What Does John 3:5 Mean? Being Born of the Water and the Spirit
Over the years, I have been asked what Jesus is referring to in John 3:5, where it says, Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Many have misinterpreted this verse and debated its possible meanings; however, when considered in the context of the passage and in relation to whom Jesus is speaking, I believe we can arrive at a clear biblical interpretation of what Jesus is referring to. John 3 begins with an interaction between Christ and Nicodemus. Understanding Nicodemus is crucial to accurately interpreting this verse.
Who Is Nicodemus
John tells us in the first verse that Nicodemus is a Pharisee. The role of the Pharisees arose during the Intertestamental Period (between Malachi & Matthew), a 400-year span in which they became highly esteemed and influential. They were not priests (like the Sadducees) but were religious reformers whose very name means “separated ones.” According to Josephus, there were over 6,000 Pharisees at the time of Christ, and they had the greatest influence among the religious and political parties. Many were scribes, meaning they were experts in interpreting the Mosaic Law. Nicodemus was one of them and, as Jesus alludes in John 3:10, one of the top teachers, indicating he was one of the 70 who formed the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. All of this is to suggest that Nicodemus was a scholar of the highest pedigree as it relates to the Old Testament. He approaches Jesus and doesn’t begin the dialogue with our Lord with a question, but rather with a statement: “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher, for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” This indicates that Nicodemus is among those whom John identifies in John 2:23 who believed in the signs that Jesus performed, but not to the point of salvation. Additionally, as John concludes the second chapter, he offers insight into Jesus knowing the heart of man and what man thinks, as earlier demonstrated in His interactions with Peter (John 1:42) and Nathanael (John 1:47-48), where Jesus shows His divine knowledge of man. All of this is necessary for understanding what transpires in the first few verses of Chapter Three.
Jesus Raises The True Reason for Nicodemus’s Visit
When Nicodemus begins the dialogue with Christ in John 3:2, he opens the dialogue with a statement. However, look at Jesus’s response in verse three. John 3:3, Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus didn’t ask Him about salvation (the Kingdom of God), but why then did Christ answer his statement with another statement? Jesus knew why Nicodemus had come to Him, as “He Himself knew what was in man” (John 2:25). Nicodemus came seeking answers, and Jesus read his mind to discern his true purpose in the visitation. The phrase “born again” appears for the first time in John’s gospel and recurs throughout.
Furthermore, Jesus signals a sine qua non, a necessary condition, for “new birth” (being born again) to Nicodemus, indicating that something supernatural must take place before one can enter the kingdom of God (salvation). To which Nicodemus responds with bewilderment in his confusion as to what form this new birth takes. He asks a somewhat silly question; however, I do not believe that Nicodemus is cracking a joke or attempting to be crass. I think his mind cannot grasp what Jesus means, which is why Jesus responds with a statement rooted in an Old Testament understanding to which Nicodemus would be well-versed.
Water and The Spirit
The response Jesus provides to Nicodemus’s statement is not a veiled response shrouded in ambiguity, but rather the answer to his question. Jesus explains how one is brought into the kingdom. They must be born of water and the Spirit. Now, many differing interpretations of this passage exist, which I wish to address quickly to explain why they cannot be the answer, nor what Jesus refers to.
Christian Baptismal Regeneration
Some believe Jesus' reference to “water” refers to baptismal water. However, this is anachronistic in situ, as it occurs before the cross, before Pentecost, and Christian baptism has not yet taken place, nor would Nicodemus be familiar with the sacramental nature of Christian baptism. This passage rebukes reliance on ritual by elevating a Spirit-sovereign birth (3:6-8). Throughout John’s gospel, he consistently subordinates ritual to reality (2:6; 4:21-24; 6:63).
Physical Birth + Spiritual Birth
The subsequent interpretation I admittedly understood was that Jesus is referring to “water” as amniotic fluid and natural birth, and the Spirit as spiritual birth. This doesn’t work for two reasons. One, if you consider this reason, it is just silly. Would Jesus be stating to Nicodemus something obvious, such as, “Well, Nicodemus, you need to be alive to be saved”? When you consider that, I believe it becomes evident that this is not what Jesus intended. Furthermore, John never uses “water” to represent physical birth; it distorts the Old Testament matrix Jesus presumed Nicodemus knew (3:10).
