Renewal, Regeneration

Renewal, or regeneration, is spiritual rebirth that produces a new beginning. It describes the new life of the believer in Christ (Titus 3:5) and the new order that will begin at Christ’s return (Matthew 19:28).

A variety of words and figures are used frequently by the biblical writers to describe this spiritual rebirth. These include new birth, new creation, and the renewal of the heart.

Writers outside the Bible also used the word regeneration. The Stoic philosophers used it for a return to an earlier state. For example, they described the yearly cycle of the seasons as regeneration.

Biblical regeneration is more than a return to an earlier condition. It is a completely new beginning. The Holy Spirit brings a deep change within a person. He breaks the power of sin and gives the person new attitudes and desires. The renewed person freely and joyfully seeks to do God’s will.

The final goal of regeneration is the renewal of all creation. God will create a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness will live and sin will no longer exist (2 Peter 3:13). The Holy Spirit’s work in believers now is an early sign of this future renewal of all creation (Ephesians 1:13–14). The new heavens and the new earth are still future. However, God has already begun to renew his people, as the Old Testament prophets promised (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1).

Believers receive new life from God through spiritual birth. Christians are born of God (John 1:12–13). Through this new birth, they enter the kingdom of God and receive his Spirit.

Those born into God’s family begin to show his righteous character (1 John 2:29). They are no longer controlled by a pattern of sin (3:9; 5:18). James teaches that God “gives this new birth through the word of truth” (James 1:18).

Jesus used the picture of new birth to explain regeneration to Nicodemus. He taught that a person must be born again, or born from above, to enter the kingdom of God. Those who receive this new birth have a living hope (1 Peter 1:3). Peter also teaches that God brings about this new birth through his living and lasting word (verse 23).

The first experience of regeneration begins a continuing process of renewal in the Christian life. New believers should desire the pure milk of God’s word so that they may grow (1 Peter 2:2). Paul teaches that believers should continue to change as God renews their minds (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23). The new self continues to be renewed (Colossians 3:10), and the inner self is renewed each day (2 Corinthians 4:16).

The present result of new birth is a new person, or a new creation. The old has passed away, and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). This new creation, rather than only going through religious actions, is the goal of the Christian life (Galatians 6:15). This change includes putting off the old self and putting on the new self (Ephesians 4:22, 24). However, it does not come through human effort alone. It is God’s work, for believers are his workmanship (2:10).