So…You’re ‘Born- again’… So what???
John 3
King James Version
(KJV)
3 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.
Born:
1.
a. Brought into life by birth.
b. Brought into existence; created: A new
nation was born with the revolution.
See:
1.
To perceive with the eye.
2.
a.
To apprehend as if with the eye.
b. To detect by means
analogous to use of the eye: an electronic surveillance camera that saw the
activity in the embassy yard.
3. To understand;
comprehend: I see your point.
4. To know through
firsthand experience; undergo: "He saw some service on the king's
side"
Enter:
1.
To come or go into: The train
entered the tunnel.
2.
To penetrate; pierce: The bullet entered the victim's skull.
3.
To introduce; insert: She entered the probe into the patient's artery.
4.
a. To become a
participant, member, or part of; join: too old to enter the army; entered the discussion
at a crucial moment.
b. To gain admission to (a
school, for example).
5. To cause to become a
participant, member, or part of; enroll: entered the children in private school; entered
dahlias in a flower show.
6. To embark on; begin:
With Sputnik, the Soviet Union entered the space age.
7. To make a beginning in;
take up: entered medicine.
8. To write or put in:
entered our names in the guest book; enters the data into the computer.
9. To place formally on
record; submit: enter a plea of innocence; enter a complaint.
10. To go to or occupy
in order to claim possession of (land).
11. To participate in;
take an active role or interest in: enter into politics; enter into negotiations.
2. To become party to (a
contract): The nations entered into a trade agreement.
3. To become a component
of; form a part of: Financial matters entered into the discussion.
4. To consider;
investigate: The report entered into the effect of high interest rates on the
market.
3. To take possession
of: She
entered upon the estate of her uncle.
From the above, we can then say:
Jesus answered and said unto him,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be Brought into life again,
he cannot perceive the kingdom of God.
Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be brought into life of
water (The Word) and of the Spirit, he cannot participate in; take an
active role or interest in, or take possession of the
kingdom of God.
Romans 12: 2
Galatians 4:4
Now I say, That the heir,
as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord
of all;
Ephesians
5:26
King James Version
(KJV)
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word,
Reformation
Study Bible
Born of water and the Spirit. Some suggest that the “water” is the release of fluid that
accompanies physical birth, but linguistic considerations point to
understanding “water” and “Spirit” as referring to a single spiritual birth.
Many interpreters understand “water” here as the water of baptism, but such a
reference, before Christian baptism was instituted, would have been meaningless
to Nicodemus. Others find a reference to John’s baptism, but Jesus nowhere
makes John’s baptism a requirement for salvation. Probably the statement refers
to Old Testament passages in which the terms “water” and “Spirit” are linked to
express the pouring out of God’s Spirit in the end times (Is. 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 36:25–27). The presence of such rich Old
Testament imagery accounts for Jesus’ reproof of Nicodemus (v. 10): as a
“teacher of Israel,” he should have understood.
Generously provided by Ligonier Ministries
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