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Octavius Winslow

Titus 3:5, 6

Titus 3:5, 6
Octavius Winslow August, 6 2016 3 min read
709 Articles 90 Sermons 35 Books
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August, 6 2016
Octavius Winslow
Octavius Winslow 3 min read
709 articles 90 sermons 35 books
What does the Bible say about regeneration?

The Bible teaches that regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit, who imparts the life of Christ to the believer.

According to Titus 3:5, regeneration is not based on our works but is a result of God's mercy. The Holy Spirit effectively regenerates the soul of the sinner, breathing life into what was spiritually dead. This transformation allows the believer to experience the new life in Christ, which is the fulfillment of the believer's hope and identity. It signifies a participation in the very life of Jesus, who dwells within the believer, establishing them as a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:5

How do we know Jesus is alive?

The conversion and regeneration of believers serve as evidence that Jesus is alive.

The evident change in a believer's life serves as a powerful testimony to the reality of Jesus' resurrection. When a person moves from death in sin to new life in Christ, it is the Holy Spirit's work that brings this transformation to fruition. This life change, which is marked by repentance and faith, illustrates the active presence of Christ within the believer, affirming not only His resurrection but also His continuing work in the hearts of those who believe. This is concisely highlighted in verses that speak of Christ living in us, which constitutes a compelling argument for His living presence today.

Titus 3:5

Why is regeneration important for Christians?

Regeneration is essential for Christians as it marks the beginning of new life in Christ and enables us to live in accordance with His will.

Regeneration is crucial for Christians because it is the divine act by which the Holy Spirit imparts spiritual life to a dead soul. This new birth allows a believer to enter into a personal relationship with Christ, ensuring that they not only acknowledge His existence but experience His transformative power within. Such a regeneration instills a new nature and enables the believer to live in a manner reflecting the righteousness of God, thus glorifying Him in their daily lives. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 articulates, anyone in Christ is a new creation, underscoring the essential nature of regeneration in the Christian faith.

Titus 3:5, 2 Corinthians 5:17

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

— Titus 3:5, 6

The conversion of a sinner to God is a convincing and precious evidence that Jesus is alive. In the regeneration wrought in the soul by the Holy Spirit, the life of Jesus is imparted. He breathes into the soul morally dead the breath of life, and it becomes a living soul. Until, in the exercise of His distinct office, this Divine Person of the adorable Trinity convinces of sin, quickens and brings the soul to Christ for acceptance, risen with Christ though that soul mystically is, it yet remains totally dead to, and insensible of, its great privilege—an utter stranger to that new life which springs from oneness with the "second Adam." The new nature which the Eternal Spirit now imparts is nothing less than the creation of the life of Christ in the soul; yes, even more than this, it is the bringing of Christ Himself into the soul to dwell there the "hope of glory" through time, and glory itself, through eternity.

Here, then, is an evidence that Jesus is alive, to a renewed mind the most convincing and precious. Thus quickened by the Eternal Spirit, believers become temples of Christ. Jesus lives in them. "I in them." "Know you not that Christ is in you?" "Christ lives in me." "Christ in you the hope of glory." Thus every believer is a living witness that Jesus is alive, because he bears about with him the very life of Jesus. By the indwelling of the Spirit, and realized by faith, Christ abides in the believer, and the believer abides in Christ. "I in them, and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one; that they also may be one in us."

We have already stated that this glorious entrance of Christ within the soul transpires at the period of the new birth. What, then, is every new conversion, every fresh trophy of redeeming grace, but a new manifestation to the universe of the life of Jesus? I see the sinner pursuing his mad career of folly, rebellion, and guilt. Suddenly he is arrested, I see him bowed to the earth, his heart broken with sorrow, his spirit crushed beneath the burden of sin. He smites upon his breast; acknowledges his transgression, confesses his iniquity, deplores it in the dust. Presently I see him lift his eye, and rest it upon a bleeding Savior; he gazes, wonders, believes, adores—is saved! By whom is this miracle of grace wrought?—The Spirit has descended to testify that Jesus is alive. That newly-converted soul, so lately dead in sins, but now quickened with Christ—that sinner but recently dwelling among the tombs, whom no human power could tame, now sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind—demonstrates that Christ is in heaven, and is alive, for evermore. Oh, it is the heaven-descending life of Jesus. Show me, then, a soul just passed from death unto life, and I will show you an evidence that Jesus is alive at the right hand of God.

From Evening Thoughts by Octavius Winslow.
Octavius Winslow
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