THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Gospel according to John
Message One—The Regeneration
Scripture Reading: John 3:3, 5; 1 Pet. 1:3, 23; Gal. 6:15; John 3:15-16
I. The divine birth is the basis of our Christian life; the divine birth, which brings in the divine life, is the basic factor of all the mysteries of the divine life—John 3:3, 5; 1 Pet. 1:3, 23; 1 John 1:1-2:
A. The divine birth—regeneration—enlivens us with God’s life and brings us into a relationship of life, an organic union, with God—Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 6:17.
B. To be regenerated simply means to receive the divine life in addition to our human life; through the divine birth eternal life has come into us—John 3:15-16; 1 John 2:25; 5:11-13.
II. To be regenerated is to be born of the Spirit in our spirit—John 3:6, 8:
A. Regeneration takes place in the realm of the human spirit by the Spirit of God with the divine life—vv. 6, 15-16:
1. The divine birth has taken place organically in our spirit—v. 6.
2. In regeneration, God in Christ as the life-giving Spirit comes into our spirit to regenerate us with His life and nature—1 Cor. 15:45b; 6:17.
3. The divine Spirit regenerates the human spirit with the divine life—Rom. 8:2, 10, 16.
B. That which is born of the Spirit of God is our regenerated spirit—John 3:6.
III. Regeneration causes us to become a new creation, something which has the element of God within it—Gal. 6:15:
A. Through the divine birth we have the divine life and the divine element, thereby becoming a new creation—2 Cor. 5:17.
B. When we were born again, God’s life in Christ entered into us; this life, with the divine element, has been mingled with our spirit to become the new man within us—Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10.
IV. In Christ’s resurrection He imparted the divine life into us and made us the same as He is in life and nature; this is the basic factor of our regeneration—1 Pet. 1:3; John 3:15-16:
A. By the mysterious divine birth with the divine life, we have become children of God—1:12-13; 1 John 3:1:
1. It is the greatest wonder in the universe that human beings could be begotten of God and sinners could be made children of God—2:29; 3:1; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18.
2. God’s purpose in creating man was not simply to have a sinless man but to have a God-man, one who has the life and nature of God for the corporate expression of God—Gen. 2:9; John 10:10b; 2 Pet. 1:4.
B. The expression children of God in 1 John 3:1 is very rich in its implications; it implies that God has been born into us and that we possess His life and nature:
1. To be a child of God means that God has been conceived within us.
2. When we were born of God in our spirit, we were mingled with Him—1 Cor. 6:17.
C. By being regenerated, we have become children of God—John 1:12-13; 3:3, 5-6; 1 John 2:29-3:1:
1. Since to be regenerated is to be born of God and to obtain God’s life, regeneration automatically causes us to become children of God—John 3:6; Rom. 8:16.
2. The life we receive through regeneration enables us to be and is our authority to be God’s children—John 1:12-13.
3. As the children of God with the life and nature of God, we can live God and be the same as God in life, nature, and expression, thus fulfilling the purpose of God’s creation of man—Gen.1:26.
V. The children of God have been regenerated of God the Spirit to be God-men, belonging to the species of God to see and enter into the kingdom of God—John 3:3, 5-6:
A. God has a good pleasure to make us, His children, the same as He is in life and nature but not in the Godhead—Eph.1:5, 9; 5:1:
1. Because we have been born of God, we are the same as God in life and nature but not in the Godhead—Rom. 8:2, 10, 16; 2 Pet. 1:4.
2. We should never forget that, as children of God, we are God-men, born of God and belonging to the species of God—John 1:12-13; 3:3, 5.
B. The children of God have a great future with a splendid blessing—1 John 3:2:
1. The children of God will be like Him in the maturity of life when He is manifested—vv. 1-2.
2. The right of the God-men to participate in God’s divinity includes the right to bear God’s likeness—2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29.
3. By seeing Him, we will reflect His likeness; this will cause us to be as He is—1 John 3:2.
4. To partake of the divine nature is already a great blessing and enjoyment, yet to be like God, bearing His likeness, will be a greater blessing and enjoyment—Rev. 4:2-3; 21:11.
Ministry Excerpts:
REGENERATION
The first case, that of Nicodemus, is the case of regeneration. Nicodemus was a person of the highest class, and we need to consider his virtues and attributes. Firstly, he was a teacher with the highest attainment in education. As a teacher of the Jews, he taught the Old Testament, the Sacred Word. Secondly, Nicodemus was “a ruler of the Jews.” He had a position with a certain amount of honor and authority. Thirdly, he was an old man. As an old man, he had a good deal of experience. He was a man full of experiences. Fourthly, he was undoubtedly a moral man, a good man. If you look at the way he talked, you will realize that he was a moral man. Fifthly, Nicodemus was a man who was truly seeking after God. Although he was somewhat fearful of the Pharisees, he still came to the Lord Jesus by night. This indicated that he was seeking God. Sixthly, he was very humble. Nicodemus was an old man of perhaps sixty or seventy years of age, yet he came to see the Lord Jesus, who was only a little over thirty years of age. That such an experienced, educated, and elderly man would come to see someone much younger than he indicates his humility. Furthermore, although Nicodemus was a teacher, he addressed the Lord Jesus as Rabbi. Among the Jews, to call a person Rabbi means that you are humbling yourself. Seventhly, Nicodemus was an honest man. His speech reveals his honesty. Can you find a better person than Nicodemus? He was a man of a superior standard, high attainment, and morality.
When Nicodemus came to the Lord Jesus, the Lord took the opportunity to reveal the true need of mankind. In His conversation with Nicodemus, the Lord revealed that regardless of how good we are, we still need regeneration. Regeneration is the first need of man. Moral people, as well as immoral people, need regeneration. Many Christians hold the mistaken concept that people need regeneration simply because they are fallen. However, if man had never fallen, he still would have needed regeneration. Even if Adam had not fallen, he still would have needed regeneration. That was why God put him in front of the tree of life. If Adam had partaken of the tree of life, he would have been regenerated.
Since we are human beings, we all have a human life. The problem is not a matter of whether or not our human life is good or bad. Regardless of the kind of human life we have, as long as we do not have the divine life, we need to be regenerated. To be regenerated simply means to have the divine life besides our human life. God’s eternal purpose is that man be a vessel to contain the divine life. Our being with our human life is a vessel to contain God as life. The divine life is God’s goal. The divine life is God Himself. God’s goal is that we, as people with a human life, receive the divine life into our being as our real life. This is the true meaning of regeneration. Many Christians are not clear about this fact, thinking that regeneration is necessary simply because we are fallen and sinful. According to this concept, we need to be regenerated because our life is bad and cannot be improved. This concept is wrong. I say once again that even if Adam in the garden of Eden had never fallen, he still would have needed to be regenerated, to be born again, that he might have another life, the life of God. Therefore, to be regenerated is to receive the divine life, God Himself.
THE MEANING OF REGENERATION BEING TO HAVE
GOD’S DIVINE LIFE IN ADDITION TO OUR ORIGINAL HUMAN LIFE
What is the meaning of regeneration? Regeneration is not any kind of outward improvement or cultivation; neither is it only a mere change or conversion without life. Regeneration is a rebirth which brings in a new life. It is absolutely a matter of life, not a matter of doing. Regeneration is simply to have life other than the life we already have. We have already received the human life from our parents; now we need to receive the divine life from God. Hence, regeneration means to have the divine life of God in addition to the human life which we already possess. Therefore, regeneration requires another birth in order to possess another life. To be regenerated, to be born again, does not mean to adjust or correct ourselves. It means to have the life of God, just as to be born of our parents means to have the life of our parents. To be regenerated is to be born of God (John 1:13), and to be born of God is to have the life of God, that is, the eternal life (3:15-16). If we have the life of God, we are the sons of God. The life of God gives us the right to become the sons of God (John 1:12), because by this life we have the divine nature of God (2 Pet. 1:4) and have the life-relationship with God, that is, the sonship (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5-6; “adoption” in Greek is “sonship”).
Due to human culture and Jewish religion, Nicodemus thought that man needed to behave. Since man must have good conduct and worship God in a proper way, man needs much teaching. Nicodemus considered Christ to be a teacher come from God. This indicates that he might have thought that he needed better teachings to improve himself. But the Lord’s answer in the following verse unveiled to him that his need was to be born anew. To be born anew is to be regenerated with the divine life, a life other than the human life received by natural birth. Hence, his real need was not better teachings, but the divine life. Nicodemus was seeking for teachings which belong to the tree of knowledge, but the Lord’s answer turned him to the need of life, which belongs to the tree of life (cf. Gen. 2:9-17). The Lord told Nicodemus very emphatically that what he needed was to be born again. Thus, man’s real need is to be regenerated with another life. All of us must realize that what we need is not religion or teaching to regulate and correct us, but another life, the life of God, to regenerate us. Man needs regeneration because he needs the divine life. Regardless of how good you are, you still do not have the life of God. You need another birth in order to receive the life of God with His divine nature. Although you may feel that you are good, yet you must admit that you do not have the life of God with His divine nature. Another birth, regeneration, is necessary that you may receive another life, the divine life of God.
