Born of Water and of the Spirit: The New Birth

Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:3, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (NASU) and then a couple of verses later expounds upon his statement when he says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5 NASU)

This passage has troubled people over the years. What does it mean to be born of water and the Spirit? The real problem lies not in the difficulty of the passage but rather with those who are unwilling to accept the obvious import of the passage.

People often fail to understand Bible passages not because they are difficult but rather due to prejudice, closed minds. While I want to discuss the entire phrase "born of water and the Spirit," I first want to give you an example of what I am talking about as it relates to the passage we will be discussing. One very well-known Bible scholar who is also an author, and one I might add who has profited me in some of the things he has written, said of this passage that water here could not mean water.

In his mind, this was such a settled fact that there was no reason to even think about giving a reason for making such a statement, and he did not give one. The mind is closed to the thought. It is not worthy of consideration, for it is simply not possible for water to mean water in this passage. It has to mean something else.

Let us now deal with the passage and make it as simple as it really is. I begin by saying that it is essential to come to a correct understanding, as our eternal lives depend on it. Jesus says if we are not "born of water and the Spirit," we cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

I need not tell you that salvation is in God's kingdom, not outside it. It is essential to get into the kingdom of God if we hope to be saved. We are either in the domain of darkness or in the kingdom of God. There is no middle ground; it is an either-or proposition; we are either in or we are out.

Paul speaking to Christians says, "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son." (Col. 1:13 NASU) Whether we are in the domain of darkness or in Christ's kingdom depends on whether or not we have met his qualifications for being in his kingdom.

I know this is hard for us to sometimes accept, for we know people we would consider good people who are not Christians. They are moral people; they are honest; they work hard; they treat us well, and it is hard to see how God could reject them. It is hard for us to accept that they are in the domain of darkness.

They are like Cornelius in Acts 10, a man of whom nothing but good was spoken of. The Scriptures say of him that he was "a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually." (Acts 10:2 NASU) But I remind the reader that Cornelius, to be saved, had to hear, believe, and obey the gospel for salvation.

If he was already saved, in the state he was in, why bother Peter? Why does Peter need to travel to Caesarea, in view of the fact that it is a waste of his time to preach to Cornelius if Cornelius, a good man, is already saved? He was not saved. Peter later reported to the brethren back in Jerusalem about this matter saying, "He (Cornelius—DS) reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, 'Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; and he will speak words (the gospel--DS) to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.'" (Acts 11:13-14 NASU)

When a man obeys the gospel, it is an act of submission to God's will. We will either submit to his will or our own. When we refuse to submit to his will, no matter how good we are in other areas of life, how can it be truly said that we are godly? By our refusal to obey the gospel, we are saying we do not need God, Jesus did not need to die for me (his death was a waste, I did not need it), and I am not a sinner. The very fact that we refuse to obey the gospel, a command of God, proves in itself that we are in rebellion, in sin.

This being the case, how is one born of water and the Spirit, which is the equivalent of hearing, believing, and obeying the gospel? I say first of all that this is a single birth rather than two separate ones. How do I know? Because Jesus tells us so, just two verses before this verse, for he says in John 3:3, "unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (NASU) How many times does Jesus say a man is born again? Once! If we make these two births, one of water and the other of the Spirit, then we have one more birth than Jesus requires. One is born again, not twice, but once.

What is the role of the Spirit? Jesus says in John 6:44-45, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me." (NASU)

How is one taught of God? The answer is through the teachings of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, found in our day in the pages of the New Testament. Hear Jesus, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life." (John 6:63 NASU) So it is clearly seen that words do make a difference in bringing about spiritual life; the words of the Spirit bring life.

Peter says we have "been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God." (1 Peter 1:23 NASU) God's word is living. James says, "In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth." (James 1:18 NASU) God's word produces life in those who believe and accept it. James, "brought us forth" in this passage, is a reference to how the process of being born again comes about, by the "word of truth."

The Spirit works in bringing about the new birth in a man or woman by means of the word of God in the pages of the New Testament. In the parable of the sower (or soils if you prefer), as found in Luke 8, Jesus said "the seed is the word of God." (Luke 8:11) As it is sown in the hearts of people, it bears fruit, not in all but in those willing to hear and accept it. Four types of soil are mentioned in the parable, but only one type brought forth fruit. Jesus, in speaking of that soil, says "the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance." (Luke 8:15 NASU)

When one accepts the word of God and allows it to work in his life, having an honest and good heart, faith develops and leads the man to repentance, changing him within in his inner being, his spirit. He now believes differently, has different goals and aspirations, and wants to live a different life. When this occurs, the first prerequisite for the new birth has been met. However, Jesus also says in John 3:5 that one must be born not only of the Spirit but also of water if he is to enter into the kingdom of God.

