Part 47
2541 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Red Sea Redeemer
God is the Redeemer from distresses of all kinds. He redeems from calamity and from sorrows. This general idea, of course, persists throughout the revelation and enters largely into our thinking of today, but the growing moral discernment of the Bib. writers comes to attach more and more importance to sin as the chief disturber of man's wel-
It remains to add an important word concerning the evidential value of this perfect adjustment of the narrative to the physical conditions involved. So perfect is this conformity of the narrative to the obscure physical conditions involved, which onlyrecent investigations have made clear, that the account becomes self-evidencing. It is not within the power of man to invent a story so perfectly in accordance with the vast and complicated conditions involved. The argument is as strong as that for human design when a key is found to fit a Yale lock. This is not a general account which would fit into a variety of circumstances. There is only one place in all the world, and one set of conditions in all history, which would meet the requirements; and here they are all met. This is scientific demonstration. No higher proof can be found in the inductive sciences. The story is true. It has not been remodeled by the imagination, either of the original writers or of the transcribers. It is not the product of mythological fancy or of legendary accretion.
fare. We would not minimize the force of the Scriptural idea that God is the Deliverer from all misfortune to which man falls heir, but the Scriptural emphasis moves more and more to deliverance from sin. Paul states this deliverance as a deliverance from the law which brings sin out into expression, but we must not conceive his idea in any
artificial fashion. He would have men delivered not only from the law, but also from the consequences of evil doing and from the spirit of evil
itself (Rom 8 2). In trying to discern the meaning of redemption from sin, toward which the entire progress of Bib.
and Christian thought points, we may
LiTEHATuBE.—DawsoH, Egypt and Syria; Hull, Ml. Seir, Sinai and Western Pal: Naville, "The Store-City Pithom and the Route of the E.xodus," Egyp Exploration
2. Redempwell keep in mind the Master's words tion as Life that He came that men might have in Indilife and might have it more abundantly vidual (Jn 10 10). The word "life" seems to be the final NT word as a statement of the purpose of Christ. God sent His Son to bring men to life. The word "life," however, is
Fund, 1885; Kyle, "Bricks without Straw at Pithom: A Reexamination of Naville's Works," Records of the Past. VIII, 1901. 304-7; Wright, Scientific Confirmations of OT Hist, 83-117.
George Frederick Wright REDEEMER, re-dem'er, REDEMPTION, rSdemp'shun (p'^S
indefinite. Life means more at one period of the world's history than at another. It has the advantage, nevertheless, of always being entirely intelUgible in its essential significance. Our aim must be to keep this essential significance in mind and at the same time to provide for an increasing fulness and enlargement of human capacity and endeavor. The aim of redemption can only be to bring men to the fullest use and enjoyment of their powers. This is really the conception impUcit even in the earliest statements of redemption. The man redeemed by money payment comes out of the prison to the light of day, or he comes out of slavery into freedom, or he is restored to his home and friends. The man under the law is redeemed from the burden and curse of the law. Paul speaks of his experience under the law as the experience of one chained to a dead body (Rom 7 24). Of course, rehef from such bondage would mean hfe. In the more spiritual passages of the NT, the evil in men's hearts is hke a bKght which paralyzes their higher activities (Jn 8 33-51).
, parak, "to tear loose," "to rescue," n~S
, padhah, 5X3
, ga'al; ayopaX,ta, agordzo, refer-
ring to purchase, XuTpoB|j,ai, lulroumai, from XvTpov,
lutron, "a ransom")
1 Gradual Moralizing of Idea of Redemption 2. Redemption as Life in Individual 3. Redemption as Social 4. Redemption as Process 5. Moral Imphcations in Scriptural Idea of Redeemer 6. Uniqueness of Son of God as Redeemer Literature
The idea of redemption in the OT takes its start from the thought of property (Lev 26 26; Ruth 4 4 ff). Money is paid according to law to buy back something which must be dehvered or rescued (Nu 3 51; Neh 5 8). From this start the word "redemption" throughout the OT is used in the general sense of deliverance. God is the Redeemer of Israel
in the sense that He is the Dehverer of Israel (Dt 9 26; 2 S 7 23; 1 Ch 17 21; Isa 52 3). Theidea of deliverance includes dehverance from all forms
of evil lot, from national misfortune (Isa 62 9; 63 9; cf Lk 2 38), or from plague (Ps 78 35.52), or from calamity of any sort (Gen 48 16; Nu 25 4.9). Of course, the general thought of the relation of
In all redemption, as conceived of in Christian terms, there is a double element. There is first the deliverance as from a curse. Something binds a man or weights him down; redemption relieves him from this load. On the other hand, there is the positive movement of the soul thus reheved toward larger and fuUer hfe. We have said that the Bib. emphasis is always upon deliverance from sin as the essential in redemption, but this deliverance is so essential that the life cannot progress in any of its normal activities until it is redeemed from evil. Accordingly in the Scriptural thought all manner of blessings follow deliverance. The man who seeks
Israel to God was that God had both a claim upon
Israel (Dt 16 15) and an obhgation toward Israel
(1 Ch 17 21; Ps 25 22). Israel belonged to Him, and it was by His own right that He could move
into the hfe of Israel so as to redeem Israel. On
the other hand, obligation was upon Him to redeem
Israel.
In the NT the idea of redemption has more a suggestion of ransom. Men are held under the curse
of the law (Gal 3 13), or of sin itself (Rom 7 23 f). The Redeemer purchases their deliverance by offer-
first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness finds
all other things added unto him (Mt 6 33). Mate-
ing Himself as payment for their redemption (Eph
rial, intellectual and social blessings follow as matters of course from the redemption of the inner
1 7; 1 Pet 1 18). Throughout both the OT and the NT there is to be observed a gradual morahzing of the meaning of
spirit from evil. The aim of redemption, to beget
in men's hearts the will to do right, once fulfilled, leads men to seek successfully along all possible avenues for life. This, of course, does not mean that the redeemed life gives itself up to the cultivation of itself toward higher excellencies. It means that the redeemed hfe is delivered from every form of selfishness. In the unselfish seeking of life
redemption. The same process of
1. Gradual moralizing has continued throughout Moralizing all the Christian ages. Starting with
of Idea the idea of redemption price, conceived almost in material terms, religious
thought has advanced to conceptions entirely moral and spiritual. Through the Scriptures, too, the idea
for others the redeemed Hfe finds its own greatest achievement and happiness (Mt 16 25).
of redemption becomes more specific with the prog-
ress of Christian revelation. In the beginning
Redeemer THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2542
Moreover, redemption must not be conceived of
Just as the idea of redemption concerned itself chiefly with the inner spirit, so also it concerns itself
in such fashion as to do away with the need of re-
sponse upon the part of the individual
with the individual as the object of
5. Moral will. The hteral suggestion of ransom Implications has to do with paying a price for a
3. Redempredemption. But as the redemption tion as of the inner spirit leads to freedom in Social all realms of life, so also the redemption of the individual leads to large social transformations. It is impossible to strike out of the Scriptures the idea of a redeemed humanity. But humanity is not conceived of in general or class terms. The object of redemption is not humanity, or mankind, or the mas,ses. The object of redemption is rather men set in relation to each other as members of a family. But it would do violence to the Scriptural conception to conceive of the individual's relations in any narrow or restricted fashion
in Scripman's deliverance, whether the man is
tural Idea willing to be delivered or not. Of course, the assumption in the mind of the Bib. writers was that any man in prison or in slavery or in sickness would be overjoyed at being redeemed ; but in dealing with men whose lives are
set toward sin we cannot always make this assump-
tion. The dreadfulness of sin is largely in the love
of sinning which sinning begets. Some thinkers have interpreted redemption to mean almost a seizing of men without regard to their own will.
