What is Regeneration and Sanctification?
So far, we’ve talked quite a bit about salvation by grace through faith, election, and justification. Understanding of these concepts is integral to understanding the concepts of regeneration and sanctification, for they are the biblical intersection of works, faith, and salvation. The last chapter covered the process of salvation, this one will focus on the mechanism.
Regeneration and sanctification, depending on denominational background, can take a variety of different meanings. Sometimes they may be explained as concurrent, or even interchangeable processes. For the purpose of this chapter, we are going to refer to regeneration as the spiritually guided process of repentance. As a Christian turns away from his past sinful nature and strives to live by Christian principals, their spirit is regenerated. Sanctification is the end goal of this process, which is the process of a regenerating Christian being made holy. Two quick notes before we begin to break this down:
- Regeneration and repentance are life long endeavors. Even with a heart tilted toward God we are still sinners by nature.
- No one is going to attain sanctification until they are glorified by God. This is a process that occurs after death, so don’t worry about being perfect. Just keep doing your best to live by Christian principles and to love God. God will handle the rest:
Philippians 1:6 ESV: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
Regeneration in the Bible
Regeneration is the new birth that Jesus speaks of when talking to Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a Pharisee, a distinguished “holy man” of a Jewish sect that professed that righteousness and sanctification were products of strict observance to Mosaic Law and traditions. Jesus spoke harshly with the Pharisees, as they frequently attributed righteousness to themselves and their traditions as opposed to the work of God.
Nicodemus was a special case, in that he approached Jesus with humility. Even though Jesus initially maintained His adherence to metaphorical speech, for His time was not yet here, He ultimately chose to speak very plainly in His conclusion, much like He did with His disciples.
John 3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old?
Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Let’s break this down:
Jesus begins by saying that no one will see Heaven unless they are born again. The prerequisite for being born again is to be born of “water and spirit.” Note how in all of Jesus’ metaphors for salvation, such as bread, water, blood, and flesh, the one constant is the spirit. The spirit is the functional arm of salvation, and as we will soon cover, it is the vessel of regeneration. Now, while the idea of forgiveness of sins by grace is something I’ve demonstrated to be extant in the Old Testament, salvation by grace and regeneration are very strongly concepts of the New Covenant. Nicodemus reasonably does not understand, so Jesus elaborates:
John 3:9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Becoming born again (repenting and receiving the Spirit) is a consequence of true faith in Jesus. This is a severe blow to the traditional sanctification process of sacrifices and adherence to Mosaic law, which is integral to the Pharisee worldview. This is a salvation that is not of earthly men, but that of a heavenly God. Jesus explains that those who believe in the Son of Man will have eternal life.
Not convinced? Well, Jesus expected that, which is why he expounds on the reasoning behind this salvation by grace through faith:
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
This passage contains an incredible amount of insight, all of which is entirely coherent with pre-existing scriptural concepts of predestination, justification by faith, grace, and the sufficiency of the Christ for salvation. God sacrificed Jesus to save His people not because they impressed Him through works or sanctified themselves, but because He loved them. It was an act of grace. Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but so that it would be saved though Him. Notice the lack of caveats there. This establishes a dichotomy between those who believe in Him (and are consequently saved) and those who do not believe in Him (thus are already condemned due to their lack of belief).
So, with this prefaced, the receipt of the Holy Spirit facilitates regeneration, which is responsible for a man’s ability to discern the scripture and produce good fruits in God. The Spirit supplants and resists the sinful intrinsic nature of men. Because it is not inherent or endogenous to men, it is both the gift and work of God.
The Role of the Holy Spirit in Regeneration
John 16:7: But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
In John 16, Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit to His disciples. Jesus preached the Gospel throughout His ministry and would soon willingly sacrifice Himself to pay for the New Covenant. Though He would resurrect after three days, He would ultimately ascend to His throne in Heaven. On the behalf of Jesus, God would send the Holy Spirit in His absence. The Spirit would continue the cultivation of these Gospel truths in Jesus’ flock:
John 16:26: But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Ephesians 1:17: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.
With the Holy Spirit affixing the believer’s mind on the Gospel and God’s teachings, the believer effectively has God’s law written on their heart. The solidifying knowledge and intentional servitude toward God from the Holy Spirit competes with and gradually overwhelms our inherently sinful nature. In this respect, throughout our journey of regeneration and sanctification God is effectively replacing our old sinful hearts with new pure ones.
Jeremiah 31:33: For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Ezekiel 36:26: And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Titus 3:4-7: “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
What Does the Process of Regeneration Itself Look Like? (-And can We Make it More Complicated, Theologically Speaking?)
Now, to specify, it is not just hearing the Gospel that saves people. They need to be God’s Elect, who have been pre-ordained for good works. The Elect hear and accept the Gospel, and being God’s people, they in turn love God. This love manifests as obedience and good works. We can break this process down into four steps, for simplicity’s sake:
Predestination: People may only receive the Gospel if it is God’s will for us. This not only extends to salvific belief and repentance, but to also to the very understand and sentiment of the nature of God and Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:5: Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
John 6: 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.
John 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me.
Belief: The receipt of the Gospel, regeneration, sanctification, and all matters pertaining toward walking with God are wholly contingent on believing and submitting to Jesus as the Son of God and our Lord.
John 16:27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 11:40 Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
Ordination: This is the reorientation of the believer’s soul to walk in a matter that is pleasing to God. Because of their submission and belief in Jesus, Christians are not only able to please God with their works and character, but are actively inclined to follow God’s word and to do His works.
John 12:46: For I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes may not remain in darkness.
Titus 2:14: [Jesus], who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Ephesians 2:8-10: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Galatians 5:22–23: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Obedience: Once the person’s heart is oriented toward God, it manifests as obedience to God’s law and in good works. This is the functional metric for discerning which Christians have a genuine faith or not. A non-salvific faith does not manifest anything beyond basic knowledge and occasional lip-service. Only the salvific faith of the Elect produces a heart that is zealous for God and is full of an active love both for Him and for others that influence both their words and their actions.
John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
John 14:23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
Matthew 7:15-20: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
Regeneration Imputes us With a Righteousness That is the Product of God and Will Lead to Sanctification
All of this leads us to sanctification, whereby the Holy Spirt makes us pleasing to God, bearing good works, entraining righteousness, and giving men the knowledge to work out Gods ordinances, including the nature of salvation itself:
Philippians 2: 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Of course, since we’re not glorified until after death, this a life-long process to say the least. Even though we are steadily being made more righteous, it is important to remember that this growth is a product (and exaltation) of God, not of our ability. In fact, Paul counts his own righteousness from observing laws and traditions as a Pharisee as loss, stating that he now puts no confidence in the flesh and that he gives all glory to God. He then specifies that true righteousness was not his own, but that it is from faith in Christ:
Philippians 3:2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also.
If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.