John 3

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8 NIV

These words are an explanation of the spiritual birth, but unlike a physical birth, a new spiritual birth cannot be explained – just like the wind. We can observe the occurrence of it, but we cannot trace its beginning. We can see new evidence of it, as it is the beginning of a constant growth, but we cannot determine its end.

This is the case with everyone who accepts God’s Son as their personal Lord and Saviour and receives the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes in like a fire and burns within our hearts, consuming sin. It purifies our hearts, storing up only that which is good and true. It reveals the wickedness of sin to us along with the presence of it within us, giving the power to change into whom He has called us to be.

Though spiritual birth cannot be fully explained nor understood, this does not take away from its power or phenomenon. The receiving of the Spirit is freedom from the bondage of sin for the believer. It changes our perspective from ‘must do’ into a ‘delight to do’, bringing us into the liberty of doing the will of the Heavenly Father.