What Does John 3:8 Mean?

"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."

John 3:8(NASB)

Verse of the Day

Like so many of His teachings, the Lord Jesus used a simple example from nature to teach a profound spiritual truth. He likened the invisible, unpredictable movement of the wind which can only be observed by the swishing of grass, the swaying of trees, or the eerie howl from the rafters of a house with the indiscernible, unfathomable Spirit of God. And the Spirit of God can only be observed in the life of a believer by a lifestyle change, a more godly attitude, and more gracious behaviour.

The Holy Spirit is in the world quietly and unceasingly convicting every unbeliever of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement, but when trust in Christ's sacrificial work on the Cross is realised and unbelief is replaced with faith, the invisible, indiscernible, unfathomable work of the Holy Spirit results in the invisible, indiscernible, unfathomable mystery of the new birth.

Our new life in Christ cannot be felt or fully explained. It cannot be commanded at one's whim, or earned through good works. Our new life in Christ is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in the very heart of a believer, by faith. And having begun in the Spirit, we are to continue in the Sprit. We are to live our life in spirit and truth, to walk in the spirit, and to pray in the spirit as guided by Him. And as we bow to His leading and guiding, promptings and training, so the indiscernible, unfathomable movement of the Spirit of God can be observed in the man or woman whose life is yielded to the Lord.

The work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer may or may not be seen. His work is sovereign and just as the wind blows where it wishes and we sometimes hear its sound or perceive its movement in the swishing of grass or the swaying of trees, we do not know where it comes from, nor do we know where it is going.

Let us be ready and willing to yield to his moving in our life and not seek to control His work so that the love of Christ bears the fruit of the Spirit in each of our lives.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You that I am born again by the indiscernible, unfathomable work of the Spirit deep within. I pray that You would work in my life and, little by little, replace my stubborn will with Your better plans and purposes. And I pray that You who have started a good work in me, would continue until the day of Christ Jesus, AMEN.

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