Shortly after His own baptism, Jesus confronts Nicodemus. Jesus makes birth of water and Spirit a command. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). How can you obey a command to be born? Nicodemus had no choice about his first birth. The seed of his parents came together, and so he was conceived. His tiny body began to grow inside his mother. About nine months later he was born. All of this was without his knowledge or will. How then can he make a choice about his second birth? Yes, one can decide to pass through “water.” But the Spirit is Person. In this picture of birth He is like a parent. How can mere man make a decision to be “born of the Spirit”?
The answer is in the way the Spirit wants to work. As Almighty God He can easily overpower us and force us into spiritual birth. (He can even make children for Abraham out of stones, Luke 3). Yet He is so free, so fully in control, so confident that He is not trapped into keeping all freedom to Himself. He creates us “in His image” with true ability to choose. “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority” (John 7:17). Again and again Jesus insists that “anyone…everyone…whoever” can freely receive Him and His gifts (John 3:15,16,18,21). Jesus even gives man a part in receiving the Holy Spirit.
And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives.… If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:9-10,13).
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37-39).
“Scripture” indeed looks forward to this life-giving river. Isaiah likens the Spirit to reviving rain. Ezekiel even foresees God placing His Spirit into His people.
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants (Isaiah 44:3; like 58:11; Zechariah 14:8).
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules (Ezekiel 36:26-27; like 37:1-14).
God places His own eternal, all-powerful Spirit into tiny, weak humans. Though too wonderful for us to fully grasp, this is what the old Scriptures promise. And this is what the New Testament boldly reports as fulfilled in Christians! Those who enter Christ become “a holy temple… a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:21-22; also Romans 5,8; and 1 Corinthians 3,6).