From Anstey’s Doctrinal Definitions:
New birth (being born again) is a sovereign act of God of imparting divine life to men (John 1:13; 3:1-8; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 2:29). It is, essentially, the same thing as quickening (Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13) for both terms refer to the initial action of God in communicating divine life to the soul. New birth is not an exclusively Christian blessing; all the children of God in all ages have been, and will be, born of God.
As a result of being born again men have their spiritual faculties awakened and they are thereby made conscious of their having to do with God. Having been given life and faith through this action of God, they have the capacity to understand the gospel and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, which when they do, they are saved. Without this initial work of God in men, no one would ever repent and come to Christ for salvation. (See Freewill.)
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There are four common misconceptions among Christians regarding new birth (being born again):
The first has to do with how and when a person is born again. Most Christians will say that a person is born again when he believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. However, Scripture does not teach this. It is putting “the cart before the horse,” so to speak. A person does not believe on the Lord Jesus to get born again, but rather, he believes because he has been born again (John 1:12-13; 1 John 5:1). As to the order of these things, God goes before and sovereignly imparts life through new birth, whereby the person is given faith and thus is enabled to believe and be saved, when the gospel is presented to him. Hence, new birth is not the result of a person’s turning to God and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, but the result of God communicating divine life to his soul, enabling him to turn to God in repentance and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
A. J. Pollock said, "John 1:12-13 tells us that those who received Christ were those 'which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' It is one thing to experience the new birth; it is another to receive Christ, and John 1:12-13 makes this very clear. If I, as an unregenerate man, were able to exercise faith to bring about the new birth, then it would be of 'the will of the flesh,' and of 'the will of man,' which we are distinctly told it is not. It is 'of God' [John 1:13], 'of His own will' [James 1:18], 'by the Word of God' [1 Peter 1:23] and there we must leave it....How can man in the flesh by an act of his own will bring about divine life? It must be of God" (Scripture Truth, vol. 30, p. 48).
Commenting on John 1:12-13, W. Scott said, "Only the born of God are capable of receiving Him" (Bible Handbook, New Testament, p. 191). C. Stanley explained it similarly: "The new birth explains how many received Him" (Election, p. 17). F. G. Patterson also said, "Most assuredly it is the unbeliever who is quickened, otherwise he would be a believer of his own act. Where then would be the truth of John 1:10-13 and James 1:18? If God did not quicken us by the Word, we never would be saved" (Scripture Notes and Queries, p. 122).
Secondly, Christians confuse new birth with salvation, but these terms are not synonymous in Scripture. Taking these two things to mean the same thing leads to confusion. W. Potter emphasized this: "'Canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth,' refers to the Spirit of God, not to salvation. It refers to being born again; 'so is every one that is born of the Spirit.' We must keep Scriptural truths in their Scriptural connection; when it speaks about being born again, it is not speaking about salvation. That is where we get into such confusion" (Gathering Up the Fragments, p. 226).
J. N. Darby said, "We must not confound manifested salvation and being born of God" (Letters, vol. 3, p. 118). He also said, "The Church has lost the thought of being saved. People think that it is enough to be born anew" (Collected Writings, vol. 28, p. 368).
W. Kelly said, "We must not confound, as popular preachers and teachers do, the reception of life and salvation....It is a great mistake therefore to talk of 'salvation in a moment,' 'deliverance on the spot' or any other of the stock phrases of superficial revivalism which ignore the Word of God and spring from the confusion of life with salvation" (An Exposition of the Acts, pp. 131-132).
The distinction between these two operations of God has been lost for centuries. W. Kelly reported, "The fact is that theology in all schools, Popish or Protestant, Calvinistic or Arminian, has somehow lost, and ignores, this most momentous truth of the Spirit's primary setting apart of a renewed soul to God before, and in order to, justification" (Epistles of Peter, p. 12).
The truth is that God begins the work in a soul by new birth (quickening), and then when the person rests in faith on what Christ has accomplished on the cross, he is saved and sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). These are two distinct actions of the Spirit: one is the beginning of God's work in a soul and the other is the completion of it. There will be an interval of time between these two actions—it could be a few minutes, or in some cases, it could be years. When a person is born again he is safe from judgment, but when he receives Christ he is saved and sealed with the Holy Spirit. The following passages show that new birth precedes a person’s believing on Christ for salvation:
• John 1:12-13—Those who “believe on His name” are they “which were” born of God.
