If we desire to seek growth in life, we must understand what regeneration is all about, and we must know what we have gained through regeneration. Regeneration affords us a beginning in life, and that which is gained through regeneration affords us the growth in life. Hence, if we want to seek growth in life, we should have some knowledge concerning regeneration, and we should know that which is gained through regeneration.
That which is gained through regeneration is very closely related to the results of regeneration. The results of regeneration issue from what is gained through regeneration, the former being accomplished because of the latter. The results of regeneration are that which regeneration accomplishes upon us, while that which is gained through regeneration are the things which we receive through regeneration. Because regeneration has caused us to gain certain things, it can have certain accomplishments upon us. Regeneration can make us children of God because regeneration causes us to gain the life of God. Regeneration can make us a new creation because it causes us to gain the elements of God. Regeneration can unite us with God because regeneration causes us to gain the Spirit of God. All the accomplishments of regeneration upon us are achieved because of the things we have obtained through regeneration. Not only do such things cause us to have various experiences in the spiritual life at the time of regeneration, but also after regeneration they cause us to grow in life. Hence if we are seeking to grow in life, we must know the things which we have gained through regeneration.
According to the teaching of the Bible, regeneration causes us to receive at least seven things. These seven things are either divine and great or very important and close to us. Let us look briefly at these seven things one by one.
The first thing we gain through regeneration is the life of God. We have already seen in the previous chapter that regeneration occurs when the Spirit of God puts the life of God into our spirit. In regeneration, the primary thing the Spirit of God does is to put the life of God into us. Therefore, the primary thing which regeneration gives us is the life of God.
But what is the life of God? It is the content of God and God Himself. All that is in God and all that God Himself is are in the life of God. All the fullness of the Godhead is hidden in the life of God. The nature of God is also contained in the life of God. Every facet of what God is, is included in the life of God.
With any kind of living thing, all that it is rests within its life. All of its capabilities and functions issue out of its life, and all of its outward activities and expressions originate from its life. It is that kind of living thing because it has that kind of life. Its being rests in its life. This is an evident principle.
God is the supreme living being, and all that He is, of course (and even more so), is in His life. All that He is— whether truth, holiness, light or love—is derived from His life. All His expressions—whether goodness, righteousness, kindness, or forgiveness—are derived from His life. His life causes Him to have such divine capabilities and functions inwardly and such divine actions and expressions outwardly as well. The reason He is such a God is that He has such a life. Hence His being God rests in His life.
Because the life of God is the content of God, in it is hidden the fullness of God, and in it is contained the nature of God Himself; therefore, when we receive the life of God, we receive the fullness of God (Col. 2:9-10), and we have the nature of God (2 Pet. 1:3-4). Because all that God has in Himself and all that God Himself is rests in the life of God, when we receive this life, we receive all that God has in Himself and all that God Himself is. Because the life of God causes God to have such divine capabilities and functions within Him, the life of God in us can also cause us to have the same kind of capabilities and functions in us as in God. Because all that God is and does comes from His life, this life in us can also cause us to be what God is and do what God does, which means it can cause us to be like God and to live out God.
Brothers and sisters, have you ever realized that because the life of God is in us we have all the capabilities and functions in us which are in God? Have you ever realized that because we have the life of God in us we can be what God is and do what God does? In God there is the capability of holiness and the function of light. Because the life of God is in us, the same capability of holiness and function of light are in us as in God. Just as God can live out His holiness and shine forth His light from Himself, so also we, because of the life of God within us, can live out His holiness and shine forth His light from us, which means we can be holy as God is holy and shining as God is shining. What God is, is love, and what God does is righteousness. Since we have the life of God in us, we can be what God is and do what God does. Even as God can be love and do righteousness, so also we, because of the life of God in us, can be the love that God is and do the righteousness that God does. This means that we can love as God loves and be righteous as God is righteous. Thus, we can be like God and live out God.
We should further know that the life of God is that great power which resurrected the Lord Jesus. When the Lord Jesus was resurrected, He cast off death and overcame death. Death is very strong (S. S. 8:6). In the whole universe, besides God and the life of God, there is nothing which is stronger than death. When the Lord Jesus entered into death, death used all its power to hold the Lord, but the Lord broke through the holding power of death and arose! The Lord can thus arise and not be held by death (Acts 2:24) because there is in Him the powerful life of God. It was the life of God’s great power which enabled Him to break through the mighty holding power of death. The life of God which regeneration gives us is this great powerful life of God! This great powerful life of God is the great power of resurrection in us today which enables us to cast off death and overcome all that belongs to death, just as God overcame them.
The Bible shows us that God has two kinds of great power: one is the great power of creation; the other is the great power of resurrection. God’s mighty power of creation calls into being that which does not exist. The great power of resurrection gives life to the dead. This is what Abraham believed (Rom. 4:17). God’s great power of creation, resting in the hand of God, is able to create all things for man. God’s great power of resurrection, resting in the life of God and being the life of God, enables man to be delivered from all the dead things which are outside of God, and thus live out God Himself. Oh, the life of God we receive through regeneration is this great resurrection power of God! Through regeneration, God has wrought His life into us, which means He has wrought His great resurrection power into us. Oh, may we see that this life of God, which we receive when we are regenerated, is God’s great power of resurrection! This life which is in us today can make us as strong as God is. Just as God is able to overcome death, so we also are able to overcome death because of this life of great power within us. What a life this life of God is which we obtained through regeneration! To what an extent this life can make us like God! How we should worship and thank God for this life!