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a. Regeneration is a creative act, by which the spiritually dead sinner is restored to life. But the
truth of the gospel can only work in a moral and persuasive way. Such an instrument has no
effect on the dead. To assert its use would seem to imply a denial of the spiritual death of man;
which, of course, is not intended by those who take this position.
b. Regeneration takes place in the sphere of the sub-conscious, that is, outside of the sphere of
conscious attention, while the truth addresses itself to the consciousness of man. It can
exercise its persuasive influence only when man’s attention is fixed on it.
c. The Bible distinguishes the influence of the Holy Spirit from that of the Word of God, and
declares that such an influence is necessary for the proper reception of the truth, John 6:64,65;
Acts 16:14; I Cor. 2:12-15; Eph. 1:17-20. Notice particularly the case of Lydia, of whom Luke
says: “She heard us (ekouen, impf.), whose heart the Lord opened (dienoixen, aor., single act),
that she attended (prosechein, inf. of result or purpose) unto the things which were spoken of
Paul.”
3. SCRIPTURE PASSAGES THAT SEEM TO PROVE THE CONTRARY.
a. In James 1:18 we read: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we
should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” This passage does not prove that the new
generation is mediated by the Word of God, for the term here used is apokuesen, which does
not refer to begetting, but to giving birth. They who believe in immediate regeneration do not
deny that the new birth, in which the new life first becomes manifest, is secured by the Word.
b. Peter exhorts believers to love one another fervently in view of the fact that they have been
“begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the Word of God, which
liveth and abideth.” I Pet. 1:23. It is not correct to say, as some have done, that “the Word” in
this verse is the creative word, or the second person in the Trinity, for Peter himself informs us
that he has in mind the word that was preached unto the readers, vs. 25. But it is perfectly in
order to point out that even gennao (the word here used) does not always refer to the
masculine begetting, but may also denote the feminine giving birth to children. This is perfectly
evident from such passages as Luke 1:13,57; 23:29; John 16:21; Gal. 4:24. Consequently, there
is no warrant for the assertion that Peter in this passage refers to the initial act in regeneration,
namely, the begetting. And if it refers to regeneration in a broader sense, then the passage
offers no difficulty whatsoever in connection with the matter under consideration. The idea
that it refers to the new birth here, is favored by the fact that the readers are represented as
having been born again out of a seed that was evidently already implanted in the soul, cf. John
1:13. It is not necessary to identify the seed with the Word.