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Recently, I had some discussions with a Church of Christ - Campbellite faction person in the chat room who believes in baptismal regeneration. I have been doing some research on the topic of baptism and the verses they use to support their position.
Evangelical Christians believe in salvation by grace through faith alone, unto good works. Good works do not earn or merit salvation, but are the result of salvation. Baptism is a work that follows salvation.
Church of Christ Campbellites claim that baptism is when we are spiritually born. Baptism is a work that baptismal regeneration advocates claim must precede salvation. John 5:3 is a verse that they use to make this claim. The position of the author is that this verse doesn't discuss water baptism at all, but is solely speaking of the spiritual birth.
Following is an explanation of three legitimate ways that this verse can be viewed in an orthodox, evangelical context.
John 5 3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named [SUP](A)[/SUP]Nicodemus, [SUP](B)[/SUP]a ruler of the Jews. [SUP]2 [/SUP]This man came to Jesus[SUP][a][/SUP] [SUP](C)[/SUP]by night and said to him, [SUP](D)[/SUP]“Rabbi, [SUP](E)[/SUP]we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do [SUP](F)[/SUP]unless God is with him.” [SUP]3 [/SUP]Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is [SUP](G)[/SUP]born [SUP](H)[/SUP]again[SUP][b][/SUP] he cannot [SUP](I)[/SUP]see the kingdom of God.” [SUP]4 [/SUP]Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” [SUP]5 [/SUP]Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born [SUP](J)[/SUP]of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. [SUP]6 [/SUP][SUP](K)[/SUP]That which is born of the flesh is [SUP](L)[/SUP]flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.[SUP][c][/SUP] [SUP]7 [/SUP][SUP](M)[/SUP]Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You[SUP][d][/SUP] must be born [SUP](N)[/SUP]again.’ [SUP]8 [/SUP][SUP](O)[/SUP]The wind[SUP][e][/SUP] blows [SUP](P)[/SUP]where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
There are 3 different ways to view verse 5 that are consistent with salvation by grace through faith alone, and don't fall into the error of baptismal regeneration teachings.
1) When the Scripture is speaking of being born of water and Spirit, it is talking about the physical birth when speaking of water, and the spiritual birth when speaking of Spirit. How can water be a symbol of physical birth? A phase in late pregnancy is when the "water breaks". Consult a human reproduction textbook for further details.
2) When the Scripture is speaking of being born of water and Spirit, it is talking about being exposed to the Gospel message the word of truth, which is symbolized by water in some verses (James 1:18, I Pet 1:23, Eph 5:26), and the spiritual birth.
3) When the Scripture is speaking of being born of water and Spirit, the phrase in the Greek is actually metaphoric language. The word "and" in Greek is "kai" and can be translated as "even". The resulting phrase is "water even spirit" which simply conveys the meaning of the spiritual birth. In John 7:38, water is viewed as being emblematic of the Spirit.
I personally do not think the first possibility is correct but it is reasonable. I think the second and third possibility have a lot more merit, and I lean a bit more toward the third possibility.
Evangelical Christians believe in salvation by grace through faith alone, unto good works. Good works do not earn or merit salvation, but are the result of salvation. Baptism is a work that follows salvation.
Church of Christ Campbellites claim that baptism is when we are spiritually born. Baptism is a work that baptismal regeneration advocates claim must precede salvation. John 5:3 is a verse that they use to make this claim. The position of the author is that this verse doesn't discuss water baptism at all, but is solely speaking of the spiritual birth.
Following is an explanation of three legitimate ways that this verse can be viewed in an orthodox, evangelical context.
John 5 3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named [SUP](A)[/SUP]Nicodemus, [SUP](B)[/SUP]a ruler of the Jews. [SUP]2 [/SUP]This man came to Jesus[SUP][a][/SUP] [SUP](C)[/SUP]by night and said to him, [SUP](D)[/SUP]“Rabbi, [SUP](E)[/SUP]we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do [SUP](F)[/SUP]unless God is with him.” [SUP]3 [/SUP]Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is [SUP](G)[/SUP]born [SUP](H)[/SUP]again[SUP][b][/SUP] he cannot [SUP](I)[/SUP]see the kingdom of God.” [SUP]4 [/SUP]Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” [SUP]5 [/SUP]Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born [SUP](J)[/SUP]of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. [SUP]6 [/SUP][SUP](K)[/SUP]That which is born of the flesh is [SUP](L)[/SUP]flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.[SUP][c][/SUP] [SUP]7 [/SUP][SUP](M)[/SUP]Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You[SUP][d][/SUP] must be born [SUP](N)[/SUP]again.’ [SUP]8 [/SUP][SUP](O)[/SUP]The wind[SUP][e][/SUP] blows [SUP](P)[/SUP]where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
There are 3 different ways to view verse 5 that are consistent with salvation by grace through faith alone, and don't fall into the error of baptismal regeneration teachings.
1) When the Scripture is speaking of being born of water and Spirit, it is talking about the physical birth when speaking of water, and the spiritual birth when speaking of Spirit. How can water be a symbol of physical birth? A phase in late pregnancy is when the "water breaks". Consult a human reproduction textbook for further details.
2) When the Scripture is speaking of being born of water and Spirit, it is talking about being exposed to the Gospel message the word of truth, which is symbolized by water in some verses (James 1:18, I Pet 1:23, Eph 5:26), and the spiritual birth.
3) When the Scripture is speaking of being born of water and Spirit, the phrase in the Greek is actually metaphoric language. The word "and" in Greek is "kai" and can be translated as "even". The resulting phrase is "water even spirit" which simply conveys the meaning of the spiritual birth. In John 7:38, water is viewed as being emblematic of the Spirit.
I personally do not think the first possibility is correct but it is reasonable. I think the second and third possibility have a lot more merit, and I lean a bit more toward the third possibility.