After we have been sanctified, separated unto God, by the Spirit, we repent. This is portrayed by the second and third parables in Luke 15. Verses 17 and 18a say, “When he came to himself, he said, How many of my father’s hired servants have an abundance of bread, but I am perishing here with famine! I will rise up and go to my father....” The prodigal son’s waking up was due to the enlightening of the Holy Spirit signified by the woman with the lamp. His repentance was produced by the Spirit’s enlightenment. In our experience the Holy Spirit came to seek us and enlighten us and thereby separate us to God. This resulted in repentance, which is a change in our mind that produces a change in the direction of our life.
The believers have had a change of mind, a turn in their mind from the things other than God to God and His kingdom. In Matthew 3:2 John the Baptist declares, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” In Matthew 4:17 the Lord Jesus says the same thing. As used in these verses, the word “repent” literally means to think differently afterward, that is, to have a change of mind. To repent is to have a change of mind with regret for the past and a turn for the future. To repent before God is, on the negative side, to repent not only of sins and wrongdoings but also to repent of the world and its corruption that usurp and corrupt people whom God made for Himself and to repent of our God-forsaking life in the past. On the positive side, to repent is to turn to God in every way and in every thing for fulfilling His purpose in creating mankind. This is a “repentance unto God”; it is to “repent and turn to God” (Acts 20:21; 26:20). When we repented, we had not only a change of our mind but also a turn in our mind from everything other than God to God and His kingdom.
To repent is to have a change in our thinking, our philosophy, our logic. The life of fallen man is absolutely according to his thinking. Everything he is and does is according to his mind. Before we were saved, we were directed by our mind. Our mentality, logic, and philosophy governed our way of life, for we were under the direction of our fallen mind. We were far away from God, and our life was in direct opposition to His will. Under the influence of our fallen mentality, we went farther and farther astray from God. Then one day we heard the preaching of the gospel telling us to repent, to have a change and a turn in our thinking, philosophy, and logic.
According to the New Testament, to repent is to turn not only to God Himself but also to His kingdom. In Matthew 3:2 and 4:17 John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus did not tell people to repent so that they may go to heaven or obtain salvation. They said to repent for the kingdom. The kingdom denotes God’s reign, His rule. Before we were saved, we were not under God’s rule. However, when we heard the preaching of the gospel, we turned to God’s kingdom, to God’s rule, and now we are in the kingdom of God. We have turned from all things other than God to God and His kingdom, placing ourselves under His ruling so that we may be in His kingdom.
When we repented, we had an actual turn from all things, bad or good, to God Himself. This is a turn not only in mind but also in activity, and it is a turn not only from bad things but also from good things. Because good things can be opposed to God, we must turn to Him even from such things. As believers in Christ, we have turned in actuality and in practicality to God Himself from all things.
Three verses that speak of turning to God in actuality are Acts 26:20; 14:15b; and 1 Thessalonians 1:9b. In Acts 26:20 Paul testified that he “declared first to those in Damascus and also in Jerusalem and all the country of Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.” In Acts 14:15b Paul and Barnabas told the people to “turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all the things in them.” Here “vain things” refers to idols and idolatry. To repent, therefore, is to turn from idols to the living God, who created all things. The believers at Thessalonica made such a turn and Paul said to them, “You turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God” (1 Thes. 1:9). To turn to God from idols is not only to turn away from false gods, with the Devil and demons behind them, but also to turn away from all things other than God. This is by faith infused into the new converts through hearing the word of the gospel. To serve a living and true God is to serve the very God who is triune—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—processed to be the believers’ life and life supply for their enjoyment. Having repented, that is, having actually turned to Him, they should now experience Him not only as the object of worship but also as the all-inclusive One who lives in them.