Regeneration and Eternal Security:  Part 2

In a similar manner, when the believer is regenerated, God's life goes forth into the formation of the new person.  This is the very life which has existed for eternity, the very life which is in fact incapable of death!  But while the regenerate man derives his life from God, there is no component portion of him which could be distinctly and exclusively identified as God.  The person of God does indeed indwell the believer, but that is not regeneration, it is indwelling.  That which indwells him is the eternal creator God.  But the regenerate nature infused into man is not God.  It is a new person separate and distinct from God!  Because of this, Gods' life could not be extracted from the new man leaving behind only the old man or the unregenerate nature any more than my life could be extracted from Tiffany leaving behind only her mother.  It is the life that came from me which "empowers" Tiffany.  But my life no longer exists within her as a separate and definable entity.  She is a single indivisible person, and can never be anyone other than who she is.  The formation of a new life is an irreversible process.  And yet, my life is part of her!

So it is with regeneration.  Although God's life is in the regenerate man, it has been irreversibly fused in some way to some "genetic" component of the old man to form a separate new entity.  God's life is no longer a separate identifiable component of the regenerate person, therefore, Gods' life could not be extracted from that person.  Once the new man is formed, he cannot be separated into his original components any more than I could extract my life from my daughter.  A person cannot be "un-personed" after coming into existence, it is an irreversible process.

One might therefore argue:  "O.K., the seed of the Holy Spirit cannot be extracted from the regenerate believer after regeneration takes place any more than this could happen on a biological level.  The regenerate man begotten of the "sperma" of the Holy Spirit is indivisible and cannot be "un-personed."  The process of creating a new person is irreversible.  But just as your daughters' life could be extinguished, so the regenerate man can die spiritually."

But this line of reasoning demonstrates another grave misunderstanding.  God is not a man, and the life that comes from God is not subject to death.  God cannot die!  He is immortal, eternal.  God could no more be subject to death than a rock is subject to worry!  It is not that a rock never worries because it is brave.  It never worries because the very concept of worry is foreign to the nature of a rock.  They are intrinsically unrelated.

Similarly, God it not immortal because He is too powerful to be killed.  He is immortal because the nature of Gods' life is such that it is not capable of being extinguished.  Gods' life is intrinsically incapable of death.  And this is the life that is imparted to the believer in the regeneration!  This is why the term "eternal life" is so intertwined with passages dealing with regeneration.

If it were possible for a believer to "loose his salvation" (including his eternal life), it would mean that divine life can somehow be extinguished.  And if this were possible, then it would be possible for God Himself to die!  The life of God cannot be extinguished, and the life of God cannot be extracted from the new person, who is no longer God, but a totally separate person.

Those who believe one may lose their salvation through abandoning their faith may be genuinely saved.  They may believe in salvation by grace through faith, and apart from man's works.  And faith is not a work (Romans 4:16).  But such persons have placed upon themselves the heavy burden of what might happen if the faith within their heart might fail.  It is not to the cross that we must direct such a person.  If they are trusting in Christ alone, they are surely saved.  We must encourage them regarding the regeneration of the Holy Sprit.  That, even "though we are faithless, he remains faithful, for He cannot deny himself."

Regeneration and Eternal Security: Part 2