirit cannot be resisted in Regeneration, because He works immediately upon man's
subconsciousness.

As the child knows nothing of the genesis of his own existence, so the Christian knows nothing of
the beginning of his spiritual existence.

we shall continue to look atb the characteristics of The Holy Spirit in Regeneration, in our next blog.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE AGENT OF REGENERATION--Part Two

In John 3;8, our Lord compares Regeneration to the wind.

Now, let's look at some of the characteristics of the wind.
Number 1--IT IS NOT ACCOUNTABLE TO MAN.

The Wind doesn't act, according to Man's Beckoning.
It flows through The World freely; it answers to no creature.

Number 2--IT IS IRRESISTIBLE IN ITS WORK.
It blesses some, and destroys others. The same wind that brings down rain in one place, drives the clouds away, and causes drought in another area--
Psalm 147;18; Proverbs 25;23--[Turn].

Number 3--IT IS INCAPABLE OF BEING COMPREHENDED.
Some things about the wind defy all human comprehension;
although they can't be comprehended, they can be apprehended, because the evidence of their
existence, can clearly be seen.

Number 4--IT IS IMPERCEPTIBLE TO THE EYE--
Romans 1;19-20--''Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath
shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse;''

Number 5--IT IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO MAN'S EXISTENCE.
If a dead calm were to continue, all living things would die-Revelation 7;1-3--[Turn].

The Atmosphere is an envelopment of air, that enwraps our Globe, and gets lighter and thinner, until it gradually disappears 40-50 miles from the earth's surface.

It's the only element, in which man can live.

As water stagnates, so will air.

God in His providential dealings, makes sure the wind never stays perfectly still.

Number 6--IT HAS LIFE-GIVING PROPERTIES--The Physician knows it.

Number 7--IT WORKS WITH, AND WITHOUT MEANS
Without Means--Tornado
With means of water--Hurricane.

The Wind is an emblem of the Holy Spirit--His influences are vital, sovereign, and mysterious--
Genesis 1;2; 2;7; Psalm 104;30--[Turn].

Ezekiel 37;8-10-''And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wins, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind; thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds. O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE AGENT OF REGENERATION--Part One

John 3;1-13

Nicodemus had objected to the New Birth, because he didn't understand, how it could be accomplished.

Christ's term ''New Birth,'' had a peculiar significance to a Jew.
Were not all his privileges, secured to him, by birth/
Did he not boast, of the fact, that Abraham was his Father/

Thus, such terms as ''Born again,'' ''Begotten of God,'' and ''Born of God'' were appropriate, for the
seed of Abraham.

Our Lord was showing Nicodemus, that, just as natural birth ushers one into conscious existence on an earthly plane, so a spiritual birth is required, to usher the same person, into conscious life, on a heavenly plane.

Christ taught Nicodemus, that the Holy Spirit is the agent of Regeneration-John 3;8-Turn.
This Verse has three divisions;
[1] A Physical Fact--''The wind bloweth where it listeth''. . .
[2] The Operation of The Spirit--under the emblem of the wind.
[3] The Result-Regeneration.
The 3 portions of this verse hinge on 3 words; Wind, Spirit, and Birth.
Ecclesiastes 11;4-6--[Turn].

The Physical fact presents the wind as blowing, where it pleases, as it pleases, when it pleases, in the manner it pleases, and on whom, it pleases.

It's unaccountable changes are the result of material laws, as fixed and stable, as that, by which the planets revolve.

Some of the greatest powers in Nature are invisible.
For examples;
1. When a tornado hits an area with destructive force, the results only, not the wind, are seen.
2. Everyone knows about The Law of Gravitation, yet none has seen it.

There's something very mysterious, about the wind. Man doesn't know where it comes from, or
where it is going.
But he knows the wind exists, because he hears its sound, and sees its fruitifying effects--
Song of Solomon 4;16--[Turn].

When we see leaves of a tree move, we know wind is there, but where it came from, or where it is going, is UNKNOWN TO US.

So there is both a mystery and a manifestation.
Men cannot penetrate the mystery of its origin, not the final effects of its work.

In John 3;8, Christ borrows a comparison, from the Order of Nature.
The fact, the wind blows, can't be denied. Hearing the wind is evidence of that fact.

And since man doesn't know its beginning nor end, it is a mystery.

Next time, we'll see the characteristics of the wind.

REGENERATION IS THE CREATIVE ACT OF GOD-Part Five

Covetousness often presents itself as prudence; the only correction is the grace of God.
Provision for temporal need is not the ruling principle of life--2 Corinthians 8;9 [Turn].

