III. THE ISSUE
Now that we have seen the way to be regenerated, we want to see the issue of regeneration.
A. Resurrected with Christ
The first issue of regeneration is that we are resurrected with Christ. First Peter 1:3b says that we were regenerated through the resurrection of Christ. Ephesians 2:5a says that God made us alive together with Christ. When Christ was resurrected, we were also resurrected with Him. From God’s viewpoint we were resurrected together with Christ and regenerated through His resurrection. But this is realized by us experientially and applied to us when we are regenerated in time. Thus, the result of our regeneration is that we are resurrected with Christ.
B. Having the Eternal and Uncreated Life
When we were regenerated, God put His eternal and uncreated life into our being (1 John 1:2).
C. Becoming a Child of God
Since God has put His life into us, we have become children of God. John 1:12 says that we have the authority to be the children of God. This authority is the life God put into us. The very life God put into us is our right, our authority, for us to be children of God.
D. Partaking of the Divine Nature
Regeneration results in the partaking of God’s divine nature. Because we are born of God, surely as His children we have not only His life but also His nature. Second Peter 1:4 says that we are partakers of the divine nature.
E. Born into the Kingdom of God
Since we are born of God, spontaneously we are born into the realm of God, into the sphere of God, that is, into the kingdom of God (John 3:5). This is the result, the issue, of our regeneration.
We need to emphasize the focus of this lesson, which is expressed in the following statement: to be regenerated is to have the life of God that we may be His children living in His kingdom according to His divine nature.
(Basic Lessons on Life, Chapter 8, by Witness Lee)
