Page 49 - Overcoming Addiction

John 3:3-8
Yahshua answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is
born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him,
"How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time
into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" Yahshua answered, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you,
‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the
sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so
is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

The only type of birth which Nicodemus was familiar with was that of flesh.
He understood that man came from woman through the natural birth. This is
what Yahshua referred to as being “born of water.” There is a water birth that
immediately precedes a baby coming forth from the womb. All who are born of
woman are living souls. They have a body and a soul.
Yahshua told Nicodemus that in order to become all God desired, men had to
be born a second time. This second birth is a spiritual birth. It is accomplished by
the Spirit of Christ. The Spirit cannot be seen by the natural senses, and therefore
His work is hidden, but we can observe the results of His work in our lives. This
hidden work with noticeable results is what Yahshua is referring to in the last
verse quoted above. We cannot see the wind, but we can tell where it is by
observing its passage through the trees and among the grass. We therefore know
the wind has passed by.
Spiritual birth is like the passage of the wind. We do not observe it as we do
the natural birth, but we can see that something has indeed been born that was
not present before. We find that there are new desires in our being, urging us to
walk in a manner pleasing to God. There is also a new power to walk in
righteousness that we did not have before. We are able to see things that were
formerly hidden to us, even as Yahshua declared “unless one is born again he
cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Yahweh has set many things in the creation to serve as parables of spiritual
truth. As we observe them, and have our understanding opened, we are able to
discern more about God’s work in our life. One such parable is found in the
transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.
The caterpillar and butterfly are the same creature at two different stages of
life. They are so vastly different, however, that they are referred to by different
names. The caterpillar is like unto the first Adam. It is a creature of flesh. Its
appearance even resembles a lump of flesh. It is earthbound, and it has appetites
for things that grow close to the earth. This too is like the first Adam. When we are
born of woman we are fleshly creatures. We have appetites for earthly things.
Even as the serpent was cursed to eat dust all the days of his life, so is man, for he
submitted to the serpent for obedience. The natural man’s appetites are those
things that satisfy the cravings of sinful flesh. Even as a caterpillar cannot leave
the earth, the natural man is unable to rise above the captivity of the flesh.