What is the rule of The Church, in this world/
The Church does not need the strong arm of the state, to accomplish God's Will in the World.
If that were required, the power of The Spirit in Regeneration, would be inadequate.

God instituted civil authority, as a moral governor of the world, to extend to all citizens without exception.
The realm of civil affairs is outside of The Church.

The Church's jurisdiction extends only to her members, and that of the state, only to its own citizens.

Next, We find, Christ's Redemptive Work discriminates between The Abels and Cains of
Today.
Are you an Abel, by the application, of Christ's blood in Regeneration/
Or, are you a Cain, because of your love for the social gospel, which rejects, and despises Christ's
sacrifice/

You see, God's particular love distinguishes between ''Free Grace'' and ;''Free Will''.
This is seen in Esau and Jacob. . . The same mother bore the two, by the same father.
And before they were born, God said, The Elder should serve The Younger, contrary to custom.

Those who oppose Free Grace, present the case of Esau and Jacob, in a National Sense. They say it doesn't refer to individuals, but only, to Israel's national life.
Thus, they compare Romans 9, to Malachi 1;1-5.

But They forget that, the explanation of Malachi, is their spiritual condition.
Malachi wasn't talking about the temporal condition of Israel.

The Lord directed the murmuring Jews to His regard for Jacob personally over Esau.

God's everlasting love is the cause of His choice of particular persons to salvation.

Today, we hear much about God's elected plan. The word ''plan'' means a method of action, or procedure, a proper, or definite purpose.
God has a purpose, and His purpose is definite--Ephesians 3;11; Isaiah 46;10-11; Romans 8;28-
30; 2 Timothy 1;9--[Turn].

These are the questions, which must be answered;
[1] Did God purpose to save all mankind/
[2] Did He plan only to save some/

Now, if He planned to save all, why aren't all saved/
But, since He planned to save some, only believers, He didn't purpose to save all.

Love is, in its very nature, peculiar and personal--Jeremiah 31;3--[Turn].
God's love is not an inclination of His nature;
it is an act of His will.

There's no imperfection in God's love;
He is all-sufficient.

Now, Divine Love for all, not perfected in all, would be incomplete.

The great theme of Romans 8, is the love of the sovereign God towards the Elect.
The love is all from God's side, and shall be perfected, in all whom it was intended for.

The Esaus manifest their natural reasoning, quickly. They always argue from Reprobation, presenting it, as something awful, from God's standpoint.

The truth of Reprobation excites all unenlightened and prejudiced minds.
Their erroneous conclusion is that, God is unjust in giving some mercy, and others, justice.
But, who can find any injustice in that/

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SOVEREIGN UNMERITED DAMNATION.
God ordains none, but sinners, to punishment.

He doesn't force any into sin, against his will;
but, He just leaves him, to his own natural desires.

Men are not lost, because they are hardened, but they're hardened, because they are lost.

No person is damned, who wants to be saved. If one, doesn't want to be saved, Why be angry at
God, because he is not chosen/

Calling and Receiving are relative terms.

All the Jacobs reason from the sovereignty of God. They believe that God can do, what He pleases, with His own, but, how humbled they are, for God's unmerited favor to them--Titus
3;3-7--[Turn].

God's absolute sovereignty discriminates between the Daniels and the Nebuchanezzar's--
Daniel 2;19-23; 4;20-31--[Turn].

God's sovereignty is the first of all rights, the fountain of all righteousness, and the ground of all justice.

God judges all creatures, but is judged by none.

He is sovereign in Redemption's application and provision.
End

REGENERATION IS THE CREATIVE ACT OF GOD-Part Four

Pure Bible preaching is very discriminating.
You can tell Cain from Abel, when sacrifice is the subject.

Jacob from Esau, when love is the topic;
and Daniel from Nebuchadnezzar, when sovereignty is the thought for investigation.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ discriminates between The Gospel of Redemption, and The Social
Gospel.

When the vicariousness of Christ's death is preached, everything in natural man is condemned.
His self-love, self-righteousness, and self-justification, are discovered and condemned.
This is something the non-regenerated man despises.
It does something to his unbelieving ego, and he begins to rebel.

GALATIANS 4;28-29--[Turn].

During the Reformation as the truth of justification by faith, began to spread, bitter persecution broke out with a bitter cry.

The Cry went forth, ''Put these people to death, who believe in salvation through grace, who do not believe that they can be saved by penances and human merit;
do everything POSSIBLE, to rid the world of them''.

