Re:Verse reading–John 3:1-21 (day one)
“You must be born OF the Spirit.”–v 7
Small word. Often ignored. Important truth. We must be born OF the Spirit.
The word in Greek is “ek”. It meant “out of” (note EXodus–when God lead the people of Israel “out of” slavery).
It speaks of origin. Life that comes “out of” the Spirit. The unlimited creation-power of Heaven acting on persons, inaugurating them into a new life, both in dimension and usefulness. The agent of this new birth is the Holy Spirit. We are to be born OF Him.
It speaks of likeness. Those who are born OF the Spirit will necessarily reflect His character and nature. As children “look like” their parents, we must “look like” the Spirit in humility and holiness.
As we celebrate the birth of Christ this season, we should make this connection. The Lord was born OF Mary so that we would be born OF the Spirit.
This is so beautiful and clear. Thank you for this post.
I am convinced that we must be born of the Spirit so we can enter the Kingdom of God. We have to be born of the Spirit because until we are, we are unfit for the kingdom of Heaven but are mere natural and earthy people who do not welcome and value the things of God. Natural people welcome the things of Satan more than of God, earthy things over the things of Heaven.
This post reminds me of this verse, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”~ John 3:8 NIV
Unless we are born of the Spirit, we cannot transform to a new beginning and cannot be part of God’s Kingdom, I am convinced.