What is the meaning of John 3:9? How The word exposes the limits of human reasoning when confronted with divine revelation. Nicodemus has just heard that one must be “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). • Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;” Nicodemus is leaning on his own understanding and finds it inadequate. • John 3:8: “The wind blows where it wishes… so it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” The new birth is as mysterious as the wind’s origin and path. • Psalm 131:1 presents the posture God desires: “I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.” can The verb highlights human inability. Nicodemus senses he is powerless to produce the new birth. • Romans 8:7-8: “The mind of the flesh is hostile to God… Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.” • John 6:44: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” • Luke 18:27: “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” this be? The phrase moves from theory to reality. Nicodemus struggles to accept the actual existence of spiritual regeneration. • Ezekiel 36:26-27 promises, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.” • 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” • Titus 3:5 underscores that salvation comes “through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Nicodemus asked The identity of the questioner matters. A respected rabbi recognizes his spiritual deficit. • John 7:50-51 shows him later urging his colleagues to give Jesus a fair hearing. • John 19:39 records him bringing costly spices for Jesus’ burial, indicating burgeoning faith. Religious credentials could not save Nicodemus; he needed the same new birth Jesus described. summary John 3:9 reveals the collision between human limitation and divine life. “How” admits ignorance, “can” confesses inability, “this be” confronts the supernatural nature of the new birth, and “Nicodemus asked” shows that even the devout must be born again. The verse points to the Spirit’s sovereign work and directs every reader to trust the Son who proclaims, “Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). |
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