by Paul, who speaks more about justification. When he refers to regeneration he prefers to use the picture of ‘being made alive’ or ‘becoming a new creation’. The washing here could be a symbol of renewal (baptism) or an effect of renewal. It is most likely that Paul sees washing and renewal as two aspects of the same thing and that is the same thought in John 3:5. In light of Paul’s theology, he probably has in mind here not just inward renewal but, according to Sinclair Ferguson, a ‘participation
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