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Word_Swordsman THINK: If you are NOT reborn you cannot enter the kingdom!
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.
FACT: Must agree>> Must be Re-BORN!!!
5Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
FACT: MUST AGREE>> Must be born of water! WATER cannot be of the womb, simply because....
Because the Apostles baptized with WATER!!!
Philip baptized the Eunuch with WATER!!!
Word_Swordsman.. So the question is: Does the waters of baptism save! Can a person enter the kingdom if NOT baptized by the church!
Answer can only be NO!!!!
3000 were ADDED to the body of Jesus by baptism!!!
Church always baptizes with WATER!!!!
Thus Baptism with water saves! LOGIC...
Logic tells you IF...
If you are "IN Jesus' body then you are God' child! "Child of God!"
3000 were ADDED to the Body of Jesus the first day of Pentecost! Acts 2 >>>>BY THE ACTIONS OF THE CHURCH!!!!<<<<
Fact: MUST AGREE; The church added 3000 PEOPLE TO THE BODY OF JESUS BY baptism!! Acts 2
Word_Swordsman The Good thief was NOT baptized by the Church... He died before Pentecost! He was NOT added to the Body of Jesus by the bride!!!
FACT: The Good Thief did not enter the Kingdom.. He entered a GARDEN!!!
Paradise is a GARDEN!
Revelation 2:7
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Do you see it.... QUESTION: Where is the tree of life???
Do you see it??!! Paradise is a GARDEN!!!! The thief did not enter the KINGDOM!!
Matthew 11:11
Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Word_Swordsman Do you see it?? Least in the KINGDOM is greater then John!!!
John did not enter the Kingdom..
Word_Swordsman John was NOT baptized by the Church.. John died before Pentecost!!!
John was NOT "RE-BORN" by the water of Baptism, by the actions of the Bride!
QUESTION... WHY..
Why did John NOT enter the KINGDOM!!?
Was John without sin??? Note his baptism was for the forgiveness of sins!
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.
FACT: Must agree>> Must be Re-BORN!!!
5Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
FACT: MUST AGREE>> Must be born of water! WATER cannot be of the womb, simply because....
Because the Apostles baptized with WATER!!!
Philip baptized the Eunuch with WATER!!!
Word_Swordsman.. So the question is: Does the waters of baptism save! Can a person enter the kingdom if NOT baptized by the church!
Answer can only be NO!!!!
3000 were ADDED to the body of Jesus by baptism!!!
Church always baptizes with WATER!!!!
Thus Baptism with water saves! LOGIC...
Logic tells you IF...
If you are "IN Jesus' body then you are God' child! "Child of God!"
3000 were ADDED to the Body of Jesus the first day of Pentecost! Acts 2 >>>>BY THE ACTIONS OF THE CHURCH!!!!<<<<
Fact: MUST AGREE; The church added 3000 PEOPLE TO THE BODY OF JESUS BY baptism!! Acts 2
Word_Swordsman The Good thief was NOT baptized by the Church... He died before Pentecost! He was NOT added to the Body of Jesus by the bride!!!
FACT: The Good Thief did not enter the Kingdom.. He entered a GARDEN!!!
Paradise is a GARDEN!
Revelation 2:7
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Do you see it.... QUESTION: Where is the tree of life???
Do you see it??!! Paradise is a GARDEN!!!! The thief did not enter the KINGDOM!!
Matthew 11:11
Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Word_Swordsman Do you see it?? Least in the KINGDOM is greater then John!!!
John did not enter the Kingdom..
Word_Swordsman John was NOT baptized by the Church.. John died before Pentecost!!!
John was NOT "RE-BORN" by the water of Baptism, by the actions of the Bride!
QUESTION... WHY..
Why did John NOT enter the KINGDOM!!?
Was John without sin??? Note his baptism was for the forgiveness of sins!
Question: "Does John 3:5 teach that baptism is necessary for salvation?"
As with any single verse or passage, we discern what it teaches by first filtering it through what we know the Bible teaches on the subject at hand. In the case of baptism and salvation, the Bible is clear that salvation isby grace through faith in Jesus Christ,not by works of any kind, including baptism (Ephesians 2:8-9).So, any interpretation which comes to the conclusion that “water baptism”, or any other act,is necessary for salvation, is a faulty interpretation.
If “being born of water and the Spirit” is not referring
to “water baptism, “
then what does it mean?
Traditionally, there have been two interpretations of this phrase. The first is that being “born of water” is being used by Jesus to refer to natural birth
(with water referring to the amniotic fluid that surrounds the baby in the womb)
and that being born of the “Spirit” indicates spiritual birth.