It is very easy to see how this conception arises. A man who himself hates sin may not stop to real-
(1 Cor 12 12-27). An important enlargement of the idea of redemption in our own time has come as men have conceived of the redemption of individuals in their social relationships. Very often men have thought of redemption as a snatching of individuals from the perils of a world in itself absolutely wicked. Even the material environment of men has at times been regarded as containing something inherently
ize that some other men love sin. Redemption, to mean anything, must touch this inner attitude of
will. We cannot then hold to any idea of redemption which brings men under a cleansing process without the assent of their o'mi wills. If we keep ourselves alive to the growing moral discernment which moves through the Scriptures, we must lay stress always upon redemption as a moral process. Not only must we say that the aim of redemption
evil. The thought of redemption which seems most in line with Scriptural interpretation would seem to be that which brings the material and social forces within reach of individual wilk. Paul speaks of the whole creation groaning and travailing in pain waiting for the revelation of the sons of God
is to make men hke Christ, but we must say also that the method of redemption must be the method of Christ, the method of appealing to the moral will. There is no Scriptural warrant for the idea that men are redeemed by fiat. The most we can get from the words of Christ is a statement of the persistence of God in His search for the lost: '[He goeth] after that which is lost, until he finds it' (Lk 15 4). Some would interpret these words to mean that the process of redemption continues until every man is brought into the kingdom. We cannot, in the hght of the NT, limit the redeeming love of God; but we cannot, on the other hand, take passages from figurative expressions in such sense as to limit the freedom of men. The redemption must be conceived of as respecting the moral choices of men. In our thought of the Divine search for the control of inner human motive we must not stop short of the idea of men redeemed to the love of righteousness on its own account. This would do away with the plan of redeeming men by merely reheving them of the consequences of their sins. Out of a changed life, of course, there must come changed consequences. But the Scriptural teaching is that the emphasis in redemption is alwaj's moral, the turning to life because of what life is.
(Rom 8 22). This graphic figure sets before ua the essentially Christian conception of the redemption of the forces in the midst of which men are placed. Those redeemed for the largest life, by the very force of their fife, will seize all powers of this w'orld to make them the servants of Divine purposes. The seer saw a great multitude which no man could number, of every kindred and nation and tongue, shouting the joys of salvation (Rev 7 9), yet the implication nowhere appears that these were redeemed in any other fashion than by surrendering themselves to the forces of righteousness. We have said that the aim of redemption is to bring men to the largest and fullest life. We have also said that "Ufe" is a general term.
4. RedempTo keep close to the Scrijotural contion as ceptions we would best say that the Process aim of redemption is to make men like Christ (Rom 8 9). Otherwise, it might be possible to use the word "life" so as to imply that the riotous exercise of the faculties is what we mean by redemption. The idea of redemption, as a matter of fact, has been thus interpreted in various times in the history of Christian thinking. Life has been looked upon as sheer quantitative exuberance—the lower pleasures of sense being reckoned as about on the same plane with the higher. We can see the moral and spiritual anarchy which would thus be brought about. In Christ's words to His disciples He once used the expression, "Ye are clean because of the word which
Having thus attempted to determine, at least in outline, the content of the Christian idea of redemption, it remains for us to point out some impUcations as to the work of the Redeemer. Throughout the entire teaching on redemption in the Scriptures, redemption is set before us primarily as God's own affair (Jn 3 16). God redeems His people; He redeems them out of love for them. But the love of God is not to be conceived of as mere indulgence, partiality, or good-humored aflection. The love of God rests down upon moral foundations. Throughout the Scriptures, therefore, we find implied often, if not always clearly stated, the idea that God is under obhgations to redeem His people. The progress of later thinking has expanded this implication with sureness of moral discernment. We have come to see the obligations of power. The more powerful the man the heavier his obligations in the discharge of this power. This is a genuinely Christian conception, and this Christian conception we apply to the character of God, feeling confident that we are in line with Scriptural teaching. Hence we may put the obligations of God somewhat as follows: God is the most obligated being in the uni-
I have spoken unto you" (.In 15 3). In this particular context the idea does not seem to be that of an external washing. Christ seems rather to mean that His disciples are cleansed as a vineyard is cleansed by pruning away some of the branches that others may bear fruit. In other words, the redemption of life is to be interpreter! so that stress
is laid upon the qualitative rather than the quantitative. Christ indeed found place in His instructions and in His own hfe for the normal and healthy activities of human existence. He was not an as-
cetic; He went to feasts and to weddings, but His emphasis was always upon life conceived of in the highest terms. We can say then that the aim of redemption is to beget in men Ufe like that in Christ.
2543 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Redeemer
verse. If a man is under heavy obligations to use aright the power of controlling the forces already at work ill the world, how much heavier must be the obhgatiqns on the Creator who started these forces
at a vast distance from us. Such a doctrine of Christ's person would make Him the supreme religious genius, but the human genius stands apart from the ordinary mass of men. He may gather up into Himself and realize the ideals of men; He may voice the aspirations of men and realize those aspirations; but He may not be able to make men like unto Himself. Shakespeare is a consummate literary genius. He has said once and for all many things which the common man thinks or half thinks. When the common man comes upon a phrase of Shakespeare he feels that Shakespeare has said for all time the things which he would himself have said if he had been able. But the appreciation of Shakespeare does not make the ordinary man like Shakespeare; the appreciation of Christ has not proved successful in itself in making men like unto Christ.
The obUgation becomes appalling to our human thought when we think that creation includes the calling of human beings into existence and endowing them with the unsolicited boon of freedom. Men are not in the world of their own choice. Vast masses of them seem to be here as the outworking of impulses almost blind. The surroundings of men make it very easy for them to sin. The tendencies which at least seem to be innate are too often tragically inclined toward evil. Men seem, of themselves, utterly inadequate for their own redemption. If there is to be redemption it must come from God, and the Christian thought of a moral God would seem to include the obligation on the part of God to redeem those whom He has sent into the world. Christ has made clear forever the absolutely binding nature of moral considerations.
If, on the contrary, without attempting formal theological construction, we put some real meaning into the idea of Christ as the Son of God and hold fast to a unique relationship between Christ and God which makes Christ the greatest gift that God can give us, we find indeed that Christ is lifted up to essentially Divine existence; but we find also that this divinity does not estrange Him from us. Redemption becomes feasible, not merely when we have a revelation of how far up man can go, but when we have also a revelation of how far down God can come. If we can think of God as having in some real way come into the world through His Son Jesus Christ, that revelation makes Christ the Lord who can lead us to redemption.
If the obhgation to redeem men meant everything to Christ, it must also mean everything to the God of Christ. So we feel in line with true Christian thinking in the doctrine that redemption comes first as a discharge of the obligations on the part of God Himself.
