Jesus replied, ‘Let me assure you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter God’s kingdom’. ~John 3:5
I used to interpret the phrase ‘born of water’ as a reference to natural birth because I think of the waters surrounding the baby, the amniotic fluid. 🙂 But this is not what Jesus is saying. He is saying that it is necessary to be baptized of water, then of the Spirit, for salvation. Being born of a woman is the least of matters, as it means being born of the flesh.
John was a prophet who came first as a voice crying out in the Wilderness to reveal the Son of Man, Yahweh, the Word, his cousin, Jesus. John baptized people in the River Jordan for repentance of sins, which was a necessary first step for salvation. Those who believed in Jesus then became saved. And when Jesus was sacrificed on the cross, he sent the Holy Spirit to baptize people with the Spirit so that all who repent and call upon the name of Jesus can be saved.
Dr. James Tabor teaches that prophet and Priest go together in the ancient Hebrew beliefs, especially that of the Essenes. John the Baptizer was the prophet to Jesus’ Priest. When asked to give an account of himself to the Pharisee messengers, John denied being The Prophet, yet he was A prophet, as explained by Origen, a prolific early church scholar. Indeed, Jesus testified to John being ‘more than a prophet’. John WAS a prophet, but he did not want to make himself important, he wanted all the glory to go to Jesus. He must increase and I must decrease. ~John 3:30
When sharing the gospel, it is necessary to baptize someone in the knowledge of repentance of sins and belief in Jesus. Then He will send the Holy Spirit to them. If there is only one baptism of sins, and this involves repentance, it makes no sense why babies should be baptized. Babies are incapable of repenting of their sins. Repentance of sin requires the ability to think about God and oneself in relation to God, and to critically think about our sin in a regretful way. How ridiculous that infant baptism is so popular in the world’s oldest Christian tradition. How can something so obvious gain such a foothold upon believers?
I think this is an unfortunate illustration of what happens when followers of Christ do not read and follow the word but rely on men to interpret the word for them. The Puritans were aware of this and printed the bible for all to read and study. And they were persecuted grandly for this, necessitating them to flee the motherland to worship God in the way He called them to. Catholicism added much to the early church, but they have also caused much harm with inaccurate interpretations and applications of the scriptures.
This verse about being born again also shows that one needn’t wait to become baptized once they become a follower of Jesus. It should literally happen concurrently since it represents a cleaning and washing away of repented sin.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin and I will be made whiter than snow.
❤
~Song of Mary~ 