As it was in the human heart then, so it is now.
The only difference now, is in the restraint of Civil Authority.

Today, every Christian, in the USA, should be thankful, for such restraint, in God's providential dealings with him.

As there was division in Christ's day, over the subjects of His Death and Resurrection, so it's impossible, to insist upon, the spiritual teaching respecting these matters, without causing division--
John 10;14-19--''I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because i lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.''

Advocates of the social gospel, are not concerned, about the cause of social evils.
They only treat symptons.

They, like Cain, have gone the way of human pride and works--Jude 11--[Turn].

These false teachers, believe that, The Preachers of Free Grace, are enemies to their program of social reform.

Now get this truth; Our Lord came not to socially reform society, but, to redeem the Elect--
LUKE 12;13-14--[Turn].

Why did Christ refuse to enter into the dispute/
There are 2 ways of dealing with men;
[1] REGENERATION-Internal Change by the work of The Holy Spirit.
[2] REFORMATION-External Change by formulative laws, thus seeking to change moral, social,
and political evils.
Our Lord refused to interfere, because His mission, was not to socialize, but to redeem the elect of God.

Now, It's imperative, at this point, that we emphasize the office and work of Jesus Christ.
The Son of God came, to give His life, as a ransom for many, and to proclaim and establish principles.

Number 1-The Lord Jesus Christ disclaimed His position of Judge, or Divider, at His First
Coming--
John 3;17--''For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.''

He reminded the person, who spoke, that he, as well as, his brother, was moved by covetousness.

A person may be as selfish in seeking his rights, as another man is, in withholding them from
him.
There is A MANIFESTATION OF This, on every hand, today. . .


Number 2-Our Lord forbids oppression--Christ didn't take from the oppressor, and give to the oppressed;
neither did He encourage the oppressed, to take from the oppressor.
He didn't exercise this prerogative, at His first coming.

Number 3-The purpose of Christ, at His first coming, was not to found His body, on outward law and jurisprudence, but on a spiritual disposition, applied by The Holy Spirit, in Regeneration.

The Gospel, however, does not interfere with civil rights and human laws.
But human government cannot legislate righteousness.

REGENERATION IS THE CREATIVE ACT OF GOD-Part Three

God, The Eternal Word, was made flesh, for the purpose of redeeming Fallen Man. The Phrase,
''made flesh'' DOES NOT MEAN, that The Divine Nature was made human nature,or, that God, was changed into a man;
but, The Divine Nature assumed a human nature, without altering The Divine Person-Malachi 3;
6-[Turn].

There are two natures, Divine and Human, united in one Person, The Lord Jesus Christ.

There have been changes in God's method of operation, but never a change in His Divine Person, or in His Eternal Purpose.

Theistic Evolution is the theory, held by unbelieving Theologians.
They're fearful, of being classified as unscientific;
so they adopt evolution, as God's method of Creation.
The same Theologians, for the most part, view Genesis 1-11, as allegorical, or mythological.

Theistic Evolution starts man as far down the scale as possible, and through the process of
evolution, man becomes civilized and educated to the extent, that he becomes like God.

Now, Get this truth; If evolution was God's means of creation, He would have created man
imperfect and depraved--but, the truth is, God created man upright [finite perfection]
Ecclesiastes 7;29--[Turn].

Man's complete story can be stated in 3 words; Creation, Degeneration, and Regeneration.

Man, therefore, had no place, until he became the subject of creative power. This is true, both
Physically and Spiritually. . . Psalm 100;3--[Turn].

As man contributed nothing to his physical creation, neither does he give any assistance to his
Spiritual Birth.

Now, get this truth; Those, who believe, that man, in his depraved condition, must make the first move, to become a new creature, are as heretical, as those who, embrace Theistic Evolution.

This makes, a blind, deaf and helpless sinner, arise to the place of letting The Omnipotent,
Omniscient, Omnipresent and Sovereign God, make him, a new creature.

Next, We find that--Regeneration is not, a product, of man's depraved will, plus the work of The Holy Spirit.
It's The Creative Work of God, sovereignly wrought, in a heart, that is depraved, and unwilling, by nature.

The New Birth makes the unwilling, willing;
and the whosoever won't becomes the whosoever will. . .
John 3;20-[Turn].
John 5;40--''And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.''

Depraved man hates The One True, and Living God--Romans 1;30--[Turn].
He also hates The Light of God's Truth--
John 3;20-21--''For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.''