If we look for the common thought in all the Christian statements of God's part in redemption we find it in this: that in all these statements God is conceived of as doing all that He can do for the redemption of man. If in earUer times men conceived of the human race as under the dominion of Satan, and of Satan as robbed of his due by the deliverance of man and therefore entitled to some compensation, they also conceived of God Himself as paying the ransom to Satan. If they thought of God as a feudal lord whose dignity had been offended by sin, they thought of God as Himself paying the cost due to offended dignity. If their idea was that a substitute for sinners must be furnished, the idea included the thought of God as Himself providing a substitute. If they conceived of the universe as a vast system of moral laws broken by sin—whose dignity must be upheld, they thought of God Himself as providing the means for maintaining the dignity of the laws. If they conceived of men as saved by a vast moral influence set at work, they thought of this influence as proceeding, not from man, but from God. The common thought m theories of redemption then, so far as concerns God's part, is that God Himself takes the initiative and does all He can in the discharge of the obligation upon Himself. Each phrasing of the doctrine of redemption is the attempt of an age of Christian thinking to say in its own way that God has done all that He can do for men.
Such a conception furnishes the dynamic which we must have in any real process of redemption. We need not only the ideal, but we need power by which to reach the ideal. If we can feel that the universe is under the sway of a moral God, a God who is under obligations to bear the burdens of men, and who willingly assumes these obligations, we really feel that moral life at its fullest and best
is the greatest fact in the universe. Moreover, we must be true to the Scriptures and lift the entire conception of redemption beyond the realm of conscience to the realm of the heart. What the conscience of God calls for, the love of God wilhngly discharges. The Cross of Christ becomes at once the revelation of the righteousness of God and the love of God. Power is thus put back of human conscience and human love to move forward toward redemption (Rom 8 3.5-39). The aim of the redemption in Christ then is to
It is from this standpoint that we must approach the part played by Christ in redemption. "This is not the place for an attempt at formal
6. Uniquestatement, but some elements of ness of Son Christian teaching are, at least in out-
lift men out of death toward hfe. The mind is to be quickened by the revelation of the true ideals of human life. The conscience is to be reenforced by the revelation of the moral God who carries on all things in the interests of righteousness. The heart is to be stirred and won by the revelation of the love which sends an only begotten Son to the cross for our redemption. And we must take the work of Christ, not as a solitary incident or a mere historic event, but as a manifestation of the spirit which has been at work from the beginning and works forever. The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev 13 8); the spirit of God revealed in the cross of Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. We have in the cross a revelation of holy love which, in a sense, overpowers and at the same time encourages. The cross is the revelation of the length to which God
of God as line, at once clear. "The question is, Redeemer first, to provide some relation between God and Christ which wiU make the redemptive work of Chrisst really effective. Some have thought to find such a statement in the conception that Christ is a prophet. They would empty the expression, "Son of God," of any unique meaning; they would make Christ the Son of God
in the same sense that any great prophet could be conceived of as a son of God. Of course, we would
not minimize the teaching of the Scripture as to the
full humanity of Christ, and yet we may be permitted to voice our behef that the representation
of Christ as the Redeemer merely in the same sense
in which a prophet is a redeemer does not do justice
to the Scripture teaching; and we feel, too, that such a solution of the problem of Christ would be inadequate for the practical task of redemption.
is wiUing to go in redemption rather than set aside one jot or tittle of His moral law. He will not redeem men except on terms which leave them men. He will not overwhelm them in any such manner as to do away with their power of free choice. He
If Christ is just a prophet giving us His teaching we rejoice in the teaching, but we are confronted
with the problem as to how to make the teaching
effective. If it be urged that Christ is a prophet who in Himself realized the moral ideal, we feel
will show men His own feeling of holiness and love. In the name of a holy love which they can forever
constrained to reply that this really puts Christ
Redness of Eyes Refuge, Cities of THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2544
(Job 31 22); used of the cross-beam of a "balance"
aspire after, but which they can never fuUy reach, men call to Him for forgiveness and that forgiveness men find forever available.
(Isa 46 6); "a measuring reed" (Ezk 40 3); "a staff
of reed," i.e. a walking-stick (Isa 36 6; Ezk 29 6); the "branches" of a candlestick (Ex 37 18). ^ (6) KdXaiios, kdlamos, "a reed shaken with the wind" (Mt 11 7; Lk 7 24); "a bruised reed" (Mt 12
It remains to add one further item of Scriptural teaching, namely that redemption is a continuous process. If we may again use the word "life," which has been the key to this discussion, we may say that the aim of redemption is to make men progressively alive. There are not limits to the development of human powers touched by the redemptive processes of God. The cross is a revelation of Divine willingness to bear with men who are forever being redeemed. Of course, we speak of the redeemed man as redeemed once and for all. By this we mean that he is redeemed once and for
20); they put "a reed in his right hand" (Mt 27
29.30); "They smote his head with a reed" (Mk 15
19); "put it on a reed" (Mt 27 48; Mk 15 36); "a measuring reed" (Rev 11 1; 21 15.16); "a pen" (3 Jn ver 13). It is clear that kaneh and its Gr equivalent kalamos mean many things. Some refer to different uses to which a reed is put, e.g. a cross-beam of a balance, a walking-stick, a measuring rod, and a pen (see above), but apart from this kaneh is a word used for at least two essentially different things:
all in being faced about and started in a right direction, but the progress toward full life may be faster or slower according to the man and the circumstances in the midst of which he is placed.
(1) an ordinary reed, and (2) some sweet-smelling substance.
Still the chief fact is the direction in which the man
is moving. The revelation of God who aids in redemption is of the God who takes the direction as the chief fact rather than the length of the stride or the rate of the movement. Every man is expected to do his best. If he stumbles he is supposed to find his way to his feet; if he is moving slowly, he must attempt to move faster; if he is moving at a slower rate than he can attain, he must strive after the higher rate, but always the dynamic force is the revelation of the holy love of God.
The Scriptures honor the prophets in whatever land or time they appear. The Scriptures welcome goodness under any and all circumstances. They have a place for a "light that hghteneth every man that cometh into the world," but they still make
it clear that the chief force in the redemption of men
is the revelation of holy love in Jesus Christ. The redemption, we repeat, is never conceived of in
artificial or mechanical terms. If any man hath not the spirit of Christ he does not belong to Christ
(Rom 8 9). The aim of redemption is to beget this spirit, and this spirit is hfe.
Literature.—H. C. Sheldon, Systematic Theology; Clarke, Outline of Christian Theology; Brown. Christian Theology in Outline; Mackintosh. Doctrine of Person of Christ; Bowne, Studies in Christianity; Tymms, The Christian Atonement.
Francis J. McConnell REDNESS, red'nes, OF EYES. See DhunkENNESS, II.
REDOUND, r5-dound' (from re, "back," and undare, "to surge as a wave") : To be sent back as a reaction, to overflow; occurs only as the tr of
Reed {Arundo donax).
Trepurirei/w, perisseuo, "to be over and above," "to superabound" (frequent in the NT) ; in 2 Cor 4 15, "might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God," RV "may cause the thanksgiving to abound."
