HOME > REV.DR.JAEROCK LEE >
PASTORAL PHILOSOPHY > THE FIVE-FOLD GOSPEL
Even though man, whom God had created, was to live by God’s ordinances and precepts, man became corrupt and fell away from His grace through deliberate disobedience and in malice and enmity. Adam’s disobedience came not from the influence of others but from his own will; in other words, he can have no excuse. Satan is not able to control our heart unless we open our heart to him. The most urgent aspect for an individual who is to die from his sins and flaws is for him to repent thoroughly, become righteous by being forgiven of his sins, become a child of God by being born again by the life of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and recover all rights and privileges to which he is entitled as a child of God. This is the gospel of regeneration.
Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 3:5, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” Here, “the washing of regeneration” refers to the ceremony of baptism. More specifically, “the washing” symbolizes the ceremony and “regeneration” signifies “spiritual reformation” that “regeneration” represents.
In a broader sense, “renewal by the Holy Spirit” can be seen as the fundamental works of regeneration on the one hand, and perfect sanctification which is seen as the Holy Spirit’s continual works on the other. This “renewal” in relations to regeneration refers to the restoration of God’s moral image in which man was originally created, yet this “renewal” also carries greater significance: sacrificing one’s all to God in order to renew the original purpose of life. Thus, Paul urges us to “put on the new self, which in [the likeness of] God has been created in righte ousness and holiness of the truth” (Ephesians 4:24), and reminds us that we “have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him” (Colossians 3:10).
A conventional dictionary defines “regeneration” as “coming into being the second time” or “being made in a new way” and “being born again.” All of these expressions refer to birth or, more explicitly, the existence of something that had not been in existence before. Therefore, the definition of “regeneration” refers to a creation, which in our case refers to the re-creating in Christ of the spirit of man and for him to be recognized as new creation.
This signifies spiritual resurrection. In spiritual terms, a spirit before regeneration is dead in his sins and trespasses and is unable to recognize God the Creator. Therefore, regeneration indicates the blessing of spiritual resurrection of a spirit through the individual’s belief in Jesus Christ. A person’s spirit, which had been dead in his sins and trespasses, resurrects by his faith in Jesus Christ, can now lead a morally transformed life, live a life in which his ways have been transformed as he no longer conforms to the ways of this world, and experiences a mind-renewing life with a new heart he receives from above (Romans 12:2).
The moment we are born again by believing in Jesus (at the moment of our regeneration), all of our sins disappear as if we have already recompensed the wages of sin (Ephesians 2:1, 3-5). The state of our heart before experiencing regeneration is tainted with the sins we had committed and with our unclean heart and deeds. By the cleansing of the blood of Jesus Christ, however, our heart and works become pure.
Prior to regeneration, all people are sinners; even those without major moral flaws are also sinners. Even if one does not sin according to the moral standards of this world and claims to be free from any qualms of conscience, without the knowledge of God and accepting Jesus Christ as his Savior, he cannot be declared “righteous” by God (Romans 3:10). Titus 3:5-7 point out that no one is made righteous by his or her works but instead, when people ? even those whose sins of the past are great and many ? recognize and repent of their sin and evil and believe in the work of the blood of Jesus Christ, God will accept them as if they have already obeyed all of His commandments and wholly kept every aspect of the law. In other words, they will receive forgiveness of their sins and be declared “justified” or “righteous.”
Regeneration leads us to God’s grace and love, and we become worthy enough for God to receive us in Jesus Christ. This refers to the privilege by which the children of the devil become the children of God.
One must understand that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that salvation is found in no one else but Him (Acts 4:12). Therefore, understanding why Jesus is our Savior must be preceded by a thorough review of His qualification as the Redeemer of sins ? “the one who can redeem the land.”
According to the law of the spiritual realm, four conditions are to be satisfied in order for us to be redeemed from our sins. The One who is to break the seals of the book of life ? the same One who is to redeem the land ? is Jesus Christ and we will review why He is the only One who satisfies the four conditions.
