There it is! Jesus confirms the meaning of his "water
and Spirit" reference in the previous verse. The water is a direct reference to human
birth, which is quite a liquid experience.
There is no such thing as a normal "dry" birth. A birth does not take place without
water. The water is both part of the
protective environment in which the child is nurtured throughout the months of
the mother's pregnancy, as well as the lubricant to assist the actual delivery.
Jesus is trying to
establish a contrast between the natural and spiritual birth. The Spirit is
also responsible for preserving the child until the moment of spiritual
delivery. The Spirit provides the ambiance in which the spiritual embryo can be
nurtured and prepared for the moment when the Spirit also delivers the new
spiritual infant into the world. New
birth does not take place without the sustaining and facilitating power of the Holy Spirit.
Just as certainly
as a natural child, born of the union between a man and a woman, does not
provide anything to make his birth possible, so it is with the spiritual
birth And while there is a human choice
involved with the spiritual new birth, even this is not possible without the
divine initiative to seek and save.
Nicodemus' head must be spinning by now.
But the new birth experience is a mind-bending experience. We can't manufacture it or will it into
being. We can't earn it or negotiate for
it. It is from beginning to end a divine
initiative. But whereas the natural
birth is independent of our choice, the spiritual birth requires a choice by
both parties involved. I need to want
it. I need to need it. I need to admit
that there is something gone awry with my natural birth that requires a new one—a
new birth initiated and sustained by the Spirit of the Almighty. Jesus is lifting the veil me to see inside
the heart of God! Stay tuned.
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