The depraved man also hates those, who are united to God, and embrace this truth--
John 15;18--''If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.''

This hatred for God and Truth, and unwillingness to come to the One True and Living God, is changed only, by the power of grace in Regeneration.

Now, someone asks; ''Didn't Nicodemus come to Christ, in his un-regenerated condition/
yes, but his coming was in the sense, that most Religionists go to Church and Sunday School.

You see, not all depraved people live in the gutter of sin.
Many of them enjoy getting together, for what they call, Church-related Activities.
But their ''God'' is one, whom they have conceived, in their depraved minds.
They don't fear, nor hate their ''God''.

But, as soon as, The Sovereign and Holy God, of The Bible is proclaimed, their hatred is manifested;
and they desire to kill Him, and all, who stand up for Him--
Luke 4;25-32--[Turn].
John 8;33-59--[Turn].

REGENERATION IS THE CREATIVE ACT OF GOD--Part Two

Now, I want you to get this truth, if you will--The New Creature in Christ, is not produced, by the co-operation of Divine and Natural Power.

The Natural Man has no spiritual power--
Romans 5;6--''For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.''

The Flesh is opposed to The Spirit--Galatians 5;17--[Turn].

Now, I ask you, Wouldn't it be ridiculous to say that, a strength-less, unholy, and passive sinner
assists the Omnipotent, Holy and Active God, in such a delicate work, as Creation/

If Paul warns believers, about being unequally yoked to unbelievers, then, what about ungodly men and Holy God, yoked together, in salvation/

Now, get this truth; The Principle of ''after his kind'' holds true, in the spiritual, as it does, in the natural realm.
There are different kinds of flesh, and between these, there is a biological difference--I COR. 15;
39-[Turn].

The difference is safe-guarded, in the nature of each kind.
Man produces man; fish produce fish; Animal produces animal; Bird produces bird.

Each flesh has its own particular sphere and function.

Fish, however, doesn't become animal, and animal, doesn't become man.
Neither can fish cross with animal.

The same principle is a fact, in the spiritual sphere. . . John 3;6--[Turn].
Therefore unsaved man does not unite with The Holy Spirit, in effecting Regeneration.

Now, Get this truth; No Christian can believe in The Bible, and the theory of evolution, at the same time.

Evolution, which is the development of one thing into an entirely different thing, by its own inherent power, is error, from The Pit of Hell.

Evolution is taught as transmutation, in present-day text books.
Transmutation and mutation should be distinguished.
Transmutation is the change from 1 kind to a different kind;
mutation is the change, which takes place, within its own kind.

Now, you ask, ''What does this have to do with Regeneration/''
The flesh [fallen nature] of man, can never become spiritual, and The Spirit can never become fallen human nature--
John 3;6--''That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit, is Spirit.''

As man's essence as man, was not altered in his fall;
So God's essence as God, was not changed by the incarnation.

Man, in his upright condition was man--Genesis 1;26; Ecclestiastes 7;29--[Turn].

Now, changes have taken place within man, but, he is still man.
In The Fall, man changed from an upright man, to a depraved, and a wicked man.

Regeneration does not change the chemistry of a man's body;
but it does apply Redemption, in a creative way, to the soul.

The Redeemed soul awaits the redeemed body at The Resurrection.

REGENERATION IS THE CREATIVE ACT OF GOD--Part One

REGENERATION IS THE CREATIVE ACT OF GOD--Part One

Regeneration must be kept within the context of Redemption's Application.
The Application of Redemption, as well as its Planning, and its Providing, is of God.

The Application of Redemption comprises a series of acts and processes.
ROMANS 8;29-31--[TURN].

Glorification cannot come first, in The Divine Order;
it is the Consummation of Redemption.

You see, order must not be violated, because God is The God of Order--I CHRONICLES. 15;13 [TURN].
Regeneration is first, in the order, of Redemption's application.

Satan is the author of confusion.
Confusion must exist, that the approval, may be made manifest.
I Corinthians 11;19--''For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.''

God has been pleased, to make known a method, in which, His Presence, is brought into the souls of men.
God's initial presence is brought into the souls, for Whom, Christ died, by their being born of The Spirit.

Now Get this Truth;
The series of Acts in Redemption's Application are devoid of God's presence, when performed, out of their proper sequence. . .

The Tabernacle in the wilderness illustrates that God is methodical in all His works.

The Spirit of God is required, to recognize The Orderliness of God.

When God revealed His Salvation to Israel, He began with Himself, where it first originated.
This is why, The Ark of the Covenant is the first vessel, mentioned in God's directions, for building The Tabernacle.

