Titus 3:5 Ambiguity?

[Van]

Titus 3:5 NASB
"He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,"

Just what are the intended meanings conveyed by "the washing of regeneration" and by "renewing by the Holy Spirit?"

The washing of regeneration refers to being spiritually born anew, made eternally alive from our spiritually dead in sin condition prior to salvation. When we were "made alive together with Christ" we were born anew as a spiritual child of God, holy and blameless, because our sin burden, our "body of flesh" was removed, once for all time, by the washing of regeneration, also called the "circumcision of Christ done without hands."

But what about the"renewing by the Holy Spirit?" Here, I believe the idea is once born anew in Christ, we are then sealed in Christ with the Holy Spirit of Promise, as a pledge to our future bodily redemption at Christ's second coming. But that of course has nothing to do with the "renewing." Having been born anew, regenerated, what further sanctification is needed?

Here I think the idea is now we need to put aside our old self, our memories of our past sinful attitudes and attributes and strive to adopt the attitudes and character attributes of Christ, as we yield ourselves to the guidance of our indwelt Helper.

 

[37818]

Titus 3:5 NASB
"He saved us, . . . .

KJV, Titus 3:5, . . . he saved us, by the . . . .

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; . . . .

John 3:6, . . . that which is born of the Spirit . . . .

 

[Martin Marprelate]

KJV, Titus 3:5, . . . he saved us, by the . . . .

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; . . . .

John 3:6, . . . that which is born of the Spirit . . . .

‘For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take your heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them’ (Ezek 36:24ff).

“Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge [N.I.V., ‘cleanse’] me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow ……..Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 51:6,7,9,10).

Here, in these two texts, we surely get a preview of the work of God, the Holy Spirit, in the New Birth. It is a two-fold work of water and Spirit: an inward cleansing from sin and idolatry, and a renewal of the heart and spirit for future obedience. That it is a spiritual cleansing rather than baptism that is meant in these passages is indicated by the mention of hyssop in Psalm 51. This is not some ancient Hebrew soap, as I first thought when I read the Psalm as a very young Christian, but rather the sprig of a plant. On the day of the Passover, the Israelites were instructed (Exod.12:22) to dip the hyssop in the blood of the slain Passover lamb and sprinkle it on the lintel and the doorposts of their houses. Therefore, to be cleansed with hyssop is to be washed in the blood of the Lamb (Heb. 9:11ff; Rev. 7:14). No outward ablution could ever cleanse us from moral ‘filthiness and idolatry’. We need a cleansing which works from within.

In the New Testament, one gets an inkling of this two-fold process in verses such as 1 Cor. 6:11 or Eph. 5:26, but the clearest expression is found in Titus 3:3-5. Here Paul has been telling Titus not to be too harsh to the Cretan converts, but to show a little gentleness and humility. ‘For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another…..’ that’s what Paul and Titus were like before they were born again. ‘…..But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit’. What is the nature of the New Birth? It is a birth of Water and Spirit; the washing away of indwelling sin and corruption, and renewal by God, the Holy Spirit.

This is obviously a most profound change. Paul writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2Cor. 5:17). What has happened? A new principle of life has taken hold. The Holy Spirit’s work has often been likened to that of a horticulturalist who wishes to grow cultured pears on a wild pear tree. What he does, so I understand, is to make a cut in the stem of the wild tree and bind into the cut, a shoot of a cultured pear, such as a Conference. He then finds that the tree will start to produce both wild and cultured pears, but if he is diligent to cut off every wild shoot that grows, he will eventually have a pear tree that produces nothing but delicious cultured pears. The principle is somewhat the same for new Christians; they have this new life within them, but this competes with the remnant of their old selves and they have to suppress that old nature whenever it rears its ugly head so that the new nature which the Holy Spirit has implanted may flourish. Pause and read Colossians 3, reflecting particularly upon verse 5.

[From my blog: The New Birth (4) Its Nature

 

[Van]

KJV, Titus 3:5, . . . he saved us, by the . . . .

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; . . . .

John 3:6, . . . that which is born of the Spirit . . . .

I suppose the purpose of this post is to draw attention to the fact, different translators arrange the phrases differently. So what. The NASB, RSV, NRSV, ESV, LEB, CSB, NET, NIV, NLT, put He saved us first. Unless you claim the meaning is different, it is a distinction without a difference, in my opinion.

John 3:6 does not seem to have an application to the meaning of "washing of regeneration" or "renewing by the Holy Spirit." These are spiritual not biological activities.

 

[Van]

"Here I think the idea is now we need to put aside our old self, our memories of our past sinful attitudes and attributes and strive to adopt the attitudes and character attributes of Christ, as we yield ourselves to the guidance of our indwelt Helper."

In the above quote from post #1, I should have said "...we needed to put aside...." Both actions are presented as completed actions, and not as an ongoing action. So He saved us by renewing by the Holy Spirit.. Our salvation was not complete until we were spiritually indwelt. However the Greek noun translated as "renewing" does indeed refer the the process of guiding our minds such that we can understand spiritual solid food and know the will of God for our lives.






Q