What did Jesus mean?

Believing the gospel we are born of the spirit , getting baptized in Jesus name for remission of sins in water is to be born of water.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭16:15-16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

if we hear believe the gospel we’re going to hear about getting baptized in his name for remission of our sins.

This is a group who is born of spirit and water

“While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

… Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?

And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭10:44, 46-48‬ ‭KJV‬‬

One is for remission of sins in his name ( water) the other is to be born anew in the spirit

You just hit the KEY....

Born from Above was a designation of people who God caused to be born that were for Israel's benefit.

Sampson, Moses, Isaac, and etc make that list as well as Samuel.

And it's extremely foolish to NOT pay attention to the nature of their birth coming from a legalistic CASTE BASED religious society. They did...and these designations we're called "Born from Above". That's the definition of "Genethe Anothen"..."Anothen" translates as "above" everywhere but in this spot because they were forcing it to say what it doesn't say. Because they had a theology to promote. But that note exists in your Bible for a REASON. (Because it's more right)

And because people like to simply regurgitate what the preacher in the pulpit said without looking for themselves...it's been a popular warped theology that doesn't mean a darn thing.

@JaumeJ
My thought went with yours when I first read the OP.

Why water and blood I've oftened wondered but have not researched it!

do you think water baptism and spiritual baptism makes sense ? Just after John had been baptizing the people with water for repentance he said this

“I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

just after John had baptized wi the water Jesus said this to them

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3:5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

he is asked how can a man be born again after he already is born of the womb ?

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:3-4, 11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

we need to believe the gospel

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭6:63‬ ‭

to be quickened is to be made alive and active

and get baptized in his name for repentance and remission of our sins. It’s why we go beneath the water and are raised up from it it’s as if we are dying and being raised to a new life ( born again )

water baptism continued after Jesus rose up it’s what God had promised for remission of sins

I have explained it thoroughly with logic...

But regurgitation of phoney flat reading without a lick of common sense prevails.

So the Bible and scripture is a regurgitation of flat reading without common sense lol ? We should trust your logic rather than what the Bible says ?

it seems simple the Bible teaches us to believe the gospel and get baptized for remission of sins . Pretty basic common sense sometimes confuses the person who doesn’t believe what’s written

People LACK common sense!

The word provides ALL we need to know without outside interpretations as you've said @Pilgrimshope .

I do believe in water baptism as an act of obedience for didn't Jesus tell John to let it be so that all righteousness be fulfilled?

There is so very much to still LEARN in God's word.

NOT ONE OF US IS COMPLETE AS YET!

'born' and 'baptized' are two different things, folks...

"Don't mix 'em up!"

It does not say that. It says 'born'.

Yeah ..

Born of water.. at birth..

It means this because that is what Nicodemus was referring to.
So Jesus was adding to Nicodemus' saying about not being able to go back to his mother's womb.

Jesus was adding being born of the Spirit.

Not a reference to water baptism.

Water baptism is a response to having already been saved. The answer of a good conscience toward God.

I'm amazed that water baptism being attached to salvation is quite common here.

Oh well.. all sorts here eh

Thank you for all your insight on the questions. I didn't expect so many different answers. I will post all of John Chapter 3 so we will have a more broader outlook on this.
John 3

King James Version

3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.
23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.
24 For John was not yet cast into prison.
25 Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.
26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

The phrase is paralleled with the next verse, indicating it refers to natural birth, rather than a supernatural birth.
Because the Kingdom of God is pure and everything natural has been corrupted by sin. So one must be born also by the Spirit so that they can be made compatible with God's Kingdom.
Simply put, your citizenship is transferred from the kingdom of the world to the kingdom of God when you are born of Him, giving you the right to enter the kingdom with your new citizenship after death.

You are welcome! I left this page (<= link ) open all day in case I got the opportunity to share it with you


Ezekiel 36:25-26
I also updated the panel a little

What is Jesus saying to Nicodemus in John 3:8
8: The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

I agree with this part for sure.

As to being born of water meaning physical birth, I have heard that quite a bit over the years, but never agreed with it.

"Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." John 3:5

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39

In Ephesians 5:25-27 husbands are admonished to "love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless."

Water is used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit of God.

E.W. Bullinger, in Figures of Speech Used in the Bible, p. 664, says that in this context we are
dealing with a figure of speech called hendiadys, which literally indicates "one by means of two."
In a hendiadys, two words—in this case, "water" and "spirit"—are employed to get the point across,
but only one idea is intended. One of the words, "Spirit," expresses the point, but the other word,
"water," intensifies "Spirit" to the superlative degree.

It is God's Holy Spirit that is the instrument of both the cleansing and the birth of the divine nature
in us. "Water" intensifies and magnifies "Spirit" by means of the many figurative ways God's Holy Spirit
is shown working: as a means of God's light- and life-giving Word, of spiritual power, and of cleansing.
source

Water is sometimes used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
The immediate context has to be considered before we extrapolate other Scriptures. Jesus is talking about 2 births;
One is of natural origin (from below) and the other is of supernatural origin (from above).


The "and" confirms a distinction between water and the Spirit = the water is not the Spirit.
The water (of the womb) is our natural origin, but we must be born again.

I agree with much of this. I'm glad we're on the same page that every person is born of water.
However, I find difficulty adopting the hendiadys interpretation for 2 main reasons:

1. Since the surrounding context indicates a conversation about 2 births, it appears contextually inconsistent
2. Jesus' elaboration of verse 5 (in verse 6) is contrastive.

I am not completely firm on this; I am still working out my position. But currently, I believe remaining consistent with the context makes the most sense.

Personally I believe Jesus is meaning a water baptism for born of the water not what Nicodemus was saying about a rebirth through a mother. Jesus was talking about what it was going to take to enter into the kingdom of God. If this wasn't true then we would read more on the rebirth from a mother but there is no more written about it. However there is a lot written about how to be saved which I believe Jesus was talking about since salvation is all about interring ones self to Jesus's death and resurrection.

The spirit part is easy to explain. Before being saved, a human has a a spirit that is separated from and does not believe in God. When God gives his own Spirit to a person who was previously in the unsaved condition that person suddenly begins to believe in God and to call upon him and even talk with him, and to believe in God for salvation. So God gives that person a new Spirit from what they had before.

The water part is a little trickier and I will give my best opinion. The scripture says in Ephesians "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word " . In this scripture we see that water is a parable word for God's word when it says 'the washing of water by the word'. In another scripture in John we read: "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. " So it takes Jesus' speaking that we are clean from sin, washed free from the stain of sin that would have kept us unsaved, that frees us to be in his kingdom without the penalty of sin. Water, then, in the John 3:5 scripture that you are considering, is metaphor for the word of God, which is Jesus himself actually.

You might know another familiar scripture that relates to this. Mark 16 tells us "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. " Baptised in this regard does not mean dunking in physical water. Rather, baptized means to be washed free from sin. The word baptized means washed, and of course that means washed free from sin. So, who can enter into the kingdom of God? Answer: a person who has been given a new spirit by God to believe in him, and a person who God has washed free from the stain or consequences of sin.