This is a wonderful point! According to the Bible, we were reborn when Christ was resurrected from the dead. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3). Thus, our regeneration was accomplished once for all nineteen and one-half centuries ago. In our experience we were reborn some years ago, but from the divine perspective, our regeneration was fully accomplished when Christ was resurrected. Our experience of regeneration is based fully upon its already having been accomplished. It is one of the many wonderful bequests given to us in the New Testament.
Regeneration is an eternal birth relationship and can never be dissolved. No birth can be reversed. No one can become unborn once he is born. Just as this is a fixed principle in physical life, it is even more solid and substantial in the spiritual realm. Once we are born of God, we are eternally His children, regardless of our condition. Though we might turn away from the Lord temporarily, the birth relationship can by no means be terminated. This great fact gives us much confidence and boldness in the face of our failures and sin. No failure can terminate the birth relationship we have with God. Once our heart is turned again we can come boldly to our Father as His dear child.
God has a purpose. That purpose is to have on the earth a corporate new man. This new man is in God’s image to express Him and has been committed with God’s authority to exercise dominion over the Satan-usurped earth (Gen. 1:28; Col. 3:10-11). God’s purpose cannot be accomplished apart from God’s life. Only God’s life within us enables us to be in the reality of God’s image. Only God’s life within us enables us to exercise dominion over the enemy, Satan. Regeneration is our first experience of God’s life. The salvation of God is not primarily to save us from hell and to bring us into heaven, but rather to impart His divine life into us. By regeneration, we receive His divine life into our spirit. From our spirit, He is spreading into our soul by the process of transformation, and at His second coming, He will even saturate our body. That will be our glorification. Hallelujah for regeneration!
(What is Regeneration?, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee)