THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE AGENT OF REGENERATION--Part One

John 3;1-13

Nicodemus had objected to the New Birth, because he didn't understand, how it could be accomplished.

Christ's term ''New Birth,'' had a peculiar significance to a Jew.
Were not all his privileges, secured to him, by birth/
Did he not boast, of the fact, that Abraham was his Father/

Thus, such terms as ''Born again,'' ''Begotten of God,'' and ''Born of God'' were appropriate, for the
seed of Abraham.

Our Lord was showing Nicodemus, that, just as natural birth ushers one into conscious existence on an earthly plane, so a spiritual birth is required, to usher the same person, into conscious life, on a heavenly plane.

Christ taught Nicodemus, that the Holy Spirit is the agent of Regeneration-John 3;8-Turn.
This Verse has three divisions;
[1] A Physical Fact--''The wind bloweth where it listeth''. . .
[2] The Operation of The Spirit--under the emblem of the wind.
[3] The Result-Regeneration.
The 3 portions of this verse hinge on 3 words; Wind, Spirit, and Birth.
Ecclesiastes 11;4-6--[Turn].

The Physical fact presents the wind as blowing, where it pleases, as it pleases, when it pleases, in the manner it pleases, and on whom, it pleases.

It's unaccountable changes are the result of material laws, as fixed and stable, as that, by which the planets revolve.

Some of the greatest powers in Nature are invisible.
For examples;
1. When a tornado hits an area with destructive force, the results only, not the wind, are seen.
2. Everyone knows about The Law of Gravitation, yet none has seen it.

There's something very mysterious, about the wind. Man doesn't know where it comes from, or
where it is going.
But he knows the wind exists, because he hears its sound, and sees its fruitifying effects--
Song of Solomon 4;16--[Turn].

When we see leaves of a tree move, we know wind is there, but where it came from, or where it is going, is UNKNOWN TO US.

So there is both a mystery and a manifestation.
Men cannot penetrate the mystery of its origin, not the final effects of its work.

In John 3;8, Christ borrows a comparison, from the Order of Nature.
The fact, the wind blows, can't be denied. Hearing the wind is evidence of that fact.

And since man doesn't know its beginning nor end, it is a mystery.

Next time, we'll see the characteristics of the wind.