The New Birth

by F.L. Evans, Yeovil | Category: The Holy Spirit | Jun 1977

The operation of the Holy Spirit in the new birth is simply stated in two verses of a hymn written by Dr C. M. Luxmoore.

When I in Christ the Lord believed, And everlasting life received, He sent His Spirit from above, That I might understand His love. 'Twas He who made me, know' my sin, By nature wicked and unclean; 'Twas He revealed the Son of God, And all the virtue of His blood.

There can be no one saved without the shedding of the blood of Christ. Neither can any one be saved apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. As the "Spirit of life in Christ Jesus", His work is inseparable from that of the Lord Jesus Christ and is essential to salvation. Without Him, there is no real heart experience of conversion. For such, we must be born again, born of the Spirit (John 3:3-7; Rom. 8:2).

Conviction: Before the Lord Jesus left the world and went to the Father, He made a very clear statement to His disciples concerning the operation of the Holy Spirit. "If I go, I will send Him unto you. And He, when He is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement" (John 16:7,8).

By means of the Word and conscience the Holy Spirit convicts unbelievers of the reality of sin and of their sinful nature, and of the sin hating character of God. He does not merely tell them of this in reproof, but He proves it to them so that they acknowledge it. This is the Spirit's work - He alone can open the heart to a realization of guilt, even of the most aggravated form of sin, unbelief and rejection of Christ, who came to "take away the sin of the world".

In most cases of conversion there is a period when the person is "under conviction" of sin. This may be short or it may be long. Children, whose

sensitivity to wrong-doing is naturally clear and immediate, could not be expected to have a long struggle' before making a decision. But the full-grown and worldly-experienced person, with a heart hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, sometimes has a long battle in the soul, even for years, before the climax is reached and the matter is settled. The struggle may be bitter and laborious, but once the sinner-state is acknowledged and the decision is made, the close bond between the Saviour and the saved sinner is established. A real sense of safety, assurance and joy is experienced, even though the adversary continues his insidious assaults.

The Holy Spirit also convinces of the righteousness of God. "Jesus Christ the righteous" was about to leave the world that had spurned Him, and go to His "righteous Father" with whom He had dwelt from everlasting. The coming of the Holy Spirit, according to promise, was a proof of Christ's exaltation to God's right hand. This was a powerful demonstration of the righteousness of God and an unmistakable vindication of the personal righteousness of Christ. The Spirit would convince men of this, and also would make it plain to them that Christ's righteousness could be communicated and imputed to them on the basis of their faith in Him. Christ's ascension to heaven is a strong assurance, to those who come to Him, of their righteous standing in Him.

"Reach my blest Saviour first,

Take Him from God's esteem;

Prove Jesus bears one spot of sin, Then tell me I'm unclean."

In addition, the Holy Spirit convicts concerning judgement. "The prince of this world" exercises control over men, women and children. His power to enslave and oppress is great. But there is a sense in which the death of Christ 'judged' him and judicially condemned him. As the Lord Himself walked in the shadow of the cross, He f9rcefully stated, "Now is the judgement of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out" (John 12:31). Through death and resurrection He brought to nought him that had the power of death (the devil), triumphing over principalities and powers. He had been manifested by God to destroy the works of the devil. Christ proved Himself to be stronger than Satan. It thus becomes clear that no other power can stand against Him. On these grounds the Holy Spirit brings a sense of emancipation from the fetters of Satan. He brings freedom from condemnation to all who "are in Christ Jesus", and liberty for them to live to serve the Lord.

Born of the Spirit: In His night conversation with Nicodemus, the Lord used three times the phrase, "born of the Spirit" (John 3:5,6,8). He also

uses the expression which has been variously translated "born again" (AV), "born anew" (RV), and "born from above" (RVM). The Holy Spirit, using human agency, sows the seed, the eternal word of God, in the heart. This germinates within by faith, and the person is born again, becoming a child of God. This is regeneration. To Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, a teacher of Israel, this was beyond his comprehension at the time.

