through believing in the Son (e.g. 3:15; 7:39), but what is not so clear is how the two blessings are related. On the basis of John 3 we might conclude that the Spirit is the one who initiates us into the experience of eternal life; but from other passages it is clear that the Spirit is much more than the midwife in the new birth. The new birth is indeed through the Spirit, but it is also birth into the Spirit: the Spirit is received through faith in Jesus. What then is the relationship between the
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