Joh 3:3-6 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord does not respond to the tribute of Nicodemus and his fellow Pharisees, but tells him what is necessary to really get to know Him. Nicodemus does not need an education from Him as a Teacher, but a completely new nature. This goes much further than being convinced in conscience. Nicodemus does not yet know himself as completely depraved and spiritually dead in sin. He needs to be made alive and not a new idea that can enrich his life. God does not teach and improve human nature. Man needs to be renewed in the origin of his nature. Without that renewal he cannot see the kingdom of God. That kingdom of God stands here before Nicodemus. It is present and visible in the Son of the carpenter (cf. ). To see and acknowledge that inwardly, one has to be born again, that is to receive new life in a completely new way and from a completely new source. The statement that a new birth is necessary is introduced by the Lord with “truly, truly” (Greek: ”amen, amen”). This double ”truly” occurs 25 times in this Gospel. The Lord hereby declares the absolutely certain truth of what He is going to say, whereas He underlines the importance of it once more by adding “I say to you”. This makes it clear how important the content is of what He is saying here. It is indeed of immeasurable importance. It is the only way to see anything of God’s kingdom. He who has not been born again will see nothing of it, even though he is still so well versed in the Scriptures and even though he has such a high religious function as Nicodemus.

‏ John 3:3-6

Born Again

The Lord does not respond to the tribute of Nicodemus and his fellow Pharisees, but tells him what is necessary to really get to know Him. Nicodemus does not need an education from Him as a Teacher, but a completely new nature. This goes much further than being convinced in conscience. Nicodemus does not yet know himself as completely depraved and spiritually dead in sin. He needs to be made alive and not a new idea that can enrich his life.

God does not teach and improve human nature. Man needs to be renewed in the origin of his nature. Without that renewal he cannot see the kingdom of God. That kingdom of God stands here before Nicodemus. It is present and visible in the Son of the carpenter (cf. Lk 17:21). To see and acknowledge that inwardly, one has to be born again, that is to receive new life in a completely new way and from a completely new source.

The statement that a new birth is necessary is introduced by the Lord with “truly, truly” (Greek: ”amen, amen”). This double ”truly” occurs 25 times in this Gospel. The Lord hereby declares the absolutely certain truth of what He is going to say, whereas He underlines the importance of it once more by adding “I say to you”.

This makes it clear how important the content is of what He is saying here. It is indeed of immeasurable importance. It is the only way to see anything of God’s kingdom. He who has not been born again will see nothing of it, even though he is still so well versed in the Scriptures and even though he has such a high religious function as Nicodemus.

Questions About the New Birth

That Nicodemus sees no more than the natural course of events is evident from his reaction to the Lord’s words. He presupposes something that is in fact impossible, but which also shows that he does not understand what the Lord means by a new birth from a totally new source.

The reason for this is that Nicodemus does not yet recognize himself as a sinner. Otherwise he would have understood that even if it were possible for a human being to be born a second time from his mother’s womb, it would still be flesh born from flesh. No clean thing can ever come out of an unclean being (Job 14:4; Psa 51:5). Man would still be blind and unable to see the kingdom of God and therefore be as far away from it as ever.

Born of Water and the Spirit

Again the Lord introduces His answer with the impressive “truly, truly, [amen, amen] I say to you” to underline again the importance of the words He then speaks. He points out that in order to be born again two things are absolutely necessary: water and the Spirit. He does not say “of water and of the Spirit”, but He uses the word “of” only once. By saying it this way, water and the Spirit are intimately linked. They cannot be separated, but work together inseparably.

”Water” is sometimes thought of as baptismal water, but that cannot possibly be the case. If it were baptismal water, someone who has not been baptized would not be able to enter the kingdom. This would mean that the criminal on the cross who repented could not enter the kingdom, because he died unbaptized. However, the Lord assured him that he would be in Paradise with Him (Lk 23:43).

On the other hand, someone baptized would receive a new nature by baptism. This in turn would mean that only those who have been baptized would enter the kingdom and also that he who was baptized could never be lost, for he would have received eternal life through baptism. Both teachings are obviously follies. In addition, baptism with water nowhere speaks of giving life, but of death (Rom 6:3-4).

So what does the water represent? Water represents the Word of God in its cleansing power (Psa 119:9; Jn 15:3; Eph 5:26). The Lord Jesus speaks here of water as a picture of the cleansing power of the Word of God applied in the power of the Spirit.

If an unbelieving person reads or hears the Word of God, the Word will judge his whole life. He will see himself as a sinner. At the same time as he acknowledges this, the Word and the Spirit work new life in him. Through this new life he will receive new thoughts and affections. The nature of the Spirit is received and becomes active. Such a person is a new creation (2Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15).

The Lord establishes in Jn 3:6 that flesh always remains flesh and that what is born of the Spirit is partaker of the nature of the Spirit. Each of these two natures bears fruit according to its nature (cf. Gen 1:12). Thus He underlines what He has just said about being born of a new source, of the Spirit of God. The water is not mentioned in Jn 3:6, because it concerns the characteristic work of the Spirit. The Word without the Spirit does not work a new life, for it is the Spirit Who makes alive and gives the life of Christ.

Another thing that is important to realize well is the fact that the two natures, flesh and Spirit, remain completely separate. There is no way they can be brought into harmony with each other. There is constant enmity between them (Gal 5:17). The ‘flesh’ can never be transformed into the ‘Spirit’.

The Lord mildly reproaches Nicodemus that he should not have been surprised at what He said. He establishes a general truth. The word “you” in the sentence “you must be born again” is plural. This “be born again” applies to him personally as well as to the Jew and all people in general.

Nicodemus, as “the teacher of Israel” (Jn 3:10), could have known from Ezekiel 36 what the Lord speaks about (Eze 36:24-32). This is about a profound cleansing of Israel that the people will undergo at the beginning of the realm of peace. Yet the meaning of that word has passed Nicodemus by because he does not consider it as applicable to himself. That heathens have to become clean, he can understand that, but he himself, as a Jew ...?

Like the wind, the Spirit is invisible (“wind” and “spirit” are the same word in Greek). The origin of the wind and where it goes remains unknown to us (Job 38:24), but we can perceive its working (Psa 29:5 ; Psa 107:25; 1Kgs 19:11). So it is with the Spirit. When the Spirit, through the Word, works the new birth in someone, no one knows how it went. Like the wind, the Spirit cannot be controlled or directed by us.

What is possible, however, is that we perceive His workings. In this way His work becomes visible in someone who has been born again because from his new birth he loves the Lord Jesus, he speaks about Him with love and does His will. This applies to “everyone who is born of the Spirit”. Therefore, it applies not only to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles.