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THE KING’S BUSINESS
Tuesday, April 18 . John 3 : 7 - 8 .
thou hearest the voice thereof, but knoweth not whence it cometh or whither it goeth, so is every one that is born o f the wind.” Why is “the Spirit,” or “the Wind” so named? ‘ This question is very . fully answered in the verse, there are seven reasons: (1) Because the Spirit like the wind is invisible but none the less percep tible. (2) Because thè Holy Spirit like the wind is inscrutable and mysterious ( “thou knoWest not whence it cometh or whither it goeth” ). 7(3) Because the Holy Spirit like the wind is sovereign ( “bloweth where it or He, will” ). (4) Because the Holy Spirit like the wind is life-giving (cf. Ezek. 37:9-14). (S) Because the Holy Spirit like the wind is indispensable. ( 6 ) Because the Holy Spirit like the wind is audible ( “thou hearest the sound thereof” ). You cannot see the wind but- you can hear it, and just so you cannot see the Spirit but you can hear Him. (7) Because the Holy Spirit like the wind is irresistible. What can stand against the wind in the fullness o f its mighty power, great forest trees are swept away like; straws, steel bridges are picked up, twisted together and carried away as if they were made o f tinsel, men and horses are carried miles through the air, so it is with the Spirit, a man filled with the Holy Spirit is a mighty cyclone,- no man can withstand or gainsay the wisdom with which he speaks (Luke. 21:15; Acts 6:5, 10). The action o f the Holy Spirit on the believer, on the one whom He regenerates (Titus 3:5) is like the action o f the win'd in thé material world, invisible, full of mystery, inscrutable, but none the less real, perceptible, certain, mighty, beneficent, invigorating, life-giving. Wednesday, April ig. John 3 : 9 - 11 . In verse 9 Nicodemus speaks for the third and last time during this conversation. From this moment on he is silent and ceases to be a disputer and becomes a dis ciple. But here again his first utterance is “How." It is a question o f wonder or bewilderment on the part o f one who is just passing out o f the thick darkness of
Nicodemus had been astonished that Jesus had said to him,'a Jew and a Phari see, that he needed to be born anew. He was not astonished 50 much that a new birth was necessary as that it was neces sary for everybody, and for him and all men o f his class. He would not have been a particle surprised if Jesus had said to some Gentile or some Samaritan, “Thou must be born again,’’ he would have expected it and rather liked it, but that Jesus should have said it to him and emphasized the fact that He meant him by prefacing His statement not once but twice with the solemn and emphatic words “ Ver ily, verily, I say unto thee.” Tn which the “ thee” is both definite and emphatic, that was what startled and amazed Nicodemus. He was not only amazed, but in a measure piqued, because he had come to Jesus rep resenting his class and wishing to assure Him that they really endorsed Him. He had imagined that Jesus would be greatly pleased with this endorsement' from such a high and authoritative source, as' any other teacher but Jesus .would have been. Now Jesus bids him not to be surprised, that He had not only said it but that He had said it to him. Both the “thee” and the “ye” in verse 7 are emphatic, especially the “ye.” Jesus would drive it home so there could be no escaping it and no mistaking it that He meant Nicodemus and all his class. There are-rich treasures o f truth in verse 8 . The key to these rich treasures is found' in the fact that in the Greek text in which we have the report o f this conversation (as well as in'the Aramaic, in which our Lord probably spoke to Nicodemus) precisely the same word is used for “wind” and for “ Spirit.” The verse might be translated with perfect exactness “ The Spirit blow eth (or breatheth) where He will, and tjiou hearest the voice o f Him, but knowest not whence He cometh or: whither He goeth, so is every one that is born o f the Spirit.” Or it might be translated with equal exact ness, “ The wind bloweth where it will, and
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