In John 3:1-7, Jesus told Nicodemus,<\/p>\n
For centuries, virtually everyone who read Jesus’ words here understood that “water” referred to baptism. And then John Calvin came along in the 16th century. His admittedly “new” interpretation muddied the water! Even so, many denominational scholars and Calvinists acknowledge that “water” in this text is an obvious reference to baptism:<\/p>\n
The book of Acts repeatedly shows that baptism in water initiated believers into their new life in Christ (Acts 8:36-39; 10:47; cf. 2:38; 8:12; 16:12,33; 18:8; 19:4-5; 22:16).<\/p>\n
Despite these facts, many claim to have been born again without water! My grandmother would sometimes complain when she heard the claims that thousands were being born again in Billy Graham crusades by merely praying the sinner’s prayer; she would shake her head and wonder aloud how anyone could think they had been born again “without a drop of water.”\u00a0Jesus’ description of the new birth should cause all of us to wonder the same thing.<\/p>\n
But there is much more to the new birth than baptism. Water baptism is the outward act of faith necessary to be born again, but the regeneration is inward. A person who is born again is a new creature; every perspective and relationship is changed (II Corinthians 5:14-17). He walks “in newness of life<\/em>” (Romans 6:4).<\/p>\n In John’s first epistle, the inspired apostle describes the new life that is lived by those who have been born again. Four things characterize this new life.<\/p>\n I John 2:29 says, “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him<\/em>.” What distinguishes a child of God from a child of the devil is that a child of God practices what is right (I John 3:10). A child of God does the will of His Father, seeks to please His Father, and generally imitates His Father (cf. Ephesians 5:1).<\/p>\n “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God<\/em>” (I John 3:9). Sin here refers to one’s walk or habit. God’s children know that continuing in sin would grieve God’s Spirit, so we just don’t want to do it (cf. Ephesians 4:30; I John 5:18).<\/p>\n “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God<\/em>” (I John 4:7, cf. 5:1). Being born again brings you into a loving family. Family love is special. It transcends all other relationships. Your changed life results in changed affections.<\/p>\n “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith<\/em>” (I John 5:4). There’s a battle to fight, but those who have been born again can win it through faith. Picture two men. One is born of God, and the other is a worldly man. Physically, there is little or no difference. They are living in exactly the same physical world with the same temptations surrounding them. However, there is a substantial difference between their lives. One is continually beaten by this world – he loses in temptation and in trial, and he has no real concept of his life’s eternal significance. The other, who had the faith to be born again, has the faith to trust God at every turn. It may not be seen or understood by the world, but he is living a victorious life (Colossians 3:1-3; John 3:8).<\/p>\n The new birth begins the process of growing to be like Christ. Being born of God is not merely the moment you begin to call yourself a Christian, but the moment you begin to become Christ-like. Living life as a son leads to eternal life in the Son. “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son<\/em>” (I John 5:11).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Steve Klein via\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 14 No. 8, August 2014 In John 3:1-7, Jesus told Nicodemus, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” “You must be born again.” For centuries, virtually everyone who…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[642],"class_list":["post-95095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-christianity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12167,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-new-birth-of-water\/","url_meta":{"origin":95095,"position":0},"title":"The New Birth of Water","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by James E. Cooper in\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 5, No. 2, Feb. 2005 Question: \u00a0\"Does 'born of water' in John 3:3,5 refer to baptism? Answer: \u00a0Jesus said to Nicodemus, \"Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,\" and \"Unless one is born of water and the Spirit,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Baptism.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10776,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-you-a-born-again-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":95095,"position":1},"title":"Are You a Born Again Christian?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 27, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Steve Dewhirst What other kind of Christian is there? Jesus told the night-visitor Nicodemus, \"Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.\" When Nicodemus expressed his puzzlement, the Lord explained, \"Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/130324-F-KL201-065-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5310,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/you-must-be-born-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":95095,"position":2},"title":"You Must Be Born Again","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 3:1-22 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I had a fellow ask me if I had been born again. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In particular, he wanted to know how I came to believe such a thing. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When I replied with I John 2:3-6; 4:6; 5:2-3, he became quite upset \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He wanted to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94982,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-not-sure-jesus-is-talking-about-actual-water-in-john-35\/","url_meta":{"origin":95095,"position":3},"title":"I’m not sure Jesus is talking about actual water in John 3:5","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28066,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-receiving-the-holy-spirit-mean-baptism-in-water-is-unnecessary\/","url_meta":{"origin":95095,"position":4},"title":"Does receiving the Holy Spirit mean baptism in water is unnecessary?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have another friend that believes you don't need water baptism because once you believe that's when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and that's when you're baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. She gave me theses Scriptures: Acts 11:14-16, Acts 11:47-48, Matthew 3:11-15, Acts 10:44-48, Titus 3:5,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28068,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/born-again-into-the-kingdom\/","url_meta":{"origin":95095,"position":5},"title":"Born Again Into The Kingdom","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by H.E. Phillips via\u00a0Searching the Scriptures, February 1992, Volume 33, Number 2 The church is the people who are \"a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95095\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Those who are born of God practice righteousness.<\/h2>\n
Those who are born of God do not practice sin.<\/h2>\n
Those who are born of God love their Father and their family.<\/h2>\n
Those who are born of God overcome the world.<\/h2>\n