(1) The most common reed in Pal is the Arundo donax (N.O. Gramineae), known in Arab, as ka^ahfarasi, "Persian reed." It grows in immense quantities in the Jordan valley along the river and
its tributaries and at the oases near the Dead Sea, notably around ''Ain Feshkhah at the northwest corner. It is a lofty reed, often 20 ft. high, of a beautiful fresh green in summer when all else is dead and dry, and of a fine appearance from a distance in the spring months when it is in full bloom and the beautiful silky panicles crown the top of every reed. The "covert of the reed" (Job 40 21) shelters a large amount of animal and bird life. This reed will answer to almost all the requirements of the above references.
REED, red: (1) inS , 'ahu, tr-^ "reed-grass" (Gen 41 2.18; Job 8 11m). ' See Flag. (2) nnX , 'ebheh, W^ "swift," m "reed" (Job 9 26). The "ships of reed" are the light skiffs made of plaited reeds used on the Nile; ef "vessels of papyrus" (Isa 18 2).
(3) D"'TQ5?? , 'aghammim, tr'' "reeds," m "marshes," Heb "pools" (Jer 51 32); elsewhere "pools" (E.x 7 19; 8 5; Isa 14 23, etc). See Pools.
(4) riliy , 'aruih; S-xt, dchi, tr^ "meadows," AV "paper reeds" (Isa 19 7). See Meadows. (5) nif) , kdneh; KdXafiot, kdlamos (the Eng. "cane" comes from Heb via Lat and Gr canna), "stalk" (Gen 41 5.22); "shaft" (Ex 37 17, etc); "reed," or "reeds" (1 K 14 15; 2 K 18 21; Isa 36 6; 42 3; Ps 68 30, AV "spearman"); "calamus" (Ex 30 23; Cant 4 14; Ezk 27 19); "sweetcane," m "calamus" (Isa 43 24; Jer 6 20); "bone"
(2) Kdneh is in Jer 6 20 qualified 310n n:]5, kdneh ha-tdhh, "sweet" or "pleasant cane," and in Ex 30 23, Dipi n5]5,J;|'rae/i6/ioseTO,"sweet calamus,"
or, better, a "cane of fragrance." Cant 4 14; Isa 43 24; Ezk 27 19 all apparently refer to the same thing, though in these passages the kdneh is unqualified. It was an ingredient of the holy oil (Ex 30 23); it was imported from a distance (Jer 6 20;
2545 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Redness of Eyes Refuge, Cities of
Ezk 27 19), and it was rare and costly (Isa 43 24). It may have been the "scented calamus" {Axorus calamus) of Pliny {Nil, xii.48), or some other aromatic scented reed or flag, or, as some think, some kind of aromatic bark. The sweetness refers to the scent, not the taste. See also Bulrush; Papyrus. E. W. G. Masterman
The resulting lead oxide, called in the Bible silver dross, was used for glazing pottery (Prov 26 23), a use to which it is still put by Syrian jjottcrs. The description of refining in Ezk 22 lS-22 may indicate that a flux (cf "as with lye," Isa 1 25 ARVm) was sometimes added to the melted metal to dissolve the oxides of copper, lead, tin and iron as they formed, thus leaving the silver pure. Crude processes similar to those described above are used in the Taurus Mountains today.
REED-GRASS (Gen 41 2,18; Job 8 11 m). See Flag, (2); Reed, (1).
Figurative: In the various Bible references the refining of precious metals is used fig. to illustrate the kind of trial God's children are called upon to go through. If they are of the right metal the dross will finally be blown away, leaving pure, clear, shining silver. If of base metal they will be like the dross described in Jer 6 29.30. The refiner may blow fiercely, but in vain, for nothing but lead dross appears. James A. Patch
HEED, MEASURING, mezh'tlr-ing (HTOH HDp
k'neh ha-middah) : In Ezekiel's vision of the temple a "man" (an angel) appears with a "measuring reed" to measure the dimensions of the temple (Ezk 40 3 ff; 42 16 ff). The reed is described as 6 cubits long, "of a cubit and a handbreadth each,"
i.e. the cubit used was a handbreadth longer than the common cubit (see Cubit; Weights and Measures; Temple). In the Apocalypse this idea of a measuring reed reappears for measuring the temple (Rev 11 1) and the holy city (21 15.16, "a golden reed"). The thought conveyed is exactitude in the dimensions of these edifices, symbolic of the symmetry and perfection of God's church.
REFORM, re-form' ("ID^
, ya.'^ar) : The word in RV is found only in Lev 26 23, in the phrase "ye will not be reformed." The meaning is, "to be instructed," or, more fully, "to let one's self be chastened," i.e. by God's discipline to learn the lessons of this chastening.
James Orb REELAIAH, re-el-a'ya, re-el-l'a (!T;'??'1 , r^'elyah): One of the 12 chiefs who returned with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2 2 1| Neh 7 7). In the passage in Neh the name is "Raamiah" (H^'!??'!, r&'amydh), and in 1 Esd 5 8 "Resaias." Which is the original, it is almost impossible to decide; "Reelaiah" seems preferable.
The Heb word is the same In a similar connection in Jer 6 8, where it is rendered, "Be thou instructed," and in 31 18, " r was chastised," Ps 2 10 ("instructed"); Prov 29 19 ("corrected") use the Heb term of admonition by the words of man. AV also has "reform" in 2 Esd 8 12; Wisd 9 18.
REFORMATION, ref-or-ma'shun : The word
is found only in He 9 10, being the tr of Si6pduais,
diorthosis, in its only occurrence. This Gr word means etymologically "making straight," and was used of restoring to the normally straight condition that which is crooked or bent. In this passage it means the rectification of conditions, setting things to rights, and is a description of the Messianic time.
REELIAS, rS-el'i-as (A, 'PeA.ias, Rhedias
[Fritzsche], B, followed by Swete, BopoXelas, Boroleias; AV Reelius): One of the "leaders" with Zerubbabel in the return from exile (1 Esd 5 8, m "Reelaiah"). It occupies the place of "Bigvai"
in Ezr 2 2; Neh 7 7, but in form it must be the equivalent of "Reelaiah" of Ezr and "Raamiah"
REFRESH, r5-fresh', REFRESHING, rS-fresh'- ing; "Refresh" occurs a few times in the OT as the
of Neh. It is perhaps a duplicate of "Resaias."
REESAIAS, re-g-sa'yas, re-S-sI'as: AV; RV RESAIAS (q.v.).
