"There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 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. 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. 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? 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. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Today's lesson is a very important one and when correctly understood, it refutes some scriptural misconceptions that are used as a foundation for the tenets of many erroneous religious isms.
When Jesus saw that Nicodemus was puzzled by His actions, Jesus told him, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Jesus explained to Nicodemus that until His soul had been saved and transformed by undergoing a spiritual rebirth, he would not be able to enter into the "kingdom of God". In other words, Nicodemus would not be saved from eternal death and hell until his spirit had been transformed by the rebirth brought about by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Himself.
Not understanding what Jesus meant by being "born again", Nicodemus asked Jesus to explain. Jesus went further to say; "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
As we study the rest of this encounter between Nicodemus and Jesus in the coming days, we should note that Jesus, by making the point made in the last verse of this quote, makes it very clear that He is speaking of only two births not three, the natural birth, "that which is born of the flesh" and the spiritual birth, "that which is born of the spirit".
When, in today's quote, Jesus said; "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.", the "water' birth Jesus referenced is clearly the birth of the flesh and has nothing to do with water baptism.
Note that Jesus NEVER made reference to three births, only two. If His use of the phrase "born of water" had implied a water baptism, He would have of a necessity told Nicodemus he must be born three times, one: Birth of the flesh. Two: Born of water. Three Born of the spirit.
Water baptism is by no stretch of the imagination, implied in what Jesus said in today's quote. Keep this in mind as we continue this lesson tomorrow.~
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