BEST EXAMPLE I'VE SEEN YET ON THIS SUBJECT. TAKEN FROM A COMMENTARY
John 3:5-6
The Kingdom of God is something that can be entered into. But only those who are "born again" can enter into it. We who are born of the flesh are flesh—just mortal flesh and blood. We were born that way. But it is possible for us to be born again—this time not as a mortal, flesh-and-blood baby, but born of the very Spirit of God. Then we shall be spirit—wholly composed of spirit as God is ( John 4:24 ) !
God is not a single Personage. The Hebrew word for God, elohim, denotes more than one person. It shows God is a single Family, or "Kingdom," but composed of more than one person.
We have the mineral kingdom, the plant kingdom, and the animal kingdom. The Bible reveals an angel kingdom, created by God and composed of spirit. And then, high above all is the very creating kingdom—the God Kingdom. In other words, the "Kingdom of God"! God the Father and Christ the Son presently compose the Kingdom or Family of God.
The astounding truth of the Bible is that God is reproducing Himself! God created mortal man in God's own image so that we may become impregnated—begotten—by the Spirit of God. Then, by a resurrection ( 1 COR. 15: 50 ) ), we may be born of God—"born again"—as immortal, spirit-composed persons in the Kingdom or Family of God
John 3:5-8
Ruach is translated as "wind" in the Old Testament. Here, the Greek word is pneuma, which is the equivalent of the Hebrew ruach meaning "an invisible force or power." The illustration refers to wind. A person cannot see air, but it is real, is it not? Its molecules can be packed so solidly, so close together, that they will lift a huge airplane right off the ground. One cannot see the molecules, the atomes, the electrons, or protons, but they are there. We deal with other invisible forces or powers, like electricity and light, on a daily basis, and they certainly exist.
That is the gist of the meaning of spirit. No one would argue that air, of which wind is constituted, is not real, and though it is invisible, it is made up of particles too small for the unaided eye to see. The Bible provides ample evidence to prove that God and angels are not universal nothingness floating around in nowhere. God is not universal mind, conscience, or goodness. He is not an abstract power filling the whole of space. Except for the vast differences in power and potential, the only difference between humans and God is that mankind is earthly flesh and bone whose life is in the blood, while God's body is also flesh and bone but composed of Spirit and immortal.
This has practical ramifications that must be explored because it means that God cannot be omnipresent in the body. The Bible's consistent description of God shows Him at one place at one time, and He is generally seen managing or participating in His creation. We see Him sitting, standing, walking, talking, eating, drinking, commanding, etc., in specific locations. Nowhere is there any mention of God's size, and therefore the conclusion must be that He is of ordinary, human size, and when He became a man, the Scripture says, there was nothing notable about Him except His character and His powerful teaching.
John 3:5-8
In connection with John 4:24 , this verse implies that, since God is Spirit, if one is going to be born of the Spirit, he will be composed of exactly the same substance as God. To make it even clearer, Jesus gives an illustration in verse 8 so that no one would misunderstand His intention.
Wind is invisible. When something gets moved by the wind, a person can see that object moving. He does not see the wind moving but the object. The wind, composed of air, is invisible to his eyes. This illustrates one who is born of the Spirit. Spirit is invisible but no less real than air. Nobody would argue that air, of which wind is composed, has no substance, for though it is invisible, it is made up of particles too small to be seen by the unaided eye.
John 3:3-8
Enter means literally "to go inside of," as one would enter a building, not an ethereal or abstract concept.
Paul says, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" ( 1 COR. 15:50 ), which agrees perfectly with Jesus' statement. When combined with Jesus being the pattern for the entire new creation, and that He did not go through a conversion process and yet was born again by a resurrection from the dead, John 3:3-8 must refer to the end of the process.
Otherwise, we have to try to explain away verses like "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (verse 6). It is perfectly clear on its own; it needs no explanation. We are still confined to the earth. But the birth Jesus is speaking about occurs later: "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit"!
The old "hat pin test" still works. We still bleed and feel pain. We are still flesh. We are not spirit yet, so we have not been born again.
It becomes even clearer:
Do not marvel that I said 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 or where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (verse 7-8)
If we—proven to be fleshly beings—can still see each other coming and going, we are not yet spirit. It is so plain!
The process that ends in being born again begins at begettal. Throughout the entire process, however, there are types, symbolic actions, that represent later realities. Repentance and baptism typify a death ( Romans 6: 1-11 ). We have died to sin, and when a person dies, he is buried. Likewise, we are buried in water and are raised up out of it (typifying a resurrection) to begin a new life.
But we are not born again yet; we are still flesh and blood. God imparts His Spirit to us at the laying on of hands, but we are not spirit. We have the Spirit in a small measure as a down payment, an earnest, a guarantee, of our future, complete endowment ( 11 COR. 1:22, 5:5 ) It has begotten us to begin the process.
We go through these types but the reality is still future. And it will not occur until we literally die, our bodies decay, and we are resurrected by the power of God. Only then will we be spirit. Then we will be like the wind. The process will have been completed. We will be born again!
John 3:1-8
Nicodemus was a high-ranking Pharisee—one of the rulers of the Jews. He knew Jesus was a miracle-working Prophet sent by God, and was deeply interested in His teachings. But because Nicodemus did not want to be seen speaking with this man the other Pharisees called a "heretic" and a "deceiver of the people," he came to Jesus secretly at night.
Jesus told Nicodemus a profound truth—something that completely mystified the man. "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," said Jesus ( John 3:3 ).
Nicodemus was totally perplexed. He asked Jesus: "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" (Verse 4.)
Jesus told him: "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again" (verse 7). But Nicodemus simply did not comprehend what Jesus was talking about (verses 9-12). How like so many people today! They, too, are baffled by these simple words of Christ.
Most professing Christians think they were "born again" when they "accepted Christ" and were "baptized." From that time, supposedly, they received the Holy Spirit and have been living a new life in Christ. True, a real Christian has received the Spirit of God, and is indeed living a new life in Christ ( Ephesians 4:22-24 ). But is this what it means to be "born again"? The new birth described in the Bible is far more than most professing Christians have assumed. When Jesus spoke of being "born again," He did not mean what most people think.
Nicodemus was familiar only with the process of physical birth. Therefore he understood when Jesus said to him, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh." But then Jesus explained we must be born again—not again of the flesh—not again entering our mother's womb, as Nicodemus thought He meant. He explained that we must be born of the spirit—born of God! God must be our Father this time! As we were born of the flesh through fleshly human parents, even so we must be born of the Spirit of our spiritual heavenly Father.
Here are two different kinds of birth—one physical, the other spiritual. When you were born of your fleshly parents, you were composed of flesh, but "that which is born of the spirit is spirit" ( John 3:6 ) no longer composed of flesh but spirit!
There will be no blood in the body of one "born of the Spirit." He will not have to breathe air to exist. He will be literally composed of spirit, declared Jesus. That is the plain teaching of the Bible! The new birth is not an emotional experience, but a literal birth!
So Nicodemus would not mistake the true meaning of being born of the Spirit, Jesus explained to him: "The wind bloweth where it listeth [where it wills], and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit" (verse 8).
Notice that carefully. When you are "born again," born of the Spirit of God, you will be invisible to mortal eyes like the wind (unless you choose to manifest yourself). The effects of the wind may be easily discernible, but the wind itself cannot be seen.
Clearly, Jesus compared the spiritual birth to the physical birth. The latter is a type of the former. Human parents pass on a physical nature at birth to their children, so when we are born of our heavenly Father, we will possess His spiritual nature in its fullness!
