The Workings of the
Spirit of God

John 3:1-14
"There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher from God; for no one can do these signs that You do you unless God is with him."
Jesus answered and said to Him, "Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not marvel that I say to you, 'You must be born again.'
"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born the Spirit."
Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"
Jesus answered and said to Him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?
"Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.
"If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
"No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven."
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up."

MESSAGE:
What happens when a man or woman is born again, or, born from above?

The answer is that God first of all plants within the heart of the person what we might call the ovum of saving faith, for we are told that even faith is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8). Second, God sends forth the seed of His Word so that the seed of the Word, which contains the divine life within it, pierces the ovum of faith that God has already placed within the heart. The result is divine conception or the New Birth!

"For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and morrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart" (Heb. 4:12 Amp.).

The result of this divine conception produces a new spiritual life, a life that has its origin in God and that therefore has no connection whatever with the sinful life that surrounds it!

Christ ignored Nicodemus' address and with startling abruptness said, "VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO THEE, EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN AGAIN, HE CANNOT SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD."

This brings us to the central truth of the passage-- the teaching of our Lord upon the NEW BIRTH. Here we find that he speaks of first, the SUPREME IMPORTANCE of the new birth. Secondly, in verse 3, He speaks of the INSTRUMENT of the new birth--water. Thirdly, He speaks of the PRODUCER of the new birth--the Spirit. Fourthly, Christ speaks of the IMPERATIVE NECESSITY of the new birth--a new nature, "spirit." Fifth, He speaks of the CHARACTER of the new birth. Sixth, He speaks of the obvious IMPERATIVENESS of the new birth and seventh, the PROCESS of the new birth. THE SUPREME IMPORTANCE OF THE NEW BIRTH. This is exhibited here in a number of ways. To begin with, it is profoundly significant that the new birth formed the subject of the Savior's teaching in this Gospel. It is not HOW man should live that we are first instructed by Christ in this Gospel, But how man are MADE ALIVE spiritually. A man cannot live before he is born; nor can a dead man regulate his life. No man can live God-wards until he has been born again.

In the second place, the IMPORTANCE OF THE NEW BIRTH is declared by the solemn terms in which Christ spoke of it, and particularly in the manner in which He prefaced His teaching upon it. The Lord began by saying, VERILY, VERILY which means OF A TRUTH, OF A TRUTH. THIS expression is employed by Christ only when He was about to mention something of a momentous nature. Christ here plainly intimated the

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supreme importance of the new birth by affirming that EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN AGAIN, HE CANNOT SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD!...The unifying theme of the Bible...the motivating force of the living Church. The Gospel...it is the message of the Kingdom of God...the Gospel of SALVATION, which was preached in the early church and continues to be the message of the Church until the end of the age!

If Jesus be indeed the Messiah, that confronts us with the question: WHAT IS THE NATURE OF HIS KINGDOM? To acclaim anyone as Messiah is to announce to Him the coming of the Kingdom of God, for it is precisely the business of the Messiah to establish the Kingdom...that is the message of the Holy Scriptures!

To be sure, both the Old Testament faith and that of Judaism frequently depicted the triumphant Kingdom with no mention of the Messiah, but the Messiah was never Himself thought of apart from that Kingdom; when Messiah comes, the Kingdom comes! If Jesus, therefore, is in any sense the Messiah, then He has come to make actual the victorious rule of God over his people which Israel's faith had long awaited...and this, the New Testament declares, Jesus has done.

In the person and work of Jesus, the Kingdom of God has intruded into the world. One of the proofs of His Messiahship was performance of the miracles!

To the New Testament faith the miracles which Jesus performed were not incidental or peripheral, but integral to His person. That is, they were illustrations of the fact that in Christ the new age was even then intruding upon the present: the power of the Kingdom of God was present in them and was grappling with evil power of this age. The miracles of Jesus are "mighty works" of the Kingdom of God, which in them advertises its presence, they are a taste of "the powers of the age to come." In them the grip of the Adversary--who has enthralled men in bonds of disease, madness, death and sin--begins to be loosened! In the mighty works of Jesus the power of the Kingdom has broken into the world...Satan has met his match...and the cosmic end struggle has begun!

