Regeneration, while sometimes perceived to be a step in the
Ordo salutis ('order of
salvation'), is generally understood in
Christian theology to be the objective work of
God in a believer's life. Spiritually, it means that God brings Christians to new life from a previous state of separation from God and subjection to the decay of death (
Ephesians 2:4). Thus, in Lutheran and Roman Catholic theology, it generally means that which takes place during
the baptism.