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In chapter 3 we spoke of spiritual life as it relates to God’s creation and to God being life. Now we will consider man’s fall and man’s regeneration.
There is a great deal of speaking in Christianity concerning God but very little speaking concerning God being life. There is also much speaking about God’s creation of man but very little speaking about God creating a spirit in man so that man could receive God’s life. Similarly, Christianity speaks concerning man’s fall, but it rarely refers to the fact that the human spirit was damaged by man’s fall. Most Christian teachers stress that man’s fall resulted in his judicial condemnation by God. Those with a deeper understanding teach that man not only commits sins worthy of condemnation but also has a sinful nature as a result of the fall. Nevertheless, it is rarely pointed out that the fall damaged man’s God-created human spirit.
When we speak to the young people about man’s fall, we must present three points. First, man sinned, and this sinful act condemned him before God as if he were in a court of law. Second, man’s fall caused man to have a corrupt nature, to have sin within him. Hence, man not only commits sinful acts outwardly but also has a sinful nature inwardly. Because man has a sinful nature, his human nature is contaminated by sin. Third, from the viewpoint of life, man’s fall resulted in his spirit being damaged. When Satan tempted man and caused man to fall, Satan damaged man’s spirit, which was originally created as a vessel for man to contact and receive God. Although a light bulb can receive electricity and shine forth light if its outward surface is dirty, it will be unable to shine forth light if its inner filament is damaged. Satan damaged the part within man that enabled man to contact God and receive God — the human spirit. Once man’s spirit was damaged, man was truly fallen.
The proof that man’s spirit was damaged in the fall can be seen in God’s word to Adam in Genesis 2:17. God said, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of it you shall not eat; for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Physically speaking, however, Adam did not die on the day that he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Although he did not die physically, his spirit died. Consider the example of the light bulb. From the outward appearance it is often not possible to know if a light bulb is good or bad, especially if the light switch is turned off. Outwardly, a light bulb can appear to be intact, but if its filament is broken, it will not conduct electricity. When Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, his spirit was deadened even though he was outwardly alive. His spirit was deadened because it lost its function.
The function of the spirit is to contact God. Since the function of our eyes is to see and the function of our ears is to hear, we can say that those who are blind or deaf have lost the function of their eyes or ears. Hence, their eyes or ears have been deadened. After Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, his spirit was deadened. Although his body was still alive, his spirit was deadened within because he lost the ability to contact God. To God, it was as if Adam were dead, because the function of his spirit was damaged.
Ephesians 2:1 says, “You, though dead in your offenses and sins.” Dead refers to the deadness of the human spirit, because Paul was addressing believers who were living. When he said that they were dead in offenses and sins, he meant that their spirit had been deadened by their sins. When a person drowns, we say that he died in water. To say that people are dead in offenses and sins is equivalent to saying that people are damaged in their spirit because of their sins. We were dead in our sins because our spirit was damaged by our sins. Colossians 2:13 says, “You, though dead in your offenses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh.” This means that our offenses and our flesh caused our spirit to lose its function; that is, our spirit was deadened because of our offenses and our flesh.
Matthew 8:22 says, “Let the dead bury their own dead.” The first reference to dead speaks of those who are alive physically but dead in spirit, and the second reference to dead speaks of those who are physically dead. Thus, for the dead to bury their own dead means that those who are physically alive but dead in the spirit should bury those who are physically dead.
All these verses speak of people who are spiritually dead, not physically dead. When Satan tempted man to sin, his purpose was to damage the spirit that God had created in man. God created the human spirit so that man could contact Him and receive Him. When Satan damaged man’s spirit, man could no longer contact God. Once man’s spirit was damaged, man was in complete darkness. If someone wants to prevent us from seeing, the easiest way is to damage our eyes. Once our eyes are damaged, we will be in darkness and see nothing. The primary goal in Satan’s corruption of man was to damage man’s spirit.
After man’s spirit was damaged, it lost its function; as a result, man became alienated from God. Ephesians 4:18 says, “Being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.” The Gentiles, being fallen, are darkened in their understanding and ignorant within; consequently, they are alienated from the life of God. Man is alienated from God and unable to receive God as life because he is darkened within and deadened in his spirit. Man’s alienation from God is mainly related to his inability to receive God’s life. God wants man to receive Him as life in order to contact and enjoy Him, but Satan damaged man’s spirit, making it impossible for man to receive God as life. As a result, man is alienated from God’s life.
A further result of man’s fall is that man lost his inner feeling; that is, he lost the consciousness of his conscience. Ephesians 4:19 says, “Who, being past feeling.” Being past feeling, in the original Greek language, means “to discard all feeling,” indicating that a person has lost feeling in his conscience. With a deadened spirit and with his alienation from God, man lost all feeling related to his inner sense of God. We must tell the young people, seriously and emphatically, that people are corrupt because their deadened spirit and their alienation from God have caused them to lose all feeling within them.
