The Sovereign Wind of the Spirit

When we think about spiritual transformation, we often focus on what we need to do. But Jesus offers a radically different perspective using the image of wind—unseen, unpredictable, and completely sovereign. Today, we'll explore what it means that the Spirit of God works like the wind in our lives.

John 3:7-8 "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from or where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Have you ever tried to control the wind? It's impossible. You can't summon it. You can't direct it. You can't stop it. The wind is absolutely sovereign in its movement. And Jesus says that's exactly how the Spirit of God works in bringing about the new birth.

In Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, the word for "spirit" also means "breath," "wind," and "air." In Hebrew, the word "ruach" means both spirit and wind. When Jesus uses this analogy, He's highlighting two critical aspects of the Spirit's work.

First, the wind is invisible. You cannot see the wind itself—you can only see its effects. You see the debris, the dust, the branches swaying, but not the wind that causes these movements. Similarly, you cannot see the moment when God takes a heart of stone and turns it into a heart of flesh. You cannot witness the actual moment of regeneration. But what you can see are the effects—the fruit, the evidence that new life has come.

Second, the wind is sovereign. This is perhaps the most striking point Jesus makes. Just as no human can control the wind, no one can control the Spirit's work of regeneration. The wind "blows where it wishes." It's not subject to human manipulation or determination.

Think about this: During a windstorm, what would take 25 strong men to push over—a mighty oak tree—can be uprooted in seconds, its roots exposed, its strength nothing before the power of the wind. In the same way, God's Spirit humbles the proud and brings low the mighty.

As Jesus said, "so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." The new birth is not something you can schedule, manipulate, or produce through human effort. It's entirely the sovereign work of God. The disciples marveled at Jesus, saying, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" Only God commands the wind, and only God commands the Spirit.

This is why the new birth is recognized not so much by a profession of it but by the evidence of it. When the Spirit has blown through your life, there will be undeniable fruit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These aren't produced by human effort but are the natural result of the Spirit's transforming power.

You might be asking, "If this is all God's sovereign work, what's my role? How does this relate to my responsibility to believe?" Here's the intersection: When God sovereignly regenerates a heart, that heart will inevitably respond in faith. We often get the order wrong, thinking we believe and then are born again. But the biblical order is that we are born again, and the response to new life is trusting faith.

How do you know if you're born again? Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ? More fundamentally, have you realized you needed a miracle in the first place? The Spirit doesn't just come and do a bit of straightening in your human heart. He breathes life into the valley of dead bones that is your spiritual corpse.

God brings about this new life through His Word. James 1:18 says, "He brought us forth by the word of truth." This means that while the Spirit's work is sovereign and supernatural, it ordinarily happens through the preaching, teaching, reading, and sharing of God's Word. God uses human instruments in this process, but the power is all His.

If you're realizing today that you may not have experienced this miracle of new birth, what should you do? The blind man simply cried out, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Even recognizing your need for a miracle is perhaps the seedling of your response. Cry out to God: "Give me a new heart! Give me new life! Cleanse me from my sin! Make me love You!"

Stay dialed in,
Jonny Ardavanis