a new birth; that work of the Holy Spirit by which we
experience a change of heart. It is expressed in Scripture by being born
again, John iii, 7; born from above; being quickened, Eph. ii, 1; by
Christ being formed in the heart, Gal. iv, 19; by our partaking of the
divine nature, 2 Peter i, 4. The efficient cause of regeneration is the
divine Spirit. That man is not the author of it, is evident from John i,
12, 13; iii, 4; Eph. ii, 8, 10. The instrumental cause is the word of
God, James i, 18; 1 Peter i, 23; 1 Cor. iv, 15. The change in
regeneration consists in the recovery of the moral image of God upon the
heart; that is to say, so as to love him supremely and serve him
ultimately as our highest end, and to delight in him superlatively as
our chief good. The sum of the moral law is to love the Lord our God
with all our heart, and soul, and strength, and mind. This is the duty
of every rational creature; and in order to obey it perfectly, no part
of our inward affection or actual service ought to be, at any time, or
in the least degree, misapplied. Regeneration consists in the principle
being implanted, obtaining the ascendancy, and habitually prevailing
over its opposite. It may be remarked, that though the inspired writers
use various terms and modes of speech in order to describe this change
of mind, sometimes terming it conversion, regeneration, a new creation,
or the new creature, putting off the old man with his deeds, and putting
on the new man, walking not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, &c;
yet it is all effected by the word of truth, or the Gospel of salvation,
gaining an entrance into the mind, through divine teaching, so as to
possess the understanding, subdue the will, and reign in the affections.
In a word, it is faith working by love that constitutes the new
creature, the regenerate man, Gal. v, 6; 1 John v, 1–5. Regeneration is
to be distinguished from our justification, although it is connected
with it. Every one who is justified, is also regenerated; but the one
places us in a new _relation_, and the other in a new moral _state_. Our
Lord, in one instance, uses the term regeneration for the resurrection
state: “Ye which have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of
man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve
thrones, judging,” Matt. xix, 28. And, accordingly, Dr. Campbell
translates the passage thus: “At the renovation, when the Son of man
shall be seated on the glorious throne, ye, my followers, sitting also
upon twelve thrones, shall judge.” We are accustomed, says he, to apply
the term solely to the conversion of individuals; whereas its relation
here is to the general state of things. The principal completion will be
at the general resurrection, when there will be, in the most important
sense, a renovation or regeneration of heaven and earth, when all things
shall become new.
experience a change of heart. It is expressed in Scripture by being born
again, John iii, 7; born from above; being quickened, Eph. ii, 1; by
Christ being formed in the heart, Gal. iv, 19; by our partaking of the
divine nature, 2 Peter i, 4. The efficient cause of regeneration is the
divine Spirit. That man is not the author of it, is evident from John i,
12, 13; iii, 4; Eph. ii, 8, 10. The instrumental cause is the word of
God, James i, 18; 1 Peter i, 23; 1 Cor. iv, 15. The change in
regeneration consists in the recovery of the moral image of God upon the
heart; that is to say, so as to love him supremely and serve him
ultimately as our highest end, and to delight in him superlatively as
our chief good. The sum of the moral law is to love the Lord our God
with all our heart, and soul, and strength, and mind. This is the duty
of every rational creature; and in order to obey it perfectly, no part
of our inward affection or actual service ought to be, at any time, or
in the least degree, misapplied. Regeneration consists in the principle
being implanted, obtaining the ascendancy, and habitually prevailing
over its opposite. It may be remarked, that though the inspired writers
use various terms and modes of speech in order to describe this change
of mind, sometimes terming it conversion, regeneration, a new creation,
or the new creature, putting off the old man with his deeds, and putting
on the new man, walking not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, &c;
yet it is all effected by the word of truth, or the Gospel of salvation,
gaining an entrance into the mind, through divine teaching, so as to
possess the understanding, subdue the will, and reign in the affections.
In a word, it is faith working by love that constitutes the new
creature, the regenerate man, Gal. v, 6; 1 John v, 1–5. Regeneration is
to be distinguished from our justification, although it is connected
with it. Every one who is justified, is also regenerated; but the one
places us in a new _relation_, and the other in a new moral _state_. Our
Lord, in one instance, uses the term regeneration for the resurrection
state: “Ye which have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of
man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve
thrones, judging,” Matt. xix, 28. And, accordingly, Dr. Campbell
translates the passage thus: “At the renovation, when the Son of man
shall be seated on the glorious throne, ye, my followers, sitting also
upon twelve thrones, shall judge.” We are accustomed, says he, to apply
the term solely to the conversion of individuals; whereas its relation
here is to the general state of things. The principal completion will be
at the general resurrection, when there will be, in the most important
sense, a renovation or regeneration of heaven and earth, when all things
shall become new.