For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), all of Adam’s descendants were to fall into hell. Yet, 1 Corinthians 15:21 tells us that “For since by a man [came] death, by a man also [came] the resurrection of the dead”; the sins of man can be redeemed only by a man. This is the law of the spiritual realm.
In other words, in order for sinners ? who are no different from the dead ? to resurrect, gain life, and receive eternal life, they must be without any sins. This is precisely according to what we find in Leviticus 25:25: “If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold.”
The law forbade a permanent sale of the land so that it might be redeemed by someone who would be able to redeem it, but “no one in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth” was worthy of redeeming the land (Revelation 5:1-6). Redeeming of the land required “a kinsman” of mankind but all people had already become sinners and there were only angles and heavenly host in heaven and only sinners and the devils under the earth. For this reason John wept greatly (Revelation 5:4). At that moment, however, an elder came forward and told John that the One who is proper to open the book of life and break its seals is Jesus Christ of “the Root of David” (Revelation 5:5-6; Acts 13: 22-23).
Thus, Jesus Christ who is the Word, which had become flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 14), became the propitiation “not for our sins only, but also for [those of] the whole world (1 John 2:2), died on the cross some 2,000 years ago, and resurrected in three days.
For all descendants of Adam are born with the original sin, they are not able to redeem others from their sins. Jesus, however, was conceived not by the union of a man’s sperms and a woman’s egg but by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18-21). As Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, He has no original sin.
The authority to defeat and rule over the enemy devil stems from having no original or self-committed sins. The authority to rule over the enemy devil comes from shunning and casting out sins. For shunning and casting out of sins are the authority, once an individual has rent his heart in repentance and destroyed the wall of sin standing on His way to God, trials and afflictions will be driven away and he will receive God’s answers to his prayer. If the enemy devil stays, it is because that individual lacks strength. In other words, for there are remnants of sin within him, he has no strength to drive out the devil.
Due to the wall of sin that had been standing on our way to God, we had been unable to see Him and destined to death (hell). Destroying of this wall necessitated the kind of sacrificial love of a Redeemer who would subject Himself to all kinds of scorn and contempt, be crucified on a cross, and shed all His blood and water. Jesus came into this world as a man, not as a descendant of Adam, and had strength. Yet, if Jesus had no love, He would not have been able to redeem us from our sins and our status could not have changed from “children of the devil” to “children of God.” This kind of love required sacrificial love by which the Redeemer could be crucified on a cross and become the propitiation.
Water makes unclean objects clean, thereby making them “new” again, and resuscitates all life (Romans 8:19-21). In other words, water provides life. Here, “water” symbolizes all things that are spiritual. In spiritual terms, “water” represents the truth or the Word of God.
As water serves to make unclean objects clean, when we are unclean we can cleanse ourselves with water. By the same token, for the Word of God is spiritual, it cleanses our spirit within the flesh from the filth of our spirit and heart. When we obey the Word of the truth, we will be ridding ourselves of the filth of our spirit ? all untruths, evil, unrighteousness, and sins. For the wages of sin is death, we are to fall into hell as long as these sin and evil remain within us. However, as we rid ourselves of the filth of sin, life is conceived and resuscitated and we are placed on the path to eternal life.
Yet, 1 John 5:7-8 remind us that “And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.” As the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling within us, He enables us to know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and, as we cast out sins and live in righteousness, helps life to be conceived and us to receive salvation. Furthermore, as we cleanse all of our sins with the Word of God, life is conceived within us and we can walk on the path to eternal life.
In addition, for we cannot be redeemed from our sins without the blood of Our Lord, we can shun and cast out sins according to our faith and deeds. The Word of God that had appeared as a shadow is now manifested amongst us after Jesus took upon the cross, shed His blood for us, and resurrected. The culmination of the union of the Holy Spirit, water, and the blood is our Savior, and they lead us to salvation and heaven.