But such a birth would not come of natural descent, nor by human decision, nor by man's will. It would be the result of the working of the Holy Spirit, and the person would be born of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh". Natural birth produces a natural body, subject to the "law of sin and death". In contrast, "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit". He who is born of the Spirit of God is a partaker and possessor of a spiritual nature, subject to the "law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus".

But let not the new convert to Christ be mystified or disheartened if the operation of the Holy Spirit in his own conversion was not fully understood by him at the time. There are two comforting reassurances in John 3. First, the natural laws governing the motion of the wind were little understood by Nicodemus. So also the spiritual laws of the operation of the Holy Spirit may be only partially appreciated by the believer. Yet the witness of the Spirit is clear. Secondly, the Lord made it clear that "except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God". The use of the word 'man' makes it evident that the message was for men universally. And the Lord's discourse on the new birth is closely followed by the wonderful and universal 'whosoever' of John 3:16. Many men, women, and children of all nations and languages have rejoiced in the 'whosoever' blessing of eternal life, without having a theological understanding of its depth and implications.

Consequences and Assurances: A careful study of the Scriptures reveals that several words are used to make clear the diversity of the Spirit's ministry consequent upon the spiritual birth. These words are not used interchangeably or indiscriminately but rather with the utmost precision. It is, therefore, essential that we consider their significance, especially as they are all blessings initially bestowed on the believer at the time of his being born again.

Indwelling: When a person places his faith in the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit is given to him to indwell him, to shed abroad the love of God in his heart. He dwells within the believer, directing and guiding, bearing witness that he is a child of God, a member of Christ. He is the happy possessor of a life-union with Christ, and his body becomes a sanctuary of the Spirit (Rom. 5:5; 8:9-16; 1 Cor. 6:19).

The Sealing: At our conversion there were three happenings:-

1.We heard the word of the truth, the gospel of our salvation.

2.We believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

3.We were sealed with the Holy Spirit.

A seal impressed on a contractual document gives undoubted validity, for

security and authoritative purposes. The Holy Spirit, like a seal, is the

impress on our souls at regeneration, an assurance of our once-for-all

membership of the Church, the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:13).

The Earnest The dictionary meaning of 'earnest' is 'money paid as instalment, especially to confirm a contract; foretaste, betokening'. It is a pledge that the rest will follow. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the earnest, the guarantee of our receiving our inheritance, the pledge of our complete heritage at the full "redemption of God's own possession". A somewhat similar way of expressing this is "the first fruits of the Spirit". He is the foretaste of the glorious things to come at "the redemption of our body" (Eph. 1:14; 2 Cor. 1:22, 5:5; Rom. 8:23).

The Baptism: "In one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free" (1 Cor. 12:13).

"In one Spirit - The Spirit which the Lord Jesus had clearly promised that they who believed on Him would receive after His ascension. "Were we" - the original tense here points to an accomplished fact. At the time of our regeneration we were incorporated into the 'Body of Christ'.

"All baptized" - this baptism had been the experience of all believers in Christ. It was connected with their standing in Christ, rather than their spiritual state, which in certain persons in the Corinthian Church was at a low ebb at the time.

"Into one Body". Every true Christian is a member of Christ's 'Body' by baptism in the Spirit. This is not the work of any human evangelist or teacher, but it is the operation of Christ Himself.

The Anointing: As Jesus of Nazareth was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38), those placing faith in Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) are also anointed with the same Spirit. "He that stablisheth us with you in Christ, and anointed us, is God; who also sealed us, and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (2 Cor. 1:21,22). The anointing (or unction AV) is the Holy Spirit, who is received from the Holy God and abides in the believer to teach him the truth "concerning all things" by means of the Holy Scriptures (1 John 2:20,27). The Lord Himself made it delightfully clear:

"He shall glorify Me:

for He shall take of Mine,

and shall declare it unto you" (John 16:14).

F.L. Evans, Yeovil | Jun 1977
The Holy Spirit