While that is certainly a possible interpretation of the term “born of water” and would seem to fit the context of Nicodemus’ question about how a man could be born “when he is old,”
it is not the best interpretation given the context of this passage.
After all, Jesus was not talking about the difference between natural birth and spiritual birth.
What He was doing was explaining to Nicodemus his need to be “born from above” or “born again.”
The second common interpretation of this passage
and the one that best fits the overall context,
not only of this passage but of the Bible as a whole,
is the one that sees the phrase “born of water and the Spirit”
as both describing different aspects of the same spiritual birth,
or of what it means to be “born again” or “born from above.”
So, when Jesus told Nicodemus that he must “be born of water and the Spirit,”
He was not referring to literal water
(i.e. baptism or the amniotic fluid in the womb),
but was referring to the need for spiritual cleansing or renewal.
Throughout the Old Testament (Psalm 51:2,7; Ezekiel 36:25) and the New Testament
(John 13:10; 15:3; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 10:22),
water is often used figuratively of spiritual cleansing or regeneration
that is brought forth by the Holy Spirit,
through the Word of God, at the moment of salvation (Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:5).
The Barclay Daily Study Bible describes this concept in this way:
“There are two thoughts here.
Water is the symbol of cleansing. When Jesus takes possession of our lives,
when we love Him with all our heart,
the sins of the past are forgiven and forgotten.
The Spirit is the symbol of power.
When Jesus takes possession of our lives it is not only that
the past is forgotten and forgiven;
if that were all, we might well proceed to make the same mess of life all over again;
but into life there enters a new power which enables us to be what by ourselves
we could never be and to do what by ourselves we could never do.
Water and the Spirit stand for the cleansing and the strengthening power of Christ,
which wipes out the past and gives victory in the future.”Therefore, the “water” mentioned in this verse is not literal physical water
but rather the “living water”
Jesus promised the woman at the well in John 4:10
and the people in Jerusalem in John 7:37-39.
It is the inward purification and renewal produced
by the Holy Spirit that brings forth spiritual life to a dead sinner
(Ezekiel 36:25-27; Titus 3:5).
Jesus reinforces this truth in John 3:7 when He restates that one must be born again and that this newness of life can only be produced by the Holy Spirit (John 3:8).
There are several reasons why this is the correct interpretation of the phrase “born of water and the Spirit.”
First of all, we should note that the Greek word translated “again” has two possible meanings.
The first one is “again,”
and the second one is “from above.”
Nicodemus apparently assumed the first meaning “again”
and found that idea incomprehensible.
That is why he could not understand how as a grown man
he could re-enter his mother’s womb
and be “born again” physically.
Therefore, Jesus restates what He had just told Nicodemus
in a different way so that it would be clear He was referring
to being “born from above.”
In other words, both “born from above”
and “born of water and Spirit”
are two ways of saying the same thing.
Second, it is important to note the Greek grammar in this verse would seem to indicate
“being born of water” and “being born of the Spirit”
are thought of as one item, not two.
Therefore, it is not speaking of two separate births,
as Nicodemus incorrectly thought,
but of one birth, that of being
“born from above” or the spiritual birth that is necessary
for anyone to “see the kingdom of God.”
This need for one to be “born again,”
or to experience spiritual birth,
is so important that Jesus tells Nicodemus
of its necessity three different times in this passage of Scripture (John 3:3, 3:5, 3:7).
Third, water is often used symbolically in the Bible to refer to the
work of the Holy Spirit in sanctifying a believer,
whereby God cleanses and purifies the believer’s
heart or soul.
In many places in both the Old and New Testaments,
the work of the Holy Spirit is compared to water
(Isaiah 44:3; John 7:38-39).
Jesus rebukes Nicodemus in John 3:10 by asking him:
“Are you the teacher of Israel,
and do not understand these things?”
This implies that what Jesus had just told him was something Nicodemus should have known and understood from the Old Testament. What is it that Nicodemus, as a teacher of the Old Testament, should have known and understood?
It is that God had promised in the Old Testament a time was coming in which He would: “sprinkle clean water on you,
and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in
My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” (Ezekiel 36:25-27).
Jesus rebuked Nicodemus because he failed to recall and understand one of the key Old Testament passages pertaining
to the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:33).
Nicodemus should have been expecting this.
Why would Jesus have rebuked Nicodemus for not understanding “water baptism” considering the fact that
baptism is nowhere mentioned in the Old Testament?