Brief insight into John 3:3-8
John 3:5: Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no
one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and
the Spirit."
This
is one verse in the Bible that has been widely used to mean what I
think it should not mean. Most preachers, including myself have
applied John 3:5 to encourage people to consider baptism of water
urgently.
In
my former church and many others, any time we would be preparing for
baptism, John 3:5 become vital to make people see how helpless and
lost they would be without water baptism. Over time, I knew that I
had no chance if I die before I could be baptized. This feeling was
prompted by what I today call clear misunderstanding of John
3:5.
Moreover, my dad's denomination, where I was brought up as a child,
believed in baptismal regeneration.
The
denomination believed in infant baptism, and I was one “lucky”
child to go through that – mainly by sprinkling and not immersion.
They believed that if a child dies before baptism, he or she is lost.
This practice extended to some level to help people "get tickets
to heaven". According to the denomination (Dini ya Roho), if
someone was evangelized on his deathbed, he or she would be urged to
allow the Church to baptize him through sprinkling to give them
assurance for heavenly security. This kind of doctrinal misuse
generates serious issues. I am not sure we need to get into these
issues now. Lets go into the main agenda.
I
believe that John
3:5
should be read in context and interpreted within the same context. I
am not an authority in bible exegesis, hermeneutics and homiletics
and all the “tics” through academia, but by the virtue of being a
believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I have an authority to read and
attempt to interpret the bible correctly and also to convey the same
information accurately. For this reason, I will start by saying that
this verse does not speak about baptism of water or baptismal
regeneration.
To
many in charismatic cycles, this verse is clearly a call for the new
believer to go under water with clear urgency. Now the challenge is
whether this verse communicate about baptism. Does it really say that
if one is not baptized with water, then they cannot see the Kingdom
of God? I clearly disagree with any view that alludes to that.
NB:
Remember that I believe in baptism as one vital ordinance that the
Christians must observe just like the Holy Communion is another
ordinance for the church.
An
attempt to interpret John 3:3-8
Now,
we should start looking at this verse 5 from the context of the
dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus. Starting from the main
character, Nicodemus,we can say that his need here was not baptism
but salvation. However, he had not realized that his need was major.
Nicodemus visited Jesus with the outward desire to associate with Him
– the Good Man from above. This seemed almost political and not
genuine. Jesus had more in store for him, than simply what he thought
was important – association.
In
the process of discussion with the Lord, Nicodemus discovered that he
needed to understand more things. In verse 3, Jesus answers Nicodemus
question by saying to him “Very truly I tell you, no one can see
the kingdom of God unless they are born again”. This seems to be
the main point of the passage. Jesus is talking about being born
again and this happens through water and the Spirit.
As
to give further insight into what He meant, Jesus is telling
Nicodemus in verse 6 that “flesh gives birth to flesh, but Spirit
gives birth to Spirit”. This according to my understanding mean
that the first birth is through the flesh. A husband and wife comes
together and a child is born through flesh, and the result is flesh.
The second birth, cannot happen through man's effort or decision but
by the Spirit. The children born of the Spirit are Spiritual children. This is a condition for entering the Kingdom of God.
As
an emphasis, Jesus tells Nicodemus not be surprised at His saying,
that he must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God (verse 7). It
seems to me that this has a lot to do with faith. Jesus is telling
Nicodemus, that he must believe and there is no excuse about it if you
want to enter the Kingdom of God. He also reminds Nicodemus, that you
have to depend on the Spirit for the rebirth to be effected.
Jesus
compares the Spirit to the wind. The wind blows and no one knows
where it comes or where it goes. I know that scientist may have a
different view, but remember that wind vane simply tells
instantaneous directions and not the overall direction of the wind.
And the scientist can also create artificial wind, but here is
natural wind Jesus is referring to.
The Spirit of God makes the decision like that of the wind in that, His
decision is not prompted by anyone but He simply decides both to whom
and where the rebirth takes place. Jesus seems to be saying to him
that a man must surrender to the work of the Spirit to take effect.
He tells Nicodemus that this is the same thing in his case, and that
he must be born again.
Everyone
born of the Spirit find themselves born and cannot decide how when
and where. This is like the wind that blows and no one can tell where
it is coming or going. Jesus explains that one born of the Spirit is
the decision and act of the Spirit Himself.
What
we should ask ourselves is what “water” means in this passage. I
will explain this in my next article.
In this introductory part, I want to mention a few things to help us
see why I believe it is not ordinary water. If we think again about
the verse, it says, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the
Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit”.
Entering
the Kingdom of God seems tied to being born again of water and
Spirit. If we claim that it is about baptism, it means that without
it, you are not able to enter the Kingdom of God even though you are
a believer. In other words, anyone who believes but dies before
baptism will not be present in Kingdom of God to enjoy fellowship
with the Father. Your faith is null and void without baptism? This is
fault.
Why
I hold that water baptism is not a requirement to enter the Kingdom
of God
The
truth is that “salvation is by faith alone and not by works so
that no one can boast” Ephesians
2:8-9. The requirement for one to enter the Kingdom of God is to
be saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (be born again). This is
not through baptism but through water and the Spirit of God.
I
hold that baptism is vital, but as a demonstration or public
declaration that you have now abandoned your old ways and are
committing to follow the Lord. It symbolizes dying with Christ and
rising again with Him a new creature. This declaration cannot be
done by anyone who has not chosen to follow Christ. Children cannot
decide and are hence exempted from this requirement until they are
of age and believe in the Lord.
John
5:24
says that “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and
believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but
has crossed over from death to life". This and many other
verses will make us to see why salvation has nothing to do with
baptism. Baptism is a factor of salvation, but salvation is not a
factor of baptism. If you have believed, you can knowingly
demonstrate your faith publicly through baptism.
-
Think
about the thief on the cross with Jesus in Luke 23: 43 (….......
“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”). He
was promised paradise after acknowledging his sins and recognizing
the sinlessness of Jesus Christ and the unjust punishment that the
Jews subjected him. Was Jesus telling this man the truth or not?
Where was he baptized? If no then can we still hold John 3:5 to be
talking about baptismal regeneration? I believe that Jesus cannot
lie and hence this man indeed met him in paradise.
I thank God for giving me an opportunity to share this. To God be the Glory.
Amen
Look out for more on this and what "water" here and in other verses mean.
Your comments and insights are highly welcome.
