Abandon all carnal thoughts of him

When Christ ascended, he physically removed himself from his people on earth and from this present state of affairs. He can no longer be known on earth in a physical way, only in a spiritual one. Calvin hence tells us to “abandon all carnal thoughts of him”. His physical ascension assures us that it is right to seek our Master where he really is - in heaven - and nowhere else. He does not live in temples made with hands, as some think (see Acts 17). Our relationship with him on earth can only be spiritual - brought about by the Spirit, sustained by faith. Physical contact is no longer possible. He has ascended on high.

From my book What Jesus is doing now, p  45

The Two Ronnies: Rhyming Slang Sermon

The Two Ronnies Ponting Punting

Praying for regeneration

To argue that someone who is not born again cannot pray for regenerating grace because of the sin in his soul is wrong. If it was true, the same argument could be applied to a born-again person praying for holiness. The prayers even of those who are born again are mixed with sin. If you cannot pray until rebirth because your prayers are sinful then you cannot really pray until you are perfectly holy either. If the presence of sin is a reason for not praying in one case, it is in the other.
Therefore we urge anyone who is not born again to pray for it to happen, not because new birth is obtained by prayer as such but because there is no better way to prepare for it. It is better to pray than do nothing. The prayer of the unregenerate is marred by sin, but not necessarily any more than any other prayers.

From my book What the Bible teaches about being born again, p 152

The regeneration of all things

A new order of things is coming and it is those who have first been born again who will enter that kingdom. ... As our souls have been restored and refreshed already so there will come a time when all things are restored or regenerated. We most often speak of this in terms of glorification although it is as much an entire or completed sanctification (just as regeneration is an initial sanctification), or, in terms of regeneration, the external and universal regeneration that follows internal and personal new birth.

From my book What the Bible teaches about being born again, p 145

Conversion and regeneration

Conversion consists of repentance and faith and it is being born again that makes these two possible. It is not that by repenting and trusting in Christ we are born again but that by being born again we are enabled to repent and trust in Christ. Kuyper says that some old Scottish theologians would speak of the implanting of the faith-faculty (regeneration) followed by faith-exercise and faith-power. Without the faculty, the exercise of faith and its power cannot be known.

From my book What the Bible teaches about being born again, p 134

Regeneration and Assurance

Two dangers confront us in this area - on one hand, wrong headed presumption and on the other, needless despair. It is God’s will that every newborn Christian should know that he has entered God’s Kingdom. Nevertheless, not all have the same level of assurance about this. Better that we enter heaven doubting our new birth than that we go to hell falsely assuming we have been born again.

From my book What the Bible teaches about being born again, p 127