26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit (John 3:3-8).
Ezekiel is describing the process that occurs when God changes and saves a believer. There are some important observations to recognize about this process. One observation is that all the actions are on the part of God. It is God that brings about the new heart and gives the Spirit. We learn from the readings in the New Testament that it is through Christ we are made new. Our rebirth is only possibly by Christ through the gift of the Holy Spirit. The condition on receiving the Spirit is to be reborn. This rebirth is through faith. Therefore, since it is a sovereign action of God to give the Spirit, the action of faith by the believer is actually a gift as well. The whole experience of rebirth then is an act of amazing grace.
17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit (John 3:3-8).
Ezekiel is describing the process that occurs when God changes and saves a believer. There are some important observations to recognize about this process. One observation is that all the actions are on the part of God. It is God that brings about the new heart and gives the Spirit. We learn from the readings in the New Testament that it is through Christ we are made new. Our rebirth is only possibly by Christ through the gift of the Holy Spirit. The condition on receiving the Spirit is to be reborn. This rebirth is through faith. Therefore, since it is a sovereign action of God to give the Spirit, the action of faith by the believer is actually a gift as well. The whole experience of rebirth then is an act of amazing grace.
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