In the previous chapter we continued examining what Elder Lemuel Potter wrote about biblical "regeneration" in his work titled "A Treatise on Regeneration and Christian Warfare," which he wrote primarily to combat the errors of the Two Seed Primitive Baptists on that subject. In that examination we noticed that Potter himself embraced unbiblical views on that subject, his views being the same as today's "Primitive Baptists." The focus was on what changes occur to a person who is born again or regenerated and on what are the causes of regeneration. Potter believed that the "no change" or "hollow log" view of regeneration as taught by his Two Seed brethren was unbiblical, and on that point he is correct. However, when he or today's "Primitive Baptists" assert that a person can remain a pagan and impenitent unbeliever after experiencing regeneration, and remain ungodly in his conduct, and remain in darkness about the one true and living God and about his way of salvation through the work of his Messiah, he and they are ironically themselves embracing a Two Seed view of it.
We have already seen where today's "Primitive Baptists" believe that a person may be regenerated and not even know it, regeneration occurring, according to Hardshell apologist R.V. Sarrels, on the subconscious level. Sarrels also taught that regeneration changed the substance or essence of the soul, though it changed not the thinking, beliefs, likes and dislikes, of the one being regenerated, nor involved any divine teaching or revelation of truth. The orthodox view, the traditional Baptist view, rather taught that the change occurring in regeneration, rebirth, conversion, etc., was a moral and spiritual change and not a change in the physics or metaphysics of the soul, mind, heart, or spirit; And, that the salvation to which the elect were chosen before the world began was "through" both a "sanctification of the Spirit" and a "belief of the truth." (II Thess. 2: 13) Hardshell regeneration imparts no saving knowledge and they teach that divine knowledge is unnecessary for being regenerated.
We also focused on the debate in Potter's day about what part of a person experienced regeneration and whether that part could be a source for doing what was sinful. We showed that this was not the way to look at the subject, for in regeneration the mind, heart, soul, and spirit are all positively affected and made good, though not immutably or perfectly so. The presence of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit within a believer's heart, soul, mind, and spirit, and of the divine nature, and of the word of God, all act as leaven in its ability to permeate those parts of his constitution. Regeneration is a process that begins when the believer receives Christ into his heart, and like renewing, progressive sanctification, and transformation into the image of Christ, is continuous.
In earlier chapters when reviewing the writings of Elder T.P. Dudley we saw where he, and the Two Seeders he spoke for, ridiculed the idea that "regeneration" was a restoration of what man lost by sin. In the last chapter, however, we showed how the view of Dudley was quite contrary to scripture, which taught that it is what was dead that is made alive in Christ, what was degenerate is what was regenerated, what was destroyed by sin was made new in regeneration. Potter agreed to a large degree with my analysis of the biblical teaching in this regard. Where Potter erred and still held to Two Seed views was in his denial that God uses the means of his word in regeneration or rebirth, or in eternal salvation, and in his thinking that whatever part of a man experiences regeneration becomes incapable of sinning.
In physical regeneration there is a renewal or restoration of a bodily part, or biological system (such as a forest) after injury or as a normal process. Physical regeneration involves remaking something that had been cut off or died. Regeneration means "create again," which is what salamanders do when they lose their tails. Even humans experience regeneration when they produce new skin cells to heal wounds and burns. This is where regeneration is a renewing, or a making new.
In chapter nine of the above work, under the title "Is the Resurrection a Birth?", Potter wrote:
"In all that I have ever heard, seen or read, I have never known any person to deny that the resurrection is a birth, until very recently. I have always thought that all people who believed the Bible agreed that to be raised from the dead, was to be born from the dead. I have often argued in the presence of my congregations that the work of the regeneration of the soul, and the raising of the dead, was of precisely the same nature, and that in both cases the dead were made alive. I had never heard any objection to that view, and I thought it was universally accepted, until, in correspondence with a No Souler, some months ago, he emphatically denied that they were works of the same nature, and I was surprised."
