Let’s read the verses you are referring to. John 3:3-5 says, “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.”

In this chapter, the Lord is speaking to Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews who came to talk to Jesus. He came to the Lord at night, probably because of fear of other Pharisees knowing he was there. As a ruler (part of the Sanhedrin) he did not want others to know that he came to talk to the Lord Jesus. The Lord is open and frank with Nicodemus, telling him that although he was prominent among the people, he would need to be ‘born again’ in order to be saved. To be ‘born again’ literally means to be ‘born from above.’ Living a good and moral life, even to the point of being a religious leader is not good enough to warrant salvation. One has to experience a new life through being born again. The credentials that come with the first birth, which is the natural birth, have no bearing on being saved. It takes a new birth. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

In verse 3, the Lord tells Nicodemus that he must be born again to be able to “see the kingdom of God.” The Jews were awaiting their Messiah and thought that when He came, He would establish His kingdom on the earth, a kingdom that everyone would see. The Lord explain to Nicodemus that if he did not have this new life through faith in Christ Jesus, you would not even be able to SEE God’s kingdom. This gives the thought of not being able to be in God’s kingdom to see and experience its wonderful blessings.

This concept of ‘new birth’ confused Nicodemus. He has a hard time considering anything but a natural birth. He asks the Lord in verse 4, “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” At this point, he doesn’t realize the Lord is speaking of a spiritual birth, not a physical birth. So, it is in verse 5 that the Lord expounds on what He had said in verse 3.

The Lord, in verse 5, tells Nicodemus, “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.” You can see, that as the Lord explains what it means to be born again, he points out that this new birth must be accomplished by a person being “born of water and of the Spirit.” What does this mean? Quite simply it shows that new birth comes through being born “of water and of the Spirit.” Water, on this occasion refers to the ‘Word of God’, the Bible. We read in Ephesians 5:25-26, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the WASHING OF WATER BY THE WORD.” We read in 1 Peter 1:23, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by THE WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth for ever.” Being born again of the Spirit speaks of the action of the Holy Spirit to work in a person’s heart to convince that person of the need of salvation and the faith needed to be saved. Later, the Lord Jesus would say to His disciples concerning the Holy Spirit in John 16:7-8, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” So, through being born again, Nicodemus could enter into the kingdom of God. My dear friend, have you been born again by putting your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation? I trust you have. (252.2)