5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and 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. Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'
Understanding What It Means to Be Born of Water and the Spirit
In Part One we discovered that “born again” is best understood as “born from above,” because although anōthen can mean again or from above, John consistently uses it to mean “from above” in his Gospel. But whether we say born again or born from above, we still must answer two essential questions: What does it mean? And how can we know a spiritual birth has truly taken place in us?
As always, scripture itself will answer these questions. One of my favorite principles in Bible study is “scripture for scripture” — letting the Word interpret the Word. This simply means using parallel passages to enlighten us to the passage we are studying. And in this case, “water” and “Spirit” are foundational to scripture. As such, they are foundational to understanding what Jesus meant when He said, “Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Before answering what it means to be born again, we must know how to get to a place in natural life to be born again. Jesus answers this when He tells Nicodemus, “a man must be born of water and the Spirit.” So let us begin with water.
The Three Theories About What “Born of Water” Means
There are three major theological theories about what Jesus meant when he said a person must be born of water.
One theory suggests that Jesus is referring to natural birth and amniotic fluid. However, nothing in Jesus’ words points to natural childbirth. Other than Nicodemus mentioning the womb, natural childbirth isn’t a part of the discussion. Plus historically, the ancients did not make reference to water when speaking of pregnancy or childbirth. And no where in the Bible is water used that way.
Another theory claims that “born of water” is referring to baptism. Although based on certain theological traditions, it does not fit the context of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. This is because at the time, the baptisms John was performing were for repentance of sins. Unlike Christian baptisms that symbolize being united with Christ in His death and being raised with Him — a picture of new birth. But Christian baptisms had not been established at the time Jesus was speaking with Nicodemus about being born again.
The Biblical View: Water as Cleansing and Spirit as Regeneration
A final theory is not only rooted in theology — it is rooted in Scripture itself. This view holds that Jesus was referring directly to Ezekial 36:25-27, a prophecy that addresses both water and the Spirit in the context of God’s promised work of renewal. Through the prophet Ezekial, God says to the house of Israel:
“25 I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.
As I pointed out in Part One, Nicodemus — a teacher of Israel — should have immediately recognized this passage. Jesus was not introducing Nicodemus to a new concept, he was directing him back to a prophecy he was no doubt familiar with. He should have realized that Jesus was using water symbolically to express the cleansing and washing away of unrighteousness in the life of the sinner — because the unrighteous cannot enter the kingdom of God. He should have also recognized that the Spirit refers to God’s Spirit doing the work of inward renewal, giving a new heart, and the ability to be obedient to God.
How the New Testament Clarifies the Meaning of “Born of Water”
For the New Testament Christian, the meaning of “born of water” becomes clearer when we read just one chapter further. In John 4:10 after asking the Samaritan woman at the well for a drink, Jesus says to her:
“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
Just as Nicodemus was confused by Jesus’ words, so was the Samaritan woman. But Jesus did not rebuke her because, she did not have expert knowledge of the Torah or the prophets — unlike Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel who should have known the Scriptures. Instead, He explains what He means by “living water.” In John 4:14 He says:
“but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.”
Just as the Father had done in Ezekial 36 to describe cleansing and renewal of the house of Israel, the Son also uses water symbolically with the Samaritan woman to describe the life-giving, cleansing work that leads to eternal life. Parallel Scriptures where water represents: cleansing, renewal, and the removal of unrighteousness. The very process Jesus explained to Nicodemus as being necessary to enter the kingdom of God.
How the Spirit Gives New Life to the Believer
It is the Holy Spirit that performs the work of regeneration — giving the believer a spiritual heart, and making them a new creation. No apostle speaks more boldly about the Spirit’s work than Paul.
In 1 Corinthians 3:16 he reminds us:
“Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
And in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) he declares:
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin and leads us to repentance. He holds a mirror to our lives, exposing our once ignored ungodliness. He gives us the desire to be obedient to God and restrains language, habits, and desires that once separated us from God. This is the work of regeneration — a transformation that begins in our spirit and renews our soul, making us a new creation from the inside out.
Jesus Will Know IF You’re Born Again
Jesus was explaining to Nicodemus that his knowledge of the Scriptures — even his position as a teacher in the synagogue — would not give him entrance to the kingdom of Heaven. And today, there are many modern-day Nicodemuses on both sides of the pulpit.
Faith is not inherited from parents or guardians. Even if they’ve had you baptized when you were a child, that does not mean you were born again. Church attendance, religious activity, and the ability to quote Scriptures does not create a relationship with God. Tradition cannot purify the heart. Memorization cannot cleanse the soul. And outward religion cannot produce inward regeneration.
Jesus says something in Matthew 7:23 that is bluntly unmistakable and cannot be misunderstood. His words strike the core of every believers faith and obedience, leaving no doubt that only those who are truly born again will enter the kingdom of God.
Jesus declares in Matthew 7:23:
“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!“
Born again does not mean without sin, but the born again believer no longer makes a practice of sin. Their life is no longer characterized by rebellion, but by a desire to be obedient.
You Will Know IF You’re Born Again
Jesus understands the true nature of a persons heart. When He quoted Isaiah in Matthew 15:8, He said, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” He was exposing a timeless truth: expressions of religion can imitate faith.
Accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior has to be believed with the whole heart — not merely spoken with the lips. Only then does God send His Spirit to begin the work of regeneration. And once that work begins, the believer will notice subtle, but unmistakable changes: desires shift, habits become easier to break while losing their grip, and ungodly people will fall away — often without any conscious effort.
These changes are not self-improvement; they are the evidence of a spiritual birth. Spiritual birth rarely hits with a bang — the celebration happens in Heaven. Jesus tells us in Luke 15:10: “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” When the Spirit regenerates a person, Heaven rejoices, even if the believer themselves feels the change subtly at first.
In the end, Jesus’ words to Nicodemus and to the Samaritan woman at the well unite into a single truth: spiritual birth is God’s cleansing and His Spirit making us new and acceptable for the kingdom of God — and those who are born again from above will bear evidence of it.