BORN AGAIN … such an overused and misused word in recent years. From politics to moisturizing creams to rock bands, this term with such biblical richness has become tawdry and tattered.
When Jesus spoke to the pharisee Nicodemus, telling him he must be “born again” to see the kingdom of God (John 3), Nicodemus’ response was a classic reaction to Jesus’ use of such an odd metaphor. One could picture Nicodemus raising his hand—as if in a classroom—challenging the teacher to explain such a nonsensical statement.
The Water Way or the High Way
Of course, the next verse (John 3:5) delineates what exactly he meant by the first and second births. That is, unless he is born “of water and of the spirit” is the meaning. The first birth is the natural, earthly, every day birth—the “of water” one. But it is that second birth—the “and the Spirit” birth that makes the ultimate difference.
Yes, most commentators say that “of water” refers to baptism. But this writer (and a few other commentators) feel that that puts both types of birth that Jesus refers to on one side of the comparison. Whereas, in the next verse, Jesus further separates them by saying that “that which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of Spirit is spirit.” So the previous verse would logically mean that being born of water equates with being born of flesh. Jewish rabbis and midwives even referred to natural birth as “water birth.” And he or she who is born of the Holy Spirit is “spirit,” whom Jesus goes on to describe further in the next paragraph.
Mixing Metaphors
Jesus then proceeds to connect another metaphor to the process, equating the Holy Spirit with the wind. The word “wind” itself has Old Testament roots going all the way back to the first chapters of Genesis, where God’s creative spirit was blown into a body of lifeless dust, making man a “living soul.” (Genesis 2:7) The Hebrew word is the same as that of “wind” and “spirit” and “life.” We will speak of this image in another chapter.
Along with explaining the ultimate source of new life, it is also a perfect metaphor for man’s total inability to save himself. A baby cannot give birth to itself. The infant cannot even start the process. Its very existence is dependent on its parent(s).
Best Baby Shower Gift Ever
This rebirth—what theologians refer to as regeneration—is necessary for faith itself to exist. Paul also reminds us that faith itself is a “gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8), lest we try to claim any initiative (and thus merit) on our part.
The divine “coincidence” (wink wink) that the words used in the original of our main text can be translated as “born again” and “born from above” (meaning “from God”) is another beautiful facet in this perfect metaphor of God’s grace.