The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is not just a distant concept or an abstract idea, nor a passive observer in our lives. He is the living and active presence of God within us who is renewing and shaping our view of the world from God’s perspective.

⁴ But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, ⁵ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. - Titus 3:4-6 NKJV

The Greek word for regeneration is Palingenesia. It is made of two word, palin, meaning again or back to, and genesis, meaning a place or point at which something begins or originates. Through Jesus Christ we are brought back to what was lost in the Garden of Eden at the beginning, our spirits have been born again.

After the new birth begins the work of renewing. God is not content to just clean us; He indwells us and begins a powerful work from the inside out. God deposits within us “the energy Christ so powerfully works”. (Colossians 1:29)

The Greek word for renewal is Anakainosis. It means to renovate or renew, a complete change for the better. Our spirit is born again but our mind needs to be renewed, we need to see things the way God does. Vines Expository Dictionary defines renewal as: “The adjustment of the moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God, which is designed to have a transforming effect upon the life.”

Three images that the Holy Spirit brings into focus for us:

1. The Holy Spirit renews our image of God.


• God is good.


- Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness. - Psalm 143:10


• The Holy Spirit will teach you God is good. Jesus said He will be our teacher.


- Or do you despise the riches of His goodness,forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? – Romans 2:4 (NKJV)


• To truly understand why God is good, we must remember we have all fallen short of His glory and because our sinful nature God should have nothing to do with us, yet He does. It is God’s goodness that draws us to Him.


- If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! - Matthew 7:11


• We can expect good things from our Father, just like a child expects good gifts from their earthly father.


- I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. - Psalm 27:13


• God is good because He continues to show us love, grace, mercy, generosity, and favor even when we don’t deserve it. This perfect God keeps demonstrating love to sinful people.




• God is a Father.

- But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. - John 1:12 (NKJV)


• We call God our Father because He’s given us the right to do so. If you’ve received Jesus as your Savior, you can be confident knowing that you’re a child of God. This privilege gives you access to the rights of having God as your Father.

- And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” – Galatians 4:6 (NLT)


• Because God is love, He will always be a loving Father. God does more than act good, God IS good. That is why the endearing term Abba Father is used.

- Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” – John 20:17 (NIV)


• Jesus makes it clear in this endearing verse that His Father is our Father, that we are related to Jesus, that God is a Father. This is something we don’t see the people in the Old Testament do, it is the outcome of the New Covenant, we are born again, regenerated back to what was lost.

- Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. – Psalm 68:5,6 (NLT)


• Being a Father means that He is personally, emotionally, and even sacrificially involved with us. He wants the best for us. He is a provider, protector, loving, compassionate, faithful, and merciful.


• Being a Father means that he also disciplines us. See Hebrews 12:3-11.


2. The Holy Spirit renews our self-image.


• We are created in the image of God.


- “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” - Genesis 1:27 (NIV)


• Our most fundamental identity is that of bearing the image of God.

- Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God…” - Matthew 4:3 (NKJV)


• Like he did to Jesus, the enemy of the kingdom comes to undermine our image and steal our identity, especially when we feel spiritually dry and emotionally depleted. He will question what God has said about us.




3. The Holy Spirit renews our image of the world.


• May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13 (NIV)


- The Holy Spirit fills our heart with hope.


• “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
– John 16:33 (NIV)


- Jesus wants us to know He has overcome the world. He has given us power to walk victoriously in this broken world.


• ³ All honor to God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for it is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family. Now we live in the hope of eternal life because Christ rose again from the dead.⁴ And God has reserved for his children the priceless gift of eternal life; it is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.⁵ And God, in his mighty power, will make sure that you get there safely to receive it because you are trusting him. It will be yours in that coming last day for all to see. ⁶ So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here. – 1 Peter 1:3-6 (TLB)


- As Christians we are assured that God a new world prepared for us.