Some of John Piper’s thoughts on regeneration from Finally Alive:

“The new birth, as you will see, is not a work of man. No human makes the new birth happen. . . . When you are truly born again and grow in the grace and knowledge of what the Lord has done for you, your fellowship with God will be sweet, and your assurance that he is your Father will be deep. I want that for you” (18).

“What is the new brith? That is, what actually happens? What is it like? What changes? What comes into being that wasn’t there before” (19)?

“What happens in the new birth is not getting new religion but getting new life” (28).

“[W]hat happens in the new birth is not merely affirming the supernatural in Jesus but experiencing the supernatural in yourself” (30). . . . He [Holy Spirit] blows where he wills. We don’t control him. He is free and sovereign. He is the immediate cause of the new birth” (31).

“Jesus himself is the life that the Holy Spirit gives. Or we could say: The spiritual life that he gives, he only gives in connection with Jesus. Union with Jesus is where we experience supernatural, spiritual life” (32). See John 14:6.

“So there is no spiritual life—no eternal life—apart from connection with Jesus and belief in Jesus. We will have lots more to say about the relationship between the new birth and faith in Jesus. But we can put it this way for now: In the new birth, the Holy Spirit unites us to Christ in a living union. Christ is life. Christ the vine where life flows. We are the branches (John 15:1-17). What happens in the new birth is the supernatural creation of new spiritual life, and it is created through union with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit brings us into vital connection with Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life. That is the objective reality of what happens in the new birth” (32).