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XXII. The Work of Regeneration.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away;
behold all things are become new.”—2 Cor.v. 17.
In our former article we contended that regeneration is a real act of God in which man
is absolutely passive and unable, according to the ancient confession of the Church. Let us
now reverently examine this matter more closely; not to penetrate into things too high for
us, but to cut off error and to clear the consciousness.
Regeneration is not sacramentally effected by holy Baptism, relieving the sinner’s inab-
ility, offering him another opportunity to choose for or against God, as the Ethicals maintain.
Nor is it a mere rectifying of the understanding; nor a simple change of disposition and
inclination, making the unwilling willing to conform to the holy will of God.
Neither is it a change of ego; nor, as many maintain, a leaving the ego undisturbed, the
personality unchanged, simply putting the evil ego in the light and reflection of the right-
eousness of Christ.
The last two errors must be refuted and rejected as positively as the first two.
In regeneration a man does not receive another ego; i.e., ourbeing as manis not changed
nor modified, but before and after regeneration it is the same ego, the same person, the same
human being. Altho sin has terribly corrupted man, his being remained intact. Nothing is
lacking. All its constituent parts, that distinguish it from all other beings, are present in the
sinner.
Not his being, but his nature became totally corrupt.
Nature and being are not the same. Applied to a steam-engine, being is the engine itself,
with its cylinders, pipes, wheels, and screws; but its nature is the action manifest as soon as
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steam enters the cylinder. Applied to man, being is that which makes him man, and nature
that which manifests the character of his being 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, i.e.,restoration of his nature, is possible; and this
restoration is effected by the new birth. Let this be firmly maintained. In regeneration we
do not receive a new being, ego, or person, but our natureis reborn.
The best and most satisfactory illustration of the manner of regeneration is furnished
by the curious art of grafting. The 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
XXII. The Work of Regeneration.
XXII. The Work of Regeneration.
