Verse 8
Jesus used the wind to illustrate how the Spirit regenerates. He used wordplay to present an even closer comparison. The Greek word pneuma can mean either "spirit" or "wind," though it usually means "spirit." Jesus said the pneuma (Spirit) operates as the pneuma (wind).
There are three similarities. First, both the Spirit and the wind operate sovereignly. Man does not and cannot control either one. Second, we perceive the presence of both by their effects. Third, we cannot explain their actions since they arise from unseen and partially unknowable factors.
The person born of the Spirit is similar to both the Spirit and the wind in that it is impossible for unregenerate people to understand or control him or her. They do not understand his or her origin or final destiny. Nicodemus should have understood this too since the Old Testament revealed the Spirit’s sovereign and incomprehensible working (e.g., Ezekiel 37).
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