Your reasoning appears to be flawed, which I can see reflected in the way the questions are formatted.
I enjoy Ultley on this verse, "one verse theology"
"Rabbi" In John this means "teacher" (cf. John 1:38; 4:31; Mark 9:5; 11:21). One of the things that bothered the Jewish leaders was that Jesus had not attended one of the rabbinical theological schools. He had no Talmudic study after local synagogue study in Nazareth.
"You have come from God" This clause is placed first in the sentence for emphasis. This possibly alludes to the prophecy of Deut. 18:15, 18. Nicodemus recognized the power of Jesus' works and words, but this did not mean he was spiritually right with God.
"unless God is with Him" This is a THIRD CLASS CONDITIONAL SENTENCE which means potential reality.
SPECIAL TOPIC: GREEK GRAMMATICAL TERMS, VII
3:3,5,11 "truly, truly" This is literally "Amen, amen." It is from the OT word for "faith." It is from the root "to be firm" or "to be sure." Jesus used its doubling to preface significant statements. It was also later used as a way of affirming truthful statements. The initial doubling is unique to John's Gospel. These repeated doublings of the term "amen" reveal the stages in the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus.
SPECIAL TOPIC: AMEN
3:3 "unless one is" This is also a third class conditional sentence, like Nicodemus' statement in John 3:2.
NASB, NKJV, TEV, REB, Peshitta "born again"
NRSV, NJB "born from above"
This is AORIST PASSIVE SUBJUNCTIVE. The word (anōthen) can mean
"physically born a second time"
"born from the beginning" (cf. Acts 26:4)
"born from above," which fits this context (cf. John 3:7,31; 19:11)
This is probably another example of John's use of terms that have two meanings (double entendre), both of which are true (cf. Bauer, Arndt, Gengrich and Danker's A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, p. 77). As is obvious from John 3:4, Nicodemus understood it as option # 1. John and Peter (cf. 1 Pet. 1:23) use this familial imagery for salvation as Paul uses the term "adoption." The focus is on the Father's acts in begetting (cf. John 1:13). Salvation is a gift and act of God (cf. John 1:12-13; Rom. 3:21-24; 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9).
The footnote to George Lamsa's translation of the Peshitta says, "'Born again' in northern Aramaic, means to change one's thoughts and habits. Nicodemus spoke southern Aramaic and hence, did not understand Jesus."
SPECIAL TOPIC: BORN AGAIN
"he cannot see" This idiomatic phrase is paralleled in John 3:5 with "cannot enter."
"the kingdom of God" This phrase is used only twice in John (cf. John 3:5). This is such a key phrase in the Synoptic Gospels. Jesus' first and last sermons, and most of His parables, dealt with this topic. It refers to the reign of God in human hearts now that will one day be over all the earth (cf. Matt. 6:10)! It is surprising that John uses this phrase only twice (and never in Jesus' parables).
For John the phrase "eternal life" is a key term and imagery for the Kingdom of God.
The phrase relates to the eschatological (end-time) thrust of Jesus' teachings. This "already, but not yet" theological paradox relates to the Jewish concept of two ages, the current evil age and the righteous age to come which will be inaugurated by the Messiah. The Jews expected only one coming of a Sprit-empowered military leader (like the Judges in the OT). The two comings of Jesus caused an overlapping of the two ages. The Kingdom of God has broken into human history with the incarnation at Bethlehem. However, Jesus came not as the military conqueror of Revelation 19, but as the Suffering Servant (cf. Isaiah 53) and humble leader (cf. Zech. 9:9). The Kingdom, therefore, is inaugurated (cf. Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7; 11:12; 12:28; Mark 1:15; Luke 9:2,11; 11:20; 21:31-32) but not consummated (cf. Matt. 6:10; 16:28; 26:64).
Believers live in the tension between these two ages. They have resurrection life, but they still are dying physically. They are freed from the power of sin, yet they still sin. They live in the eschatological tension of the already and the not yet!
A helpful expression of the tension of the already-but-not-yet in John is found in Frank Stagg's New Testament Theology:
"The Gospel of John is emphatic about a future coming (14:3,18 f.,28; 16:16,22) and it speaks clearly of the resurrection and final judgment 'in the last day' (5:28 f.; 6:39 f., 44,54; 11:24; 12:48); yet throughout this Fourth Gospel, eternal life, judgment, and resurrection are present realities (3:18 f.; 4:23; 5:25; 6:54; 11:23 ff.; 12:28,31; 13:31 f.; 14:17; 17:26)" (p. 311).
SPECIAL TOPIC: THIS AGE AND THE AGE TO COME
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE KINGDOM OF GOD
SPECIAL TOPIC: MESSIAH
?JOHN 3:4-8
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: JOHN 3:4-8
4Nicodemus 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?" 5Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again. 8The 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.'"
3:5 "unless one is born of water and the Spirit" This is another THIRD CLASS CONDITIONAL SENTENCE. There may be a contrast (so typical of John's writings) between
the physical versus the spiritual (no ARTICLE with "spirit")
the earthly versus the heavenly
This contrast is implied in John 3:6.
The theories for the meaning of "water" are
the rabbis use it of male semen
the water of the amniotic sac of child birth
John's baptism symbolizing repentance (cf. John 1:26; 3:23)
the OT background meaning ceremonial sprinkling by the Spirit (cf. Ezek. 36:25-27)
Christian baptism (although Nicodemus could not have understood it that way, first mentioned by Justin and Irenaeus)
In context theory #3, John the Baptist's water baptism and John's statement about the Messiah's baptizing with the Holy Spirit—must be the most obvious meanings. Birth, in this context, is imagery and we must not let Nicodemus' misunderstanding of the terms dominate the interpretation. Therefore, theory #1 is inappropriate. Although Nicodemus would not have understood Jesus' words as referring to later Christian baptism, John the Apostle often interjects his theology into the historical words of Jesus (cf. John 3:14-21).
Theory #2 would fit John's dualism of above and below, God's realm and the earthly realm. In defining these terms one must determine whether they are contrasting (#1 or #2) or complementary (#4).
D. A. Carson, Exegetical Fallacies, mentions another option: that both words refer to one birth, an eschatological birth following Ezek. 36:25-27, which describes the "new covenant" of Jer. 31:31-34 (p. 42).
F. F. Bruce, Answers to Questions, also sees Ezekiel as the OT allusion behind Jesus' words. It may even have been a reference to proselyte baptism, which Nicodemus, a noted rabbinical teacher, must now do! (p. 67).
Are you "up" for the task?
J.
