Keystone Christian Reading Room

Born from Above

by William Vaught

June 1995

Born again; anew; from above, from the top. Born of water and spirit.

There was one of the Pharisees, a man named Nicodemus, ruler of the Jews.

Nicodemus like others, had been impressed by the signs he saw without realizing their deeper significance, but there was in him a sincere willingness to learn from Jesus - and Jesus responded to his sincerity by "entrusting himself" to him.

This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you have come as a teacher from God; no one can do these signs which you do, unless God is with him."

Nicodemus may have been deficient in comprehension, but at least he wasn't blinded by bigotry, like the religious leaders whose reaction to the words and works of Jesus was to call him demon possessed. (See John 8.48,52; Mark 3.22 and verses following.) Even if Nicodemus didn't grasp the significance of the signs, he recognized by their character that only God could have wrought them. His conclusions were valid as far as they went, but they didn't go far enough - for Jesus is more than a teacher - a "Rabbi". Jesus saw beyond the words of greeting to the state of Nicodemus' inner man, and answered him in words which, baffling and unintelligible as Nicodemus found them, were carefully calculated to speak directly to the turmoil within.

Jesus answered him, 'Indeed and in truth I tell you, unless one is born from above*, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'

*gennhqh anwqen - literally, from the top.

The abruptness here is probably just as it happened, not a summary as so many conversations recorded in the gospels are. Whatever Nicodemus expected from the "Rabbi", he surely wasn't prepared for the words he heard, introduced by a double "Amen" as they were.

Jesus speaks of a regeneration, a new birth, (from above or again; take your choice) to be experienced here and now. To be born from "above" or "anew" or "again" (Greek 'anothen') in the sense in which they are here used is to be "born from God" - and in the same sense as John 1.13 - to enter immediately into the life of God's family. Remember - Nicodemus hadn't read the prologue to John's gospel so he knew nothing of this -: hence his bewildered reply:

Nicodemus says to him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter into his mother's womb and second time and be born?'

Quite often in the conversations recorded in John's gospel, Jesus makes a statement which is misunderstood; the expressed misunderstanding then gives Him the opening He desired for unfolding His meaning plainly. On this occasion, had Jesus been talking of proselytes from paganism, Nicodemus would have understood him easily - but Nicodemus rightly understood that the enigmatic words were intended to apply to himself. He just didn't understand Jesus' insistence on a new birth so Jesus repeated his statement in different terms.

Jesus answered, 'Indeed and in truth I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'

There is no difference between being born anew (or from above or the top) and being born of water and Spirit. The latter echoes Old Testament phraseology and may have been calculated to ring a bell in Nicodemus' mind. He may have recalled that God promised to give Israel a new nature: "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean..., and a new spirit I will put within you" (Ezekiel 36,25 f.) This 'new spirit' is God's Own Spirit: "I will put my Spirit within you" (Ezekiel 36.27).

The cleansing water of Ezekiel 36.25 was envoked by Hebrews as biblical authority for baptism of proselytes. John called on his hearers, true Israelites, to enter into the repentant and believing remnant of Israel by accepting baptism. BUT, he pointed out that while he baptized in water another would come after him and baptize with the Holy Spirit.

"of water and spirit" not "of the water and the spirit". This is a figure of speech named hendiadys, NOT two things but one, by which the latter noun becomes a superlative emphatic adjective, determining the meaning and the nature of the former noun, showing that one to be spiritual water, i.e., not water but spirit. It is better rendered, "of water - yes! spiritual water."

The Kingdom of God is a spiritual realm that can be entered only by spiritual rebirth - water and spirit, - i.e. the Word of God is the "baptism" into which the believer is immersed.