John 3 vv 4-8

4¶Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born

when he is old? can he enter the second time into his
mother's womb, and be born?
This statement that our Lord made did not seem to sink in in
the mind of Nicodemus although he knew that this was an
analogy which Christ employed and did not take this doctrine in
a literal sense (which at first reading some might suppose).
Nicodemus was well aware that a person could not be born or
re-enter his mother's womb a second time but put forth this
question according to the context of this analogy appropriated
by Christ. The reason why he asked this question was not to
disregard Christ's teaching as absurd but infact questioned our
Lord on how a person had to start all over again as he was
proud of all his achievements and endeavours to live a godly
and separated life in comparison to the average Jew of his day.
Even the apostle Paul had such a mindset as this concerning
his former way of life by practicing the Jewish religion with such
zeal that he would persecute the churches of Christ even
arresting some of the believers. But after encountering Christ in
a vision on the road to Damascus, would later consider all this
as refuse when compared to knowing Christ.

5¶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.
The Lord Jesus strengthened His argument by reiterating the
significance of this doctrine by using the words "verily" thereby
reinforcing its significance saying that a person could only enter
God's kingdom exclusively by being born of water and of the
Spirit. At a cursory reading of this verse, a person would imply
that to enter God's kingdom, he should participate in the
Christian rite of water baptism and in the case of Nicodemus he
probably would assume John the Baptist's baptism of
repentance in his day.
But Nicodemus did not assume that frame of mind as he didn't
feel the need for such a requirement and was not aware of the
Christian rite which would later follow Christ's mission on earth.
The Lord Jesus must have probably pointed Nicodemus to the
Old Testament concept of being born anew of water and of the
Spirit. Nicodemus should have accepted this teaching as it was
very coherent with the Old Testament scriptures and plain to
most of his contemporaries.
This truth concerning this statement that Christ made was not
new to the Jewish mind as it can be cited in the Old Testament
concerning a new covenant God would make with His people
that would be a covenant of restoration. This is recorded in the
book of the prophet Ezekiel chapter 36 vv 24-27 thus stating:
"24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you
out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be
clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I
cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put
within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your
flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in
my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."
This scripture speaks of a covenant which would bring in a
change of heart through regeneration which would solely and
explicitly be accomplished through the Holy Spirit.
Jeremiah chapter 31vv.31-34 states:
31¶Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of
Judah:
32Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the
land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was
an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in
their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their
God, and they shall be my people.
34And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and
every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall
all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them,
saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will
remember their sin no more.
Without the spiritual cleansing and washing of the soul which
indeed is an indispensable work of the Spirit through the Word
of God, no one can enter God's kingdom. Just as no one can
have control regarding a person's natural birth in the same way
it is with being born with the Spirit.
6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit.
The term 'flesh' translated in Greek is 'sarx' refers to human
nature and so the Saviour made this truth known in its plainest
words ever. Christ is referring here to a supernatural work that
can only be accomplished by God alone and where all human
efforts fail. That which is of the flesh can only beget flesh unlike
the Spirit who makes a supernatural transformative change in
the lives of those recipients who have received the word in faith
and have responded with the right disposition unaided by any
human effort.

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the
sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and
whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Nicodemus should not have been surprised with this doctrine
as it was a common teaching among the Jews and Christ never
expected Nicodemus to be in wonder and amazement
concerning the new birth and made this truth known to him
stating that this was the sovereign work of the Spirit.
The Greek word for 'wind' is 'Pneuma' and is employed here by
Christ, making reference to the third person of the triune God,
the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son.
And hence speaks about His efficacious work of regeneration
and conversion making Christ known to the human heart thus
enabling it to accept Christ as Lord thereby revealing Him to the
lost sinner and imparting spiritual life and eventually eternal life
henceforth quickening the spiritually dead. The work of the
Spirit is incomprehensible to the human mind and cannot be
appropriated through human standards and efforts. Just as
wind is invisible to the human eye and can only be noticed by
hearing its sound in the same way the work of the Spirit can
never be perceived through human reason and rationale. By
the work of the Spirit we are now made sons and are no longer
slaves to sin but are slaves to righteousness and are now
beneficiaries and heirs of salvation. The sonship of a believer is
of pivotal significance and is one of the major doctrines of the
Christian faith further furnished from the lips of Jesus, recorded
in John 8:35 as it states:
“And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son
abides forever."
It is the Spirit of God who sets us free from the bondage of sin
and death (which is a consequence of the former) through His
effectual workings and henceforth granting salvation through
Christ therefore indwelling a believer for the rest of his life.
The apostle Paul was very well aware of this glorious truth and
was very much aware of the dangers of sin and its leading
consequences even stating this cardinal truth in his epistle to
the Romans chapter 6 vv 22-23 which states:
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to
God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting
life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord.