by Perry Hall<\/p>\n
John 3 is commonly known for teaching about being born again. One segment has always baffled me, so we have this Thought Exercise:<\/p>\n
That segment is John 3:8, “The wind<\/strong> blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit<\/strong><\/em>” (CSB).<\/p>\n “Wind” and “Spirit” is the same Greek word – pneuma<\/em>. Remember that.<\/p>\n Nicodemus then says, “How can these things be?<\/em>” (John 3:9). Jesus queries Nicodemus, “Are you a teacher of Israel and don’t know these things?<\/em>” (John 3:10). Why should Nicodemus as a teacher of Israel know these things?<\/p>\n In the beginning, God created, involving water and the Spirit (Genesis 1:1-2). That connection is clear, and since John is writing about a new creation, a new “in the beginning<\/em>” (John 1:1), going back to Genesis should be easily seen.<\/p>\n But what baffled me, until possibly now, is Jesus’s words in John 3:8, “The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.<\/em>”\u00a0Why does Jesus use this image? Where do we see this imagery first?<\/p>\n “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze<\/strong>, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden<\/em>” (Genesis 3:8 CSB).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The word for breeze, another word for wind, is the same word for Spirit (Genesis 1:2) –ruach<\/em>.<\/p>\n After Adam and Eve sinned, they died that day spiritually. To use Jesus’ language, did they need to be born again? While they were not physically baptized as we are, there was an apparent sacrifice or atonement because they were literally covered by animal skins. In order to be in the presence of God, didn’t they need to stop being spiritually dead?<\/p>\n For Adam and Eve, God moved like a breeze, they heard the sound, resulting in a covering. For us today God moves by His Spirit, we hear the sound, resulting in a new covering. All who are spiritually dead are made alive by hearing, God’s Spirit, and a sacrifice. In our baptism, in our being born of water and the Spirit, there is hearing, water, the Spirit, and Jesus’s sacrifice (John 3:14-15).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Perry Hall John 3 is commonly known for teaching about being born again. One segment has always baffled me, so we have this Thought Exercise: That segment is John 3:8, “The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[86,959,471],"class_list":["post-69994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-holy-spirit","tag-john","tag-spirit"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5310,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/you-must-be-born-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":69994,"position":0},"title":"You Must Be Born Again","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 3:1-22 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I had a fellow ask me if I had been born again. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In particular, he wanted to know how I came to believe such a thing. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When I replied with I John 2:3-6; 4:6; 5:2-3, he became quite upset \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He wanted to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":79216,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-didnt-jesus-mention-baptism-to-nicodemus\/","url_meta":{"origin":69994,"position":1},"title":"Why didn’t Jesus mention baptism to Nicodemus?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why didn't Jesus mention baptism to Nicodemus in the gospel of John when he asked? Answer: Great question. I love Nicodemus's story, and I believe it can help us understand the need for water baptism. Firstly, I would like to say we don't see the whole story of Nicodemus\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33862,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/faces-surrounding-calvary-joseph-of-arimathea-and-nicodemus\/","url_meta":{"origin":69994,"position":2},"title":"Faces Surrounding Calvary: Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dave Hart We are given very little insight as to the lives and characters of these two men, but there are some things we know about them which are worthy of our attention. Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man, a member of the council or what was otherwise\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28066,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-receiving-the-holy-spirit-mean-baptism-in-water-is-unnecessary\/","url_meta":{"origin":69994,"position":3},"title":"Does receiving the Holy Spirit mean baptism in water is unnecessary?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have another friend that believes you don't need water baptism because once you believe that's when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and that's when you're baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. She gave me theses Scriptures: Acts 11:14-16, Acts 11:47-48, Matthew 3:11-15, Acts 10:44-48, Titus 3:5,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28068,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/born-again-into-the-kingdom\/","url_meta":{"origin":69994,"position":4},"title":"Born Again Into The Kingdom","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by H.E. Phillips via\u00a0Searching the Scriptures, February 1992, Volume 33, Number 2 The church is the people who are \"a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94591,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/spirit-away\/","url_meta":{"origin":69994,"position":5},"title":"Spirit Away: From Empty to Spirit-Filled Kingdom Builders","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Download Audio by Garry Floyd Text: Proverbs 11:24-31 Theme \"Wind\" Week-3 Focus - \"Empty\": Without God, life becomes a chase after the wind. But when we are born of the Spirit and centered on God, our lives gain weight, direction, and eternal significance. 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