Christ, then, has come to call men and women to His Kingdom. His mission was not to instruct men in a better and more spiritual ethic, to impart to men a clearer understanding of the character of God, to attack those abuses which had made the Jewish law the stultification of the religious spirit and to suggest certain emendations to that law--in short to point men the way to be better men. All this He did, indeed, and with a vengeance. But He did it the dazzling light of the coming Kingdom.

His was a call of tremendous urgency, a call to radical decision for that Kingdom. The Kingdom is right there, "at hand". It stands at the door and knocks. Who will open and let it in? Who will say YES to its coming?

Over and over again in the Gospels comes the radical urgency of its call. It is a pearl of great price; you sell everything you have to get it. You leave your father and mother, wife and family, as if you hated them, at its beckon call. It transcends all earthly concerns. If it were a question of gouging out your eye and entering blind or having two eyes to be excluded from it, you would without hesitation mutilate yourself in order to get in.

It is the call to total and radical obedience, to an utterly impossible righteousness, to be perfect as God is perfect. In short, a call to the righteousness of the Kingdom of God to which no man can attain, yet to which he may give the answer of faith. For to say YES to the Kingdom of God and to submit to its rule is faith! This call to radical decision for the Kingdom Christ issued to men and those who heed it have entered the Kingdom, nay, ARE THE KINGDOM! And as children of God's Kingdom, there is that deep and intense desire to be OBEDIENT to His commands and His Word! The New Testament affirms with one voice that those who have obeyed the call of Christ are His true Church and heirs of all the promises of God! The New Testament speaks of the Kingdom of God as if it were in a real sense a present thing. Christ, it declares, is the promised Messiah who has come to establish His kingdom among men; in Him and in His Church is all the hope of Israel for a true Remnant and a New Covenant made actual. THE NEW TESTAMENT FAITH IS, THEREFORE, A TRIUMPHANT FAITH! Thus the New Testament faith is the victory! And in that victory, it declares, the Christian may participate here and now. In fact, the new age has already dawned, and the Church is living that age. The miracle of Pentecost is proof that the end-time has begun, for the outpouring of the Spirit spoken of by Joel has taken place.

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The issue is not in doubt. The Kingdom of God moves on to its inevitable triumph; the unconditional surrender of the Foe, the restoration of all creation under the divine domain and the submission of all powers in heaven and earth to the name of Christ. IN THE VICTORIOUS ARMY OF THAT KINGDOM MARCHES THE CHURCH! Thus the confidence of the Church in the certain victory indeed, the already accomplished victory--of the already present Kingdom of God!

To a world long befooled by false messiahs and enslaved by false loyalties, the Church proclaims its ancient gospel of salvation, faith in the person of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. It places its hope squarely with the Biblical hope, because it knows there is nowhere else to place it; it announces the Kingdom of God as the goal of history and the only hope of man's redemption!

The Church points toward that Kingdom and summons men in faith to submit to its beneficent rule as its citizens. Then and only then, is righteousness possible.

BUT WE FIND OURSELVES IN A TREMENDOUS TENSION...it is a tension between two worlds; between the Kingdom of God victorious over all powers and the Church of God at the mercy of the powers of this earth.

On the one hand, the Church affirms that in Christ the power of sin and death has been broken; she declares that His Kingdom is present fact dynamically at work in the world and moving irresistible on to its ultimate triumph. Furthermore, she labors as she has been commanded to do for that victory, preaching her gospel with desperate urgency before the fires of history's judgment as the only hope of salvation, and urging men to accept it and submit to the yoke of Christ's Kingdom. On the other hand, for all her triumphant proclamation of the Kingdom, she sees few signs of its imminent presence and coming victory. BUT VICTORY IS ASSURED!

