According to the Word of God being born again is being born of the Spirit, which is the Holy Spirit of Truth, but the scripture concludes that to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost we must repent: likewise the scripture tells us that to be born again is not of any corrupt nature, but born again of incorruptible seed by the Word of God.
Altogether therefore we will have denied our own will, and submit to and rely upon the Word of God, which is the will of God; and we will have repented and owned our sins, which by the way is a continual duty for the rest of our life.
The difference from our old person and the new, is that we will no longer seek our own will, but the will of God by the Word of God, especially the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ, who warns us who call Him Lord saying "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" If Christ is truly our Lord we will be making the sincere effort to do the things which He says: for if it be so that we are truly born again in Christ, we will have received the Spirit, which teaches us all things, and brings to our remembrance all things whatsoever Christ has said to us, and shall always glorify Christ. Can these be gradual? it seems that they shall come according to the measure of our faith, because faith comes only by hearing the Word of God; so the more abundantly we hear God's Word the more faith we have; but if we hear little of God*'s Word, then our faith shall be little, weak: it is according as every person purposes it in their heart: if we sow sparingly then we shall reap sparingly; but if we sow bountifully then we shall reap bountifully.
