“Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the pneuma. Flesh is born of flesh, but pneuma is born of the pneuma. Do not be amazed that I said, “You must be born again.” The pneuma blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the pneuma.’” — John 3:5–8 (BSB, modified)

What does it mean to be “born of the Spirit”?

In the ancient imagination, pneuma was breath, wind and spirit all at once. It was the unseen reality behind the seen world — the breath in a living creature, the force behind the storm, the inspiration behind wisdom, courage and creativity. It was invisible, but no less real because of it. In fact, it’s arguably more real, since it precedes our temporal reality and outlasts our temporal reality.

Adam Makes Adams

From the beginning, creation reproduces according to its kind:

“God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind.” — Genesis 1:25 (BSB)

Adam makes Adams.

And that’s apparently the problem.

Paul writes:

“So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam a life-giving spirit.” — 1 Corinthians 15:45 (BSB)

“The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.” — 1 Corinthians 15:47 (BSB)

Adam seems to represent humanity as we know it: dust animated by breath for a season before returning to dust. But Christ is the beginning of something new! Not merely another man in Adam’s line, but the start of a different line altogether.

A New Creation Under a New Head

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” — Colossians 1:15 (BSB)

“And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead…” — Colossians 1:18 (BSB)

Adam was the head of the old creation. Christ is the head of the new.

The Church, then, is not merely a group of people who happen to share some beliefs. It is the new creation taking shape under a new Head, animated by a new Spirit.

Which brings us back to what Jesus is communicating:

“Flesh is born of flesh, but Spirit is born of the Spirit.” — John 3:6 (BSB)

As Paul says:

“Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” — Romans 8:5 (BSB)

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” — Romans 8:14 (BSB)

A Different Breath

If I claim to belong to Christ, there should be signs that a different breath is animating my life. Otherwise I’m just another son of Adam doing what sons of Adam have always done.

The wind is invisible, but you know it is there when the trees begin to move.

In the same way, if we “live according to the Spirit” — being “born of the Spirit” — then that will look like being like Christ: a new creation “led by the Spirit of God,” and in this way we truly are “children of God.”

And as such, just as the Spirit outlasts the flesh, so the new creation inaugurated in Christ will outlast our current temporal, fleshly reality. Get ready!

So What Does That Actually Look Like?

If the wind shows itself in the trees, what does the Spirit show in a life? Paul names it for us:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” — Galatians 5:22–23 (BSB)

That’s the sound of the wind in the branches — not a feeling you chase, but a fruit that grows, quietly and unmistakably, wherever the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is actually alive in someone. Not manufactured. Not performed. Just what naturally comes from being born of a different breath.

So — is anything moving in you that you didn’t put there yourself?

In Christ,

Paul

As always, I recommend listening to the recent Bible Project podcasts on this topic.