REGENERATION: RESTORATION TO THE ORIGINAL AND THE BIRTH FROM ABOVE
By Josimar Salum
July 11, 2025
“…by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
— Titus 3:5
The doctrine of regeneration is one of the most essential—and at the same time most misunderstood—teachings in all of biblical theology. Often treated as a synonym for being “born again,” regeneration has been reduced to symbolic language about being born a second time or repeating a beginning. However, when we carefully examine the teaching of Scripture—especially in light of the Koine and Classical Greek languages—we discover that biblical regeneration is, above all, a return to the origin, a restoration of the human being to God’s original purpose: to be in the image and likeness of the Creator, a partaker of the nature of God.
John 3:3 — Did Jesus Say “Born Again” or “Born from Above”?
The basis for a common doctrinal misunderstanding is found in John 3:3, where Jesus speaks with Nicodemus:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born from above (gennēthē anōthen), he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
The key word here is (aōthen), which means “from above,” “from heaven,” not palin— “again” in the sense of temporal repetition.
Those who interpret this as “born again” are actually following Nicodemus’s misunderstanding, not Jesus’ teaching:
“How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
— John 3:4
Jesus was not speaking about repeating physical birth, but about receiving a spiritual origin from above, from God, by the operation of the Spirit.
Palingenesia — The True Meaning of Regeneration
The Greek word used in the New Testament for regeneration is (palingenesia), and it appears only twice:
1. Titus 3:5 — Referring to the individual’s transformation:
“…by the washing of regeneration (palingenesia) and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
2. Matthew 19:28 — Referring to the future restoration of creation:
“In the regeneration, when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of His glory…”
Etymologically:
• palin = again
• genesis = origin, birth
But its meaning, both in classical and Koine Greek, is that of restoration to an original condition.
Stoic and Pythagorean philosophers, as well as authors like Plutarch, used palingenesiato describe the cyclical renewal of the world, the restoration of original order, or the spiritual rebirth of the soul.
In other words, it is not a second temporal birth, but a return to the origin—to the state originally created by God before the fall.
Regeneration in Scripture: Restoration of Creation in Christ
Regeneration is not a symbolic concept, but a real and supernatural work of God. According to Titus 3:5, it is a spiritual washing and renewing by the Holy Spirit, not a moral improvement or external ritual.
This restoration brings about complete transformation:
• The man who was dead in his sins (Ephesians 2:1) is made alive by God.
• He receives a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26).
• He is reconciled with God and receives a new spiritual origin.
• He now becomes part of a new reality: the new creation.
The Bible says "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10. We are created, not recreated. We are born from above once.
Not Just Change: A New Creation
2 Corinthians 5:17 says:
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (kainē ktisis); old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
The Greek phrase (kainē ktisis) literally means new creation, not merely “new creature.”
This expression connects directly with the language of Genesis and Revelation 21:5 — “Behold, I make all things new.”
It does not speak of someone who is morally improved, but of someone who has been incorporated into the divine order of the new creation in Christ — the beginning of the restoration of all things.
The regenerated person is not simply changed; he is reinserted into God’s eternal purpose, as a child born from above, conformed to the image of Christ.
Reducing regeneration to a second birth or a moral change is to deny its true power.
Regeneration According to Scripture:
• It is the work of God, not of man.
“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
— Titus 3:5
• It is a spiritual birth accomplished by the Spirit.
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
— John 3:6
• It is being born from above, not by human will.
“Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
— John 1:13
• It is being made a new creation in Christ.
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, based on biblical exegesis and the original Greek language:
Jesus taught about being born from above, not about repeating physical birth neither being born again.
Palingenesia means restoration to origin—not merely a new beginning.
The new creation is the spiritual existence of those who have been regenerated—restored to communion with God and His eternal purpose in Christ.
The regenerated person is the one who has been connected to the Source, brought back to the creative act of God, and integrated into the new creation He established in Christ before the foundation of the world.
“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…”
— Romans 8:29
#ASONE
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