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Interesting question. I remember an awareness of regeneration in my twenties, and the ensuing years were very much God working in me in spite of myself. It was not a lightning bolt, and I was not the epitome of righteous behaviour, but the spirit continued and continues to work in me.
Dr Clark,
Thx for such a comprehensive answer and the effort taken to explain the multiple metaphors! I am often bewildered by all the flowery language and can’t understand what is being said by most teachers when dealing with subjects like this. It’s often the case when talking with unbelievers and new believers that it is especially important not to use metaphors so as to communicate to them clearly.
Your first point of clarification was excellent. I had never heard “must” explained that way from “you must be born again”. Explaining “must” as “this is a condition that has to be met for something else to happen” gelled straight away, as opposed to “you need to do something to yourself”. The proverbial “penny” dropped at that point. I had always read it as the latter, like Nicodemus did, and it never made sense! So thx for that!
The teaching about “infusion” was also new to me. So when you explained that, quoting Dordt, the “lights came on” (metaphorically speaking 🙂 ). It explains the Scriptures exactly, with the caveat you made, of being beware of how Rome uses the term. I see now that infusion is the correct term regarding the work of God in us for faith, but not for righteousness.
Finally, when you read the Shorter Catechism, Q31 particularly, it became plain they were describing the fruit or perhaps the act of regeneration. That on top of what came before in the podcast made things very clear. (“Effectual calling is the work of God’s Spirit, whereby, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, and renewing our wills, he doth persuade and enable us to embrace Jesus Christ, freely offered to us in the gospel.”)
Thx for the simplified approach to make the topic understandable. I hope I have grasped correctly what you have said. Pls correct me if I have made a glaring error.
The Lord bless you and keep you.