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9. Question: What did Jesus mean by the terms “born again” and “born of water and of the Spirit” in the passage of John 3:3-6?
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 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? 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. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:3-6
Answer: If you will bear with me, perhaps I might be able to kill two birds with one stone here. Because I have felt compelled to ask another question, which will in part answer the present question which we now have under consideration. And that which I feel lead to ask is: Does believing, being baptized and being filled with the Holy Spirit actually constitute the “Born Again” experience in its completeness apart from our being resurrected at the sounding of the seventh and final trumpet? And in answer to this question I will have to say no.
I say no, because when we are born of God by receiving Jesus through believing on His name, we are in effect given the power to become the sons of God. As it is written:
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13
Now though this might seem to be somewhat contradictory given the fact that those who are given the “power to become the sons of God” are said to already be the born of God? (In that once we have been born of God we ought to also be called the sons of God.) The Apostle Paul clears up this confusion by making a significant distinction between being a son of God in spirit and actually becoming a son of God physically at the adoption and redemption of the Believer’s body.
“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” Romans 8:10-25
So here we discover that by being born of and lead by the Spirit, we have in effect received the Spirit of adoption. Thus, we are the sons of God in spirit having been born of the Spirit. As it is written: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The 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.” (John 3:6-8)
Yet while we are still subjected to live in this flesh body under the bondage of corruption, we have not yet arrived at that state of being what some call “unconditionally and eternally secure,” when: “...this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality…” And when our earnest expectation of being both physically and spiritually manifested as the “born again sons of God” will finally take place and be realized at the adoption and redemption of our bodies in the full meaning and reality of our born again experience. For it is only then that: “...we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” As it is written:
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 1st Corinthians 15:51-58
I strongly suspect that I am contradicting almost everyone across the entire spectrum of American Christendom in contending that there is a significant difference between the operation of God in the process of our “being” born again and actually “becoming” born again at the resurrection of the just. For there is certainly no place for the Believer’s “Unconditional Eternal Security” apart from our having to endure unto the end. Jesus Christ Himself confirms this fact.
“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Matthew 24:11-13
And it is here that we find the real reason for a very lot of confusion because of all the conflicting teachings that are out there in the Church at large. The simple fact of the matter is that the majority of Christian teachings today are nothing more than deceptively insidious attempts by men to reinterpret everything in the Bible into conformity with their false doctrines of easy grace.
Every time I turn on Christian Radio all I hear are these “Once Saved Always Saved” deceivers who are there day after day and night after night brain washing Christian America by conditioning them into a state of spiritual blindness where they can no longer even understand God’s Word because even if they read it for themselves, they are only doing so with the deceiver’s false interpretation already implanted into their minds. Thus, they are blinded to the real meaning of God’s Word in so many areas of the Bible that it is no wonder there has been such a revival of worldliness in America’s Churches. And for example, I would just bring to your attention the near extinction of true Holiness Preachers like the Apostle Peter who wrote:
“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” 1st Peter 1:13-25
In the last twenty years since I was saved, I can’t even count on one hand how many times I have ever heard a Preacher speak on the subject of holiness in the Christian Media who did not twist the Scriptures and explain away the true meaning of the text. And yet as we see in the preceding text, the Apostle Peter relates his exhortative admonitions to holiness with “being” born again. He did not write: “As born again,” but he wrote: “Being” born again. And the explanation is found in the following text: “…not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
Now get this, because it is important. If you remember, the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and literally spoke the living Word of God into her womb. And that Word was Jesus. And in like manner, we are born of the Spirit when we receive Jesus by the Word of God through the operation of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. In other words, the moment you first believed by faith and received Jesus Christ, a spiritual conception took place in your soul. You were born of the Spirit of God. And through water baptism we reckon ourselves as being dead to the old man born after Adam the first. And are thus buried with Christ by that same faith wherein we begin to walk in newness of life by the Spirit. And this just doesn’t happen on its own, but it is a daily choice we make in taking up our cross to live by that holy faith of the Son of God. As it is written:
“And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.” Luke 9:21-26
That which Jesus is talking about in the preceding passage is the Believer’s daily choice to be crucified with Christ. And in the following passage, the Apostle Paul plainly tells us that by his choice to be crucified with Christ in living by the faith of Jesus, he is in no way frustrating the grace of God.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Galatians 2:20-21
We must understand that by choosing to die daily to self, sin and Satan’s world, we are by no means guilty of trying to be self justified by keeping the works of the law. I stress this fact because there are so many in today’s Church who would falsely accuse the faithful of such self righteous pride. And this error is so wide spread that many need to be deprogrammed from all the brain washing which has conditioned them to believe this lie.
The simple fact of the matter is that it is very possible for a Believer to: “…lose himself, or be cast away” because they have willfully chosen to deny Christ by living unto themselves in this present world in order to save their own lives so that they might gain this present world’s pleasures. And in order to do so, wicked men of years gone by have invented that damnable doctrine known as the Believer’s “Unconditional Eternal Security” which causes those who embrace this devil’s lie to deny and be ashamed of the true teaching of the Scriptures. And this is why the Apostle Peter warns us: “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.”
