NEW BIRTH

This expression takes its rise from the language employed by Christ in his conversation with Nicodemus (Jn. 3:1ff). The facts regarding the "new birth" are these. (a) It is an absolutely essential requirement for entering the kingdom of God. Jesus said that "except" one is born "anew" he cannot enter the kingdom (vv. 3, 5); the conditions of the new birth involve a process that one "must" do in order to please God (v. 7). (b) The birth process consists of two phases. First, there is the role of the Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit is analogous to that of a father. The divine Spirit is the author of the word of God (1 Cor. 2:11ff; Eph. 6:17), which, figuratively speaking, is the "seed" by which the state of "belief" is generated within the sinner's heart (cf. Lk. 8:11; 1 Cor. 4:15; Jas. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:22-23). Second, there is the role of water. Water clearly is an allusion to baptism; modern attempts to deny this fact (which date back only to the time of John Calvin) have been futile. Note the logic: The "new birth" (containing water) puts one into God's kingdom (Jn. 3:3, 5). But the kingdom is the church (Mt. 16:18-19). Thus the "new birth" admits one into the church. Since the church is also the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18, 24), one must conclude that the new birth introduces one into the body. This conclusion parallels the proposition that "by one Spirit" one is "baptized into one body" (1 Cor. 12:13). The "water" of John 3:5 is, therefore, obviously the equivalent of "baptized" in the Corinthian passage (see also Eph. 5:26; Tit. 3:5).