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Westcott and John 3
Westcott and John 3
In studying the story of Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3, I reread B.F. Westcott’s commentary on the gospel of John.
On speaking of the phrase ‘born of water and spirit’, he writes: "The two are coordinate, correlative, complementary. Hence all interpretations which treat the term water here as simply figurative and descriptive of the cleansing power of the Spirit are essentially defective, as they are also opposed to all ancient tradition.”
In this he speaks to the fact that there is ONE new birth. It is not ‘born of water’ AND born of spirit, which would indicate TWO births, but born ‘of water AND spirit’. The single ‘of’ indicating that the combination of ‘water and spirit’ two parts of the same one birth. One is born again - born of water and spirit’.
He added: "It can, then, scarcely be questioned that as Nicodemus heard the words, water carried with it a reference to John’s baptism, which was a divinely appointed rite (1:33),..."
As to the meaning of the phrase, Westcott continued: "But the sense of the words cannot be limited to this first meaning. Like the corresponding words in ch. 6, they look forward to the fulness of the Christian dispensation, when after the Resurrection the baptism of water was no longer separated from, but united with, the baptism of the spirit in the ‘laver of regeneration’ (Titus 3:5. Comp. Eph. 5:26), even as the outward and the inward are united generally in a religion which is sacramental and not only typical. Christian baptism, the outward act of faith welcoming the promise of God, is incorporation into the Body of Christ, and so the birth of the Spirit is potentially united with the birth of water. The general inseparability of these two is indicated by the form of the expression, born of water and spirit (ἐξ ὕδ. καὶ πν.), as distinguished from the double phrase, born of water and of spirit."
In our teaching on this we may have over-emphasized the baptism part to the point that people understood us to teach that baptism itself is that which produces the new-birth. Like the being made-alive (regeneration), it is done WHEN one is baptized but it is GOD that makes alive. The new-birth is accomplished IN baptism but not BY baptism. The cleansing (washing) away of sins is done by God forgiving our sins. Such forgiveness is said to happen WHEN one is baptized by faith (Col. 2:11-14; Acts 2:38; 22:16).
People of the OT would have known that there needed to be such a new-creation, a new start, a new birth, a new-life, or at least according to Jesus here, they SHOULD have known such. The specific act of obedient faith may have differed but the fact that it is tied to the response of faith is the same.
Today there is still the need for sinners to begin anew, to be made alive from the ‘dead in sin’ condition, to be born from above / anew. Without faith in Jesus and a repenting heart one cannot be a new creature. When one believes and repents, he then is baptized into Christ (cp. Acts 2:38; Gal. 3:26-27; Romans 6:3-4). When he by faith is baptized God makes him alive, forgives his sins, adopts him, transfers him into the kingdom, adds him to the body of believers (church) (cp. Col. 2:11-4; Acts 2:38; Gal. 3:26-27; Col. 1:13; Acts 2:47; 1 Cor. 12:13; Acts 22:16).
Don’t throw baptism out with the bath water (pun intended) - but know that without faith (and repentance) one cannot please God. You must be born of water and spirit to enter the kingdom of God.
Hugh DeLong
