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Wind.
The action of the Holy Spirit is likened to wind by the Lord Jesus when to Nicodemus
He said:
"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou heareth 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).
The Authorized Version presents difficulties here. The word `listeth' is old English
for the Anglo-Saxon lusteth which meant pleases or desires. The original uses thelo, to
wish or desire. Has the wind got a will of its own? Furthermore we do know whence it
comes and whither it goes for we use the points of the compass to describe its direction
(compare Job 1: 19; Eccles. 1: 6; Ezek. 37: 9). When John wanted to refer to the
wind he used the normal Greek word for it, anemos: "And the sea arose by reason of a
great wind (anemos) that blew" (John 6: 18). But in chapter 3: 8 he uses pneuma,
spirit, so the verse begins and ends with this word. Taking these facts into consideration
we render the verse:
"The Spirit breathes where He wills, and His voice thou hearest; but thou knowest not
whence He cometh or whither He goeth. Thus it is with everyone who has been begotten
by the Spirit."
The context shows the contrast between flesh and spirit, earthly things and heavenly
things. As the Holy Spirit in His movements is contrary to and above nature (i.e.
supernatural), so is that which is begotten of the Spirit. Just as the unsaved world only
once born, neither knows Christ nor those who have a second birth (I John 3: 1), so the
working of the Spirit within the believer, the new will and the new desires, are unknown
to mankind around us.
The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.
There is a distinct difference in the work of the Holy Spirit during the O.T. period and
that covered by the N.T. In O.T. days He came upon men to strengthen and equip them
for some specific work, but He did not abide with them and indwell them.
The Lord Jesus gave a new aspect of His work as His own was finishing and He was
under the shadow of the cross. To the disciples He said:
"And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may
abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth . . . . . for He dwelleth with you, and
shall be in you" (John 14: 16, 17).
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit was unknown during O.T. times. This does not
mean that His activities were small and little known. Various O.T. saints knew by
experience His gracious enabling. In Exod. 31: 1-5 we read:
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son
of Uri . . . . . and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and in
understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning