Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | John 3:8 "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 3:8 "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." |
Bible Question: I can understand everything Jesus is talking about in John 3 except when it gets to verse 8. What does verse 8 mean about the wind? |
Bible Answer: It wasn’t clear to Nicodemus at the time either (or he was rejecting it for other reasons) thus his follow up in v9, “John 3:9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?†The short answer pertaining to the “wind†is that it signifies that we cannot control the work of the Holy Spirit. His work is carried out in ways we cannot predict nor understand. As we cannot control our physical birth, neither can we control our spiritual birth for it is totally a gift from God. “Secondly, It is compared to wind: The wind bloweth where it listeth, so is every one that is born of the Spirit, Joh_3:8. The same word (pneuma) signifies both the wind and the Spirit. The Spirit came upon the apostles in a rushing mighty wind (Act_2:2), his strong influences on the hearts of sinners are compared to the breathing of the wind (Eze_37:9), and his sweet influences on the souls of saints to the north and south wind, Son_4:16. This comparison is here used to show, 1. That the Spirit, in regeneration, works arbitrarily, and as a free agent. The wind bloweth where it listeth for us, and does not attend our order, nor is subject to our command. God directs it; it fulfils his word, Psa_148:8. The Spirit dispenses his influences where, and when, on whom, and in what measure and degree, he pleases, dividing to every man severally as he will, 1Co_12:11. 2. That he works powerfully, and with evident effects: Thou hearest the sound thereof; though its causes are hidden, its effects are manifest. When the soul is brought to mourn for sin, to groan under the burden of corruption, to breathe after Christ, to cry Abba - Father, then we hear the sound of the Spirit, we find he is at work, as Act_9:11, Behold he prayeth. 3. That he works mysteriously, and in secret hidden ways: Thou canst not tell whence it comes, nor whither it goes. How it gathers and how it spends its strength is a riddle to us; so the manner and methods of the Spirit's working are a mystery. Which way went the Spirit? 1Ki_22:24. See Ecc_11:5, and compare it with Psa_139:14.†– Matthew Henry WOS |