Now this is the second in a series on the Holy Spirit. Last week we dealt with the cause of the new birth. I argued from John Chapter 3

v 5 to 8 that human nature with which all of us are born, will not enter into the kingdom of God unless it experiences a change.

And that change is called in John 3, new birth.

And what that means is that the spirit of God

supernaturally creates something new in us.

According to Ezekiel, God says,

I'm going to give you a new heart.

Take out of you that heart of stone, give you a heart of flesh,

and a new spirit.

I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk according to my statutes. The heart of stone

is the heart of rebellion and hostility. Takes no pleasure in God. The heart of flesh, that new

heart that's been born of God, loves God, trusts God, follows

God. Or to put it another way, the new birth is the Holy Spirit's establishing himself in us taking up residence and being that living governing principle of life.

That which is begotten by the spirit has the nature of the spirit.

That which is begotten by the spirit is permeated by the spirit, animated by the spirit. That change, which we call new

birth, is owing holy to the spirit of God due to his grace prior to any act of saving faith on our part.

The new birth is not caused by saving faith, just the reverse. Saving faith is enabled by this

recreated, powerful act of new birth within us. No man comes to the son

unless it is given to him by the father. Therefore, the life that

we have in the spirit is from him. We live by the spirit. Now what? Turn to Galatians chapter 5. The text is

Galatians 5,

verse 25. And here we have stated just as clearly as you could ask,

...