Regeneration Comes Before Faith

Colossians 2:12 is a beautiful and weighty verse that speaks of the mystery and miracle of new life in Christ “Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.” But a deeper question often arises from this passage a question that stretches far beyond a single verse: Does faith cause regeneration, or does regeneration cause faith?

This question isn’t simply theological hair-splitting. It affects how we understand sin, grace, salvation, prayer, and even how we share the gospel. The order of faith and regeneration what theologians call the ordo salutis is deeply rooted in how we perceive God's role and ours in salvation.

What Colossians 2:12 Does and Doesn’t Say

Let’s start with the verse itself. In context, Paul is using baptism to illustrate the believer’s union with Christ in both death and resurrection. He says we were “buried with him in baptism” and “raised with him through faith.” The phrase “through faith” connects our spiritual resurrection with believing in the power of God.

But does this mean that faith caused the resurrection that our believing caused our spiritual new birth?

Not necessarily. Just as saying, “I escaped through a tunnel” doesn’t explain who dug the tunnel, so “raised through faith” doesn’t specify who initiated that faith. The verse affirms that faith is the means through which we experience resurrection life but it doesn’t tell us whether faith precedes or follows that life.

For that, we must look to other parts of Scripture.

What the Bible Says About Faith and Regeneration

The consistent witness of Scripture is that regeneration precedes faith that God gives new life to spiritually dead sinners, and that this new life is what enables us to believe.

1. Faith Follows the New Birth

1 John 5:1 is clear “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” The grammar in Greek points to the new birth as the cause of believing. Faith is not the trigger that makes us born again being born again is what makes faith possible.

2. Born Not of Human Will

John 1:12–13 connects belief and adoption as children of God, but immediately clarifies: “[they] were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” This removes all doubt that human decision or effort can produce the new birth. It is God's initiative, not ours.

3. Appointed to Eternal Life

Acts 13:48 tells us, “As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” The appointment came first, the believing followed. This is divine initiative on display.

4. Faith Is a Gift

Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Salvation including the faith by which it comes is God’s gift.

And there are more passages that reinforce this truth:

• Philippians 1:29 – Faith is something “granted” to us.

• 2 Corinthians 4:4–6 – God shines light into our hearts to give the knowledge of Christ.

• John 3:7–8 – We must be born of the Spirit, and the Spirit blows where He wills.

• John 6:44, 65 – No one comes to Jesus unless the Father draws him.

• 2 Timothy 2:25 – God must “grant” repentance that leads to truth.

• 1 Corinthians 1:23–24 – Christ is the power of God to those who are “called.”

These verses speak with one voice: we don’t believe in order to be born again — we believe because we’ve been born again.

Why This Order Matters

Some might ask, “Why does the order really matter? As long as we believe and are saved, who cares which comes first?” But this question isn’t merely academic. The order has massive implications for how we understand ourselves, God, and salvation.

1. It Reveals the Depth of Our Sin

If we believe that we must be born again before we can have faith, then we take seriously what the Bible says about our condition before Christ. We are not just sick we are dead (Ephesians 2:1). We don’t merely lack strength we lack life.

Romans 8:7–8 says, “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God... Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” A person in the flesh that is, without the Holy Spirit cannot submit to God or produce saving faith. Unless God sovereignly intervenes, we remain blind and resistant to the gospel.

2. It Magnifies the Glory of Grace

If we could produce our own faith, even in part, then grace would be less amazing. But when we understand that faith itself is a gift, born from God’s Spirit breathing life into a dead heart, then we realize just how complete and undeserved our salvation truly is.

We begin to sing “Amazing Grace” not as mere poetry but as reality “I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.”

3. It Fuels Our Prayers and Evangelism

If regeneration is God’s work, not man’s, then we have true hope in prayer and in sharing the gospel.

We don’t have to manipulate emotions or rely on clever persuasion. We speak the truth, plant the seeds, and pray for the Spirit of God to open blind eyes. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:6, it’s God who “has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Because God is the one who gives life, no one is beyond hope. And we pray with boldness because the Spirit can raise the dead.

Raised Through Faith, But Alive by Grace

Returning to Colossians 2:12, we can now say confidently: yes, we are raised through faith but not raised by faith. We are raised by God, and the faith we exercise is itself the fruit of that resurrection. Faith is the evidence, not the cause, of new birth.

This humbles us. It silences all boasting. And it fills our hearts with worship for a God who saves, not by our initiative, but by His mercy.

The new birth is the miracle behind every true conversion. And it is all of grace.

If this helped you see the glory of grace more clearly, share it with someone today or subscribe to our newsletter to keep growing in the truth of God's Word.