3 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.
4 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?
5 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.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.’
4 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?
5 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.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.’
Born again, born again, born again... Jesus said in verse 3 that no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. Think about it. He is teaching that a man can’t even SEE the kingdom of God unless he is first born again. Being born again precedes seeing the kingdom of God. If a man can’t see (or understand, John 8:43) the kingdom of God, how can he make a “decision” to enter into it by “accepting” Jesus? Answer - He can’t, and he won’t (John 3:20).
The following paragraph is from The Sovereign Grace of God by Dr. James White:
Being born of the water and Spirit must be understood in the light of the words of Ezekiel 36:25-27 and Titus 3:5-7, both of which inform us that “water” refers to the cleansing work of God by His Spirit. The words of Christ inform us that we are in need of a spiritual birth. This is perfectly in line with what Paul taught about our spiritual deadness. We must be changed - reborn - BEFORE we can enter in the kingdom of God. But this spiritual birth does not come as a result of human actions, but must precede those actions. Babies do not “cause” themselves to be born by doing this or that; babies do what babies do as a RESULT of their birth.
We aren’t “born again” as the result of something we did (2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 3:5) - just as God chose Jacob over Esau, NOT BECAUSE OF ANYTHING EITHER OF THEM DID, but because of whom God had already chosen (Romans 9:11). Verse 6, flesh gives birth to flesh and the flesh is the only thing a lost man has, his spirit is DEAD (Ephesians 2:1, 2:5, Colossians 2:13). So anything he does in the flesh is not pleasing to God (Romans 8:8) and simply gives birth to more flesh. If a lost man believes, it is as vain as the belief the demons have (James 2:19, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2) because it is from himself, and not from God. God is the only source of saving belief (John 6:29, Philippians 1:29).
In verse 6 Jesus also tells us why, from the moment of conception, the spirit of a human being is dead. Flesh gives birth to flesh. There is no Scriptural evidence to support the theory the spirit of every unborn child is living and then after the child is born, dies upon the commission of his first sin. Are there exceptions? Does the Bible give any examples? Maybe. I believe the spirit of John the Baptist had been quickened at some point before Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting which caused John to leap in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:41). But the point is his spirit was quickened by God without John having to DO something first, whether God quickened his spirit at conception or simultaneously upon Elizabeth hearing Mary's greeting. God had a plan for John’s life and at what exact point in his life his spirit was quickened was simply part of that plan (Psalm 57:2, Psalm 138:8, Revelation 17:17). But it is ludicrous and without Biblical support to say that every unborn child has been quickened, then dies when he commits his first sin, and then is quickened again when he “accepts Jesus.”
Because God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), at a time of His choosing God quickens our dead spirit; THEN we believe, THEN we understand, THEN we repent, THEN we profess Christ, THEN we see the Kingdom of God, THEN we enter the Kingdom of God. These things we do are a RESULT of God saving us, not the cause. Seeing and entering the kingdom of God are done AFTER God sovereignly acts in our lives and saves us.
Please consider the following information as well. The vast majority of the times the Greek word kai is used it is used as a simple conjunction “and” as in verse 5 “...water and the Spirit.” However, kai can also mean “indeed.” I am not a Greek scholar by ANY stretch of the imagination but in light of the signification of water regarding the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit in Ezekiel 36 and Titus 3, is it not possible that Jesus could be understood as saying “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water, indeed the Spirit."? I’ve never heard any preacher talk about exactly what “water” means in verse 5 apart from its connection with the activity of the Holy Spirit. The point is, I do not believe there are two different births to which Jesus is referring, but one and the same - the Spiritual rebirth...
So I ask again, if a man can’t see (or understand) the kingdom of God, how can he make a “decision” to enter into it? The simple answer is... he can't.
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