3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John Calvin writes, “a man is born only carnal from the womb of his mother; he must be formed anew by the Spirit, that he may begin to be spiritual”.
As the colloquialism goes, “like begets like.” Man does not give birth to beast, nor does beast give birth to man. Kangaroos beget joeys. Bears beget cubs. Rabbits beget bunnies. Cats beget kittens. Mice beget pinkies. Pigs beget piglets. Dogs beget puppies. Humans beget humans. In the same way, only God’s Spirit can give life to the human spirit.
Jesus articulates, here, the doctrine of regeneration. John Hannah, in To God be the Glory, writes, “If salvation is the implantation of a new, infinite life in the soul, it must be a work of God. Self-caused effects can never rise above the character or qualities of their cause. ‘Flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit,’ Jesus told Nicodemus. This saving grace cannot be caused by the creature, it can only come from God.” In other words, God is mighty to save us from our sins by changing even the intangibles of our being.
How does regeneration fit within the narratives of our lives? When God saves us from sin, he does not save us superficially. He does not simply remodel our psychological processes, physical appearance or physiological operations. In regenerating us, God is exercising an operation on our spiritual hearts. That part of us needs an entire overhaul. Rebirth. The taint of sin is at the core of our being. God changes that.
What makes the Spirit the perfect person for this job? It is because the Spirit knows how to help us, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). Also, since the Spirit is God, that help comes directly from God himself, “And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27).
Jesus further encourages us with the nature of the Spirit, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” If the Spirit is in control of regeneration and intercession, then nothing can fail us when he is on our side. Humans can manipulate the wind. We have created massive windmills to draw on its energy. Humans can intercept audio frequencies through modern technology. Radios were invented for this. That means that humans can also use these things for harm. The Spirit, on the other hand, cannot be exploited. He is free and sovereign.
In God the Spirit, we have spiritual life and an invincible communicator.
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