John 3:7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
John 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Jesus brought a new dimension into the mystery of rebirth by the analogy of the wind.
Wind. Gr. pneuma, “spirit,” “breath,” “wind.” Here the latter meaning is obviously intended.
So is every one.
Like the wind, the new birth is invisible. The argument that because the new birth is not apparent to the natural eyesight it is therefore a figment of the imagination, is no more valid than it would be if used of the wind. In each case judgment is to be based on the effects produced.
John 3:9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
Joh 3:10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?
” Nicodemus was personally perplexed by things he should have been teaching to others.
John 3:11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.
We speak.
Jesus momentarily speaks in the plural, perhaps because He is stating a general principle, one true both of Himself and of Nicodemus.
What Nicodemus had said (v. 9) made evident that, for “a master of Israel” (v. 10), he did not know very much.
Nicodemus’ statements and questions reveal that he does not know. His knowledge of salvation was only theoretical, and was based on a false theory at that.
If Nicodemus had experienced the new birth, he would not only understand it himself, but be able to speak intelligently of it to others. Some suggest that by “we” Jesus refers to the members of the Godhead.
You do not receive. If he persists in misunderstanding whereof Jesus speaks, Nicodemus will class himself with the perverse souls of chapter 1:11, who “received him not.”
John 1:11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
John 3:12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
Earthly things. The distinction here between “earthly things” and “heavenly things” is not altogether clear. By “earthly things” Jesus refers to elementary principles of salvation, such as the new birth.
In contrast, “heavenly things” would be the deeper mysteries of God into which, perhaps, only a teacher in Israel might be expected to have insight.
Nicodemus was still struggling away with the elementary principles and altogether unprepared to discuss more profound truths (cf. 1 Cor. 3:1, 2; Heb. 5:12–14).
Let us listen to the way Nicodemus experience this deep spiritual messages of Jesus:
“I was still perplexed, and Jesus used the wind to illustrate His meaning: “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit.”
In other words the wind is heard among the branches of the trees, rustling the leaves and flowers; yet it is invisible, and no man knows whence it comes or whither it goes. So with the work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. It can no more be explained than can the movements of the wind.
So I understood that a person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or to trace all the circumstances in the process of conversion; but this does not prove him to be unconverted. By an agency as unseen as the wind, Christ is constantly working upon the heart.
Jesus explained to me that little by little, perhaps unconsciously to the receiver, impressions are made that tend to draw the soul to Christ. These may be received through meditating upon Him, through reading the Scriptures, or through hearing the word from the living preacher.
And then one day as I understand it, suddenly, as the Spirit comes with more direct appeal, the soul gladly surrenders itself to Jesus. By many this is called sudden conversion; but it is the result of long wooing by the Spirit of God,—a patient, protracted process.
While the wind is itself invisible, it produces effects that are seen and felt. So the work of the Spirit that works upon my soul and will reveal itself in every act of him who has felt its saving power.
When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced; love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife.
This is just what I, Nicodemus was longing for.
Joy takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflects the light of heaven. No one sees the hand that lifts the burden, or beholds the light descend from the courts above. The blessing comes when by faith the soul surrenders itself to God. Then that power which no human eye can see creates a new being in the image of God.
It is impossible for my finite mind to comprehend the work of redemption. Its mystery exceeds my human knowledge; yet he who passes from death to life realizes that it is a divine reality. The beginning of redemption we may know here through a personal experience. Its results reach through the eternal ages.
While Jesus was speaking, some gleams of truth penetrated my mind. The softening, subduing influence of the Holy Spirit impressed my heart. Yet I did not fully understand the Saviour’s words. I was not so much impressed by the necessity of the new birth as by the manner of its accomplishment. I said wonderingly, “How can these things be?”
“Are you a teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” Jesus asked. Surely one entrusted with the religious instruction of the people should not be ignorant of truths so important. His words conveyed the lesson that instead of feeling irritated over the plain words of truth, I, Nicodemus should have had a very humble opinion of myself, because of my spiritual ignorance.
Yet Christ spoke with such solemn dignity, and both look and tone expressed such earnest love, that I, Nicodemus was not offended as I realized my humiliating condition.
But as Jesus explained that His mission on earth was to establish a spiritual instead of a temporal kingdom, I, His hearer was troubled. Seeing this, Jesus added, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?”
If I, Nicodemus could not receive Christ’s teaching, illustrating the work of grace upon the heart, how could I comprehend the nature of His glorious heavenly kingdom? Not discerning the nature of Christ’s work on earth, I could not understand His work in heaven.
The Jews whom Jesus had driven from the temple claimed to be children of Abraham, but they fled from the Saviour’s presence because they could not endure the glory of God which was manifested in Him.
Thus they gave evidence that they were not fitted by the grace of God to participate in the sacred services of the temple. They were zealous to maintain an appearance of holiness, but they neglected holiness of heart.
While they were sticklers for the letter of the law, they were constantly violating its spirit. Their great need was that very change which Christ had been explaining to me,—a new moral birth, a cleansing from sin, and a renewing of knowledge and holiness.
There was no excuse for the blindness of Israel in regard to the work of regeneration. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah had written, “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.”
David had prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” And through Ezekiel the promise had been given, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes.” Isaiah 64:6; Psalm 51:10; Ezekiel 36:26, 27.
You know I had read these scriptures with a clouded mind; but I now began to comprehend their meaning. I saw that the most rigid obedience to the mere letter of the law as applied to the outward life could entitle no man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
In the estimation of men, my life had been just and honourable; but in the presence of Christ, I felt that my heart was unclean, and my life unholy.
COMPLICATED YET SIMPLE
Although the new birth has deep mysteries which is difficult to comprehend, it is also very plain God sends us the conviction of sin. He gives us the remorse of our sins. If we allow Him to do a work of cleansing which we cannot do, the new birth begins.
The grudges we carry, are replaced by kindness and forgiveness; our regrets of things we did wrong in the past, makes way for the Holy Spirit to bring us the peace of heaven.
Next time we are going to look at the historic event where Moses erected a pole and mounted an image of a snake on it.
I was so impressed when Jesus explained the deeper meaning of the new birth in this manner.