tr of 11)33 , naphash, "to take breath," figurative "to be refreshed" (Ex 23 12; 31 17; 2 S 16 14); of HIT, rawah, "to have room" (1 S 16 23; Job 32 20, m "find relief," AVm "may breathe"); of n?D, sa'adh, "to support" (1 K 13 7); and in the NT as the tr of amwaiia, anapauo, "to give rest"
REFINER, rS-fln'er, REFINING, r5-fin'ing: Two Heb words have been tr'^ "refine" : (1) D12
, paraph,
lit. to "fuse" (Zee 13 9; Isa 48 10; Mai 3 2.3,
etc). The same word is rendered also "tried"
(1 Cor 16 18; 2 Cor 7 13; Philemvs7.20; in compound middle, Rom 15 32 AV); also of ava-^/ix'^-, anapsucho, "to invigorate," "revive" (2 Tim 1 16), and other words. "Refreshing" is in Isa 28 12 mar-
(Ps 66 10); "melt" (Jer 6 29 AV); "purge" (Isa 1
25). (2) pp-l , zaixik, lit. to "strain" or "sift." In
the case of silver and gold the term probably re-
ferred to some washing jjrocess in connection with
ge'ah, "rest" or "quiet"; and in Acts 3 19, dvd'fiv^is, andpsuxis, "seasons of refreshing," through the coming of Jesus, the Christ; cf 2 Esd 11 46 and AV Sir 43 22 (aop6cu). W. L. Walker
refining as in Mai 3 3 both paraph and zaJcak are
used (1 Ch 28 18; 29 4; Job 28 1). The same word in Isa 25 6 referred to the straining of wine. Gr -rrvpSui, puroo, in the passive, lit. "to be ignited,"
is tr'^ "refined," in Rev 1 15; 3 18. The ancient process of refining gold has already
REFUGE, ref'ilj : A place of resort and safety. The principal words in the OT are norTO , mah^eh
been described under Metallurgy (q.v.). Most
(Ps 14 6; 46 1; 62 7.8; Isa 4 6, etc')' and Dlitl,
of the Bible references are
7nand!} (2 S 22 3; Ps 59 16, etc), both applied chiefly to God as a "refuge" for His people. For AV "refuge" in Dt 33 27, RV has "dwelling-place," and in Ps 9 9, "high tower," Conversely, RV has "refuge" for AV "shelter" in Ps 61 3, and "hope" in Jer 17 17,
to the refining of silver (Prov 25 4; Zee 13 9; Isa 48 10). The silver used by the ancients was probably obtained by smelting lead sulphide
ore, rich in silver (argen-
REFUGE, CITIES OF (ubpJTSn "'137 , 'are ha-mik-
tiferous galena) . After the gio^ypipe and Small Furore had been reduced to nace.—Thebes. a metallic condition, the
Idt; TrdXcis twv <J>i;'Ya8€vTT]p(MV, poleis ton phugadeu-
lerion [cf 1 Mace 10 28], and other
1. Location forms) : Six cities, three on each side of the Jordan, were set apart and placed in the hands of the Levites, to serve as places of asylum
, , , • , ^ lead was separated from the silver by blowing hot
_ The lead
air over the surface of the melted metal.
was thus changed to lead oxide which, in a pow-
for such as might shed blood unwittingly. On the
dered condition, was driven away by the air blast.
Refuse Regeneration THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2546
"convict," has the powerful support of A C. the best cursives, Vulg, Memphitic, Armenian and Ethiopian VSS, and is placed in the text by Lachmann, Tischendorf and TregeUes (WH in list of "Suspected Readings" says: " Some primitive error probable: perhaps the first iAeare an interpolation"). Cf ver 15. where the same Gr word occurs in the same sense (AV "convince," RV "convict"); cf also 1 Tim 5 20; Tit 1 9. where the same idea of refuting the sinful occurs.
E. of the Jordan they were Bezer in the lot of Reuben, Ramoth-gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in the territory of Manasseh. On the W. of the Jordan they were Hebron in Judah, Shechem in Mt. Ephraim, and Kedesh in Naphtah (Nu 35 6. 14; Josh 20 2.7 ff; 2113.21.27.32.38; Bezer is named in ver 36, but not described as a City of Refuge). An account of these cities is given in separate arts, under their names. Dt 19 2 speaks of three cities thus to be set apart, referring apparently to the land W. of the Jordan.
D. MiALL Edwards REGEM, re'gem (D^T , reghein, "friend" [?]); A Calebite, the son of Jahdai (1 Ch 2 47), mentioned as the eponym of a Calebite family or clan.
From time immemorial in the East, if a man were slain the duty of avenging him has lain as a sacred
REGEM-MELECH, re'gem-me'lek, -mel'ek (Djn
obligation upon his nearest relative.
tjbp , reghevi jnelekh) : One of a deputation sent
2. Purpose In clistricts where more primitive conditions prevail, even to this day, the distinction between intentional and unintentional killing is not too strictly observed, and men are often done to death in revenge tor what was the purest accident. To prevent such a thing where possible, and to provide for a right administration of justice, these cities were instituted. Open highways were to be maintained along which the manslayer might have an unobstructed course to the city gate.
to inquire concerning the propriety of continuing the commemoration of the destruction of the temple by holding a fast (Zee 7 2). The text of the passage is in disorder. The name may mean "friend of the king"; hence some have sought to remove the difficulty by interpreting reghem melekh as a title, not a personal name, reading the clause, "They of Beth-el had sent Shabezer [q.v. (2)], the friend of the king."
REGENERATION, re-jen-er-a'shun, re-
The regulations concerning the Cities of Refuge are found in Nu 35; Dt 19 1-13; Josh 20. Briefly, everything was to be done to facilitate
I. The Term Explained 1. First Biblical Sense (Eschatological) 2. Second Biblical Sense (Spiritual) II. The Biblic.\l Doctrine of Regener.^tion
3. Reguthe flight of the manslayer, lest the lations avenger of blood, i.e. the nearest of kin, should pursue him with hot heart, and, overtaking him, should smite him mortally. On reaching the city he was to be received by the elders and his case heard. If this was satisfactory, they gave him asylum until a regular trial could be carried out. They took him, apparently, to the city or district from which he had fled, and there, among those who knew him, witnesses were examined. If it were proved that he was not a wilful slayer, that he had no grudge against the person killed, and had shown no sign of purpose to injure him, then he was declared innocent and conducted back to the city in which he had taken refuge, where he must stay until the death of the high priest. Then he was free to return home in safety. Until that event he must on no account go beyond the city boundaries. If he did, the avenger of blood might slay him without blame. On the other hand, if he were found guilty of deliberate murder, there was no more protection for him. He was handed over to the avenger of blood who, with his own hand, took the murderer's life. Blood-money, i.e. money paid in compensation for the murder, in settlement of the avenger's claim, was in no circumstances permitted; nor could the refugee be ransomed, so that he might "come again to dwell in the land" until the death of the high priest (Nu 35 32). A similar right of refuge seems to have been recognized in Israel as attaching to the altar in the temple at Jerus (1 K 1 50; 2 28; cf Ex 21 12 f). This may be compared with the right of asylum connected with the temples of the heathen. W. Ewing
1. In the OT 2. In the Teaching of .Jesus 3. In Apostolic Teaching III. Later Develop.ment of the Doctrine IV. Present Significance Literature
/. The Term Explained.—The theological term "regeneration" is the Lat tr of the Gr expression
i!-a\tiiyei>e<7la, palingenesia, occurring twice in the NT
(Mt 19 28; Tit 3 5). The word is usually written TToKiyyeiieala, paliggenesla, in classical Gr. Its meaning is different in the two passages, though an easy transition of thought is evident.
In Mt 19 28 the word refers to the restoration of the world, in which sense it is synonymical to the expressions d-n-OKarda-Tacrts irdfTiov,
1. First apokaldstasis pdnton, "restoration of Biblical all things" (Acts 3 21; the vb. is Sense (Esfound in Mt 17 11, dTro/caTno-T^iret chatologiTrdvTa, apokatasttsei pdnia, "shall recal) store all things"), and dva\pv^ii, andpsuxis, "refreshing" (Acts 3 19), which signifies a gradual transition of meaning to the second sense of the word under consideration. It is supposed that regeneration in this sense denotes the final stage of development of all creation, by which God's purposes regarding the same are fully realized, when "all things [are put] in subjection under his feet" (1 Cor 15 27). "This
is a "regeneration in the proper meaning of the word, for it signifies a renovation of all visible things when the old is passed away, and heaven and earth are become new" (cf Rev 21 1). To the Jew the regeneration thus prophesied was inseparably connected with the reign of the Messiah.
