"Do not think Christians are made by education; they are made by creation... The vital spark must come from above! Regeneration is not of the will of man, nor of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but by the power and energy of the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God alone!"
- C.H. Spurgeon

"The Spirit must therefore first take hold of us before we can live in Christ, and when he doth so, then we are enabled to exert that vital act of faith, whereby we receive Christ."- John Flavel

"In regeneration, the mind is enlightened in the knowledge of spiritual things...The will is cured of its utter inability to will what is good...The Spirit of God comes and opens the prison door, and, by the power of his grace, makes his chains fall off; breaks the bonds of iniquity, wherewith he was held in sin, so as he could neither will nor do anything TRULY good; and brings him forth into a large place."- Thomas Boston