Here we see another error of Potter. He is rebutting the Two Seed view that says that the change of the body in the resurrection is not the same as the change of the soul, mind, heart, and spirit, and he rather affirms that the same kind of change occurs in spiritual resurrection as in physical resurrection. In taking this view Potter is seeming to take the view of Sarrels (though Sarrels came later) that there is a change in the physics of the soul (or whatever experiences regeneration) much like there will be a change in the physics of the body when it is resurrected and conformed to the glorified body of Christ.
Though there is indeed similarity between a resurrection out of a spiritual dead state into a spiritual state of life and a physical resurrection out of a state of physical death into an immortal living state, there are also dissimilarities.
Though I can agree with the Two Seeder who says that physical and spiritual resurrection are not of the same nature, I cannot agree with him on why they are not the same. His view of spiritual resurrection or regeneration of the spirit says that an eternal spiritual child of God as spiritual life or seed comes down from heaven and enters into the body of a human being, and this without changing either the spirit child nor the human being. Further, the Two Seeder does not believe that any part of the "Adam man" is risen from death nor that the eternal child is risen. So, his spiritual resurrection (regeneration) is really no resurrection at all for nothing that was dead comes to life.
It is true that the bible seems to speak of the resurrection of Christ from the dead as a begetting. (Rev. 1: 5; Col. 1: 18; etc.) However, those texts could simply mean that he who was God's "first begotten" was put to death and then resurrected. I don't know of any bible verse that equates the physical resurrection of believers with being begotten. The apostle Peter does speak of "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (I Peter 1: 3 nkjv) Here, however, the word "begotten" is used in a metaphorical sense, in the same way we use it in every day language. We use the words "gave birth to" in order to express causation, to produce. Christ's resurrection and victory over death is what brought about the rebirth of believers.
Metaphorically speaking, being buried in the earth following death can be called returning to the womb. So said Job: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there." (Job 1: 21 nkjv) In the creation story God says to the earth "bring forth" or give birth to plant life. The Psalmist David also speaks of his time in the womb of his mother as a time when he was in the earth. He said: "My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth." (Psa. 139: 15 nkjv) Since man's physical constitution was made of the dust of the earth, we may call the earth the mother or womb from which man was brought forth.
So, it is possible to see resurrection as a kind of birth, but doing so does not mean that resurrection and birth are in every way exactly alike. Therefore I must take issue with Potter saying "in both cases the dead were made alive." How is being born a bringing to life what was dead? If we look at birth in the sense of conception or in the sense of coming forth from the womb, there is no resurrection of the dead. The baby that comes forth from the womb was already alive when in the womb. Further, in conception, when the male sperm fertilizes the female egg there is no dead thing coming to life. It is a basic law of biogenesis that life must come from life. The sperm and the egg were not dead things.
Potter wrote:
"So, why is being raised from the dead called a being "begotten" from the dead? First, it is because being raised to life and being begotten begins a new life. Second, being buried in the ground is like returning to the womb."
That is true and is in agreement with my commentary above. However, he fails to see how physical resurrection at the last day changes the physiology of the body whereas the resurrection of the spirit in conversion does not change the physics or metaphysics of the soul or spirit. Bodily resurrection is a change of substance or essence, but spiritual resurrection from spiritual death is a moral or spiritual change.
In chapter ten under the title "The Body Dead, the Spirit Life" Potter wrote:
"A writer said very recently, "Now, the Old Baptists, so far as my acquaintance extends, either believe that all or some part of the earthly or Adamic man, is the subject of the new birth. Those, however, who believe that only a part is born again, differ as regards the part. One says it is his mortal soul part; another it is his immortal soul part; another it is his mind part; another it is his heart part; and so on to the end of the chapter; while some hold that the man who is composed of parts, is born again in time, and will be changed in the resurrection."
What a debate! In the preceding chapter we addressed these questions. The entrance into the heart, mind, soul, or spirit of 1) the word of God, and 2) the presence of the Father, Son, and Spirit, and 3) the divine nature, and 4) the divine seed, and 5) the love of God, affects all the above parts of man's non-physical constitution. In the previous chapter we used leaven (or yeast) as a metaphor for how the entrance of the above things into man's internal constitution begins to permeate all parts of that constitution. We could also use the idea of "seed" as a metaphor. We have already taken notice of the words of John who said "whoever is born of God cannot sin for God's seed remains in him." (I John 3: 9) Peter also speaks of this divine seed when he wrote: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed, by the word of God..." (I Peter 1: 23) This divine seed begins to grow within the believer and to permeate his soul, mind, heart, and spirit, and to choke out the remnants of moral corruption still resident within him.