The Lord’s answer to Nicodemus cut across his human, traditional, religious concept. The Lord seemed to be telling Nicodemus, “Nicodemus, what you need is not teaching, but another life. Regardless of how good you are, you only have the human life. You need the divine life. Nicodemus, don’t you realize that by seeking knowledge you are on the line of the tree of knowledge? You are not on the line of the tree of life.” Nicodemus was not on the line that would lead him to the New Jerusalem, but on the line that would take him to the lake of fire. Nicodemus, however, did not know that he was partaking of the wrong tree.
MAN’S REAL NEED—TO BE BORN ANEW
Not to Enter the Mother’s Womb and Be Born Again
When Nicodemus heard that he had to be born anew, he thought that this meant that he had to go back to his mother’s womb and come out again. His answer proves that he did not know how to exercise his spirit. He misunderstood the Lord’s word. Then the Lord Jesus said that that which is born of the flesh is flesh. He seemed to be saying to Nicodemus, “Regardless of the number of times you go back into your mother’s womb and come out again, you still will be flesh. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. Nicodemus, there is no need for you to say that you can’t go back to your mother’s womb and be born a second time, for even if you could do it, you would still be the same. Even if you could be born anew in that way and be young again, after another sixty or seventy years you would be the same as you are now. You do not need that kind of rebirth.” Nicodemus did not need another birth in time, but another birth in nature.
But to Be Born of Water and the Spirit
“Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Since Christians throughout the centuries have exercised their mentality instead of their spirit, they have formulated many different interpretations of this verse. Fifty years ago I was taught that water in this verse denotes the Word and that to be born of water and the Spirit means to be born of the Word and the Spirit. First Peter 1:23 and James 1:18 were given as references. Another interpretation, a most terrible way of expounding this passage of Scripture, is that the water refers to the mother’s own birth water. According to this interpretation, to be born twice is firstly to be born of the water in the mother’s womb, and secondly to be born of the Holy Spirit. This interpretation is utterly illogical, and we should forget it.
We need to have a logical and solid standing as we approach this verse. We must admit that Nicodemus and the Lord Jesus were speaking with plain words. If the Lord Jesus had spoken to Nicodemus with words that were not plain, He would have given him some sort of interpretation. Perhaps Nicodemus would have asked the Lord what He meant by water. However, the Lord Jesus did not interpret His words and Nicodemus did not request an interpretation of them, proving that the words were plain to them both. Thus, the words, “of water and the Spirit,” should have been plain to Nicodemus, without any kind of explanation. Since the same words were spoken by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11 to the Pharisees, they should have been fully understood among the Pharisees. John told them that he baptized in water, but that Another was coming who would baptize with the Spirit. After hearing this word of John’s, the Pharisees probably discussed it among themselves, for, at that time, it was a new saying. Since the Pharisees were quite serious, after hearing such a word spoken by John the Baptist, they must have had a long talk about it. As Nicodemus was a Pharisee, he should have been familiar with these terms. Now Nicodemus, as one of the Pharisees, is talking with the Lord, and the Lord speaks these familiar words to him, saying that to be born anew is to be born of water and of the Spirit.
To Repent Being to Receive John’s Ministry,
and to Believe Being to Accept the Ministry of the Lord Jesus
How can we have the ministry of John the Baptist today? We have it by repentance. Whenever a person repents, confessing that he is a fallen being who is good for nothing, that is the acceptance of John’s ministry. There is no need, of course, for John literally to be present, for his ministry is in the New Testament already. When we preach the gospel, we firstly preach the ministry of John. That is why we preach very much about sin and repentance. We are today’s John the Baptist. I was a John the Baptist forty years ago, and many people repented as a result of that ministry. That was not my ministry; it was John’s. Whoever accepts this ministry, in one sense, is terminated, and, in another sense, is born of water. Following repentance, everyone must believe in the Lord Jesus and accept His ministry of life in order to be germinated. In order to accept salvation, we need both repentance and faith. To repent is to receive John’s ministry, and to believe is to accept the ministry of the Lord Jesus. This is regeneration. We all have passed through this process of regeneration. Now we understand what it means to be born of water and of the Spirit. (Life-Study of the Gospel of John, msg. 8)
Nicodemus thought that to be born anew was to go back to his mother’s womb and come out of it again. He did not realize that even if that could be done he would still be flesh. Regardless how many times a person could be born out of his mother’s womb, he would still be flesh because flesh begets flesh. So, the Lord told Nicodemus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (3:6). Flesh here denotes the natural man with the natural life. Regardless of how many times we could be born of our parents, we still would be a natural man with a natural life. It can never change our nature. To be born anew is not to be born again of our parents, but to be born of God the Spirit that we may have His divine life with His divine nature, a life with a nature absolutely different from our natural life with its nature.
