Born of Water and of the Spirit - Part 1 (Water)

Rev. Enoch Thompson | February 15, 2024 | John 3:1-8

KEY VERSE:

"I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”  John 3:5 (NIV)

MESSAGE:

The Lord Jesus Christ opens further the concept of being born again to the yearning, questioning Nicodemus. The Lord first asserts the necessity of the new birth; “Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” John 3:5 (NIV). The condition is that no one, but no one, can become a Kingdom citizen unless they are born again. What does it mean to be born again, then?

The Lord proceeds to explain what the new birth is. To be born again is to undergo a life-transforming spiritual experience based on belief in the person and the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This experience makes us a new people with a new standing before God. This experience comes about by the influences of the Word of God and of the Spirit of God- born of water and of the Spirt. It is important to know that the water indicated here is not the water of baptism but the water of the revealed written Word of God, coming to the human person, through preaching, teaching, writing, music or whatever form that God chooses to communicate it.

We get clarification of the water the Lord was referring to from further teaching as contained in the following verses: ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, Eph 5:25-26 (NIV).

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23 (NIV).

We are not born again because we get baptized in water, we get baptized in water to testify that we are born again in the spirit!

FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE:

Are you reading the Bible, to lead you to Christ, or if in Christ already studying the Bible to help you grow into becoming more and more like Him?

PRAYER:

Lord, please help me to live under the influence of your revealed Word, and to be changed more and more to live the new life. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen.

THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING.

SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

---

DAILY word study: WATER

The word translated as "water" in John 3:5, is "ὕδατος" (hydatos), which refers to literal water. However, in this context, Jesus is likely using water as a symbol of purification or cleansing, representing the repentance and purification that accompany spiritual rebirth.

Throughout the Bible, water is often used symbolically to represent cleansing, purification, and renewal. For example: In Ezekiel 36:25-26, God promises, "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you..." In Ephesians 5:26, Paul writes about Christ's love for the church, "to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word."

In John 4:14, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well, "But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."In Acts 22:16, Ananias instructs Saul (later known as Paul) to "get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name."

Jesus' statement about being born of water and the Spirit emphasizes the dual nature of spiritual rebirth. Just as water cleanses and purifies, the Holy Spirit brings about inner renewal and transformation. Together, they symbolize the complete regeneration that occurs when a person surrenders to God and experiences new life in Christ.

Reflections

Reflect on your own experience of spiritual rebirth. How has God used both the cleansing power of His Word and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit to bring about renewal and growth in your life?