"When God begins that wonderful work of redemption, it is a work on the whole person. Any view of saving grace that does not encompass the totality of humanity is deficient. When the Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, commences the work in time and space, he regenerates the sinner, and the sinner is converted. The act of regeneration is a sovereign act of the Spirit, which empowers once-dead sinners to turn from their sin and embrace the Savior. It is a glorious work.
In the process of this work the mind, the will, and the emotions all play an important role. We cannot assume that the Spirit works in the mind, the will, and the emotions with the same measuring stick. We also must assume that the Spirit works in every new birth in exactly the same way.
For some, the supernatural work of the Spirit on the mind, enlightening them to the truth, is in the forefront. For others, their experience is of the Spirit hammering away at a stubborn will until he finally wins. For others still, their emotions play a very significant role. We dare not think that unless the Spirit pours out so much conviction, or gives this level of understanding or that degree of emotion that a person is not converted. But we also dare not think that regeneration and conversion leave certain parts of our humanity untouched. To one degree or another, conversion impacts the emotions, as well as the mind and the will. 'True faith, in other words, inevitably gives rise to godly desires and emotions....Regeneration always manifests itself in godly desires and emotions.'
Every person who enters the kingdom experiences some degree of being 'poor in spirit' (Matthew 5:3). This is not merely cognitively coming to grips with our spiritual bankruptcy. It is more. It is being awakened to the reality of our destitute and undone condition (Isaiah 6:5; John 16:8). There is an emotional element in realizing we are 'poor in spirit,' undone before a holy God, convicted by the Holy Spirit of our sins. Again, it will differ in degree from conversion to conversion, but it will not differ in kind .
Once peace with God comes through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1), there is a joy that is an indispensable part of faith (Matthew 13:44; 1 Peter 1:8). Not all Christians remember the day of their conversion, especially if they've been raised in a Christian home. But with true faith comes a level of joy, peace, satisfaction, and love. The Lord Jesus is precious, the truth of the gospel is satisfying, the forgiveness of our sins brings gratitude, and reconciliation with the Father brings not only legal but also experiential peace. With new eyes and a new heart, the believer sees Christ as beautiful and as the all-satisfying Savior (John 6:35, 68). In regeneration and conversion the emotions have been touched, they have been reclaimed, and now the urban renewal project of the soul begins.
What happens in the redemptive process? Is God now committed to our nonstop enjoyment and prosperity? Is he governing and ordering the universe for our life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness? Thankfully, something much bigger and better than that is going on. I purposely have used words like reclamation , renewal , restoration , and reconstruction . In the redemptive process God begins to restore us to his image. It is a re-creation into the image of the One who is the perfect image of the Father, that is Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:10; Romans 8:29; Ephesians 4:24).
Remember earlier we said that because we are made in the image of God we have emotions and are to express emotions? The fall ruined our emotional state because it ruined our state altogether. In redemption, God is putting things back into alignment; he is re-creating us in the image of Christ. This process of re-creation again entails every part of our humanity, so that our minds are being renewed (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23; Colossians 3:1-2), our wills are being brought into conformity with God's will (Mark 3:35; Philippians 2:12-13; 1 John 2:17), and our emotions are also being reconstructed, renewed, and realigned (1 John 2:15-17; Ephesians 5:1-2). Love put in our hearts from God through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5) is the seedbed for a whole garden of new affections.
Consider the nature of the kingdom we have entered. It is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Consider the work of the Spirit as he bears his fruit in our lives (Galatians 5:22). Consider what now grieves us (Romans 7:15). Are not these regenerate characteristics, and many more, nothing less than God changing our hearts and realigning our emotions as he progressively works in us? I realize that this point needs far more explanation and even defense. As we have seen and will see, some teach that we can do nothing about emotions. I firmly believe such a view is unbiblical. It is also very harmful because it hinders our Christian growth and development in a very important part of our humanity. It also depreciates the fullness of the work of grace in our lives." - pgs 53-56
- Brian S. Borgman
Borgman, Brian S. Feelings and Faith: Cultivation Godly Emotions in the Christian Life. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2009.
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