The Wind and the Spirit
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, 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." - John 3:8
Jesus is explaining that just as the wind has a sound that
accompanies it, so likewise the Spirit has a sound that accompanies it. We
learn later in the book of Acts, that speaking in tongues is the sound that we
hear when a person is born of the Spirit. We cannot see God’s Spirit, but we
hear the sound of a person speaking in tongues as God fills them with His
Spirit.
"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they
were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from
heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were
sitting. ... And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." - Acts 2:1-2, 4
Later in the book of Acts when Gentiles received His Spirit,
"And they of the circumcision which believed were
astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was
poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues,
and magnify God." - Acts 10:45-46
Later, Paul witnessed to disciples of John the Baptist,
"And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy
Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." - Acts
19:6
Jesus spoke of being born again.
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I
say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
... Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." - John
3:3, 5
We see from our human experience, that when a baby is born
there is a sound. It is when the baby inhales his first breath that the sound
is emitted – the baby lets out a cry.
That breath that a baby receives when he is born in the
natural is like the Spirit we receive when we are born again in the spiritual.
The breath a baby receives when he is born, gives him life in this world
outside of the womb. The Spirit we receive when we are born again, gives us
newness of life more abundantly in this world, and eternal life in that which
is to come. (John 10:10, Romans 6:4, 1Timothy 4:8).
So it is in our new birth experience. If we want to stay
spiritually alive, we must continue to be filled with God’s Spirit. And, as
Jesus said, there is a sound accompanying the Spirit. We see in the Bible, and
from our experience today, that this sound is speaking in tongues.
Note: “Tongues” means “language” (specially, one naturally
unacquired). Tongues as the sign of receiving the Holy Ghost is speaking in a
language we do not know, as the Spirit of God speaks through us. We speak in
other tongues as God is filling us with His Spirit, trusting and allowing Him
to change our words of praise into a language we do not know.
Note: Speaking in tongues when receiving the Spirit is not
to be confused with the gift of divers kinds of tongues, which is one of nine
gifts of the Spirit given by God to MINISTER to the CHURCH BODY (along with the
gift of the interpretation of tongues). The gift of faith is another of the
nine gifts of the Spirit. Everyone might not have the gift of faith, and
everyone might not have the gift of tongues, but EVERYONE must have faith to
come to God, and EVERYONE speaks in tongues when they are filled with the
Spirit.
Note: Interestingly, both the Hebrew and Greek words for
“wind” is the same word used for “Spirit” and “breath.”
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