John 1:12-13 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name, who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” This portion tells us that the way to be regenerated is to receive the Lord Jesus by believing into Him. He is the Word from God (1:1), and He is also the light from God (v. 9). When we receive Him, we have the authority to become children of God. This authority is nothing other than the life of God. God gives us His life as our authority that we may become children of God. Hence, we are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. This is regeneration, which is a great matter.
Therefore, we may say that regeneration is the center of God’s complete salvation and the commencement of God’s salvation in its organic aspect. It is God Himself as the Spirit coming into our spirit to make us alive. In other words, we are regenerated, made alive, in our spirit by the Spirit of God. This is regeneration.
This indeed is our experience. Before we believed in the Lord Jesus, we were so confused about everything that we even did not know what being a man was all about. However, after we were saved, we became clear in our spirit. This is the Spirit of God coming into our spirit to enliven it and open our understanding so that we begin to know what God is all about, what the universe is all about, and what we ourselves are all about. Then we know that this God who regenerated us dwells in our spirit.
When I saw that I, one who had been regenerated of God, had God dwelling in me, I was so excited that I almost wanted to run to the street and shout, “Friends, don’t touch me. I can’t be touched. I have God in me.” Some may say, “Isn’t this person crazy?” Yes, we all should be crazy for having God in us. By seeing that we have God in us, we can give up what we loved and what we were not able to give up in the past. We have been made alive in our spirit by the Spirit of God; He has put His genes in us that we may have His life and nature.
Through regeneration the believers have the spiritual life of God in addition to their natural life (John 3:15). The spiritual life of God is divine and eternal (v. 36). Such a divine life is the basis and means of the believers’ spiritual life and living. Spiritually, all of our living is based upon the divine life of God in us.
Titus 3:5 says, “Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.” This verse refers to God’s salvation. God saves us according to His mercy through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration is a great washing in us. Regeneration washes away not only our sins but also all our natural human elements until everything of our old man will be thoroughly purged away.
Among those who are present here, there are some Hakka people, and there are also some from Shantung. Whether it is a Hakka from southern China or a native of Shantung from northern China, neither can be changed. However, God has chosen us and also regenerated us. Regeneration is God coming into us, and then He washes us layer after layer. When He comes into us, immediately He becomes our life. We all know that every kind of life has its taste. The cat life has its taste, the dog life has its taste, and so does the horse life, the cow life, the goat life, etc. The Hakkas have their taste, and the Shantung people also have their taste. All our taste comes from our five senses-the sense of sight, the sense of hearing, the sense of smell, the sense of taste, and the sense of touch. The Hakkas have the Hakka insight that comes from their sense of sight, and they have the Hakka way of speaking that comes from their sense of hearing. Furthermore, the Hakkas have the Hakka way of life. All the things that come in through the five senses constitute our taste. However, one day the Triune God came in to be our life. When we have Him as our life, our inner taste is changed. This is the organic work of God.
Let me speak a little about my experience. I was saved at the age of nineteen. Before that time, I was a genuine Shantung native with my entire being filled with the Shantung flavor. My favorite pastimes were watching Peking opera and playing soccer, with the latter as my greatest enjoyment. On Sundays a few of us would play soccer from seven or eight o’clock in the morning until six or seven o’clock in the evening. Not only so, if I did not watch the Peking operas, I would feel very unsatisfied. My mother simply had no way to deal with me. From our youth she brought us to the Sunday Christian service, and she also promised that as long as we would go to the service, she would give us meat and other good food to eat. In spite of this, I still would not go. I just wanted to play soccer. As long as I could play soccer, I could forget about sleep and meals.
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