• John 3:3-8, 14-17—Concerning the order of God’s work in souls, the Lord spoke of being “born again” by the Word of God and the Spirit of God first before speaking of being “saved” through believing on the Son of God.
• John 5:21, 24—Again, the Lord spoke of God’s work of quickening souls before going on to speak of their believing on Him for life eternal.
• John 6:44-47—The Lord spoke of His Father’s work of drawing people, which is the effect of being born again, before speaking of those who were drawn believing on Him.
• Ephesians 2:1-5, 8—In delineating the activity of God’s love and mercy toward us, the Apostle Paul referred to His work of quickening souls first, and then went on to speak of those whom God had quickened being “saved by grace” through faith.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14—Paul speaks of the “sanctification of the Spirit” which is the result of new birth, before a person’s belief of the truth of the gospel.
• 1 Peter 1:2—Peter speaks of the “sanctification of the Spirit” (the result of new birth) as that which precedes “obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (which is the appropriating by faith the work of Christ on the cross for salvation).
• 1 Peter 1:22-23—Peter speaks of the purification of the soul through obeying the truth of the gospel, and this being a result of “having been begotten again” (W. Kelly Trans.).
• Leviticus 8:1-35—This is a type of new birth, salvation, and sealing of the Spirit. Aaron’s sons were first “washed with water” (new birth), then they were brought to the altar to witness and be identified with the death of an animal that was sacrificed. The blood of the victim was put on their right ear, right thumb, and the big toe of the right foot (symbolizing the appropriating by faith of the work of Christ in atonement for the salvation of the soul). Lastly, they were anointed with oil, which is a picture of the sealing of the Spirit.
J. N. Darby said, "The indwelling of the Holy Ghost is a very different thing from the quickening power of the Spirit....Instances given in the Acts, where there is an interval of time make us sensible of the distinction of the two" (Collected Writings, vol. 26, p. 89).
Similarly, A. P. Cecil said, "I believe Scripture plainly teaches not only a distinction between new birth and sealing with the Spirit, but also an interval between the two things. It may be long or short; but the interval of time is there, in the same way as when a man first builds a house, and afterward dwells in it" (Helps By the Way, vol. 3, NS, p. 175).
Thirdly, Christians, almost universally, confuse new birth with regeneration—but these things are also not the same. Both refer to a new beginning, but they are different new beginnings. New birth is a new beginning inwardly through a person receiving a divine life. Regeneration, on the other hand, is a new beginning in a believer’s life outwardly, through the person cleaning up his life practically. Men cannot see the new life imparted in new birth, but they should be able to see the outward change in the person’s life when he gets saved. There will be an observable break with the unholy and worldly things that he once pursued. (See Regeneration.)
Fourthly, Christians often confuse new birth with eternal life, but they too are not synonymous. They both have to do with the possession of divine life, but in a different way. Being born again is to have divine life in embryo, so to speak; whereas life eternal has to do with possessing divine life in the consciousness of our relationship with the Father and the Son (John 17:3), on the ground of redemption (John 3:14-15), and in the power of the indwelling Spirit (John 4:14). Possessing this character of life is called, “life eternal.” It necessitated the coming of the Son of God into the world (John 10:10).
Believers who lived before Christ came could not have had this character of divine life, though they were surely born again. J. N. Darby said, “As to Old Testament saints, eternal life formed no part of the Old Testament revelation, even supposing that the Old Testament saints had it (Notes and Jottings, p. 351). We do not say that there are two kinds of divine life—there is only one kind of divine life, the life of Christ (John 1:4). Old Testament saints had the same divine life as Christians, but they did not have the revelation of truth concerning the Father and the Son and the work of redemption and the seal of the Spirit. Therefore, Scripture does not call the divine life that they had eternal life.
This more abundant life, which is eternal life (John 10:10), is not called such because it is describing the length of that life, but because it is describing its character. It is the very character of life which the Father and the Son enjoyed in fellowship with one another in eternity, before the foundation of the world. Christians are born again (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23) as Old Testament saints were, but in receiving Christ as their Saviour, they have something more—they have “life eternal” (John 3:15-16).
Another distinction between new birth and eternal life is that divine life imparted to sinners through new birth is done so without any conscious action on their part (John 3:8), whereas life eternal is given to a person when he consciously believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and receives Him as his Saviour (John 3:16, 36; 5:40; 6:47). (See Eternal Life)