I’m not sure Jesus is talking about actual water in John 3:5
Question:
Hello,
I just had some questions about John 3:5. I am not sure whether Jesus is referring to literal water here. The reason I say that is that later in the book of John, Jesus attributes the Holy Spirit and calls it "Living Water" when talking to the woman at the well. I looked deeper into it, but even with this, it would be redundant for Jesus to say be born of Spirit and Spirit. Until I found out that Jesus gave another attribute to the Spirit: "Wind". If you go into the Greek, the word "Pneuma" is used for both Spirit and Wind in John. Keep all of this in mind, in Ephesians 5:26, the passage states that Christ sanctifies the church (us) by the Washing of Water through the word. Even though this verse doesn't mention the Spirit outright, the word and the Spirit are tied together as Ephesians 6:17 says. Moving from there to Titus 3:5, the text states that "He saved us by the Washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." I Corinthians 6:11 says the same thing, "but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God". Going back to what I said about the Greek word pneuma being used, the word can be translated as "Spirit, spirit, Wind, or breath". Unless the word pneuma is preceded by the word "holy", any one of those three words can be used. With this information, John 3:5 could be read like this: "Unless one is born of (Living) Water and the wind, he can not enter the Kingdom of God.
Another point I want to bring up: if Jesus is referring to literal water baptism here, why wouldn't Nicodemus, a Jewish ruler, recognize it as literal water when he is familiar with John's Baptism, a mikveh, etc.?
I would like to hear your thoughts on this.
Answer:
The reason you don't want to accept that Jesus mentioned water in John 3:5 is that you have already made up your mind that baptism in water cannot be a requirement to salvation and becoming a Christian. What I see is a reaching for "answers" no matter how improbable the solution.
Just because you imagine that something could be true, that doesn't lead to the conclusion that it is true. For example, just because a word is used in a certain way in one context, it doesn't lead to the conclusion that it takes on the same meaning in every context. For example, the word "flesh" can refer to the physical body (John 1:14) or to the sin that originates from being in the physical world (Galatians 5:19-21).
Jesus offered the woman at the well living water. "Jesus answered and said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life'" (John 4:13-14). Later, Jesus returns to the topic with a different audience. "Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'' But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (John 7:37-39). So notice that those who believe in Jesus can receive the Spirit, and living waters will flow from them.
Jesus was alluding to prophecies.
- "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jeremiah 2:13).
- "O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the LORD" (Jeremiah 17:13).
- "And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter" (Zechariah 14:8).
Zechariah's prophecy hints that the waters will flow out of Jerusalem. "Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem'" (Luke 24:45-47). I would contend that the living water is the message of salvation, which was brought into the world by the Holy Spirit (II Peter 1:21). See "Jesus the Living Water" for more details.
However, Jesus didn't mention living water in John 3:5.
"Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The 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'" (John 3:5).
There are two elements that produce one new birth. We are not speaking of two births, one of water and the other of Spirit, else Jesus would have said one needed to be born again twice.
Being Born of the Spirit
There are frequent mentions of being born.
- We are born by the will of God (John 1:12-13).
- We are begotten by the truth (James 1:18).
- Paul said it takes knowledge of the word of God to become born again (I Corinthians 4:15).
- Peter says we are born again by the word of God (I Peter 1:23).
The word of God (the Bible) is the work of the Holy Spirit (II Peter 1:21; I Corinthians 2:12-13). It is through the gospel that we are saved (Romans 1:16). This is because faith is produced by the gospel (Romans 10:17), and belief in Jesus is required to be born of God (I John 5:1).
Belief gives us the right to become children of God. "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:11-13). However, you do not become what you already are. A marriage license gives a couple the right to marry, but it doesn't make them married. Faith gives us the right to become a child of God, but by itself, it doesn't make us children of God.
Being Born of Water
Notice that there is no article before water in John 3:5. Whatever water refers to, it doesn’t matter what type of water is used.
Baptism does the same thing as being born again. Being born again makes us children of God and puts us into the kingdom of God (the church). "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:26-27). Paul did not say that faith made us children, and then we were baptized. Faith made us children through the medium of baptism, which put us in Christ.
"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God'" (John 3:3).
"He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned" (Mark 16:16).
Being in the kingdom and being saved are the same (Matthew 19:23-25). What stands between a man and the kingdom is the same that stands between a man and being saved.
Being born again is the equivalent of believing and being baptized. Baptism allows us to walk in a new life (Romans 6:3-4). When a child is born, it begins a new life. So it is with a child of God.
What Was Practiced
Just after Jesus told Nicodemus about the new birth, he and his disciples were baptizing people in water (John 3:22-23; 4:1-2). The church was established when 3,000 were baptized. "And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, 'Be saved from this perverse generation!' So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:390-40). Notice that they received his word (which came from the Spirit) and were baptized (the water). The eunuch heard Phillip preach and was baptized in water (Acts 8:35-39). After Peter taught Cornelius and his household, they were commanded to be baptized in water (Acts 10:47-48).
It is not baptism alone, but water combined with the Spirit. "Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you--not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (I Peter 3:21). The spirit is seen in the change of heart (an appeal for a good conscience), and the water is seen in the baptism. This parallelism is seen in several passages:
| John 3:5 | I Corinthians 12:13 | Ephesians 5:26 | Titus 3:5 |
| born of water | baptized | washing of water | washing of regeneration |
| and the Spirit | by one Spirit | by the word | renewing of the Holy Spirit |
| enter into the kingdom of God | into one body | sanctify and cleanse her | He saved us |
"Regeneration" in Titus 3:5 comes from a Greek word meaning “new birth or rebirth.”
"Washing" in Ephesians 5:26 is another way to say baptized (Acts 22:16)
Nicodemus was confused because he thought Jesus' kingdom would be a physical kingdom on earth. Israel was God's kingdom, and one becomes an Israelite through birth. Thus, when Jesus said a person had to be born again to enter the kingdom, Nicodemus became confused. He didn't realize that Jesus was talking about a spiritual rebirth. See:
