Daily Devotional · John 3:3–8
You Must Be Born Again
Reflection
"Jesus replied, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.' 'How can someone be born when they are old?' Nicodemus asked. 'Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!' Jesus answered, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.'" Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council — a serious, educated, sincere religious man. He came to Jesus at night (perhaps to avoid public embarrassment, perhaps to have unhurried conversation), addressed Him with respect, and acknowledged the signs. Jesus did not answer his implicit question. He made a declaration: unless a person is born again, they cannot see the Kingdom. Nicodemus thought literally: can a person re-enter the womb? The misunderstanding allowed Jesus to clarify. "Born of water and the Spirit" — the two elements of the second birth. Water was associated with cleansing, with John's baptism of repentance, with the ritual washings of Jewish purification. Spirit was the principle of new life — the same Spirit that hovered over the waters at creation (Genesis 1:2). "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." Natural birth produces natural life. Spiritual birth produces spiritual life. The Kingdom requires the latter, and the latter cannot be produced by natural effort, moral improvement, or religious performance. It requires the Spirit. "The wind blows wherever it pleases... so it is with everyone born of the Spirit." The new birth is real, but its source is beyond human control or prediction. You cannot manage it; you can only receive it.
Background
The word translated "born again" (Greek: anōthen) carries a double meaning: "again" and "from above." Both meanings are intended. The new birth is both a beginning again (regeneration) and a birth from above (divine origin). The conversation with Nicodemus leads directly into John 3:16, the most quoted verse in the Bible, establishing that the new birth is made possible by the gift of the Son. Nicodemus later appeared more boldly in John 7:50–51 and 19:39.
Truth
You cannot produce your own spiritual birth. Nicodemus — with all his learning, sincerity, and religious attainment — could not generate what Jesus required. What is needed is a second birth, from above, by the Spirit. This is the great equalizer: no one earns it, no one deserves it, no one produces it. Everyone who has it received it.
Application
Have you been trying to earn or manufacture spiritual life through religious performance, moral effort, or accumulated knowledge? Today, receive the simplicity of Jesus's prescription: the new birth is the Spirit's work, available to anyone who turns to God in faith. Ask the Spirit to blow where He will, in you, today. Receive what you cannot produce.