John 3:1-21 (KJV)

1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3 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.

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?

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.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

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

8 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.

9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Today we will try to understand what is being born of water and born of the Spirit?

Born of water – There are various opinions about being born of water is.

• It refers to the natural birth.
• It refers to the Word of God (Eph 5:26).
• It refers to baptism as an essential part of regeneration but this contradicts other Bible verses because salvation is by faith alone (Jhn 3:16, Jhn 3:36; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5.)
• It is a symbol of the Holy Spirit (Jhn 7:37-39).
• It refers to the repentance ministry of John the Baptist, and the “Spirit” refers to the application by the Holy Spirit of Christ to an individual.

I am of the opinion that refers to the natural birth that is the breaking of the water in the womb. This is because the context when looking at what Nicodemus said and the explanation of Jesus Christ especially verses 5 and 6 (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.6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.) and “1 Corinthians 15:46 (KJV) Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.” An interesting observation about angels is that they are not born but were created in the beginning and therefore can not be born again.

Born of the Spirit – this is much easer to understand. Birth from above that is spiritual birth or spiritual rebirth. Everyone has a spirit but it is dead because of sin as we discovered in the previous devotion. When we are born of the spirit we become part of:

• The Kingdom of God, “2 Peter 1:11 (KJV) For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”,
• His family adopted, “Romans 8:14-17 (KJV) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. [15] 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. [16] The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: [17] 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.”. And much more….

In summary being born of the Spirit is being born again.

Therefore let us be encouraged to understand that when we are born again:

• We died in sin “Romans 5:12 (KJV) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”,
• Jesus Christ made us alive “1 Corinthians 15:22 (KJV) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”,
• We are no longer spiritualy dead “”,
• We are no longer separated from GOD because of sin our condition,
• We are now hidden with Jesus Christ “Psalms 32:7 (KJV) Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.”,
• We are connected with GOD “Colossians 1:26-27 (KJV) Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: [27] To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”,
• GOD dwells in us by the Holy Spirit “1 John 4:12 (KJV) No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”, “Romans 8:8-11 (KJV) So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. [9] But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. [10] And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. [11] 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.”,
• We can worship GOD the right way “John 4:24 (KJV) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”, and there is so much more…..

If you decide to be born again and follow Jesus have a look at “https://missioncommunities.network/resources/”  especially at “WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED” link and feel free to contact us using the contact information here
https://missioncommunities.network/contact-information/