A Johaninne Study (John 3:1-5)

3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

What does it mean to be born again? Nicodemus is understandably perplexed. The sarcasm is evident in his reply, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” That would be physically and biologically impossible. An adult person is proportionally too large to fit inside his mother’s womb. Even if it were possible to shrink a person, or enlarge a mother, there are other factors that make this kind of inquiry ridiculous. But Jesus isn’t talking about physical rebirth. He is talking about the doctrine called regeneration.

Wayne Grudem defines regeneration as: “A secret act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life to us; sometimes called ‘being born again’”1. In other words, it is the work of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, in creating a new heart and a new spirit within an individual. A proper description is found in Ezekiel 36:26-27:

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

The exact process in which the Holy Spirit renews us is a mystery. We do, however, know that when Jesus saves us from our sins, justifying us from the wrath of God, the Holy Spirit also regenerates our hearts. This is why Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit.” “Water” represents the cleansing power of God in salvation, while “Spirit” is indicative of the work of God in new birth. We need both to enter the kingdom of God.

Regeneration is entirely the work of God in changing our hearts, essentially rebirthing our spirit. As sinners, our hearts were hard, recalcitrant to God and his Word. Through regeneration, our hearts are softened. That means we have a new desire - God. Regeneration empowers us so that we can put our hope in him:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3)

New birth gives us a love for him. That is the wonder of regeneration! Jesus not only saves us from sin, but through the Holy Spirit, he saves us to God!

Paraphrasing, Jesus tells Nicodemus: “You think you know who God is with through signs and wonders, but you do not truly see God’s kingdom unless radical transformation happens.” Fortunately for us, radical transformation is not our burden to bear. For how could we give ourselves a second birth! But God, who is gracious, does that work for us. Radical transformation. New birth. Regeneration.