It is all of grace. If you were a Jew under the old order of things, you could boast that you had inherited a lot because of blood. But there is no privilege of that kind now, because all is of grace. You and I cannot by any possible means work ourselves into a place where we are born again. That is God's work. We have not any more to do with the second birth than we had to do with the first. It is not the will of man. You cannot bring anyone else in. You may pray for them, but you cannot bring them into the kingdom of God. God has to do that. It is all of God and it is all of grace. "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." Rom. 9:1616So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. (Romans 9:16).
You and I are not responsible to bring people into the kingdom of God; we are responsible only to preach the gospel. That is according to God's Word. "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Pet. 1:18, 1918Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:18‑19).
It is all God's work entirely; and in the 3rd chapter of John's Gospel, the 8th verse states it plainly: "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the: sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." He alone knows when it takes place. Yet there is a certain system of things (some of us know of it too well) where unless they can nail you down to the exact place and moment, they will not even accredit you as being a child of God.
Some do not know just when they were saved. The great thing to know is that you ARE saved. Joy comes upon owning and confessing our salvation; the doubting comes from the enemy. I do not remember the day of my natural birth, but I do know that I am alive. I was not brought up in a Christian home, but in early years there came a tenderness in my heart toward divine things; but I cannot tell you just when I was born again.
Having been made children of God through faith in Christ, we do not belong to the Adam creation, but to God now. The source of that life is God, and the nature is from God.