To be born anew is to be born of the Spirit in our spirit. The divine Spirit regenerates our human spirit with God’s divine life. Regeneration, that is, receiving the divine life, is absolutely a matter that transpires in our spirit. Our spirit was made by God for this very purpose. We have such a special organ, our human spirit, deep within us. In His creation, God made us with a spirit for the purpose that one day we might exercise it to contact Him and to receive Him into our being. The function of the human spirit is to contact God. Regeneration is not a matter of our mind, emotion, or will; it is altogether a matter in our spirit. Verses 12 and 13 of John 1 say, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave authority to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” In what part of our being are we born of God? In our spirit. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. God is a Spirit, and only a spirit can touch a Spirit. Only a spirit can be born of a Spirit. So, regeneration is absolutely a matter in our spirit. It does not matter whether you have a sober mind, a proper emotion, or a strong will. Such things are in another realm. Regeneration transpires in the realm of our spirit. Our spirit is the sphere in which regeneration transpires. In order to be regenerated, you do not exercise your mind, will, or emotion. Simply open yourself up, forgetting what you are, and from deep within your spirit, call on the name of the Lord Jesus, believing in Him. If you do this, immediately God the Spirit will touch your spirit. This will happen quickly, perhaps taking less than a second. If you open yourself from deep within your spirit, calling on the name of the Lord Jesus, in that one second, God the Spirit will enter into your spirit and you will be regenerated. The delivery of a reborn child happens very fast. There is no need of a midwife, nurse, or doctor. When you say, “Lord Jesus, I believe in You,” you are reborn in your spirit.
That Which Is Born of the Flesh Is Flesh,
and That Which Is Born of the Spirit Is Spirit
In verse 6, the Lord said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Regeneration is not a birth of the flesh that brings forth flesh. Regeneration is a birth of the Spirit, God’s Spirit, that brings forth spirit, our regenerated spirit. Flesh is our natural man, our old man, our outward man, born of our parents who are flesh. But spirit, our regenerated spirit, is our spiritual man, our new man, our inward, or inner man (2 Cor. 4:16; Eph. 3:16), born of God who is the Spirit. When we were born of our parents, we were born flesh; when we were born again of God the Spirit, we were born spirit. The nature of the spirit is different from the nature of the flesh. The nature of the flesh is born human, but the nature of the spirit is born divine. Before we were regenerated, we lived by our flesh and had our being in our flesh; our spirit was dead. By regeneration, our dead spirit was not only quickened, made alive, but also imparted with the divine life of God by the Spirit. Now our spirit is a regenerated spirit and becomes our new being. Formerly our flesh was our being by which we lived; now our spirit is our being by which we should live. The first Spirit in verse 6 is the divine Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, and the second spirit is the human spirit, the regenerated spirit of man. Regeneration transpires in the human spirit, by the Holy Spirit of God with God’s uncreated, eternal life. To be regenerated is to have the divine eternal life as the new source and the new element of our new being.
Once our spirit has been born of the Spirit of God with the life of God, it has the Spirit of God with the life of God in it and mingled with it. So it becomes a mingled spirit—our human spirit mingled with God’s divine Spirit, as Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit…with our spirit.” It is in this mingled spirit that we are “one spirit” with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17). Because it is such a mingled spirit, in many places in the New Testament, such as Romans 8:4-6, 10; Galatians 5:16, 25; Ephesians 4:23, and 6:18, it is rather difficult to say whether the word “spirit” refers to God’s divine Spirit or to our human spirit. Now, the two spirits are mingled as one within us. This mingling comes from regeneration. Regeneration brings forth in us a newborn spirit (Ezek. 36:26), indwelt by and mingled with God’s divine Spirit. Now this spirit with God’s divine life in it is our new being by which we should live and walk. We should no longer walk according to the flesh (Gal. 5:16; Rom. 8:4). It is in this spirit that we are regenerated persons. (Life-Study of the Gospel of John, msg. 9)