Here is where multitudes have come up short. They fail to accept baptism. Needless to say, water is a reference to baptism. However, lest I be like the man who says water is not water but offers no proof, I need to prove my statement.

First of all, Jesus taught that baptism was essential when he gave the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). He says, "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved…" (Mark 16:16 NASU). He does not say "he who has believed and has not been baptized shall be saved," even though many want to read it that way. The baptism of the Great Commission was in water and thus was essential for salvation.

But let us look at some other passages that, relating to the new birth, are even clearer. "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." (Rom. 6:4 NASU) When do we walk in newness of life (born again, the new birth)? When we have been baptized.

Take a look at 2 Cor. 5:17, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (NASU) A new creature equals a new birth. The Bible tells us how to enter Christ. "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." (Gal. 3:27 NASU) Now, what does it take to get into Christ—baptism. Paul says we are "baptized into Christ." Then we are the new creature.

Where is salvation? Peter says, "there is salvation in no one else" (Acts 4:12 NASU), speaking of Jesus. Paul says, "For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory." (2 Tim. 2:10 NASU) Getting into Christ Jesus is thus essential.

One is a new creature upon entering into Christ (born again). One enters Christ by the act of baptism, having been baptized as a result of the consequences of the Spirit working in his life. "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body." (1 Cor. 12:13 NASU) That body into which we are baptized is the body of Christ, the body where one finds salvation, "He Himself being the Savior of the body." (Eph. 5:23 NASU)

Let us take a look at a couple of passages that teach just what Jesus taught about the new birth in John 3, but which are often overlooked. Paul says in Titus 3:5 (NASU), "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit."

God's mercy, his grace, saves us, but how? By the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. This is just another way of saying exactly what Jesus said in John 3:5 regarding being born of water and the Spirit. The washing of regeneration is baptism.

In another parallel passage Paul says in Eph. 5:25-26 regarding Jesus and the church (the church being his spiritual body, the body he saves, Eph. 1:22-23), "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word." (NASU) Yes, water is water in John 3:5, and not something else, and Jesus says his word "gives life" (John 6:63 NAS) and that his words "are spirit" (John 6:63 NAS).

If this passage does not clarify what it means to be born of water and the Spirit, I am not sure I know what it would take. How are we cleansed; how are we born again; how are we saved? By the washing of water (baptism—DS) with the word (the Spirit using the word as his tool to change us in our spirit).

Thus, the new birth, what it means to be born again, to be born of water and the Spirit, is not that difficult and could be easily understood if we had open minds.

However, like the Jews of old, we often have too much at stake to allow us to see the truth. We have family that has passed on, and we cannot allow water to mean baptism, for we think that would condemn them. We cannot allow water to mean water, for if we were to accept that, it would make demands on us to comply, which might alienate friends and family who do not believe baptism is essential. The sacrifice is too great; we will not allow it. We will not allow water to be baptism. It has to mean something else.

Will not God condemn us for our hardness of heart when he has made a thing as clear as this, yet we refuse to accept it? When we prefer spiritual blindness rather than light, what do we think he will say to us in the Day of Judgment?

But now to make the application personal, the question for us all is what will we do in the face of the truth? Do we accept it or deny it? Do we act on it, or do we remain passive and do nothing? What will you say to Jesus on the last day?

"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word." (Jesus—John 14:23 NASU)

I do think it would be appropriate to comment before closing to any who hold back from obeying Jesus in the new birth because of a loved one who passed on without going through that birth. Here are some points to consider. (1) Jesus teaches we must love him above father, mother, son, or daughter (Matt. 10:37). (2) If a loved one failed to get to heaven do you think you would be doing them a favor by joining them? Is that what they would want? Read Luke 16:19-31. The rich man in this account did not want his five brothers joining him. (3) Finally, why not leave judgment up to God? "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25 NKJV)

Note: Underlining in verses quoted was by me to emphasize certain statements and was not in the original quoted texts.

The Church Christ Built--Marks of Identification

The church Christ built is worthless to man if it is impossible to find it, if it only existed in ancient history, and cannot be known today. Fortunately, like all things that exist, there are marks of identification that allow us to know his church from those made by man. What are the marks of identification of the Lord’s church versus man-made churches?

