The Meaning of "born of water and the Spirit" in John 3:5
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?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
-John 3:1-6
What did Jesus mean when he said to Nicodemus that one must be born of water and the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God? Jesus said this phrase to describe what it means to be born "again" or "from above". And the word "the" is not in the original Greek text, but has been inserted in to most translations. The literal reading is, "unless one is born of water and Spirit". Translators have also assumed "Spirit" means the Holy Spirit, which is probably why they insert a "the" before "Spirit" and there is no capitalization or punctuation or chapter breaks in the Greek text. So the way this verse is translated in most Bibles is because the translators have made an interpretation. They may be right, but they push the reader to this interpretation by inserting "the". Only the newest NASB puts "the" in italics to note that it is not in the original text. In the NET, ISV, and NRSV Bibles, "the" is absent: "unless a person is born of water and spirit", and the NET Bible has "spirit" uncapitalized.
Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
-John 3:5 New English Translation
Jesus answered, “Truly, I tell you emphatically, unless a person is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
-John 3:5 International Standard Version
Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
-John 3:5 New Revised Standard Version
One more thing is that the word translated "and" can also be translated "even." The Amplified Classic Bible is the only one at Bible Gateway that mentions this.
When Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," he is saying a person needs to be both born of water and spirit to be born again.
It is understandable that one may think that since Nicodemus raised the question of how can a man enter in to his mother's womb and be born second time, that Jesus is saying here that we first are physically born but also need the second birth from above that is into God's kingdom. But that is not what Jesus is saying. Listen to this. In answering Nicodemus, he says that to enter the kingdom, one must be born of water and spirit. The door to the kingdom is not natural birth + spiritual birth because that is not what Jesus is saying.
We may wrongly assume that this is what Jesus is saying, "natural birth then spiritual birth", by latching on to Nicodemus' misunderstanding of what Jesus is talking about. No. We don't want to interpret Jesus through the words of a man who was confused at the time and seeking clarity from Jesus. In this story, Jesus is the teacher and Nicodemus is the student. Jesus tells him, in a sense, "No, being born again or born from above is not like natural birth, but happens through water and spirit." The preposition "born" governs both "water" and "Spirit." How you get born again happens through the water and the spirit, is what Jesus is saying here. Birthing into the kingdom is through water and spirit is the concept Jesus is conveying. If Jesus was saying, "first one is born from their mother and secondly one must be born again by the Spirit," the preposition would be repeated for each noun. Jesus did not say one must be born naturally by water and then one must be later born spiritually. He said one must be born of water and spirit. He is grammatically speaking here of one birth, the new birth. We can't read in, based on our preconceived notions, what Jesus is not saying.
John the Baptist's message was to repent so that you might be prepared to see and enter the kingdom of God when it arrived and that it was coming very soon. And John gave people a required action which was his water-baptism. Here in John 3:5, Jesus goes beyond the foundation of John's baptism, saying that water-baptism only is not enough but must be preceded by a new beginning in one's life created by the Spirit of God. The addition of 'Spirt' by Jesus is what transformed John's baptism into Christian baptism.
I used to believe because I was taught that the meaning of John 3:5 "born of water and of Spirit" meant natural birth from our mother and spiritual birth from God.
A second possible interpretation is that water represents John and Spirit represents Jesus.
A third possibility is water and spirit represent spiritual renewal.
And a fourth possibility is that water is the outward part of Christian baptism and Spirit the inward part.
This fourth one is what I now believe is the correct interpretation, if we carefully interpret the text within its context.
Jesus has already said the same thing he says in verse five in verse three of John 3:
Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Verse five them repeats the same concept, with more detail, that Jesus already said in verse three:
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
The context here is that Nicodemus, a Pharisee, who had set himself apart to live a holy life, had asked for a meeting with Jesus to learn more from him and Jesus bluntly tells him that entrance to the kingdom of God is not achieved through religious activities or even good works, but by a new birth. The idea expressed in John chapter three is that salvation or entrance into the kingdom of God comes solely through the water and Spirit.
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