"Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' 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 3:7-8).Jesus confronts Nicodemus in John 3 with the necessity of the new birth and the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. While a person must be born again to "enter into the kingdom of God" (v. 5), he or she cannot produce this new birth, Jesus tells this Pharisee. The Spirit's work is like the wind -- mysterious, unpredictable and uncontrolled by human beings. The new birth is a supernatural work. God gives life to human beings according to His sovereign will that they might cast themselves upon Jesus and His saving work. For all of us who have become new creations in Christ, may we rejoice in God's grace toward us. (Credit to John Piper for some of these insights.)
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