The Lord Jesus Christ stated in His teaching on the New Birth: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That phrase – “born of water” – has led to a lot of confusion because it has not been interpreted in the light of all Gospel truth, and the automatic assumption has been made that it is a reference to ordinary water.
Thus two interpretations have generally been presented: (1) it is a reference to the water of baptism and (2) it is a reference to the amniotic fluid (water within the womb) through which a child is naturally born. The third interpretation, which is that “water” here is a metaphor for the Word of God – specifically the true Gospel – has generally escaped recognition. Hence we have all kinds of erroneous teachings about water baptism as a means of salvation.
1. The New Birth is supernatural
Scripture makes it crystal clear that the New Birth – when a sinner is born again – is totally supernatural. Hence it is stated as “born of God”, “born of the Spirit”, “born from above”, hence “born again”. In other words all human beings arrive on earth through natural birth, but only those who believe and obey the Gospel receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). And it is God the Holy Spirit who produces “the washing of regeneration [the New Birth], and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5). So this automatically cancels out any ordinary or natural agent -- ordinary water -- in the regeneration of a lost soul. Any talk about “holy water” is pure superstition.
Now there is no question that there are a few Scriptures which give the impression that salvation includes the necessity of faith and water baptism. But we are to go by the totality of Gospel truth. And if baptism was necessary for salvation, we would not have this statement by Paul (1 Cor 1:17): For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. This was not a repudiation of water baptism, but a focus on the preaching of the Gospel, which brings us to the scriptural meaning of “born of water”.
2. The amniotic fluid cannot even be considered
Why? Because Jesus Himself made it clear that ordinary human birth has nothing to do with the New Birth: That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. This is so plain that it needs no interpretation. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” simply means that that which is born of the human body is a human body. And since natural birth always includes the amniotic fluid, it is also “of the flesh”. So clearly this is incorrect.
3. To be “born of water” is to born again through the Gospel
Is the Word of God represented as “water” in Scripture? It certainly is (Eph 5:25,26), (and I have capitalized Word and Gospel for that purpose):Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word.
While here it speaks of sanctification, there are other Scripture which make the Gospel the power of God unto salvation. So Christians must literally believe that the Gospel is indeed “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom 1:16): For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
When the true Gospel is preached, the almighty power of God the Holy Spirit accompanies it in order to convict and convince the sinner. To convict him of his sinfulness, and to convince him of who Christ is, and how His finished work of redemption is sufficient for his salvation.
Thus the Gospel becomes the “seed” of the New Birth, as proclaimed by both the Peter and James:
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto you. (1 Pet 1:23-25).
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the Word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:17,18).