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One thing is clear. Nicodemus was not blinded by prejudice as were other members
of the Sanhedrin. He was a sincere seeker for truth and this is an absolute essential if
anyone is ever coming to a knowledge of God and the truth of His Word. He said to
Christ, "no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with
him" (3: 2). Although he as a leading teacher in Israel, he addressed Christ as an equal
with the title "Rabbi", which was a mark of respect, coming from him.
"In reply Jesus declared, `I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again he cannot see
the kingdom of God'." (3: 3).
The solemn importance of this statement is emphasized by the double Amen (verily,
verily) with which it begins. The word "again" is the Greek anothen, which is translated
"above" in 3: 31 and 19: 11. This birth is not a physical or earthly one, but one from
heaven. In other words it is spiritual. Nicodemus missed the point and took the Lord's
words to refer to physical birth (3: 4). The Lord therefore had to repeat His statement,
but express it in a different way. Again He uses the double Amen (truly, truly) and says:
"I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
Kingdom of God" (3: 5).
The doctrine of the new birth was not a new revelation; it belongs to the O.T. and as a
teacher, Nicodemus should have known this. He should have gathered the necessity of
the spiritual begetting from Ezek. 11: 19, 20:
"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from
them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow My
decrees and be careful to keep My laws. They will be My people and I will be their
God."
Without this new spirit, no man of Israel could "see" or "enter" the kingdom of God.
God said "I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean . . . . . and a new
spirit I will put within you". This was amplified in the vision of the valley of dry bones
who needed the breath of God to bring them to life (Ezek. 37: 9) and it should be
remembered that the noun, whether in Hebrew or Greek, can mean "breath", "wind" or
"spirit" according to the context. The linking of water and spirit should make us careful
in our interpretation, bearing in mind that this Gospel speaks of "living water" (4: 10,
13, 14 & 7: 38) and in the context we are considering it is the word spirit that is being
emphasized as can be seen by reading the next verse. Instead of translating pneuma
`wind', it can be rendered spirit, and then we have:
"The Spirit breathes where He wills and you hear His voice, but you do not know
where He comes or whither He goes: thus is everyone who has been begotten of the
Spirit."
It is not the symbol that is important. It is what the symbol represents, the work of the
Holy Spirit. The Word of God nowhere teaches that literal water can bring spiritual life,
and to read water regeneration into these verses is to miss the way completely.
Nicodemus could well understand that a proselyte from paganism would need a new
birth. As a matter of fact such were regarded as new-born children by the Jews. But he