Some bible teachers think that the "incorruptible seed" is the word of God, but this is a mistake. It is true that the word of God is compared to a seed and as such is instrumental in producing children of God, but in the text the seed is distinguished from the word. This is made clear by the prepositions. Believers are born "of" God's seed but "by" the word of God.
If Potter is correct in saying that whatever part of man is regenerated incapable of sinning, then what is it that is renewed day by day, that is continuously transformed, that is not yet fully perfected? Recall the words of Paul who said:
"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me." (Phil. 3: 12 nkjv)
Here Paul says that he is not yet perfected, but is pressing towards the goal of complete perfection. In the previous chapter I called attention to Paul's words in the first chapter of Philippians where he said that God would continue his work within the believer until it is finished at the day of Christ. Potter's idea is that regeneration, perfection, renewal, transformation, is instantly realized and completed when a sinner is born of God.
Potter also seems to take issue with the idea that at the time of the resurrection and glorification of the bodies of believers that the souls, minds, spirits, or hearts of believer will also be improved or perfected. Yet, the passage cited above in Philippians 1: 6 refers to God's work "in" the believer (meaning in his internal self) and it says that work will be completed "in the day of Jesus Christ," which must refer to the day when Christ returns and resurrects the bodies of the people. The biblical truth is that a believer is in the process of being perfected in his soul, mind, heart, and spirit and when he dies and his spirit and soul enter heaven his spirit and soul will be further perfected, and complete perfection of spirit and soul will occur in the day when the glorified body is joined to the perfected spirit.
Potter wrote:
"So far as his mortal soul, or immortal soul, or his mind, or his heart being born of God, the writer of the above, it seems to us, tries harder to make those who believe in the regeneration of the soul of man, look ridiculous, than to arrive at the truth of the matter. We are always willing to inquire after truth, and feel perfectly willing to investigate a point for all that is in it, but we wish to deal in a sublime manner with a sublime subject. So far as a difference as to what part of the man is born again, allowing us to use the word of No Soulers, we do not know of any material difference among those who believe that the soul lives after the body dies. We have never seen an Old Baptist yet that we know of, that believes that the soul possesses spirituality, or divinity, until after regeneration, but when they say immortal, they simply mean immortality in the sense that it survives the body, and either goes to heaven or hell when the body dies. But those who fall out with this idea do not differ so much on the immortality of the soul, but they deny the existence of the soul as the subject of salvation. They know of no soul, except in the sense that man is soul, while we claim that the Bible makes a distinction of soul and body, and that the soul leaves the body at death. But this writer says, "while some hold that it is the man who is composed of parts, is born again in time, and will be changed in the resurrection." We do not know whether the writer takes this last position or not; but if he does not then we do not know what his position is. Where in all the Bible do we find that anything is changed in the resurrection but the body? Where in the sacred word do we read that the body is born of God in time? Are the parts mentioned above - the soul, heart, mind and body - all born of God in time? Will the soul, mind, heart and body be changed in the resurrection? The writer quoted above seems to think that some Baptists believe that. Another idea in the above quotation is, that they are born of God in time but they are not changed in time."
The bible teaches that regeneration begins when a person is born of God and this occurs in the core or center of man's being, which is what the word "heart" often means in scripture. The heart of the apple is the core or center of the apple. In the biblical picture of man's inner constitution it is the spirit that is at the core of his being. Of that inner spirit Paul wrote: "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?" (I Cor. 2" 11 nkjv) What Paul said of the "spirit" of man is also what other scriptures say of the "heart" of man. Paul says that "God has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (II Cor. 4: 6) People often say "in my innermost being" or "in the core of my soul." They also say "from the bottom of my heart" by which they mean from my innermost being. The Greek word for "heart" is "kardia" and means the physical heart, but also means the center or seat where "self" or "ego" sits. This is where thought originates as Paul said. It is the place where purposes are formed, and includes the place where the will resides, where choices are made, and is the place of emotions. So Jesus said:
"The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6: 45)
Notice that a heart may produce good as well as evil. It is not correct to say that a believer has two hearts, one that produces good and one that produces evil, but that he has one heart that sometimes produces what is bad and sometimes what is good. Jesus said "blessed are the pure in heart" (Matt. 5: 8). This pureness of heart or spirit is a result of continuous purification throughout the life of the believer. In the previous chapter I cited the words of the apostle John who said that "everyone who has this hope purifies himself even as he is pure." (I John 3: 3) A popular Christian hymn says "purer in heart help me to be."