We find this word in the same or very similar senses in profane literature. It is used of the renewal of the world in Stoical philosophy. Jos {Ant, XI. Hi, 9) speaks of the andktesis kal patiggenesia i^s patridos, "a new foundation and regeneration of the fatherland," after the return from the Bab captivity. Philo (ed. Mangey, ii. 144) uses the word, speaking of the post-diluvial epoch of the earth, as of a new world, and Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (xi.l), of a periodical restoration of all things, laying stress upon the constant recurrence and uniformity of all happenings, which thought the Preacher expressed by "There is no new thing under the sun" (EccI 1 9). In most places, however, where the word occurs in philosophical writings, it is used of the "reincarnation" or "subsequent birth" of the individual, as in the Buddhistic and Pythagorean doctrine of the transmigration of souls (Plut., ed. Xylander, ii.998c; Clem. Alex., ed. Potter, 539) or else of a revival of life (Philo i. 1591. Cicero uses
REFUSE, r5-fuz' : Formerly used with the additional meaning "reject," and hence the change from AV to RV in 1 S 16 7; Ezk 5 6; 1 Tim 4 4; 1 Pet 2 7, etc.
REFUTE, re-fut': Only in Jude ver 22, ARVm "And some refute while they dispute with you," where RV in the text reads "And on some have mercy, who are in doubt."
The Gr text of vs 22.2.3 is very uncertain, being given very differently in the various MSS. RV te.\t foiiows the two oldest MSS, S and B. Instead of i\ei.re, eledte, "have mercy." the reading eAeyxcTs, rligrheir, "refute.''
2547 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Refuse Regeneration
the word in his letters to Atticus (vi.6) metaphorically of his return from exile, as a new lease of life granted to him. See EacHATOLoaY of the NT, IX.
alluded to (e.g. IVIal 3 2), and there is no doubt that John the Baptist found in such passages the ground for his practice of baptizing the Jews who came to him (Jn 1 2.5-2S and ii's). The turning of Israel to God was necessarily meant to be an inward change of attitude toward Him, in other words, the sprinkling with clean water, as an outward sign, was the emblem of a pure heart. It was Isaiah and Jeremiah who drew attention to this (Isa 57 15; Jer 24 7; 31 33-35; 32 38-40, et passim). Here again reference is made to individuals, not only to the people in general (.ler 31 34). This promised regeneration, so lovingly offered by Jeh, is to be the token of a new covenant between God and His people (Jer 31 31; Ezk 11 19-21; 18 31..32; 37 23.24). The renewing and cleansing here spoken of is in
This sense is undoubtedly included in the full Bib. conception of the former meaning, for it is unthinkable that a regeneration in the
2. Second eschatological sense can exist without Biblical a spiritual regeneration of humanity Sense or the individual. It is, however, (Spiritual) quite evident that this latter conception has arisen rather late, from an analysis of the former meaning. It is found in Tit 3 5 which, without absolute certainty as to its meaning, is generally interpreted in agreement with the numerous nouns and vbs. which have given the dogmatical setting to the doctrine of regeneration in Christian theology. Clem. Alex, is the first to differentiate this meaning from the former by the addition of the adj. TrvevfiariKri, 'pneumalikt, "spiritual" (cf anapsuxis, Acts 3 20; see Refreshing). In this latter sense the word is typically Christian, though the OT contains many adumbrations of the spiritual process expressed thereby.
reality nothing else than what Dt 30 6 had prom-
ised, a circumcision of the heart in contradistinction to the flesh, the token of the former (Abrahamic) covenant (of circumcision, Jer 4 4). As God takes the initiative in making the covenant, the conviction takes root that human sin and depravity can be effectually eliminated only by the act of God Himself renewing and transforming the heart of man (Hos 14
//. The Biblical Doctrine of Regeneration.— It
is well known that in the earlier portions of the OT,
4) . This we see from the testimony of some of Israel's best sons and daughters, who also knew that this grace was found in the way of repentance and humiliation before God. The cla-ssical expression
and to a certain degree all through the
1. In the OT, religion is looked at and spoken OT of more as a national possession, the benefits of which are largely visible and tangible blessings. The idea of regeneration here occurs therefore—though no technical expression has as yet been coined for the process—in the
of this conviction is found in the praj'er of David: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right [m "stedfast"] spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy
first meaning of the word elucidated above. Whether the Divine promises refer to the Messianic end of times, or are to be realized at an earlier date, they
Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with a willing spirit" (Ps 51 10-12). Jeremiah puts the following words into the mouth of Ephraim: "Turn thou me, and
all refer to the nation of Israel as such, and to individuals only as far as they are partakers in the
I shall be turned" (Jer 31 18). Clearer than any passages of the OT, John the Baptist, forerunner of Christ and last flaming torch of the time of the
benefits bestowed upon the commonwealth. This
is even true where the blessings prophesied are only
spiritual, as in Isa 60 21.22. The mass of the people
earlier covenant, spoke of the baptism, not of water, but of the Holy Spirit and of fire (Mt 3 11; Lk 3
of Israel are therefore as yet scarcely aware of the fact that the conditions on which these Divine prornises
16; Jn 1 33), leading thus to the realization of OT foreshadowings which became possible by faith in Christ.
are to be attained are more than ceremonial and ritual
ones. Soon, however, great disasters, threatening
to overthrow the national entity, and finally the
In the teaching of Jesus the need of regeneration has a prominent place, though nowhere are the reasons given. The OT had suc-
captivity and dispersion which caused national
functions to be almost, if not altogether, discon-
2. In the ceeded—and even the gentile conTeaching science agreed with it—in convincing
tinued, assisted in the growth of a sense of individual or personal responsibility before God. The
sin of Israel is recognized as the sin of the individual, which can be removed only by individual repentance and cleansing. This is best seen from the
of Jesus the people of this need. The clearest assertion of it and the explanation of the doctrine of regeneration is found in the conversation of Jesus with Nicodemus (Jn 3). It is based upon (1) the observation that man, even the most punctilious in the observance of the Law, is dead and therefore unable to "live up" to the demands of God. Only He who gave hfe at the beginning can give the (spiritual) life necessary to do God's
stirring appeals of the prophets of the exde, where
frequently the necessity of a change of attitude toward Jeh is preached as a means to such regen-
eration. This cannot be understood otherwise than as a turning of the individual to the Lord.