As we have noted in our previous studies, the KINGDOM OF GOD or THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (which refer to the same thing) is a phrase used over 130 times in the Gospels but never defined. Our best definition of the KINGDOM OF GOD is found in Romans 14:17 which reads: "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." Thus, we take it, then, that the kingdom of God in John 3 refers to the THINGS OF GOD, spiritual things, which are discerned and enjoyed by the regenerate here upon earth.

Paul writes to the Christians in Corinth these words:
"But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God--[that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [to lift us into the glory of His presence]. None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this, for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.

But on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits, He has bestowed].

Colossians 2:11-14 "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the un-circumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And he has taking it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

Just a note concerning BAPTISM. The BAPTISMAL THEOLOGY of the New Testament is believed to have had its origin in the Jewish understanding of the proselyte baptism.

The concept of dying and rising in baptism appears to be reflected in the rabbinical saying, "One who separates himself from circumcision is like one who separates himself from the grave." Spiritually, heathenism equaled existence in a tomb, hence conversion meant a passage from death to life; it is presumed to be the source of the Pauline doctrine of baptism as we have noted in Romans 6.

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Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels, and things hidden and beyond man's scrutiny].

For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man's thoughts except the man's own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

"Now we have not received the spirit [that belongs to] the world, but the [Holy] Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts [of divine favor and blessings so freely and lavishly] bestowed on us by God." (1 Cor. 2:7-12) AMP. The word SEE as used by Christ in the John passage is EIDON in the Greek and it means to "KNOW OR BECOME ACQUAINTED WITH." The full force, then, of this word of Christ to Nicodemus appears to be: "Except a man be born from above as a divine act of God in love and mercy which results in a divine life in the heart of man, that man cannot ever know for experience or enjoy all the spiritual blessings God has prepared for mankind. Such being the case, the new birth is seen to be a thing of PROFOUND IMPORTANCE. Christ made it very clear as to the INSTRUMENT of the new birth, namely, WATER.

Verse 5: Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."

This expression (of water and of the Spirit) has been the occasion of wide difference by Bible scholars. There are many different interpretations. Let me suggest a few.

(1) One interpretation suggests that "WATER" is referring to physical birth. It is based on the fact that physical birth is accompanied by the release of the embryonic fluid from the womb of the mother. If this were the proper explanation, Jesus would be saying that in order for a person to be saved he must first be born physically and then his physical birth must be followed by a spiritual birth.

But the word "WATER" is never used in this way in the Scriptures therefore to suggest such an interpretation would not harmonize with the teaching of the Bible.

(2) Another interpretation is that which sees WATER as referring to WATER BAPTISM. The text says nothing at all about baptism, and the Bible elsewhere teaches that no one is saved by any external rite of religion.

BAPTISM IS A SIGN OF WHAT HAS ALREADY TAKEN PLACE WITHIN THE HEART OF THE BELIEVER THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR, BUT BAPTISM IS NOT THE AGENT BY WHICH SALVATION TAKES PLACE.

Paul writes in Romans 6:3-6:
"Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." (Rom. 6:3-6)

The Christian has been deliver out of the present age, has tasted...the powers of the age to come, has transferred his citizenship to that age. He has been freed from the demonic power of evil into the Kingdom of the Son, His natural enmity to God has been removed, for he has been reconciled in Christ to his Heavenly Father and King! He has been adopted as a son in the family of God, he has been accounted righteous through his faith. Indeed, as he confronts his Christ face to face like one beholding the glory of God in a mirror, he himself takes on that image. Man, made in the image of God, finds that image restored--becomes at length what he was created to be--in the Kingdom of Christ.

AND NOW...being a part of the Kingdom of God, we have become part of a joyful and triumphant task as we share in the life and ministry of the Church...the Body of Christ. Our mission is glorious! And that mission is no forlorn hope doomed to defeat, but a victorious calling. Indeed, the victory has already been won in the "payoff battle" of the cross.

The cosmic struggle continues, to be sure, with seemingly undiminished fury, but it is now in the nature of a rear guard action, a moping up!

