John 3:4-5

⁴"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" ⁵Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."

• Nicodemus doesn’t get it. Is he really this spiritually dull? Yes!
  • Matthew 11:25-27; 15:16; 16:5-17 (Mark 8:14-21)
  • Lack of faith = spiritual problem.
  • Matthew 17:17; Luke 18:31-34; 24:44-47; 1 Corinthians 1:18-30; 2:14; 2 Corinthians 4:6
  • Man’s condition = spiritual deadness.
• He is stuck at the physical level and can’t understand the spiritual level, because the Spirit hasn’t regenerated him yet. He thinks he is wise enough to understand, but he is not. This is the case for all unbelievers (and some professing believers as well).
• Nicodemus confirms what Jesus says by not understanding! John perhaps gives this illustration because he knows Nicodemus.
• Now in v5-8, Jesus corrects his misunderstandings by showing him clearly that He meant the spiritual re-birth, not the physical.
• “I tell you the truth” shows that Jesus is still plowing the hardened soil of Nicodemus’ heart. We’re all very hardened.
• “No one can enter” is parallel to “no one can see;” the verb changed to focus more on Nicodemus’ understanding of the phrase.
• “Born of water and the Spirit” is also parallel to “born again” from v3. Jesus is adding to the simplicity of v3 to help Nicodemus get it. There are 3 views on “born of water and the Spirit” that we need to examine:
  • “Water = physical” and “Spirit = spiritual.” Jesus is showing Nicodemus that it’s more than physical, which is all that he perceived from v3. While this may be true, it’s not parallel to v3 (one / two births) and likely not what John is intending.
  • “Baptism by water and the Spirit.” I want to talk about this one for a few minutes; it’s intriguing:
    • Baptismal regeneration (necessity of water baptism (immersion / sprinkling) for salvation) among Protestants and Catholics. Infant baptism vs. Believer baptism.
    • If Jesus was speaking of water baptism, what would this have meant to Nicodemus? John’s baptism? Confusing…
    • Same problem with parallelism here: baptism and birth are not treated as parallels anywhere in Scripture. Baptism symbolizes death, burial, and resurrection.
  • “Water and the Spirit” are synonymous.
    • Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16 mention the Spirit and fire and it’s clearly synonymous. Fire = Judgment. Water = Cleansing and Purification. The Spirit is powerful!
    • Psalm 51:7-11; Ezekiel 36:25-27; 37:1014; 39:29; Isaiah 32:15; 42:1; 44:3; 61:1; Joel 2:28-29 all provide rich imagery that Nicodemus should have pictured. The New Testament speaks of this as well: Hebrews 10:22; Ephesians 5:26; 1 Corinthians 12:13 (not the outward sign, but the inward reality).
    • Water represents the inward purification and cleansing that only the Spirit can perform. Unless Ezekiel 36 happens to you, you cannot and will not be saved; you cannot and will not understand spiritual truth; you cannot and will not see or enter the kingdom of God.