Born Again

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

In the original Greek, the phrase ‘from above’ can be also translated as ‘again’. Hence, ‘born from above’ can also be interpreted to read ‘born again’, which is a phrase that most of us are undoubtedly familiar with. The author might have intended to convey both meanings, but this is not easily done in most languages with a single word. In any case, what does it mean to be “born again” or “born from above”?

Let me try to make this simple. To be born again implies a preceding death. You are born. You die. Then you are born again. This is not a physical rebirth, as Jesus clarifies in this passage, but a spiritual rebirth. How does this happen? Paul has the answer. “All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:3-4).

Simply speaking, being baptized means that when Jesus is crucified, we are crucified with him, our sins nailed to the cross with him. When he dies, we die with him. And when he rises to new life, we are born again with him, washed clean of our sins, with a new nature where sin no longer has power over us. 

This baptism occurs as a result of being “born of water and Spirit” as we read in today’s passage. This is one birth of water-and-Spirit, rather than “born of water and of the Spirit,” as though it meant two different births—one birth of water and one birth of the Spirit. Peter speaks about this when he advises the Jews to “repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

Jesus’s baptism provides a wonderful depiction of this. As Jesus goes down into the water and is baptized, the heavens open, and the Holy Spirit descends upon him like a dove. So when we are baptized with water — symbolizing our dying with Christ and rising with him to new life; we receive the gift of sanctifying grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (and a host of other things with it).

It’s all there in the latest issue of Cornerstone magazine. Pick up a copy today!