When we come to faith in Jesus, God sends the Holy Spirit to live within us. That Spirit takes up residence and claims our bodies as His sanctuary. Paul tells us that “… your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God…” (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Spirit, living within us, begins His work of regeneration. We are declared to have new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states that all things have become new; Galatians 6:15 declares the believer to be a new creature or creation; Ephesians 2:10 teaches that believers have been spiritually created in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration makes one a new creation, a new creature.
When we are born into the physical world by natural birth, it brings us to a state which cannot be reversed. We cannot enter into our mother’s womb again, we cannot be “un-conceived” we cannot be “un-born.” We might destroy our lives, make some bad choices, or even be cut off at an early age, but the fact, the reality, of our birth and our life cannot be reversed. Once we’re out of the womb, we’re out of it permanently. It’s not a work that can be undone. Even if we say, along with Job, the world would be better off if I hadn’t ever been born, it doesn’t change the fact that we were born and we exist. So it is with our regeneration through our faith in Christ and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Once we are born again, it cannot be undone. The Holy Spirit is responsible in many respects for our eternal security.
After Jesus informed His disciples of His imminent departure, he promised that the Father would send them another helper. Jesus referred to this helper as the “Spirit of truth.” In John 14:16, Jesus says that the helper will “be with you forever.” In his Messianic Bible Study Collection, Arnold Fruchtenbaum says, “When the Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling the believer, it emphasizes that once He comes to indwell that believer, He indwells him permanently, eternally, and forever (Jn. 14:16–17; 1 Cor. 6:19; Eph. 2:22; 1 Jn. 2:27). The Holy Spirit abides in the believer forever. If He is not there forever, then it was not forever; it was only temporary.” The Spirit’s work secures our destiny, yet many believers don’t feel secure. J. Vernon McGee says, “Every believer is eternally secure. But it is possible for a person to be saved and not have the assurance of it. May I say that a believer who is saved and does not have assurance is a subnormal or an unnatural believer? Certainly, he can be a believer, but God does want us to have the assurance of our salvation.” Ryrie says, “Eternal security is the work of God that guarantees that the gift of salvation, once received, is forever and cannot be lost. The concept of eternal security emphasizes God’s activity in guaranteeing the eternal possession of the gift of eternal life. It relates to those the Holy Spirit regenerates, and its veracity does not rest on feelings or experiences.”