In other words, all flesh is one day going to be cut down. Our bodies will wither in their graves and our souls will forever perish in the fires of hell unless we are born again by the Word of God. And in conclusion to all that I’ve been laboring to get across here, it can all be summed up by simply saying: Unless we are presently “being” born again by the transforming power of God’s Word in our lives. Then we have no hope of “becoming” born again at the time of the resurrection. For there is no “Believer’s Security” apart from walking in the true faith of Jesus Christ. And so we now understand the reason that Jude found it so needful to contend for this faith when writing:
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” Jude 1:3-7
Here we find Jude contending for the true faith of the Gospel warning us against those who have crept into the Church and are turning the grace of God into a license for sin. And Jude goes on to warn us as Believers to not only stand against these deceivers but he cite two examples of God’s Judgment against His own comparing them unto the fate of Sodom and Gomorrha as an example of suffering the vengeance of eternal fire so that we as Believer’s would fear God against ever being swayed to follow such teachings. And those examples he cites are the Children of Israel who God destroyed because of their unbelief and the very angels of God who rebelled. And speaking of those who were destroyed because of unbelief, the writer of Hebrews warns us:
“Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Hebrews 3:7-19
So we see here that when writing: “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;” The writer of Hebrews confirms exactly what Jesus spoke when saying: “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” It is so plain to see that the Bible teaches us a “conditional” security of the Believer and not an “unconditional” one that I strongly suspect that those who embrace the lie of the Once Saved Always Saved heresy, are in fact willfully choosing to believe a lie? Yet what ever the case, we have been warned to take heed as Believer’s who the writer calls “brethren” lest there be in any of us: “…an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” and lest any of us: “be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
Now having considered the first part of the question concerning what Jesus meant by the term: “born again.” We shall now answer the second part of the question concerning the term: “born of water and of the Spirit?” After Jesus said: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He was then asked: "How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" At which Jesus replied: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
There are a whole lot of Christians and Ministers who believe and teach that when Jesus said: "Except a man be born of water…" He was actually speaking of water baptism? But when read in its proper context, we see that in reality Jesus was speaking of the physical birth of being born of water from the womb. Which was only logical and makes perfect sense given the fact that the person to whom He was speaking misunderstood Him and was not able to comprehend what He meant by the term “born again.”
Therefore by contrasting the difference between the flesh and the Spirit, Jesus was in effect clarifying what He meant, in order for this man named Nicodemus to grasp what He was actually saying. In that He (Jesus) was speaking of a spiritual second birth that was not of this physical world.
Thus we understand that Jesus was plainly stating that, “That which is born of water from the womb is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Thereby helping Nicodemus to better understand that a man need not to enter his mother's womb a second time in order to be born again. For why else would He (Jesus) have gone on to further clarify and explain what He was actually saying when He stated: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit?”
Think about it, if Jesus were actually referring to water baptism, we would have to interpret His explanation as meaning: “That which is born of water baptism is flesh…” And does that even make sense in light of the fact that when we are water baptized, we are baptized into the death of Jesus against living in the flesh so that we might walk in newness of life by the Spirit? And besides, how can being “born of water baptism” be interpreted as being born of the flesh since we are already flesh born? So we see that by interpreting “born of water” as being “water baptism,” a serious contradiction of error that just doesn’t work is being presented.
Now let it be understood that in no way am I trying to say that the Believer’s water baptism has no place in the overall scheme of things related to our spiritual birth. I’m just simply stating that it is an error to misinterpret John 3:3-6 as being a foundational truth upon which certain men have built their systems of theology in order to prove their teachings are right. Because in so doing they are obscuring the true meaning of the said passage and are thereby effecting the loss of revelatory spiritual truth in the minds of those who follow their teachings. So in conclusion, while I personally believe in being water baptized and being baptized and/or filled with the Holy Spirit. The term that Jesus used in John 3:3-6: “born of water and of the Spirit,” can not be interpreted as meaning “water baptism” and the “baptism in the Holy Spirit.”
Finally, as I end this article, it has weighed on my mind that I have just destroyed several foundational pillars of teaching which several denominations are built upon. And I’m likely to have made many enemies in the process. Yet I never began this article with an agenda to do so. Nor am I interested in debating with anyone over what has been written here. The simple fact of the matter is that such persons ought to submit to the plain truth of God’s Word and just admit that when honestly studied and rightly divided by the Word of Truth, their teachings are found to be in error. And it only become a personal affront when they choose to take it as such. Yet on my part, I have too many real life challenges and trials than to be distracted by allowing myself to get caught up in such stress related and vain debates.
So if anyone wants to e-mail me and call me names and question my motives as being evil, that’s all fine and good. I just want you to know that the reason I do not answer such e-mails is because it is a waste of valuable time and energy. And I personally do not enjoy being a partaker of such unnecessary strife. And nor do I understand people who seem to live for that sort of thing. After all I’ve personally been through and suffered in this life, I have learned to choose my battles wisely. And that is why I find it very presumptuous of some people who don’t know me from Adam. And yet perhaps the reason that they can only misjudge and slander my character is because they have no logical Biblical response to whatever it was that I wrote which so offended them. Yet sadly, their slanderous words still does not change the fact that they might be in serious error and nor does such name calling justify them. They are only adding sin to sin and that’s the greatest tragedy of all. Because when I come out so hard against damnable doctrines like “Once Saved Always Saved.” I am only obeying the commandment of the Scriptures to rebuke such errors and those who teach them. Therefore my only answer to my enemies is that I’m not your enemy. For it is written:
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” 2nd Timothy 4:1-5
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” Titus 2:11-15
To Be Born Again
When I beheld the Lamb I seen the wretch I am
And as before Him I did stand I yielded my soul into His hands
Then I pled for His Merciful Grace As I looked into His glorious face
No longer to be blinded by Satan To my own sinful and twisted dark state
Oh to be washed in the blood Which Jesus shed in His Love
For such an undone sinner as I To be born again from above. © 1997 Raymond Bolton Pena
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