John’s Baptism + Spirit
The third common misinterpretation is that “water” refers to John’s baptism of repentance, and “Spirit” is the fulfillment of that baptism. Historically and thematically, this could be related; however, the grammar and syntax of Jesus’ statement make this highly unlikely, as Jesus states “born out of water and Spirit,” which points to a singular act with a dual-aspect source. If Jesus is referring to John’s baptism, then this would be a two-step rite, and would misunderstand that John’s baptism is symbolic, not causative.
The Clear Interpretation of Water & Spirit
Some distinct features of Greek are less obvious than in English. I don’t want to bore you with Greek, but I think it’s helpful for you to see how pastors interpret texts using the original languages. If you don’t know Greek, that’s okay — just skip that part and focus on the “why.”
The beginning of this verse in the LSB is “truly, truly” or in the Greek ἀμὴν ἀμὴν (amen, amen), which signals an authoritative, non-negotiable kingdom axiom. The next section of this verse gives us a 3rd-class conditional ἐὰν μὴ… γεννηθῇ:with an aorist passive of the subjunctive γεννάω, it gives us a divine passive indicating that God is the implied agent in this new birth (1:13; 3:6-8). Then it follows with a preposition (ἐκ) that governs two genitives, which are coordinated by (καί), showing that the single preposition governs both objects (water and Spirit) as a unified source or one complex event rather than two separate births or events. Then, as Jesus says, “he cannot enter.” He indicates a categorical inability, not improbability (see the section on John 3:3). Jesus builds off His previous conditional statement and intensifies the necessity. Jesus ends verse five by indicating that one cannot access the kingdom of God apart from this necessary new birth.
So Jesus is not referencing two separate events, occasions, or rituals; instead, He describes a single generative source expressed as a pair (water and Spirit). Jesus says the new birth comes from above and has a dual-source aspect. Jesus stresses this in the next verse by stating, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Jesus is indicating to Nicodemus that the Spirit is the effective agent of new birth. When Jesus rebukes Nicodemus in verse ten, Jesus presumed Nicodemus should recognize this from the Old Testament promises. The water-and-Spirit language appears throughout the Old Testament; however, the clearest section is in Ezekiel 36:25-27.
25“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols.
26“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to do My judgments.
Ezekiel 36:25-27 answers beautifully the question of what Jesus is referencing. The Ezekiel passage in the Old Testament is a glorious looking forward to when this great redemptive act will take place, invoking a new covenant. Understanding that the cleansing from all uncleanness (water), as described in verse 25, answers the question of the “water” and the new spirit in verses 26 & 27, clearly shows what Jesus is challenging Nicodemus with. Essentially, Jesus is providing him with an impromptu hint, as if He were saying, “Nicodemus, you claim to be a scholar of the Old Testament and most assuredly know of these promises made; how do you not see that this is what I am talking about?”
The passage in Ezekiel is not the only one in which Nicodemus should have connected Jesus’s words in John. Also, Isaiah 44:3 and Joel 2:28-29 should resonate with him regarding the future Spirit outpouring imagery, which is often paired with water metaphors. Later in the gospel, John affirms the water metaphor Jesus uses in John 7:37-38 to refer to the divine water. So, a clear interpretation of John 3:5 suggests that the “water” evokes purification, and the Spirit evokes re-creation; together, they designate the one new-birth reality foretold in the Old and actualized in the New. This is the starting point for understanding the doctrine of Regeneration. Jesus declares that entrance into God’s kingdom requires a single, Spirit-wrought birth that purifies and re-creates, and that the Ezekiel 36 New Covenant promise is realized.
This passage is not referring to physical birth or baptism. Jesus is pointing back to God’s promise in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 36), where He said He would wash His people clean from sin (symbolized by water) and give them new life by His Spirit. Contrary to what the Pharisees believed about works-based righteousness, Jesus states that salvation isn’t about their religion, rituals, or efforts; it is about God cleansing the individual and giving that person a new heart through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
If you want to join me, I am currently teaching through the book of John on Sunday mornings at 5 Bridges Church at 10:15 in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Coram Deo