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The Workings Of The Spirit Of God
(Section 2, Page 5)

Whether the New Testament writers took over the concept of dying and rising and of regeneration from Jewish thought about the proselyte it is difficult to say. Presumption would indicate that those who shaped the thought of the primitive Church could hardly have been ignorant of this teaching. On the other hand, the New Testament theology of baptism revolves about two poles of thought not associated with proselyte baptism: unity with the Messiah who is Son of Man and Second Adam and who rose from the race; and, closely connected therewith, the believe that the age of resurrection and the life of the Kingdom of God has dawned in the rising of the Messiah. It would seem a plausible that the familiar concepts of Jewish conversion theology were given fresh origination and greater depth and power by the Christian understanding of the redemptive action of the Messiah. That it came to be more closely associated with baptism was natural in that Christian baptism is baptism to the crucified and risen Lord.

AS TO THOSE WHO INTERPRET THE WORDS OF CHRIST OF BEING BORN OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT AS TO MEAN WATER BAPTISM, there are a couple of verses which would seem to give them some credence for such an interpretation.

1 Peter 3:18-22 says:
"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body, but made alive by the Spirit: through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison--who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight and all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand-- angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him."

The Amplified Bible gives us this insight:
Verse 20-22
"[Those souls of those] who long before in the days of Noah had been disobedient, when God's patience waited during the building of the ark in which a few [people] actually eight in number, were saved through water. And baptism, which is a figure [of their deliverance], does now also save you [from inward questionings and fears], not by the removing of outward body filth [bathing], but by [providing you with] the answer of a good and clear conscience (inward cleanness and peace) before God [because you are demonstrating what you believed to be yours] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

The chief lesson of this passage is its emphatic denial that the external elements of baptism constitute either its essence or its power. The cleansing in baptism is gained not through the application of water to the flesh but through the pledge of faith and obedience therein given to God, upon which the resurrection of Jesus Christ becomes a saving power to the individual concerned. Observe carefully: it is not said that the giving to God of an answer saves; the Risen Lord does that, 'baptism saves...through the resurrection of Jesus Christ'. But the response is at the heart of the baptism wherein the Lord makes the resurrection effective.

I have spent much time on this interpretation because it is important for us to know that Jesus would not have taught something contrary to the rest of the New Testament...and for it to be taught that one is saved through the act of water baptism would violate the truth of the Scriptures.

We have already noted Paul's comments on baptism in Colossians 2: 12:
"You were buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."

The statement that it is "through faith in the working of God" that this happens reminds us that there is no magical property in the act of baptism itself, which causes a spiritual result to come about, yet the verse also indicates that when faith accompanies baptism there is genuine spiritual work in the life of the person being baptized.

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When Peter preached his sermon on the day of Pentecost, he concluded with these words:
"Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

WE NOW RETURN TO OUR TEXT IN JOHN, verse 6:
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

In the field of genetics, this law is true...likes produces likes.

Genesis 1:24-25
Then God said, "Let the earth brings forth the living creatures according to its kind; cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth, each according to its kind; and it was so.

And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

In the same way, God tells us that which comes out of the natural man can produce only that which is natural to man and which is sinful as a result. Sinners produce sinners!

On the other hand, that which comes forth from God produces only that which is characteristic of God and which is therefore sinless and eternal.

We must seek to understand certain words of this verse in order to properly interpret it. In current English usage of the word "FLESH" refers almost entirely to the fleshly parts of the body, at times being almost synonymous with the word "SKIN." In the Bible, the word "FLESH" refers to the entire individual--body, soul and spirit. SINCE THE FALL OF MAN IT REFERS TO THE INDIVIDUAL AS HE IS MOTIVATED BY HIS SINFUL NATURE.

Galatians 5:19-21
"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murderers, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

THE FLESH...sometimes the reference is to our "old man" or our "old nature." At times it is that "heart." We are said to be "carnal", fleshly, soulish. The FLESH is sometimes called the "natural man."

Whatever the term used, however, the teaching is that the fleshly or natural man cannot please, obey, or even understand God.

That is why in verse 7, Jesus repeats: "Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.’" 

