“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest 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
Wind is simply understood as a current of air or the movement of a body of air in a certain direction.
Our breath operates on this same principle. When we breathe, we are simply moving air in and out of our lungs.
The Holy Spirit is symbolized by both the wind and the breath in the Bible. Notice this interesting exchange between Christ and His disciples.
“And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:” John 20:22
The act of speaking uses the same principle as breathing. It is the moving of air over the vocal chords which produce sounds or vibrations. These sounds or words convey the ideas that is in the mind of the person speaking.
How appropriate then is the movement of air as a symbol of the Spirit.
The movement of air into the lungs give life-giving oxygen to the body. In the same way, the movement of the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ gives the church the life of Christ.
The movement of air across the vocal chords is the means of communicating the thoughts and ideas of the mind. In the same way, the Spirit is the means of communicating the thoughts and ideas in the mind of Christ.
Breathing and speaking are two separate things. The breath by itself is void of words but at the same time it is the breath that is the means of communicating words, thoughts and ideas. We can have breath without words but we can’t have words without breath.
In the same way, the Spirit, originating with the Father and emanating from Him through Christ, is independent of His words, thoughts and ideas. But His Spirit is the means through which He communicates these things with man.
The words, thoughts and ideas are not the Spirit but come to us by the Spirit.
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple” — 1 Corinthians 6:19
“Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” —Psalm 77:13