We were born into this world with a sinful nature. This nature is one that is fallen and in opposition to God. It has neither the ability nor desire to seek the Lord. Neither is this corrupt nature able to receive the things of the Spirit. Before we can, or even desire, to follow the Lord, we must be given a new nature – a spiritual nature – one that can receive spiritual things, and one that has the desire to seek God.
The new birth, or regeneration, is a sovereign work of God and is compared in Scripture to the moving of the wind. It is also called a creation – we become new creatures in Christ. God alone has the power to create and He alone has the power to direct the Spirit.
In the new birth, God sends the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. He cries out to God, causing us to do the same. A new creature, a spiritual man, is created, who has the ability to seek the Lord and to believe on Him. He has the desire to seek the One who created him. A person who repents and believes doesn’t become a new creature in Christ; he doesn’t become born again, but shows the evidence that he is already born again. Since salvation is by grace, the new birth is not dependent on man’s will, but on God’s sovereign work. This being true, it is also true that this new creation is a permanent work, one that does not depend on man to sustain it, but is sustained and kept by the power of God.