Born of Water and the Spirit Part 1: The Nature of the True Birth

This Week: THE NATURE OF THE TRUE BIRTH

What does it mean to be born again? What does the new birth look like? What is regeneration?

Jesus teaches us in this passage what a true new birth looks like. One of the reasons that the idea of being “born again” is so watered-down today is that we don't understand how far every human being is from God. But what the Bible pictures is a chasm; to get from where we are to God is like jumping over the Grand Canyon. It is not doable.

The new birth is an instantaneous, dramatic change. There is suddenly new life where there was none before. The new birth has ongoing consequences, but it happens in a moment. A baby's life begins at conception, but the life isn't immediately evident. Very often it's the case that regeneration happens and its impact is not immediately that visible. Sometimes it is immediately visible; it varies from person to person.

“Again” in “born again” might be better translated “from above.” It actually has a double-meaning, from above and again, but the emphasis is on “from above”, as regeneration is entirely the work of God. It is a “monergism”, which means “only one works”. The verb “born” is in the passive voice, that is, the subject of the passage receives the action.

What does it mean to be “born of the Spirit”? Regeneration is effected by the Holy Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is limited, weak, and frail; it is unable. Being born “of the water and the Spirit” is a parallel to verse 3's “born again”. Jesus chided Nicodemus for not understanding the allusion to Ezekiel 36:25-27. This speaks of a cleansing at the core of a man's being. It is the impartation of a new life.