(1) The time of its founding. The Lord’s church began in the first century on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Any church that was built or came into existence later cannot be the church Jesus built. Many of today’s churches were founded during the years of the Reformation and in the years since then, thus eliminating them from consideration as being the church Jesus built.

(2) The builder--Christ himself built his church. If a church can trace its beginnings back to a particular man or movement that can be named for its founding, it is clearly not the church Christ built.

(3) Its name. If a church is the church Jesus built, then one would expect it would not have a name given by men attached to it. Actually, no formal name was ever given to the church Jesus built. It was often referred to by appellations such as: the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23, 4:12), the Lamb’s bride (Rev. 21:9-10, Rom. 7:4), the church of God (Acts 20:28), the church of Christ (Rom. 16:16), the church of the living God (1 Tim. 3:15), the church of the firstborn (Heb. 12:23), the household of God (Eph. 2:19), the flock of God (1 Peter 5:2), God’s field (1 Cor. 2:9), God’s building (1 Cor. 2:9), the house of God (1 Tim. 3:15), the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16-17), and, of course, the most common designation for the church in the Bible is the singular term, “the church.”

When a church has a name or designation not found in the Bible, that ought to immediately raise a red flag. That alone tells you it differs from what you find in scripture and makes it suspect. If a church is named after a man, a method of governance, or a peculiar doctrinal stance, it detracts from God’s honor and glory. God is to be given glory in the church (Eph. 3:20-21)—not a man or a movement.

(4) Its members--their names. In the church built by Jesus no member was called anything other than a disciple, a brother or a sister as the case might be, or just brethren when taken collectively, a child of God, a saint, or just by the name Christian (Acts 11:26). This listing is not necessarily exhaustive but is sufficient to make a needed point. In the New Testament church there were no such beings as Christians who also had an additional appellation or name to distinguish them from others. This was the very thing Paul condemned in 1 Cor. 2:4 when he said, “For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not carnal?” (NKJV)

No church whose members are called by a denominational name in addition to the name Christian is the church Jesus built. Not only is it carnal, as Paul said, but it is also dishonoring to God, as if it is not good enough to just be called a Christian or child of God. The name “Christian” is a Christ-honoring name. Denominational names dishonor Christ as his name is replaced with that which the Bible knows nothing about.

(5) Membership--how do people become members of Christ’s church? This is an easily answered question. The church was established on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. When Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, in Matt. 16:16, Jesus’ responded by saying, “on this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18 NKJV) but then in the very next verse he tells Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 16:19 NKJV) Jesus thus uses the terms the church and the kingdom interchangeably making them one and the same.

The kingdom of God is not something that in our own time is down the road in the future. Jesus said to those with whom he was speaking, in Mark 9:1, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.” (NKJV) Paul says some years later in Col. 1:13, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love.” (NKJV)

Peter used the keys of the kingdom (the keys being the gospel message with its requirements) on the day of Pentecost. When the 3,000 that day heard the message, believed it, repented of their sins (as instructed to do--Acts 2:38), and were baptized for the forgiveness of sins (as instructed to do--Acts 2:38), they were then translated into the kingdom of God by God himself. It is in that kingdom, not out of it, where salvation is found. If saved that day, no one doubts that they were, they were at that very time translated into the “kingdom of the Son of his love.” (Col. 1:13 NKJV)

Men do not join the church (the kingdom of God), but rather God adds them upon conditions. “The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47 NKJV) The conditions are those set forth by Peter on the day of Pentecost. Jesus said, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5 NKJV) There are only two kingdoms, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. One must be in the kingdom of God for salvation, but Jesus is the Savior of the body (Eph. 5:23) which is the church (Col. 1:24). The kingdom and the body, the church, are one and the same, the difference being only in the way it is being portrayed. The kingdom has a king, the body has a head, but the same one who is king is also the head--the head of the body and of the church, which are one and the same (Col. 1:24).

