by Dan Popoff

Created on: July 10, 2010   Last Updated: July 11, 2010

‘Must we be born again’, one of the most controversial doctrines that was lost to the Reformation was the spiritual significances in the true meaning of John Chapter 3.

In a study of the Orthodox belief of salvation and the initial concept of being born again, one has to start at the beginning and continue to the end. In John Chapter 3, the chapter is broken down into three parts. Verses 1 through 15 are titled New Birth: Entering the Kingdom, verses 16 through 21 deals with Life in the Kingdom. The chapter concludes from verses 22 to 36 with the Preaching of John the Baptist.

It is very easy to take John 3:3 which reads, ‘Jesus answered and said to him (speaking to Nicodemus, which came to him by night), “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God”, and end all discussion and surmise, this is all we need to do, pack our bags and say we are saved because we are born again. Many of the Christian Churches today, base their whole doctrine of salvation on this one verse. So what is the concept of this meaning?

In Verse 4 Nicodemus is perplexed and said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb?” His response was that of the secular. Jesus goes on to explain and thus in stating step number one or a better explanation, giving a sacrament. Verse 5 reads, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God”. So this means in verse 5 that birth from above is of water and the Spirit, a clear reference to Christian baptism. While the workings of the Holy Spirit are mysterious, nevertheless spiritual birth is integrated with Baptism here and throughout the New Testament.

In the new birth, a true mystery takes place. For in the sacrament of baptism, we die, going down into the water to be mystically united to Christ in His death, and we live again, rising up out of the water in His resurrected humanity. In short, we are born again.

We read throughout their letters, the apostles constantly reminding us that a new birth is necessary for salvation. We die to sin; then, buried with Christ and risen with him, we are united to Christ and to his Body, the Church. We are cleansed, justified and sanctified, all in baptism, “the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Without our repentance and faith, however, immersion in water would be of no effect.

So in a study of ‘all’ of John Chapter 3 we find the full connection between baptism and being born again. Many post-Reformation Christians bypass the baptism part and focus only on faith. In doing so, many tenants of salvation in which Christ instituted for the Church are somehow, lost in translation.

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