Here, too, no ceremony or sacrifice is sufficient, but an interposition of Divine grace, which is repre-
will. (2) Man has fallen from his virginal and Divinely appointed sphere, the realm of the spirit, the Kingdom of God, living now the perishing earthly life. Only by having a new spiritual nature imparted to him, by being "born anew" (.In 3 3, RVm "from above," Gr &vaieev, dnothen), by being "born of the Spirit" (3 G.8), can he live the spiritual
sented under the figure of a washing and sprinkling from all iniquity and sin (Isa 1 18; .ler 13 2.3). It
is not possible now to follow m full the development
of this idea of cleansing, but already in Isa 62 15
the sprinkling of many nations is mentioned and is
soon understood in the sense of the "baptism
which proselytes had to undergo before their recep-
life which God requires of man.
tion into the covenant of Israel. It was the syinbol
These words are a NT exegesis of Ezekiel's vision
of a radical cleansing like that of a "new-born babe,
of the dead bones (37 1-10). It is the "breath from Jeh," the Spirit of God, who alone can give life to the spiritually dead.
which was one of the designations of the proselyte
(cf Ps 87 5; see also the tractate Y'hhamolh 62a). Would it be surprising that Israel, which had been
But regeneration, according to Jesus, is more than life, it is also purity. As God is pure and sin-
guilty of many sins of the Gentiles, needed a similar
baptism and sprinkling? This is what Ezk 36 25
less, none but the pure in heart can see God (Mt 5
suggests: "I will sprinkle clean water upon you,
8). This was always recognized as impossible to mere human endeavor. Bildad the Shuhite de-
and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and
from all your idols, will I cleanse you." In other
clared, and his friends, each in his turn, expressed
passages the cleansing and refining power of fire is
Regeneration THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2548
very similar thoughts (Job 4 17; 14 4): "How then can man be just with God? Or liow can he be clean that is born of a woman? Behold, even the moon hath no brightness, and the stars are not pure in his sight: how much less man, thatisaworm! and the son of man, that is a worm!" (25 4-6).
St. Paul is equally explicit regarding the author
of this change. The "Spirit of God," the "Spirit of Christ" has been given from above to be the source of all new life (Rom 8); by Him we are proved to be the "sons" of God (Gal 4 6); we have been adopted into the family of God {uiodea-la,
hidothesia, Rom 8 15; Gal 4 5). Thus St. Paul speaks of the "second Adam," by whom the life of righteousness is initiated in us; just as the "first Adam" became the leader in transgression, He is "a life-giving spirit" (1 Cor 15 45). St. Paul him-
To change this lost condition, to impart this new life, Jesus claims as His God-appointed task: "The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost" (Lk 19 10); "I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly" (Jn 10 10). This life is eternal, imperishable: "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand" (Jn 10 28). This life is imparted by Jesus Himself: "It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life" (Jn 6 63). This life can be received on the condition of faith in Christ or by coming to Him (Jn 14 6). By faith power is received which enables the sinner to overcome sin, to "sin no more" (Jn 8 11). The parables of Jesus further illustrate this doc-
self experienced this change, and henceforth exhibited the powers of the unseen world in his life of
service. "It is no longer I that live," he exclaims, "but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me" (Gal 2 20). Regeneration is to St. Paul, no less than to Jesus, connected with the conception of purity and knowledge. We have already noted the second NT passage in which the word "regeneration" occurs (Tit 3 5): "According to his mercy he saved us, through the washing [m "laver"] of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour." In 1 Cor 12 13 such cleansing is called the baptism of the Spirit in agreement with the oftrepeated promise (Joel 2 28 [in the Heb text 3 1]; Mt 3 11; Mk 1 8; Lk 3 16; Acts 1 5; 11 16). There is, of course, in these passages no reference to mere water-baptism, any more than in Ezk 36 25. Water is but the tertium comparationis. As water cleanseth the outer body, so the spirit puri-
' 'dead" and to be "alive again" (Lk 15 24). The new life from God is compared to a wedding garment in the parable of the Marriage of the King's Son (Mt 22
trine. The prodigal is declared to have been
11). The garment, the gift of the inviting king, had been refused by the unhappy guest, who, in consequence, was 'cast out into the outer darkness'
(Mt 22 13). Finally, this regeneration, this new life, is explained as the knowledge of God and His Christ: "And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ" (Jn 17 3). This seems to be an allusion to the passage in Hos (4 6): "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me."
fies the inner man (cf 1 Cor 6 11; 1 Pet 3 21). The doctrine that regeneration redounds in true knowledge of Christ is seen from Eph 3 15-19 and 4 17-24, where the darkened understanding and ignorance of natural man are placed in contradistinction to the enlightenment of the new life (see also Col 3 10). The church redeemed and regenerated is to be a special "possession," an "heritage" of the Lord (Eph 1 11.14), and the whole creation
It may be said in general that the teaching of the apostles on the subject of regeneration is a develop-
ment of the teaching of Jesus on the
3. In lines of the adumbrations of the OT. Apostolic Considering the differences in the perTeaching sonal character of these writers, it is remarkable that such concord of views should exist among them. St. Paul, indeed, lays more stress on the specific facts of justification and sanctification by faith than on the more comprehensive head of regeneration. Still the need of it
is to participate in the final redemption and adoption
(Rom 8 21-23).
St. James finds less occasion to touch this subject than the other writers of the NT. His Ep, is rather ethical than dogmatical in tone, still his ethics are based on the dogmatical presuppositions which fully agree with the teaching of other apostles. Faith to him is the human response to God's desire to impart His nature to mankind, and therefore the indispensable means to be employed in securing the
is plainly stated by St. Paul. It is necessary to salvation for all men. "The body is dead because of sin" (Rom 8 3-11; Eph 2 1). The flesh is at enmity with God (Eph 2 15); all mankind is "darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God" (4 IS). Similar passages might be multiplied. Paul then distinctly teaches that thus
full benefits of the new life, i.e. the sin-conquering power (1 2-4), the spiritual enlightenment (1 5) and purity (1 27). There seems, however, to be
little doubt that St. James directly refers to regeneration in the words: "Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures" (1 18). It is supposed by some that these words, being addressed
is a new life in store for those who have been spiritually dead. To the Ephesians he writes: "And you did he make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins" (2 1), and later on: "God, being rich in mercy, .... made us alive together with Christ" (2 4. .5). A spiritual resurrection has taken place. This regeneration causes a complete revolution in man. He has thereby passed from under the law of sin and death and has come under "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8 2). The change is so radical that it is possible now to speak of a "new creature" (2 Cor 5 17; Gal 6 15, m "new creation"), of a "new man, that after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth" (Eph 4 24), and of "the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Col 3 10). All "old things are passed away; behold, they are become new" (2 Cor 6 17).
