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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: does one need to be baptised to be saved |
Bible Note: Thank you, Tim. It is beneficial to wrestle with the Word along with other believers. I tend to get impatient with opinion spouting, but probably because I tend to do that myself from time to time! But contending over scripture has its own rewards. I appreciate the spirit in which you posed your comments. I'm sure you noted I was speaking broadly, trying to account for the most common orthodox protestant perspective in answering Toeknee's question. Now, switching to my personal perspective (which holds no great authority), I will write on my own behalf, giving account only for my own conclusions: At one time I used the interpretation that you mention. It does, indeed, seem to "flow" (sorry, I like the pun) that way in the rest of the passage. I began to doubt, however, when I realized that if "born of water" is a figure of speech that Christ is using for natural birth, then it stands alone both in scripture and secular writings. Not that this might alone be sufficient to discount the possibility. However, it is sufficient to send a person searching the scripture. I began to suspect it might mean baptism, after all, because of the various passages where the apostles advocated baptism for the newly saved (Acts 2:38, 2:41, 8:12-13, 8:36, 38, 9:18, 10:47-48, 16:15, 33, 18:8, 22:16, Gal 3:27). Jesus is, after all, pretty explicit in Mark 16:16. Nevertheless, as you also suggest, how could Christ be talking about the ordinance of baptism at this point in His ministry? Not that baptism would have been a foreign concept to Nicodemon ben Gorion. Baptism had long been used by Jews as a symbolic cleansing for proselytes. In fact, that was largely the point of John the Baptist -- something not lost upon the Jews -- for by requiring baptism he was stating, "You Jews have disobeyed the Covenant to the extent that you are no longer the children of Abraham, you have become Gentiles to be treated as repenting proselytes!" It was then, however, that I discovered the connection of "living water" between John 4 and Isaiah 12:3. This, in turn, caused me to look at the use of water and washing in scripture and its connection to regeneration. Note the following scriptures: Ephesians 5:26, Titus 3:5, 1 Corinthians 6:11, John 13:10. Finally, I considered Ezekiel 36;25-27, where Ezekiel predicts salvation, bringing the element of water together with the Spirit in this awesome work of God. Albert Barnes (1798-1870) commenting on Matthew 3:11 "By this is clearly intended that the heart must be changed by the agency of the Holy Spirit; that the love of sin must be abandoned; that man must repent of crime and turn to God; that he must renounce all his evil propensities, and give himself to a life of prayer and holiness, of meekness, purity, and benevolence. This great change is in the Scripture ascribed uniformly to the Holy Spirit," Thus, this passage of John 3:5 harmonizes better with the rest of scripture if the water mentioned here, in conjunction with the activity of the Holy Spirit, is speaking of the entire work of regeneration. This would fit also with John 6:6, as John is careful to show us that we are not saved by the will of man, but by the divine will of God, in accordance to His eternal purpose. It also makes wonderful sense when the use of water is taken in context by Nicodemus' activities in the temple. Thank you, Tim, for letting me pontificate. :-) I just have to include the words of this hymn by William Cowper: The Lord proclaims His grace abroad! “Behold, I change your hearts of stone; Each shall renounce his idol-god, And serve, henceforth, the Lord alone. “My grace, a flowing stream, proceeds To wash your filthiness away; Ye shall abhor your former deeds, And learn my statutes to obey. “My truth the great design ensures, I give myself away to you; You shall be mine, I will be yours, Your God unalterably true. “Yet not unsought, or unimplored, The plenteous grace I shall confer; No—your whole hearts shall seek the Lord, I’ll put a praying spirit there. “From the first breath of life divine Down to the last expiring hour, The gracious work shall all be mine, Begun and ended in my power.” |