How could it be otherwise, and God be called, The God of Salvation/

Hebrews 13;20-21--[Turn].

Since God was first ''FOR'' us in planning and providing;
then, should He not be first ''IN'' as in applying/

The first vessel the Israelites saw was The Brazen Altar, but it wasn't the first vessel, in the order, given to Moses.
This vessel was outside The Tabernacle, but it was vitally connected, to the Tent of Meeting.
The Brazen Altar typified the provision God made for The Israelites, to enable them, to have access to The Ark of The Covenant, which denoted His Presence [Exodus 25-40].

There is blessed order in The Godhead. What the Father decreed, The Son purchased, and
The Holy Spirit applies.

The Holy Spirit is The Last in The Divine Order, but, first, in Redemption's Application.

Now, keep in mind, that The Person of Christ, was not recognized by non-regenerated
Nicodemus.
The Lord Jesus Christ pointed him, to the fact, that The New Birth, was effected by The Spirit of
God.
God's Spirit would lead him to embrace Jesus Christ, and the Son of God would then reveal The
Father.

When this order is understood, no one will talk about Jesus dying for all men, and God loving all men.

Do not The Scriptures state, that we are begotten of God/
All 3 Persons of The Godhead are mentioned in Titus 3;5-6--[Turn].

Regeneration is ascribed in some places to God the Father--I Peter 1;3 [turn]. The Father's Will is stressed in this verse.

In other places, Regeneration is ascribed, to the Lord Jesus Christ--Isaiah 53;10--Turn. Now,
Here, the MERIT of the Lord Jesus Christ should be recognized.

Regeneration is also ascribed to The Holy Spirit--John 3;8--[Turn]. Here, The Spirit's EFFICACY is prominent.

REGENERATION IS A NECESSITY--Part Seven

REGENERATION IS A NECESSITY--Part Seven

Spiritual birth has the common Character of spiritual operations. For example, in the inspiration of The Bible, holy men were borne along, by the Holy Spirit, to give forth God's Mind.

The Spirit breathed upon whom, He pleased.

Since He didn't breathe upon the men alike, He discriminated.

God's breathing upon holy men, could not be detected, by those, upon whom, He didn't breathe.
Only its effects could be observed.
Outsiders beheld The Revelation of the inspired penmen.

It is the same, with each one, born of The Spirit.
The immediate, instantaneous, and creative work of God in Regeneration, is unobserved by those, outside of whom, the Spirit works.

John3;8--''The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.''
This verse is one of the clearest, in The New Testament, on Regeneration.

John 1;1-13 discusses Regeneration NOT Conversion. The subject of Conversion does not begin until verse 14.

Now, Let's see some important distinctions, between Regeneration and Conversion.
Number 1--Regeneration is the immediate act of God, in imparting The Principle of Life;
Conversion is the act of man, by the power of the Indwelling Spirit, in repenting and believing--
Jeremiah 31;18-19; Acts 18;27--[Turn].

Number 2--Regeneration is a single act of God, and is never repeated.
Conversion is the beginning of a holy life, and there are many conversion experiences in one's earthly life.

The believer's position in Christ cannot be increased, nor decreased--Hebrews 10;10, 14;
Colossians 2;9; 3;1-4.

One's condition in the Christian Life will vary according to One's Conversion Experience--
LUKE 22;31-31--turn.

Number 3--Regeneration is not in itself, an experience;
Conversion is a series of Christian experiences.

As there is no consciousness, at the time of conception, so Regeneration, is not a matter of
consciousness to its recipient.

Conversion is always an awareness of what is taking place;
it is therefore, experimental.
Repentance and Faith are both experiences, known to the child of God.

Number 4--Regeneration is the cause of a person, turning to the Lord;
Conversion is One ''ACTUALLY'' Turning.

God doesn't repent and believe for man;
but enables man, to do, what he could not do, by nature.

Number 5--Regeneration is The Lord opening the heart, Conversion is the person, whose heart, has been opened, turning to Christ in faith--Acts 16;14-15--[Turn].

Number 6--Regeneration is a once-for-all cleansing;
Conversion is the continuation of the renewal, begun in Regeneration--
John 13;10--''Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit; and ye are clean, but not all.''
I Corinthians 6;11--''And such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.''
Titus 3;5--[Turn].

Number 7--In Regeneration, we have God's power, that of The Indwelling Spirit;
in Conversion, the power is IN US, by God's Sovereign Choice.
This removes all pride about our successes.
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