"to the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion"
(1 1), do not refer to individual regeneration, but to an election of Israel as a nation and so to a Christian Israel. In this case the aftermath would be the redemption of the Gentiles. I understand the expression "first-fruits" in the sense in which we have noticed St. Paul's final hope in Rom 8 21-32, where the regeneration of the believing people of God (regardless of nationality) is the first stage in the regeneration or restoration of all creation. The "implanted [RVm "inborn"] word" (Jas 1 21; cf
1 Pet 1 23) stands parallel to the PauUne expression, "law of the Spirit" (Rom 8 2). St. Peter uses, in his sermon on the day of Pentecost, the words "refreshing" (Acts 3 19) and "restoration of all things" (3 21) of the final com-
2549 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Regeneration
pletion of God's plans concerning the whole creation, and accordingly looks here at God's people as a whole. In a similar sense he says in his Second Ep., after mentioning "the day of God": "We look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Pet 3 13). Still he alludes very plainly to the regeneration of individuals (1 Pet 1 3.23). The idea of a second birth of the believers is clearly suggested in the expression, "newborn babes" (1 Pet 2 2), and in the explicit statement of 1 Pet 1 23: "having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth." It is in this sense that the apostle calls God "Father"
This regeneration is "eternal life" (1 Jn 5 13) and moral similarity with God, the very character of God in man. As "God is love," the children of God will love (1 Jn 5 2). At the same time it is the life of God in man, also called fellowship with Christ, victorious life which overcomes the world
(1 Jn 5 4); it is purity (1 Jn 3 3-6) and knowledge (1 Jn 2 20). The subject of regeneration lies outside of the scope of the Ep. to the He, so that we look in vain for a clear dogmatical statement of it. Still the ep. does in no place contradict the dogma, which, on the other hand, underlies many of the statements made. Christ, "the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises" (8 6), has made "purification of sins" (1 3). In contradistinction to the first covenant, in which the people approached God by means of outward forms and ordinances, the "new covenant" (8 13) brought an "eternal redemption" (9 12) by means of a Divine cleansing (9 14). Christ brings "many sons unto glory" and is "author of their salvation" (2 10). Immature Christians are spoken of (as were the proselytes of the OT) as babes, who were to grow to the stature, character and knowledge of "fullgrown men" (5 13.14).
(1 17) and the behevers "children of obedience"
(1 14), i.e. obedient children, or children who ought to obey. We have seen above that the agent by which regeneration is wrought, the incorruptible seed of the word of God, finds a parallel in St. Paul's and St. James's theology. All these expressions go back probably to a word of the Master in Jn 15 3. We are made partakers of the word by having received the spirit. This spirit (cf the Pauline "lifegiving spirit," 1 Cor 15 45), the "mind" of Christ
(1 Pet 4 1), is the power of the resurrected Christ active in the life of the believer. St. Peter refers to the same thought in 1 Pet 3 15.21. By regeneration we become "an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession," in whom Divine virtues, "the excellencies of him who called you" (1 Pet 2 9), are manifested. Here the apostle uses well-known OT expressions foreshadowing NT graces (Isa 61 6; 66 21; Ex 19 6; Dt 7 6), but he individualizes the process of regeneration in full agreement with the increased light which the teaching of Jesus has brought. The theology of St. Peter also points out the contact of regeneration with purity and holiness (1 Pet 1 15.16) and true knowledge (1 14) or obedience
///. Later Development of the Doctrine.—Very soon the high spiritual meaning of regeneration was obscured by the development of priestcraft within the Christian church. When the initiation into the church was thought of as accomphshed by the mediation of ministers thereto appointed, the ceremonies hereby employed became means to which magic powers were of necessity ascribed. This we see plainly in the view of baptismal regeneration, which, based upon half-understood passages of Scripture quoted above, was taught at an early date. While in the post-apostolic days we frequently iind traces of a proper appreciation of an underlying spiritual value in baptism (cf Didache, vii) many of the expressions used are highly misleading. Thus Gregory Nazianzen {OraHons, xi.2) calls baptism the second of the three births a child of God must experience (the first is the natural birth, the third the resurrection). This birth is "of the day, free, delivering from passions, taking away every veil of our nature or birth, i.e. everything hiding the Divine image in which we are created, and leading up to the life above" (Ulhnann, Gregor v. Naziem, 323). Cyril of Jerus {Cat., xvii, c. 37) ascribes to baptism the power of absolution from sin and the power of endowment with heavenly virtues. According to Augustine baptism is essential to salvation, though the baptism of blood (martyrdom) may take the place of w^ater-baptism, as in the case of the thief at the cross (Aug., De Anima et Eius Origine, i.ll, c. 9; h.l4, c. 10; ii.l6, C. 12). Leo the Great compares the spirit-filled water of baptism with the spirit-filled womb of the Virgin, in which the Holy Spirit engenders a sinless child of God (Serm. x.xiv.3; XXV. 5; see Hagenbach, Dogmengeschichte, § 137). In general this is still the opinion of pronotmced sacramentarians, while evangelical Christianity has gone back to the teaching of the NT.
(1 14; 3 16). It is not surprising that the idea of purity should invite the OT parallel of "cleansing by water." The flood washed away the iniquity of the world "in the days of Noah," when "eight souls were saved through water: which also after a true
likeness [RVm "in the antitype"] doth now save you, even baptism, not the putting away of the
filth of the flesh, but the interrogation [RVm "in-
quiry," "appeal"] of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection [-Ufe] of Jesus Christ"
(1 Pet 3 20.21). The teaching of St. John is very closely aUied with that of Jesus, as we have already seen from the multitude of quotations we had to select from St.
IV. Present Significance.—Although a clear distinction is not always maintained between regeneration and other experiences of the spiritual life, we may summarize our belief in the following theses:
John's Gospel to illustrate the teaching of the Master. It is esp. interesting to note the cases where the apostle didactically elucidates certain
of these pronouncements of Jesus. The most remarkable apostoUc gloss or commentary on the
(1) Regeneration implies not merely an addition
subject is found in Jn 7 39. Jesus had spoken of
the change which faith in Him ("commg to him") would cause in the lives of His disciples; how Di-
of certain gifts or graces, a strengthening of certain innate good qualities, but a radical change, which revolutionizes our whole being, contradicts and overcomes our old fallen nature, and places our
vine energies hke "rivers of water" should isssue
forth from them; and the evangelist continues m
spiritual center of gravity wholly outside of our own powers in the realm of God's causation.
explanation : ' 'But this spake he of the Spirit, which
they that believed on him were to receive: for the
(2) It is the will of God that all men be made partakers of this new life (1 Tim 2 4) and, as it is clearly stated that some fall short of it (Jn 5 40),
Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not
yet glorified." This recognition of a special mani-
festation of Divine power, transcending the expe-
it is plain that the fault thereof lies with man. God requires all men to repent and turn unto Him (Acts 17 30) before He will or can effect regeneration. Conversion, consisting in repentance and faith in
rience of OT believers, was based on the declaration
of Christ, that He would send "another Comforter [RV "advocate," "helper," Gr Paraclete], that he may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth"
Christ, is therefore the human response to the offer
(Jnl4 16,17). , . „ . .^ , In his Epp. St. John shows that this Spirit be-
of salvation which God makes. This response gives occasion to and is synchronous with the Divine act of renewal (regeneration). The Spirit of God enters into union with the believing, accept-
stows the elements of a Godlike character which makes us to be "sons of God," who before were
"children of the devil" (1 Jn 3 10.24; 4 13, etc).
Regeneration Rehoboam THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2550
conflict with them. Man as he is by nature stands
ing spirit of man. This is fellowship with Christ (Rom 8 10; 1 Cor 6 17; 2 Cor 5 17; Col 3 3).
in direct contrast to the demands of the spiritual
life. Spiritual life, as Professor Eucken says, can be implanted in man by some superior power only and must constantly be sustained by superior life.
(3) The process of regeneration is outside of our observation and beyond the scope of psychological analysis. It takes place in the sphere of subconsciousness. Recent psychological investigations have thrown a flood of light on the psychic states which precede, accompany and follow the work of the Holy Spirit. "He handles psychical powers; He works upon psychical energies and states; and this work of regeneration lies somewhere within the psychical field." The study of religious psychology
It breaks through the order of causes and effects;