The apostle John tells us in the third chapter of his gospel:
1. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3. Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” . . . 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 3:1–3, 6–8).
Birth is a miracle. As a young boy working on a dairy farm in Indiana, I witnessed this miracle many times. It was amazing to see the first flicker of light in a calf’s eye, the first breath it inhaled, the first bellow saying it was hungry. While in its mother’s womb, darkness was the calf’s only reality. It had yet to see the world outside. It had yet to taste the sweet milk of its mother which would nourish and sustain life. And it had yet to breathe the fresh air. But now, suddenly, if it were robbed of that air it would cease to live. What a dramatic change! This calf now lived in a new existence, the existence we call life; and the miracle of birth was the entrance into that life.
Jesus speaks of an entrance into a new life as well—a spiritual life, and He uses the image of birth to describe that entrance. Like the beginning of our natural life, Jesus says we “must be born” into this spiritual life. Through this spiritual birth we enter a new world outside our natural existence. Jesus calls this new world, “the kingdom of God.” It is the spiritual world of Christ’s reign. The apostle Paul tells us we are by nature strangers and foreigners to this spiritual world (Ephesians 2:12). In our fallen condition we have no real knowledge or awareness of Christ’s kingdom until God births us into it. Like the unborn calf who, apart from birth, cannot see the world outside its mother’s womb, Jesus tells Nicodemus that, we “cannot see the kingdom of God,” unless we are “born again.”
But Jesus also tells Nicodemus: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” He distinguishes between natural and spiritual birth. By doing this Jesus does not allow Nicodemus to assume he is a “natural born” citizen of the spiritual realm. Nicodemus may be alive physically and yet spiritually be “unborn.” This is true for all of us. If we are spiritually unborn, we live in the womb of our fallenness, and the light of the spiritual world is outside our perception. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh;” it is not spirit. If Nicodemus truly perceived Jesus as “a teacher come from God” then it was not his own flesh and blood which revealed this truth to him; rather it was a spiritual revelation birthed into him by the Father in heaven (Matthew 16:17).
The apostle Paul tells us in First Corinthians:
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14).
When we are yet spiritually unborn, the power and the glory of the cross and all the benefits it brings seem like foolishness to us. People may tell us there is a world that exists out there, a world of God’s love and mercy found in Christ, a world where Jesus reigns over all that is. But, being spiritually unborn, we cannot see that reign, so we fail to believe it. But once God births us into spiritual life, those things no longer seem like foolishness to us. We have been given eyes to see the kingdom of God. We find that the work Christ performed on the cross is no longer foolish, but something we put our hope and trust in. This is the difference between being naturally alive and spiritually alive.
Many of us have loved ones with whom we share the grace and love of Christ, yet their reception of that grace is not what we hope. And we wonder why they cannot see. Why do they fail to believe a gospel that is so wonderful and so life-changing and so forgiving of our brokenness? Jesus answers this question. He helps us understand the inability of the flesh: “That which is born of the flesh is (only) flesh.” Putting our trust and faith in Christ is a spiritual act the flesh cannot perform. It is only once we have been birthed into that realm that we behold its glory, and it becomes a life we want and cherish.
Jesus continues in His discourse with Nicodemus by comparing the Spirit’s rebirthing (or regenerating) work to the wind. He says in verse eight,
“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.”
This new birth is a performance of the Spirit of God. We do not birth ourselves into the spiritual realm any more than we birthed ourselves into the natural realm. God is the progenitor of this family. His Spirit comes as a force like the wind. His regenerating power blows “where He wishes,” and He brings spiritual life out of death. He births believing faith into hearts of darkness. And He performs this birthing work through the truth of the gospel. James tells us, “By His own will He begat us, through the word of truth” (James 1:18). God uses the “word of truth” to accomplish the birthing process. This word of truth is the glorious gospel of the love of Christ: that by His love He went to the cross to take upon Himself our sin and give us His righteousness: “For our sakes God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus “knew no sin.” Who of us can make such a claim? We are all naturally unrighteous. Out of the womb of our fallenness we live a fallen life. We may strive to live a good life. But we can never escape the fact that we “know sin.” It is our constant companion, even when we overcome it. We can never achieve the perfection of righteousness. But God has provided a righteousness for us, the righteousness of Christ. And in this truth, we see the infinite value of the gospel. The one who “knew no sin” took our sin upon Himself that we might become His righteousness. He took our sin. And the cost of that sin was death. As He made that payment He redeemed all those who are His. He substituted Himself in our place. And in turn He laid His righteousness upon us.
What an exchange! What a gospel! Through the proclamation of this gospel the Spirit of God blows the breath of new life into hearts. Is the Spirit blowing in your heart? Is there something which rings true as you read these words? Is there something which draws you to the Savior who died for you? Place your trust in Him. Like a new birth, enter this new world of the kingdom of God, where there is light and life and perfect forgiveness.