The third step of man’s fall is that people “have given themselves over to lasciviousness to work all uncleanness in greediness” (v. 19). To give oneself over to lasciviousness to work all uncleanness in greediness means to do all kinds of immoral things and to live one’s life in lasciviousness and uncleanness. This is a matter related to life and to our living. Because of the fall, a person’s spirit is deadened. This deadness issues in three things: alienation from the life of God, losing all feeling in his conscience, and a lascivious living that is full of immorality and uncleanness in greed. This is man’s fall.
Now we will cover the matter of man’s regeneration, which is related to our salvation. Even though man fell, he can be saved. Man’s salvation is related to regeneration. The central meaning of salvation is regeneration. If a person is not regenerated, he has not been saved. A saved person has been regenerated. According to John 1:13, which says, “Who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God,” regeneration means that man is born of God, that God enters into man to be his life. When God enters into man to be his life, He causes man to be born again. Every saved person has two births. His first birth is of his parents, whereas his second birth is of God. A saved person is born again of God.
According to the Bible, man is regenerated in a specific part of his being. In John 3:3 the Lord Jesus said, “Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Man needs to be born again in order to enter into God’s kingdom. Verse 5 says, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” This indicates that man must be born of water and the Spirit in order to be born again. Hence, to be regenerated is to be born of the Spirit. God is Spirit (4:24). When God as the Spirit enters into man, man receives God as life and is born again. Then John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” This verse clearly shows that when the Holy Spirit enters into us, He enters into our spirit and causes our spirit to be born again, because “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” The first reference to Spirit in this verse is to the Holy Spirit, and the second reference to spirit is to our human spirit. Regeneration does not produce a person of flesh and blood but a person with an enlivened spirit. This verse also proves that God regenerates us in our spirit. God is Spirit, and He enters into our spirit to regenerate us.
According to Ezekiel 36:26, God said, “I will also give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.” God said that He would give us a new heart and put a new spirit within us. Without a doubt this refers to God’s regeneration of our deadened spirit, which makes our spirit new. New spirit does not mean that God creates another spirit for us; rather, He renews our old spirit. God renews our old spirit by coming into our spirit as the Spirit of God, thereby enlivening it. Once our spirit is enlivened, it becomes new; that is, our old spirit becomes a new spirit by being enlivened by the Spirit. In verse 26 God said, “A new spirit I will put within you,” and in verse 27 He said, “I will put My Spirit within you.” When we are regenerated, God’s Spirit comes into us to renew our old spirit, making it new, and to enliven it, making it alive.
God’s Spirit indwells our spirit and mingles with our spirit to become one spirit. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.” The witnessing of the Spirit with our spirit proves that the Holy Spirit is in our spirit. First Corinthians 6:17 says, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” The Lord is the Spirit, and when the Lord enters into our spirit and is joined with our spirit, the two spirits become one. These verses show that when God enters into us for our regeneration, the Spirit of God enters into our spirit. Through regeneration our deadened spirit is made alive.
Ephesians 2:5 says, “Even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ.” Being made alive refers to being regenerated in our spirit. Colossians 2:13 says, “You, though dead in your offenses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our offenses.” Here, the phrase made alive also refers to being regenerated in spirit. When we are regenerated, our human spirit is restored to its function. A spirit with a restored function is a spirit that has been made alive.
Our spirit being made alive results in three things. First, we are able to fellowship with God. This is in contrast to being alienated from God. A regenerated person is able to fellowship with God. First John 1:1-3 speaks of the fellowship of life. A person who has the life of God can fellowship with God. God’s life enables man to fellowship with God.
Second, a person who has the life of God is full of inward feeling. This is in contrast to being past feeling as spoken of in Ephesians 4:19. First John 3:19-21 says, “In this we will know that we are of the truth, and we will persuade our heart before Him...If our heart does not blame us, we have boldness toward God.” The ability of our heart to be persuaded and to not blame us and the boldness that we have toward God are indications of the presence of feelings. Romans 8:6 also says, “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” This verse speaks of having inner feeling. When our mind is set on the spirit, we have an inward sense of life and peace.
Third, a person with an enlivened spirit is able to live out the virtues of God. This is in contrast to a lascivious living that is according to all uncleanness in greediness. First John 3:14 says, “We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. He who does not love abides in death.” Those who love the brothers have passed out of death into life, and those who do not love abide in death. The ability to love the brothers is proof that we have been enlivened inwardly. Romans 13:8 says, “He who loves the other has fulfilled the law.” Love is the underlying principle of all good deeds; love produces good deeds. The ability to live out love speaks of the ability to live out the virtues of God. Our ability to live out love proves that we have been enlivened in our spirit.
