Miracles can be somewhat of a taboo subject today. Miracles rarely happen and when it seems one has occurred the authenticity is often questioned at best and denied at worst. Even among Christians miracles are a source of great controversy. So many “faith healers” (let me be clear…heretics) have used the name of the Holy Spirit to propagate a perversion of the gospel by using “miracles” as evidence of their being filled with the Spirit. Just talking about these types of miracles gives some (including me) the heebie jeebies. But there is one miracle wrought only by the Holy Spirit that happens every single day all over the world that many forget to acknowledge. What is this miracle? I would argue that it is quite possibly the greatest miracle that could be counted among miracles. Maybe even the greatest miracle that is recorded in Holy Scripture. The miracle that I am speaking of is the miracle of regeneration. That’s right, being born again by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit is, in my opinion, the greatest miracle that can be counted among all other miracles in all of history.

To put it simply, someone coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ is the greatest miracle of all. What makes this more spectacular than creation, or the parting of the Red Sea, or Christ walking on water, or turning water into wine or even raising Lazarus from the dead? Well, for starters all of these miracles were a means to an end. God’s creation serves to proclaim His existence to all creatures, the parting of the Red Sea served to seal off God’s people from the pursuing Egyptians during the Exodus and all of Christ’s miracles served to reveal Himself as the messiah come to save His people from their sins, but none of these involve the redeeming of someone’s soul which is a work only the Holy Spirit can accomplish.

In John 3 we see Jesus telling Nicodemus, that unless you are born again you cannot see the Kingdom of God. I recently read a post by someone on Twitter that emphasized just how serious of a statement this was. Here is the quote: “Nicodemus was a full covenant member. Pharisee. Circumcised on the eighth day. Jesus told him he had to be born again to belong to the Kingdom of God.” If anyone thought they were already in the Kingdom it would’ve been Nicodemus, but here is Jesus telling him that he MUST be born again. Jesus goes on to say in verses 6-8 that only the Spirit gives spiritual life and that the Spirit is like the wind in that it blows where and when He wishes.

This leads us to a very important question. Why must the Spirit “cause us to be born again” (1 Peter 1:3)? The answer is very simple. Because we cannot cause ourselves to be born again. In the words of my three year old daughter…”but why?” Why can’t we cause ourselves to be born again? The best way to answer this question is to look to Scripture. Romans 8:7 says this “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” We cannot cause ourselves to be born again because we are literally incapable of exercising the faith required for salvation on our own. If this isn’t enough biblical truth for you let’s look at Ephesians 2:1-9. The first three verses in this passage paint a clear picture that all people outside of Christ are spiritually dead in their own sins, are following the influence of the world and Satan, can only carry out the desires of the flesh and are “by nature children of wrath.” So, from day one each and every person is spiritually dead with no hope of experiencing anything from God but His wrath. Then, in verse four we read this “But God, being rich in mercy with the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved…” In verses 8 and 9 Paul writes “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” In verses 4-9 we see an entirely different picture being painted. We see the decisive action of God making the sinner alive in Christ. The only part the sinner is responsible for in this transformation is his/her wasting away in sin and spiritual decay. God works a miracle of salvation and breathes spiritual life into dead dry bones just as we see Him do in Ezekiel 37. 

Earlier I asserted that we are incapable of exercising saving faith on our own. This truth is what makes being born again the greatest miracle of all miracles! God says to the rebellious God-hating sinner “In order to be part of my Kingdom you must be born again evidenced by faith in my son, Jesus Christ, and because you aren’t capable of exercising this saving faith on your own, here ya go. By my grace I am giving you the required faith for your salvation.” This is GREAT news! God takes a spiritually dead sinner bound for hell and causes him/her to be born again to newness of life bound for glory! To witness the Holy Spirit take a heart of stone and make it a heart of flesh is to truly witness the greatest miracle imaginable. Knowing that God is still in the business of saving the unsavable, reconciling the exiled, making clean the unclean and shining light to the darkness gives us a “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Why is all of this important? Why should we, as believers, worry about how we are saved? I believe that all theology has practical application to our everyday life. It is only when we truly come to understand that apart from the sovereign grace of God we stand condemned before Him that we can live in true freedom without the weight of the Law on our shoulders. Theology matters and knowing that the sovereign King and creator of all that is known and unknown has done all of the work to save you brings about a humble spirit, a repentant heart and a desire to obey His word, all of which this world could use more of today.