Born of the Spirit

September 2, 2008 by: Guest Author | The Bain Journal 1 Comment

I’ve been thinking about how God leads His children and a certain place in scripture where Jesus illustrates this concept. In John chapter three a man named Nicodemus comes to Jesus and begins asking questions. Obviously this man had been drawn to the powerful teaching and no doubt was amazed by the signs and wonders Jesus performed. (Can you imagine what it must have been like to be around “the Word made flesh”!)

The interesting thing about Nicodemus is that he was a teacher of religion in Israel.  He was normally one that people would go to in order to get answers…not the other way around! Nicodemus was also a “ruler of the Jews.” That meant he had a seat on the Jewish Sanhedrin which would be considered a cross between the US Senate and Supreme Court. We’re looking at a leading religious and political figure in Israel who is still searching for more!

Jesus informed Nicodemus that he had to be born again to enter the kingdom of God. Of course Nicodemus, like any rational thinking human being, had absolutely no idea what Christ was saying. Jesus takes it to the next level and explains very simply what it means to be “born of the spirit.” He makes this statement, “ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

For a long time this gave me a lot of problems. To me it sounded like when people get born again they turn into some kind of a lazy, rambling, irresponsible vagabond. They blow in and blow out and no one really knows if they can be depended on for anything. I mean maybe it’s just me, but sometimes Jesus’ teachings can be really confusing! It’s at these times we tend to say things like “Well, His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts!” But the more you spend time with Him, you begin to realize it’s just so simple we miss it. Jesus came to seek and save that which is lost, to set the captives free…not to confuse everybody!

You see Jesus was giving a very simple explanation of what it means to be born again. Jesus grew up reading the Old Testament scriptures. That was the only bible they had. In the Old Testament, the word used for wind was translated three different ways. The Hebrew word “ruach” could be translated as breath, wind, or spirit. This was the mindset Jesus had when He gave this teaching to Nicodemus. He was actually saying that he who is born of the spirit is blown by the wind, or spirit.

This teaching carries staggering implications. Jesus was saying to Nicodemus, “Look it doesn’t matter what kind of a grand reputation you establish for yourself, or how much of a religious show you put on to try and impress God and man. When you become born again you will have to forsake yourself to be moved by the Spirit of God!” This is one of the simplest and yet most complex elements of the New Testament. No longer do we strive to impress others, but we rest in the finished work of Christ and learn to be led by the Holy Spirit in our every day life.

The Apostle Paul put it this way in Romans 8:14, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” As you read through the New Testament you will see this teaching repeat itself over and over. Being led by the Spirit means we are fully surrendered to Him all the time. We have to establish and then maintain an intimate relationship with God through prayer, fasting, and Bible study wherein we yield more and more to His Spirit. The idea here is that as we surrender ourselves to God in greater measure, the Christ in us emerges in greater measure. The less there is of us, the more Christ in us is free to love through us! I know that’s a mouthful but it’s the truth.

What an exciting opportunity to know God and live for Him right now! It’s good to know my experience with God didn’t stop when I got saved, but was really just beginning. My prayer for you is that He would continue to reveal more and more of Himself to you and in you.

In Christ,
Greg Ray

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