Subject One Hundred Eighty-two

“THE WASHING OF REGENERATION
AND RENEWING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT”

Scripture: Titus 3:5

1. Man’s defilement
   1. Man was defiled due to the fall of Adam. This was not merely an outward defilement, but also an inward defilement of life and nature.
   2. Such a defilement of life and nature was caused by the injection of Satan’s life and nature into man.
2. Man became old
   1. Because man’s life and nature were defiled by Satan, man became old.
   2. Because man became old, he experiences corruption, weakness, sickness, and death.
3. The washing of regeneration
   1. Since man’s life and nature were defiled and corrupted, God’s salvation is not to change the life that man has, but to regenerate man. God regenerates man so that man may have God’s life in addition to his own life.
   2. Once God’s life gets into us, it causes us to be separated from our old life and nature. Such a separation is a kind of washing, which washes away our defiled life. So regeneration is a washing.
   3. The washing of regeneration is mainly for washing away our defiled life, not our defiled behavior.
4. The renewing of the Holy Spirit
   1. When God saves us, He not only regenerates us so that we may receive His life, but He also puts the Holy Spirit within us so that we may receive His Spirit.
   2. The Holy Spirit is within us to renew us from our old, created, and corrupted life. God’s life is washing away our defiled life, and the Holy Spirit is renewing that same defiled and corrupted life into a new life.
   3. The renewing of the Holy Spirit is not merely to change a man’s living in an outward way. It is to renew his old nature into a new nature.
5. How to receive the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit
   1. Confess that your created life is filthy and that your nature has become old.
   2. Abhor your own life and nature.
   3. Repent and turn to God.
   4. Receive the crucified and resurrected Christ as your Savior.