When Christ enters into the inner sanctum of the heart or spirit, to the seat where the self or ego sits, he dethrones the ego and rules there. That phenomenon is what begins the regeneration, renewal, and transformation of the whole inner man. So, the question as to what part of man is regenerated is not even the right question. Christ sitting in the center of man's psychical being and ruling from there is what Paul has in mind when he says to believers:
"Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self ('man' kjv) with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator." (Col. 3: 9-10 esv)
The new self is the one that is ruled over by Christ and the old self is the one ruled over by the ego, by the "I," and is what is called being "self-willed," (See Titus 1: 7; II Peter 2: 10) and "self pleasing." A maturing believer is one who seeks more and more for the Lord Jesus to rule over him. Notice also how this renewing, having begun when the believer experiences the washing of regeneration, is a renewing "in knowledge," meaning that a change of beliefs and an increase in the knowledge of God is part and parcel of what it means to be renewed. Today's "Primitive Baptists" believe that there is no knowledge that is necessary to be regenerated, saved, justified, sanctified, or renewed. Such a view is mighty close to the Two Seed "no change" view of regeneration that Potter is opposing.
Seeing "heart" and "spirit" as virtual synonyms representing the core of man's inner being is apparent in several ways. Sometimes we hear someone say of another - "he is rotten to the core." We also speak of "core values" and a "core curriculum" in education dealing with core knowledge. Core values are deeply ingrained principles. When one receives Christ into his innermost being there is a renewal of knowledge and change of core beliefs. It is in the core of man's incorporeal being where the self, or ego, resides. It may be compared to what we call the "driver's seat," or the "pilot's seat" of the cockpit. Christians even sing a hymn called "Jesus Savior Pilot Me." I have seen bumper stickers that read "Jesus is my co-pilot." However, ideally Jesus is the pilot and the believer is the co-pilot. In unregenerate or unrenewed sinners the self, or ego, or "I" sits in that driver's seat. This truth is seen in this testimony of the apostle Paul:
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Gal. 2: 20 nkjv)
In the words "it is no longer I who live" we have the Greek word "ego" for the pronoun "I." This is rare, for in Greek the word "I" is often included in a compound word, being implied. So, for instance, the words "I go" are from the singular Greek word "erchomai." On other occasions, however, the "I" is not part of the compound word and the above text is one example. Another would be where Christ said "I am" or "ego eimi" (John 8: 58; etc.). Paul says that his "I" or ego has been crucified with Christ and that Christ now occupies the place where the "I", self, or ego sat. So Jesus said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Matt. 16: 24 nkjv)
In conversion to Christ the self is crucified or dethroned. In the driver's seat of the spirit and soul sat sin, ruling and reigning. Also, though sin and self, and the old nature and old habits take a back seat when a person is converted and Christ enters his spirit, yet sometimes sin and self can take the wheel of the soul and this is perhaps what Paul means when he writes:
"But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me...Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me." (Rom. 7: 17, 20 nkjv)
We see where Potter and the Two Seeders both had difficulty defining "soul," as well as spirit, mind, heart, etc. I like to think of it after the image of the tabernacle. There were three sections to it. There was the outer court, the inner court (called the holy place), and the innermost court (called the most holy place or sanctuary). The apostle Peter referred to his body as a tabernacle. (II Peter 1: 13) The physical body would correspond to the outer court, the soul to the holy place, and the spirit to the most holy place. In the ancient Hebrew tabernacle or temple it was in the most holy place where God's presence was more fully experienced by the priest and where communication with God occurred. It is in man's innermost being, in his heart or spirit, where God dwells and where he communicates with believers, where the Spirit bears witness with the human spirit. (Rom. 8: 16) This view was held by the great theologian Martin Luther.
