Verses & Footnotes
All verses and footnotes in this site are taken from the Recovery Version of the New Testament, with notes.
John 1:12-13-But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name, (13) Who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:3-6-Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (4) Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he? (5) Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water [2] and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Footnote 52-The words of water and the Spirit should have been plain to Nicodemus, without any need of explanation. In Matt. 3:11 John the Baptist spoke the same words to the Pharisees; hence, they should have been fully understood among the Pharisees. Now Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees, was conversing with the Lord, and the Lord spoke these familiar words. “Water” was the central concept of the ministry of John the Baptist, that is, to terminate people of the old creation. “Spirit” is the central concept of the ministry of Jesus, that is, to germinate people in the new creation. These two main concepts together constitute the concept of regeneration. Regeneration is the termination of people of the old creation with all their deeds, and the germination of people in the new creation with the divine life.
Romans 5:17-19-For if by the offense of the one death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. (18) So then as it was through one offense unto condemnation to all men, so also it was through one righteous act unto justification of life to all men. (19) For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were constituted [1] sinners, so also through the obedience of the One the many will be constituted [1] righteous.
Footnote 191-Whether we are sinners or are righteous depends not on our actions but on our inward constitution. Through his fall Adam received an element that was not created by God. This was the satanic nature, which became the constituting essence and main element of fallen man. It is this constituting essence and element that constituted all men sinners. We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. Whether we do good or evil, in Adam we have been constituted sinners. This is due to our inward element, not our outward actions.
In contrast, Christ constitutes us righteous. When He, the living God, comes into our being as grace, we are constituted righteous. He becomes the constituting essence and element in us that can transform us from sinners into sons of God. He alone is able to accomplish such a reconstituting work.
1 John 2:29-If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness also has been begotten [7] of Him.
Footnote 297-John’s writings on the mysteries of the eternal divine life stress very much the divine birth (3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18; John 1:12-13), which is our regeneration (John 3:3, 5). It is the greatest wonder in the entire universe that human beings could be begotten of God and sinners could be made children of God! Through such an amazing divine birth we have received the divine life, which is the eternal life (1:2), as the divine seed sown into our being (3:9). Out of this seed all the riches of the divine life grow from within us. It is by this that we abide in the Triune God and live out the divine life in our human living, i.e., live out the life that does not practice sin (3:9) but practices righteousness (2:29), loves the brothers (5:1), overcomes the world (5:4), and is not touched by the evil one (5:18).
Bibliography
Billheimer, Paul E. Destined for the Throne. Fort Washington: Christian Literature Crusade, 1975.
Harvey, Bonnie C. D. L. Moody The American Evangelist. Heroes of the Faith. Uhrichsville: Barbour.
Darby, J. N. Footnotes. Darby Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Wembley Gardens Lancing, Sussex: Kingston Bible Trust, 1991.
Lee, Witness. A Word of Love to the Co-Workers, Elders, Lovers, and Seekers of the Lord. Anaheim:Living Stream Ministry, 1993.
---, Basic Lessons on Life. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993.
---, Footnotes. Recovery Version of the New Testament. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1991.
---, Life Study of John, Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.
---,Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1991.
---,What is Regeneration. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1998.
Lee, Witness, and Watchman Nee. Salvation: God’s Full Salvation. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1990.
Lindner, William, Jr. Andrew Murray. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1996.
McDonough, Mary E. God’s Plan of Redemption 1922. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1999.
Nee, Watchman. The Gospel of God. The Collected Works of Watchman Nee. Vol. 28. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1993.
Pfeiffer, Charles F., Howard F. Vos, and John Rea, eds. Wycliffe Bible Dictionary. Peabody: Hendrickson Inc., 1975.
Taylor, Howard, and Mrs. Howard Taylor. Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret. Chicago: Moody Press, 1989.
Unger, Merrill F., and William White, Jr., ed. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1984.
Vincent, Marvin R. Word Studies in the New Testament. Vol. 2. Mclean: MacDonald Publishing Company, 1888.
Other Suggested References
For a thorough understanding on the significance and importance of regeneration:
By Witness Lee
The Knowledge of Life, chs. 1–4
The Experience of Life, ch. 1
Life Study of 1 Peter, msgs. 3, 7, 14
Life Study 1 John, msgs. 25-29, 34-40
Life Study of Revelation, msg. 63
God’s New Testament Economy, chs. 33-35
By Watchman Nee
The Normal Christian Faith, chs. 5, 8
The Spiritual Man, vol. 1, sec. 1, ch. 4, and sec. 5 ch. 1