Membership in this body, this church of Christ, this church Jesus built, is granted only on the basis of the new birth (John 3:5). It begins with the Spirit in that through the Spirit’s word, the gospel message, man is led to faith and repentance and a willingness and desire to confess Christ for who he is--the Son of God--and it culminates in baptism for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38, 22:16) but more succinctly to put to death the old man of sin and to arise a new spiritual creation (Rom. 6:4-6). The old man dies in baptism (Rom. 6:4), “we were buried with him through baptism into death.” (NKJV) We come up from the water clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27 NAS). Paul is thus able to say, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:13 NKJV)

These then are the terms of membership if one desires to be in the church Jesus built. One can get into churches built by men on other terms, into man-made churches, but there is only one way into the Lord’s church. We must go back to the New Testament and enter the Lord’s church on the same terms of membership that they did back then. The same process that makes one a Christian also makes him a member of the church Jesus built, also adds him to the church, the Lord doing the adding when the requirements are met.

(6) Another mark of the Lord’s church is its organization. Each congregation was on its own, running its own affairs, with no guidance from any kind of national church organization. Each congregation was to have elders appointed who met certain requirements as set out in 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. This group of men was sometimes referred to under various terms in the same way Christians were as discussed earlier. The terms used were elders, overseers, shepherds, bishops, pastors, and rulers.

One of the requirements for a bishop or elder was that he be “the husband of one wife” (1 Tim. 3:2, Titus 1:6), and thus the church Jesus built was led by men. There were no women in leadership positions in the church. Perhaps the reason is given by Paul in 1 Tim. 2 when he says, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man…for Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.” (1 Tim. 2:12-14 NKJV) This is a historical reason that time will never be able to erase and thus it was not a matter of culture as some teach today.

If you find a congregation that is in violation of God’s plan for church leadership, you can be certain that it is not the church Jesus built or it has apostasized, one or the other. The eldership was always made up of a number of men and not just a single individual (Titus 1:5, Heb. 13:17). Thus, in the church Christ built, there were no women in leadership positions or teaching over men (preachers), nor was there any such thing as the modern pastor system. Those things are from men, not God.

There was also a group of men known as deacons who worked or served in the church under the direction of the eldership. Qualifications for these men are found in 1 Tim. 3:8-13. Some feel the 7 men chosen to supervise the daily distribution in the church at Jerusalem, as found in Acts 6:1-6, were the first deacons. They certainly filled the role deacons might well fill.

(7) Worship of the church. What are the acts of worship as found in the New Testament that, when done in the right manner, please God? Partaking of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week is one (Acts 20:7), prayer is another, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19-20, Col. 3:16) is included, teaching of God’s word in which exhortation would be a part, and giving. Very few, if any, would object to any of these things for all are pretty much in agreement that these things can be found on the pages of the New Testament as things authorized in worship. We can do all of these things in the name of the Lord Jesus. “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col. 3:17 NKJV)

But when we talk about the worship of the church, there is more to it than just the correct object of worship--God in heaven. Jesus said we must worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24). He then says in reference to God that, “Your word is truth.” (John 17:17 NKJV) This means, obviously, that man is not free to worship God just any way he chooses and call it worship, worship that is pleasing to God. God gets to decide what pleases, not man. If you recall, the church at Corinth in 1 Cor. 11 had a worship problem as it pertained to the Lord’s Supper. We are not free, in the Lord’s church, to do things our way.

The problem today, when one is searching for the church built by Christ as far as it pertains to the worship, is finding a church that has not added to the worship. All kinds of entertainment have been made a part of the worship--plays, instrumental music, musical entertainment (generally called in my part of the country “special music”), special events, and around election time even political rallies passed off as worship service. No, if we want the church the saints had in the first century, the one that belonged to Christ, we will have to content ourselves with doing what they did under divine approval and say that is good enough for it is good indeed as it came to us from “the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17 NKJV)

(8) The works of the church. The church Jesus built taught the gospel, they attempted to build each other up in the faith, and lend a hand to one another as needed; they were encouraged in every good work, and helped the poor and needy. The mission of the church was spiritual, but that did not mean it was divorced from the cares of this world completely. “Whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17 NKJV)

Much of what you see being done in churches today was never a part of the New Testament church. There were no ball teams, no seminars on how to do your taxes or lose weight, no business enterprises to raise money versus giving it out of your own pocket, and the list could go on and on. We need to learn what work the New Testament churches were involved in and get back to it, and forget about everything else.

In this article, I have tried to set forth the marks of identification for the church Christ built. That is the church we need to be in and get back to. If we did all denominations would cease to exist. Men will fight that tooth and nail for it is one thing to say we want Christ’s church and it is another thing to want it enough to give up “our church,” our denomination. In other words, the old saying “talk is cheap” is more than just a saying. A lot of things will have to be given up to get back to Jesus’ church, but it can be done once the will to do it is found. 

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