The soul and spirit are distinct yet connected parts of a human's immaterial being. The soul, from the Greek word psuche (psyche) has to do with personality and psychology, and with man's animal life. The spirit is considered the higher part that connects directly with God or the spiritual realm. In fact the Bible indicates that animals possess a "nephesh" (Hebrew for soul, life, or breathing creature), acknowledging them as living beings with a life force, particularly in Genesis 1:20-24. Anyone who has had pet animals knows that they can experience emotion and process information. Of course, the soul of humans exceeds the souls of animals, for the soul of humans was made in the image and likeness of God. That the soul and spirit are not the same is evident from these verses:
"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb. 4: 12 nkjv)
"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (I Thess. 5: 23 nkjv)
Though there is a lot of disagreement among bible teachers on what is meant by the dividing of soul and spirit by the living word of God, I will offer my understanding of it. I once held to the dichotomy view of man's immaterial being, seeing soul and spirit as basically synonyms. This was my father's view. However, after years of studying this question I rejected the dichotomy view in favor of the trichotomy view. Just as "joints and marrow" are not the same so "soul and spirit" are not the same. From that same text we learn that soul and spirit are joined together and that they stay joined together until they are separated by the word of God. So, what is meant by separating them? Why is it a good thing for them to be divided by the word of God in conversion?
The word "discerner" in the above text is the only time it is used in the bible and it means to judge, distinguish, criticize or give critical analysis, and the word of God is a discerner of "the thoughts and intents of the heart." The use of the word "heart" adds another variable to the text, for now we have soul, spirit, and heart. The heart is the core and in this core we have both spirit and soul. In both the soul and spirit thoughts and purposes are conceived. In unregenerate people the spirit is dead to God and is ruled over by the animalistic soul. In regenerated people the spirit is alive to God and rules over the soul, at least it begins to do so, though at times even the regenerated believer allows his animal soul to rule over his spirit. We may say that the soul is man's lower self and the spirit is man's higher self. So, to divide the soul from the spirit denotes the work of freeing the spirit from the tyranny of the soul.
What about the conscience as it relates to the views of Potter and the Two Seeders? We have spoken of the heart, mind, soul, and spirit. What about the conscience? From a review of the biblical texts we see that the conscience denotes that faculty of soul and spirit whereby one is able to discern what is morally right and wrong. This is because it is in the conscience that God has written his law so that a man may feel guilt when doing morally wrong and feel righteous and morally clean when doing right. (Rom. 2: 15) We know that the conscience also needs cleansing. (Heb. 9: 14) Would Potter say that this cleansing occurs in regeneration and then never needs to ever be cleansed again? The text above says that this cleansing removes the believer from "dead works" so that he may serve God. Surely this is a continuous cleansing. Hebrews also speaks of the believer's heart being sprinkled from an evil conscience. (10: 22) This first occurs in conversion but it also continues throughout the life of the believer.
Potter wrote:
"Paul says, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." In this he is arguing the doctrine of the resurrection of the body. The change of the body spoken of is that it will be made spiritual or immortal. It will be made alive from the dead, and fashioned like unto the glorious body of Christ. All such expressions as these refer to the body exclusively. If man is composed of parts, as soul, mind, heart and body, then the body is all that is changed in the resurrection. Where is the other part? We are told that some Old Baptists hold that the man who is composed of parts, is born of God in time, and changed in the resurrection. Are we to understand that to be born of God is not to be changed? Or that in the new birth no part of the man is changed? That is the way we understand the writer."
The new birth does change a man but that change is not necessarily all the change he needs, for as we have before shown, the change occurring when born again is but the beginning of change. So, the Two Seeders erred in denying that there is any change to the begotten child for he believes it was begotten in Christ before the world began and it is born in a person when that child comes down from heaven and enters into him. The only change to this eternal child is a change of location and there is no change to the body, soul, mind, or spirit of the "Adam man."
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