Born of water, born of Spirit

[mrquack]

In John 3, a Pharisee named Nicodemus comes to Jesus to see what he is all about.

In verse 5, 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."(NASB)

In searching for other "water" passages, I found the following:

Eph 5: 25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

My wife also remembers something from Psalms or Proverbs related to this but we couldn't find it.

What is Jesus saying exactly? It almost sounds as though Baptism is mandatory. Is the word water a correct translation (it is the same word used in KJV and other versions)?

[Mike Miller]

Would you believe you have hit on one of those Scripture passages that has been debated for ages? The debate has arisen primarily as a result of two issues. First, what is Jesus teaching? What does He mean by water and spirit both being elements of the new birth? In other words, we need to know what he is teaching, and aside from the fact that He is obviously teaching that a new birth is necessary, the coupling of water and spirit in this new birth is at first puzzling. The second issue relates to baptism. In other words, is Jesus referring to baptism, and if so, to what degree?

So, as always we need to consider context. Verse 5 does not stand alone, but it is part of a conversation Jesus was having with an Old Testament scholar. He rebukes this scholar for not understanding the truth of the new birth (verses 10-15). Therefore, we have to look to the Old Testament for the answer. Before we do that, however, let me interject that even though John had been baptizing with water (Jesus would later baptize with the Holy Spirit), the concept of Christian baptism had not yet fully developed. Therefore, Christian baptism is not likely what is in view here--especially since John made no further link to baptism.

In the Old Testament, images of water (renewal and cleansing) were frequently used in reference to the work of the Holy Spirit, (Psalm 51:10; Isaiah 32:15; 44:3-5; Jeremiah 2:13; Joel 2:28; many others). Perhaps the most clear of the Old Testament references, however, is Ezekiel 36:25-27, which couples water and spirit in an explanation of the new covenant. Therefore, it seems that Jesus is simply explaining that the new birth comes from above (which would surely discount baptism--the word translated "again" in verses 3 and 7 can also be translated "above"). In other words, no one gets into heaven by their own works (including baptism), but rather must be born of water and spirit (meaning the new covenant of spiritual rebirth). Salvation is a spiritual transformation--a giving of new life from above.

Now, does baptism represent this cleansing/rebirth? I think it does, and there is evidence that the early church thought so also. But we don't want to read Christian baptism back into a passage that predates Christian baptism (called an anachronistic reading). Instead of Jesus speaking of something to come--something of which the Old Testament scholar would not have understood--it is best to see baptism as later encompassing the symbolism of the cleansing of the Spirit. The point, then, being that Nicodemus' Jewish credentials (or anyone's religious credentials) were not enough. He must undergo spiritual transformation from above, which is solely a work of God, not man (John 1:12-13).