When we accept Jesus as our savior, it is the same with us. We are heirs to the Kingdom of God. And because we are heirs we have the joy of knowing that what we do, we do because of the fabulous gift of salvation our Father has given us. What we do and how we do it is motivated by and through the love of Jesus.
Our perspective on all things has changed. Not by something we have done but by something our Lord through the Holy Spirit has done in us. God’s Word calls it “regeneration”.
The dictionary definition is “a spiritual renewal or revival, renewal or restoration of a body, bodily part, or biological system after injury or as a normal process”.
A Theopedia definition is “Regeneration is the spiritual transformation in a person, brought about by the Holy Spirit, that brings the individual from being spiritually dead to become a spiritually alive human being. Regeneration is another way of speaking about the new birth or the second birth or being born again.”
I think my definition might be a little easier to understand for some and without getting too theological here. To me, regeneration through the power of the Holy Spirit is simply the act of taking the damaged spiritual part of our being and taking it back to where and what God intended it to be when He created Adam and Eve, prior to the fall. God created mankind to be perfect, not only physically and spiritually. He had plans for Adam and Eve and would be teaching them everything they would need to know to accomplish His plan for them. When we accept Christ and the Holy Spirit brings about this regeneration, when God sees us as He originally saw Adam and Eve.
That doesn’t mean that we instantaneously become perfect. Our regeneration gives us instant acceptance from God the Father but like Adam and Eve, there is a lot we have to lean about being and living the way God initially intended. This learning process is taught to us by and through the Holy Spirit on a daily basis.
Part of the lessons the Holy Spirit teaches us is what I like to call the “Never Again’s”. As He teaches us we learn to:
- Never again will I say, "I can't," for "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" (Phi_4:13).
- Never again will I admit lack, for "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Phi_4:19).
- Never again will I fear, for "God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2Ti_1:7).
- Never again will I harbor doubt and lack of faith, for "The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear" (Psa_27:1).
- Never again will I allow the supremacy of Satan over my life, for "the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1Jo_4:4).
- Never again will I admit defeat, for "God always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him" (2Co_2:14).
- Never again will I lack wisdom, for "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him" (Jam_1:5).
- Never again will I be worried and frustrated, "Casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" (1Pe_5:7).
- Never again will I be in bondage, for "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2Co_3:17).
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