Water and Baptism?

[Edwin]

I would like to know just what your understanding of "water" is in the verse below.

 

Jhn 3:5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 

 

Thank you.

 

Edwin.

[Guest man]

 

I would like to know just what your understanding of "water" is in the verse below.

 

Jhn 3:5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 

 

 

John 4

13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,

14 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."

[missmuffet]

That is the Holy Spirit.

[other one]

I would like to know just what your understanding of "water" is in the verse below.

 

Jhn 3:5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 

 

Thank you.

 

Edwin.

it is my understanding that born of water is physical birth and of the Spirit would be the rebirth through the Holy Spirit.   Natural birth is literally being born of water.

[Edwin]

Thank you other one for your comments.

 

You confirm what I already believe.

 

Bless you.

 

Edwin.

[Reformed Baptist]

John 3:5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ( NKJ)

 

I don't think you can bifurcate "water" and "Spirit" in such a fashion to suggest that Jesus is referring to two different births. My reasons for this are as follows.

 

1) It is redundant statement, of course ones needs to be born before one can be born again. It didn't need to be said. 

 

2) "water" and "Spirit" are used conjuctively in 3:5, however in 3:6 "Spirit" and "flesh" are used disjuntively, accordingly "water" and "flesh" cannot be equated, therefore there is no reference to physical birth in Jesus' words. 

 

The best way to understand what Jesus is saying is to understand that being born of water and the Spirit is a reference to only one birth - the new birth. It is offered by Jesus in a direct rebuttal of Nicodemus' obtuse line of reasoning. Following the context, Nicodemus has come to Jesus with an agenda. He begins his carefully prepared speech, and Jesus abruptly (and rudely) cuts him off, by telling him to forget his agenda and be born again. In response the teacher of the Jews resorts to a rhetorical trick of mocking Jesus' words, in response Jesus basically says, 'it doesn't matter what you think, you need to be born again'  

[Montana Marv]

Born of water is our physical birth, identifies us as the descendants of Adam.   For this statement rules out angels being part of the body of Christ.

 

Born of the Spirit is our Spiritual birth, identifies us with Christ.

 

In Christ

Montana Marv

[Reformed Baptist]

Born of water is our physical birth, identifies us as the descendants of Adam.   For this statement rules out angels being part of the body of Christ.

Whilst it is true that angels cannot be part of the body of Christ doesn't seem a little strange to you that Jesus would be ruling out the angels from being born again in a conversation that is nothing to do with angels being born again? 

 

Now where else do we read of being born of water in the bible as a reference to physical birth. 

 

Again this is redundant if this is what Jesus was saying, for he would be saying things that Nicodemus already new. 

 

Born of the Spirit is our Spiritual birth, identifies us with Christ.

 

Yes Spiritual birth is a work of the Spirit, but it is not a work of the Spirit that is performed in a vacuum, instead it is a work that is performed through the word of God. My point here being that one does not need to isolate being born of the Spirit to be theologically correct. Going back to my previous post I have demonstrated why we should take this whole phrase 'being born of water and the Spirit' to refer to the spiritual rebirth. To put what i said before in more simple terms if Jesus was referring to two separate births then he would, most likely' have said, "one must be born of water and one must be born of the Spirit." but he didn't, he said we must be born "of water and Spirit" - Think for a moment of other places in scripture where we have two nouns used in a similar fashion - do we bifurcate them, for example, Titus 2:13, where we read that Jesus is God and saviour - if we don't do it there, why would we do it here in this text?

[Butch5]

I would like to know just what your understanding of "water" is in the verse below.

 

Jhn 3:5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 

 

Thank you.

 

Edwin.

It's water

[gdemoss]

Jesus came not to baptize nor did he send Paul to do so.  Jesus turned water into wine.  John baptized with water as did Jesus' disciples.  John refused those who did not come with fruit meet unto repentance.  Water is the most critical element in the process of conversion.  Naaman was told he must dip in the Jordan seven times to be healed of his leprosy.  Water symbolized our desire to be cleansed and return unto God.  My baptism was a sign of my willingness to follow Christ as he was first baptized before me though he needed it not.  As had happened to some in the bible my water baptism came after the spirit fell upon me and I first spoke with my tongue professing Jesus to be Christ the son of the living God but it is not always so.  Some are processed quite the opposite.  They go to church.  They get baptized.  They go through the motions but then one day the spirit falls upon them and they are suddenly on fire like never before.  Unfortunately many of our brethren are never taught that the Spirit of Christ is what we truly seek to have in us.  Many who are moved powerfully by the spirit at some point fall due to sin and selfish desire but never restored to their proper place through repentance and confession followed by amends making.  Instead they become the walking dead of Christendom.

 

It is all about being washed in the Water of the Word.  There is nothing like the feeling of getting out of a fresh bath or shower when one feels clean.  There is nothing that compares to a baptism or immersion in the Water of Gods Word to give you that oh so fresh feeling all over again.  Moisture to the dry bones.  I bathe regularly  Peace unto all who are washed though they were once filthy.  No rest unto those who were washed but wallow again in the mud as do pigs.  That is the declaration of the word of God.  And God I know what it is like to go swimming back in the muddy water of despair!  Does anybody want to be Gods Water Boy?