Because of these needs, God’s way of deliverance consists of two aspects, the negative and the positive. On the negative side, by the Lord Jesus shedding His blood on the cross, redemption was accomplished, and the problem of man’s sin was settled. On the positive side, by the death of the Lord Jesus, the life of God was released; then by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the life of God was put in the Holy Spirit; eventually the Holy Spirit entering into us causes us to obtain God’s divine and eternal life.
The Holy Spirit thus enabling us to obtain the life of God means that He regenerates us. But how does the Holy Spirit regenerate us? It is by the Word of God. The Holy Spirit first prepares an opportunity for us in our environment to hear the words of the Gospel. Then by the words, He shines upon us and moves us; He causes us to acknowledge our sins, reproach ourselves, repent and believe, thereby accepting the words of God and receiving the life of God. In the words of God is hidden the life of God, and the words of God “are life” (John 6:63). As we receive the words of God, the life of God enters into us and regenerates us.
Therefore, regeneration is nought else but the fact of man, in addition to his own life, receiving the life of God. When we thus receive the life of God, we receive an authority which enables us to become children of God (John 1:12). The authority itself is the life of God; therefore, when we have this life, we have the authority to be the children of God.
When we have the life of God and become children of God, we naturally have the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). If we live by this life and the nature of this life, we can become like God and live out the image of God.
How does the life of God within us work to make us become like Him? It works from the center to the circumference, or from the spirit to the soul and then to the body, accomplishing its outward expansion. When the life of God enters into us, it first enters into our spirit, quickens our dead spirit, and makes it lively, fresh, strong, vigorous, and able to touch God, sense God, and have sweet fellowship with God. Then it spreads gradually from our spirit into every part of our soul and makes our thoughts, affections, and decisions gradually become like God’s, having the savor of God; even in our anger, there is something of God’s likeness, something of the savor of God. Oh, what a wonderful change this is!
Furthermore, this life will work continuously until it expands into our body, so that our body also may have the life element. This is what Romans 8:11 speaks of: the Spirit of God which dwells in us can quicken our mortal bodies.
The life of God within us will work and expand more and more until it causes our spirit, soul, and body, or our whole being, to be completely filled with the nature of God, the element of God, and the savor of God; until we are raptured and transfigured; until we enter into glory and become completely like Him.
The life of God continuously working and expanding within us does not force its way through by ignoring us; rather it requires the inclination of our emotion, the cooperation of our mind, and the submission of our will. If we refuse its working, if we do not follow it closely and cooperate with it, it has no way to show forth its power or manifest its function. Because man is a living being with affection, mind, and will, the question of whether he will cooperate and whether he can cooperate remains a problem. Hence, when God regenerates us, besides giving us His life, He also gives us a new heart and puts within us a new spirit (Ezek. 36:26); thus, we are made both willing and able to cooperate.
The heart has to do with our willingness, while the spirit is a matter of capability. Our original heart, because of rebellion against God, became hard or old; therefore, it is called a “stony heart” or an “old heart.” This old heart is against God, does not want God, and is not willing to cooperate with God. Now God gives us a new heart. It is not that He gives us another heart in addition to our old heart, but that through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit He softens our stony heart to become a “heart of flesh,” thus renewing it to become a new heart. This new heart is inclined toward God and has affection for God and the things of God. It is a new organ for inclining toward God and loving Him; it makes us willing to cooperate with God and willing to allow the life of God to expand and work freely from inside to outside.
The spirit we originally had, because of separation from God, is dead and has become old; therefore, it is called an “old spirit.” Since this old spirit has lost its ability to fellowship with God and contact God, it naturally has no way to cooperate with God. Now God gives us a “new spirit.” This does not mean that He gives us another spirit in addition to our old spirit, but that by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit He quickens our dead spirit into a living spirit, thus renewing it into a new spirit. This new spirit can fellowship with God and can apprehend God and spiritual things. It is a new organ for contacting God; it enables us to cooperate with God and, through fellowshipping with God, to allow the life of God within us to expand and work outward.
With a new heart we are willing to cooperate with God, and with a new spirit we are able to cooperate with God. However, a new heart and a new spirit at most only enable us to thirst after God and contact God, thus allowing the life of God within us to freely expand and work outward; they cannot answer the unlimited demand of God upon us, which is that we reach the divine standard of God Himself. Therefore, when God regenerates us, He does in addition a most glorious and transcendent thing: He puts His own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, into our new spirit. This Holy Spirit is the embodiment of Christ, and Christ in turn is the embodiment of God. Therefore, the Holy Spirit entering into us is the Triune God entering into us. In this way the Creator and the creature are united. Oh, this truly deserves our praise! Moreover, the Spirit of God, the eternal Spirit or the infinite Spirit, has unlimited functions and transcendent strength. Hence, when He dwells in our new spirit, He can use His unlimited power to anoint and supply us, to work and move within us; thus, He enables us to answer the unlimited demand of God upon us, thereby allowing the life of God to expand continually from our spirit, through our soul, and into our body. Finally, He causes us to reach that glorious stage of being completely like God! Hallelujah!
One thing is clearly revealed to us here: God’s way of deliverance and man’s self-improvement are fundamentally different. Man’s self-improvement is but a work wrought upon that which man originally has, namely his soul and his body with their capabilities. Even if the improvement is successful, it is still very limited because the power of man is limited. But, with the deliverance of God, though it also passes through every part of our soul and gradually renews each one, reaching also into the body, the essential point is that the Spirit of God, bringing with it the life of God, is added into our spirit. Having divine, unlimited power, it is fully able to answer the unlimited demand of God. This is an addition, not an improvement. To attempt improvement is but to improve the things we already have, and this is limited; but to add something of God Himself is unlimited.
What we have just said should make us see clearly that regeneration causes us to receive the life of God. In this life is contained a natural function, and the natural function of this life is the “law of life.” Thus, the life of God is the source of this law of life, and regeneration is the origin of this law of life. Though this law of life is derived from the life of God, yet it is through regeneration that it enters into us.