The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 351

THE WORK OF REGENERATION

311

Applied to man, being is that which makes him man, and nature that which manifests the character of his being

the cylinder.

and working. If sin had ruined man's being, he would be no more man, and regeneration would be impossible. But since his being, his ego, his person remained intact and the deep corruption affected only his nature, regeneration,

and

this restoration is

firmly maintained.

i.e.,

restoration of his nature,

effected

by the new

In regeneration

we do

birth.

is

possible;

Let

not receive a

this

be

new being,

ego, or person, but our fiature is reborn.

manner of reThe successful grafting of a budding shoot of the cultivated grape upon the wild vine results in a good tree growing upon the wild trunk. This applies to all fruit-trees and flowering plants. The cultivated can be grafted upon the wild. Left to itself, the wild will never yield anything good. The wild pear and the wild rose remain stunted and chary of fruit and blossom. But let the gardener graft a finely flavored pear upon the wild pear, or a beautiful double tearose upon the wild rose, and the former will yield luscious fruit and

The

best and most satisfactory illustration of the

generation

is

furnished by the curious art of grafting.

the latter magnificent flowers.

This miracle of grafting has always been a wonder to thinking men. And it is a wonder. The trunk to be grafted is absolutely wild with its wild roots it sucks the saps and forces them into its wild cells. But that little graft has the wonderful power of converting the sap and vital forces into something good, causing that wild trunk to bear noble fruit and rich flowers. It is true the wild ;

trunk vigorously resists the reformation of shoots below the graft, and

if

its

nature by

its

wild

successful its wild nature will forci-

itself and prevent the sap from passing through the bud. But by keeping down those wild shoots the sap can be forced to the bud with excellent results. Forcing down the wild trunk, the graft will gradually reach almost to the roots, and we nearly forget that the tree was ever wild. This clearly represents regeneration so far as this divine mysFor in regeneration sometery can be represented objectively.

bly assert

The fall did not is planted in man which by nature he lacks. merely remove him from the sphere of divine righteousness, into which regeneration brings him back, but regeneration effects a radical modification in man as man, creating a difference between him thing

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