Jesus and Nick-Part 2

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”  John 3:5

When Nicodemus asked Jesus how a man could be born physically again, Jesus repeated the same thing that He had just said.  Knowing that Nicodemus did not understand the new birth, Jesus began to explain more fully to him the need for a spiritual birth in order to become a member of God’s family.  When Jesus told him that one must be born of water, did He mean a physical birth?  He could have.  It is logical that one must be born into a physical life first in order to be able to be born spiritually.  After His statement, Jesus then said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (verse 6a) which lends credence to inferring physical birth.  Any woman who has given birth and had her “water break” understands that water, or the amniotic fluid which surrounds the baby in the womb, is involved in the birth of a baby and is released at the delivery of the baby.

However, Jesus could have been referring to spiritual cleansing.  The Old Testament has many references to water as being used figuratively to spiritually cleanse a person for service to God.  Moses washed Aaron, the high priest, and his sons with water before dressing them in the holy garments and anointing them (Leviticus 8:6).  The New Testament also has several references to water as spiritual cleansing, one of which is I Corinthians 6:11:  “washed,…sanctified,…justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”.  Thus “water” here is used metaphorically to express the cleansing which is provided by the grace of God to make one fit for the kingdom of God.  Some believe that Jesus was referring to water baptism, but we know that baptism is a sacrament which is performed after one has repented and believed on Christ and is a symbol of the death, burial, and then the resurrection to new life and not as a means of salvation.  A man or woman cannot cleanse himself or herself.  One can strive to “do better” through “good works”, but these efforts can never take away one’s sins.  Only Christ’s sacrifice can make one acceptable to God the Father.

Jesus also said, “…that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (verse 6b).  There are only two ways by which one may live his or her life.  Everyone that has ever been born comes into this world with a sin nature, or what the Bible refers to as the “flesh”.  Man’s major concerns are those of satisfying his fleshly desires.  His sin has alienated him from his Creator.  Even if he could re-enter his mother’s womb and be physically born again, he would still have a sin nature.  Men and women possess a soul, the thinking and emotional spirit that guides the flesh, but is carnal in nature.  Paul wrote in Romans 8:7 that the carnal mind holds hostility against God.  Sinners sin because that is their nature.  The other way by which men and women can live their lives is through the Spirit of God.  One who has not experienced the new birth is described in scripture as being “dead” because his or her spirit has no real life due to the fact that it is devoid of God’s Spirit, but those who have surrendered to the Lord are promised eternal life in paradise.

Thus, in our world we have both born again folks and many other folks who have decided to live by their own rule.  The born-again folks are called Christians, believers, or Christ followers.  Borrowing from a recent popular television show, I like to call the unbelievers “the walking dead” because that is exactly what they are, alive yet “without Christ, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12), physically alive, but spiritually dead.  Those who have rejected Christ will have a devastating problem when their bodies pass away because their soul will live forever in hell with Satan, but the born again will live forever in heaven and on the new earth with Christ.  I think a lot of folks think that if they just ignore eternity then somehow it will all pan out in the end.  If this is the case for them, then ignorance is certainly not bliss.

Jesus continued by giving Nicodemus an analogy to describe the new birth.

Next time:  Jesus and Nick-Part 3