'Jesus answered and said unto him,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. ... ...
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 3:3 & 5)
Hello there,
Entry into the family of faith is by birth. It is with this that the apostle John was concerned in John 3:3-8. Peter also refers to it in 1 Peter 1:3:-
‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again
unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ... ‘
(1 Peter 1:3)
... and 1 Peter 1:23:-
‘Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,
by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.’
(1 Peter 1:23)
... calling them ‘new born babes’ in 1 Peter 2:2. James also speaks of this new birth in James 1:18:-
‘Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth,
that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.’
(James 1:18)
* The means by which this new birth is achieved, is by:-
- ‘His (God’s) own will’ (James 1:18)
- ‘with the word of truth’(James 1:18)
- ‘not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever’ (1 Peter 1:23)
- ‘by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’, (1 Peter 1:3)
- ‘of water and of the spirit’ (John 3:5)
* The only term that needs explanation is the last of these, in John 3:5, which is a figure of speech called ‘hendiadys’, in which there are two things spoken but only one thing intended, and should be read as:- ‘of water – yea, of spiritual water’.
* Verses which are worth considering in regard to this ‘spiritual water’ are found in Titus 3:4-7:-
‘But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He saved us,
by the washing of regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
That being justified by His grace,
we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.’
* The word ‘washing’ in the term, ‘the washing of regeneration,’ is used in Ephesians 5:26, ‘The washing of water by the Word’. Washing by the water of the word is figurative, and ‘loutron’ translated ‘washing’, refers to the ‘laver’ used in the Tabernacle (Exodus 30:18) . When speaking of this laver, the apostle refers to ‘divers washings’ and ‘carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation’ (Hebrews 9:9-10). So Titus 3:5 refers to the cleansing by spiritual water that accompanies regeneration through the Word of God.
These are just a collection of thoughts, on a subject well known by most, but always worth considering.
Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris
Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. ... ...
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 3:3 & 5)
Hello there,
Entry into the family of faith is by birth. It is with this that the apostle John was concerned in John 3:3-8. Peter also refers to it in 1 Peter 1:3:-
‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again
unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ... ‘
(1 Peter 1:3)
... and 1 Peter 1:23:-
‘Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,
by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.’
(1 Peter 1:23)
... calling them ‘new born babes’ in 1 Peter 2:2. James also speaks of this new birth in James 1:18:-
‘Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth,
that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.’
(James 1:18)
* The means by which this new birth is achieved, is by:-
- ‘His (God’s) own will’ (James 1:18)
- ‘with the word of truth’(James 1:18)
- ‘not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever’ (1 Peter 1:23)
- ‘by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’, (1 Peter 1:3)
- ‘of water and of the spirit’ (John 3:5)
* The only term that needs explanation is the last of these, in John 3:5, which is a figure of speech called ‘hendiadys’, in which there are two things spoken but only one thing intended, and should be read as:- ‘of water – yea, of spiritual water’.
* Verses which are worth considering in regard to this ‘spiritual water’ are found in Titus 3:4-7:-
‘But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He saved us,
by the washing of regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
That being justified by His grace,
we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.’
* The word ‘washing’ in the term, ‘the washing of regeneration,’ is used in Ephesians 5:26, ‘The washing of water by the Word’. Washing by the water of the word is figurative, and ‘loutron’ translated ‘washing’, refers to the ‘laver’ used in the Tabernacle (Exodus 30:18) . When speaking of this laver, the apostle refers to ‘divers washings’ and ‘carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation’ (Hebrews 9:9-10). So Titus 3:5 refers to the cleansing by spiritual water that accompanies regeneration through the Word of God.
These are just a collection of thoughts, on a subject well known by most, but always worth considering.
Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris
Last edited:
and we have a wonderful teacher, don't we? In the Holy Spirit, Who takes of the things of Christ and makes them ours (John 16:12-15). Yet I know that I will never plumb the depths of His Word. 