Referring back to verse 5, we have noted that Jesus said that one must be born of water and the Spirit. My understanding of the phrase...BORN OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT...is as follows. WATER refers to the Word. The WORD is ever the instrument used by God in regeneration. In every passage where the instrument of the new birth is described, it is always the Word of God that is mentioned.

In 1 Corinthians 4:14, we find the apostle saying:
"I have begotten you through the gospel." Again, we are told, "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." (James 1:18)

Peter declares, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever" (1 Peter 1:23).

The new birth, then is by the Word of God, and one of the emblems of the Word is "WATER." God employees quite in number of emblems to describe the various characteristics and qualities of His Word. It is likened unto a "lamp" (Psalm 119:105) because it illuminates. It is likened unto a "hammer" (Jeremiah 23:29) because it breaks up the hard heart. It is likened unto "WATER" because it cleanses (Psalm 119:9; John 15:26).

BORN OF WATER means born of the cleansing and purifying Word of God.

In verse 8, Jesus speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit in the act of regeneration and redemption. It is the Holy Spirit that takes the truth of God's Word and brings it to life in the heart of the believer.

He explains the work of the Holy Spirit by illustrating His actions to the actions of the wind.

"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it to goeth; so is everyone that is born of the Spirit."

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One of the great Bible teachers of the past (A. W. Pink) writes in his commentary these words:
"The wind bloweth where it pleaseth...so is everyone that is born of the Spirit." This describes the sovereignty of His actions. The wind is an element altogether beyond the control of man...so is this Spirit of God! He sovereignly moves in a city, community or church in power and conviction that brings sinners to their knees in repentance. History is filled with times of great spiritual awakenings...the work of the Holy Spirit...sometimes the result of much prayer and fasting...other times His work is unexplainable!

THE WIND IS IRRESISTIBLE! When the wind blows in the fullness of its power, it sweeps everything before it. Those who have looked upon the effects of a tornado just after it has passed know something of the mighty force of the wind. It is so with the Holy Spirit. When He comes in the fullness of His power, He breaks down man's prejudices, subdues his rebellious will, and overcomes all opposition.

THE WIND IS IRREGULAR! By this, I mean it sometimes moves so softly it scarcely rustles a leaf; at other times it blows so loudly that its roar can be heard miles away. So it is in the matter of the new birth. With some, the Holy Spirit works so gently His work is imperceptible to onlookers; with others, His action is so powerful, so radical, revolutionary His operations are apparent to many. Sometimes, the wind is only local in its reach; at other times, it is widespread in its scope. So it is with the Holy Spirit. Today, He acts on one or two souls; tomorrow, He may as at Pentecost--"prick in the heart" a whole multitude. But, whether He works on a few or many, He consults not man; He acts as He pleases!

THE WIND IS INVISIBLE! It is one of the very few things in nature that is invisible. We can see the rain, the snow, the lightning’s flash, but not so the wind. Even so the Holy Spirit, He is unseen!

THE WIND IS INSCRUTABLE! There's something about the wind which defies all effort of human explanation. Its origin, its nature, and its activities are beyond the knowledge of man. Man cannot tell whence it cometh, or whither it goeth. It is so with activities of the Holy Spirit. His operations are conducted secretly; His workings are profoundly mysterious!

THE WIND IS INDISPENSABLE! If a dead calm were to continue indefinitely all vegetation would die. How quickly we wilt when there is no wind at all. Even more so it is with the Spirit. Without Him there could be no spiritual life that all! Where the Holy Spirit has been quenched or insulted and rejected...there is death. ICABOD...the glory hath departed...such is the Spirit.

THE WIND IS INVIGORATING! The life-giving properties of the wind are illustrated every time a physician orders his sick patient to retire to the mountains or to the seashore. It is so, again, with the Spirit. He is the One who strengthens with might in the inner man. He is the One who energizes, revives, empowers!

"The wind bloweth"--there is the fact!

"And thou hearest the sound thereof"--there is the mystery behind the fact!

The one born again knows that he has a new life and enjoys the evidences of it, but how the Holy Spirit operates upon the soul, subdues the will, creates the new life within us, belongs to the deep things of God.