The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 346

—

;

REGENERATION

3o6

John the son

child, as, e.g., in

of Zacharias

and Elizabeth.

fant has no consciousness to create confusion.

And

a pure and unmixed form.

thus

we

Such

in-

The matter appears in

are enabled to distinguish

between regeneration and conversion in an adult. It is evident that in the case of an infant which, like John, is still unborn, there can be nothing but mere passivity i.e., the child underwent something, but himself did 7iothing j something was done to him, and in him, but not by him and every idea of cooperation is absolutely ;

excluded.

Hence, in regeneration, man is neither worker nor coworker j he merely wrought upon; and the only Worker in this matter is God. And, for this very reason, because God is the sole Worker in regeneration, it must be thoroughly understood that His work does is

not begin only with regeneration.

No; while the sinner is still dead in trespasses and sins, before God has begun in him, he is already chosen and ordained, justified and sanctified, adopted as God's child and gloriThis is what filled St. Paul with such ecstasy of joy when he fied. said: " For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate and whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified " (Rom. viii. 29, 30), And this is not the recital of what took place in the regenerate, but the glad summing up of the things which God accomplished for us before we existed. Hence our election, foreordination, justification, and glorification precede

the work of

;

new

It is truo that, in the hour of love when regenerabe effected in us, the things accomplished outside of our consciousness were to be revealed to the consciousness of faith

the

tion

birth.

was

to

but so far as God was concerned pared.

The dead

all

whom God

sinner

things were ready and pre-

regenerates

is to

the divine

consciousness a beloved, elect, justified, and adopted child already.

God quickens only His dear children. Of course, God justifies the ungodly and not Q.aS\^

sinners

\.o

remembered consciousness

that this

of

sin.

is

wrought

God

gainsays

it

He

should be

spoken from the point of view of our own

The

God's child, nor that he tion, yea, often

the righteous;

repentance and not just persons; but

still

unregenerate does not feel himself

is justified; it;

does not believe his

own

elec-

yet he can not alter the things divinely

in his behalf, viz., that before the

supreme bar

of justice

declared him just and free, long before he was so declared

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