Quickening is the divine act of imparting spiritual life to the soul dead in sin. It is synonymous with regeneration — the moment when God's Spirit causes a spiritually dead person to become spiritually alive (Eph 2:1-5). Paul declares, "But God, being rich in mercy...even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ" (Eph 2:4-5). The word captures the instantaneous, sovereign, monergistic nature of the new birth — God alone quickens; the dead cannot quicken themselves. Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life" (John 6:63). The KJV uses "quicken" where modern versions say "make alive" or "give life," preserving the old English sense of quick as "living."
QUICK'ENING, n. The act of vivifying or making alive; the act of imparting or receiving life. In theology, the communication of spiritual life to the soul, or the first infusion of spiritual grace, called regeneration. "The quickening of the Spirit"
The term "quickening" has largely disappeared from modern evangelical vocabulary, replaced by the clinical "regeneration" or vague "being born again." This linguistic shift obscures the sudden, vivifying power of God's work. Modern usage also confuses quickening with sanctification (progressive growth) rather than its proper meaning: the instantaneous transition from death to life. The archaic flavor of "quicken" causes many to avoid it entirely, losing the biblical metaphor of resurrection that the word carries. Some prosperity movements misappropriate "quickening" to describe emotional experiences or subjective "spiritual highs" rather than the objective, sovereign act of the Holy Spirit in regeneration.
Ephesians 2:1-5 — "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins...But God, being rich in mercy...even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ."
Romans 8:11 — "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you."
John 5:21 — "For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will."
1 Peter 3:18 — "For Christ also suffered once for sins...being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit."
Psalm 119:25 — "My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!"