Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | John 3:5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 3:5 Jesus answered, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God. [Ezek 36:25-27] |
Subject: You have to be born of water and spirit |
Bible Note: Hi stj, Without question, this passage is one of the more difficult in the NT to understand. There a basically 4 commonly held views (noted by Hard Sayings of the Bible): 1. Water means natural birth and Spirit indicates spiritual birth. 2. Water and Spirit together indicate a cleansing and spiritual renewal. 3. Water is the baptism of John and Spirit is what comes with Jesus. 4. Water indicates the outward part of Christian baptism and Spirit the inward part. I would be more inclined to agree with view 1 as it seems to fit a more plain, straight-forward interpretation. With no malice intended, I think it far more of a stretch to accept your "opinion" that water refers to the Word. The basic reasons being, the context doesn't seem to warrant it and we have Jesus saying water when He (really) meant Word. Speaking the Truth in Love, BradK |