John 3:5 (C)

A second interpretation is that by "water," Jesus is talking about water baptism. Those who hold this view are split on whether Jesus is referring to John's baptism or Christian baptism. For our purpose, we do not need to make this distinction, but we will deal with the view that "water" here refers to baptism in general.

Our previous arguments apply also to this interpretation. Since verse 5 corresponds to verse 3, making water and spirit into two distinct elements in verse 5 would break the parallel between these two verses. Also, whereas it is possible to infer from verse 3 that Jesus is talking about a spiritual birth (born "again" means born "from above"), there is no way to infer baptism from the verse, or just from the term "born again." In the several other places where Jesus refers to this spiritual birth in our passage, there is nothing that can be construed as a reference to water baptism, but he uses expressions such as, "born again," "the Spirit gives birth to spirit," and "born of the Spirit."

As far as I am aware, the Bible nowhere refers to baptism as a birth (or as producing a birth). For the sake of clarity, and to avoid begging the question, I will admit that if this verse is indeed talking about water baptism, then this would be one instance in which the Bible refers to baptism as a birth. So to be precise, I am saying that, ignoring our verse for the moment, it seems that there is no other place in the Bible that refers to baptism as a birth. But even if the Bible speaks of baptism as a birth elsewhere, our other arguments show that baptism does not fit into this verse.

This interpretation, the one that says "water" refers to baptism here, goes against the entire thrust of the passage, which stresses God's action in giving spiritual birth to the one who would see and enter his kingdom. In verses 3, 6, 7, and 8, there are expressions like "born again (from above)," "the Spirit gives birth," "You must be born again (from above)," and "born of the Spirit." Thus it would be inconsistent to find Jesus here declaring water baptism – something performed by a man – as a crucial condition in one's entrance into the kingdom. It would appear to subvert what he emphasizes in the other verses, and oppose the direction that his statements are driving toward. On the other hand, if verse 5 also stresses God's action alone, then there is perfect coherence. But if verse 5 indeed stresses God's actions alone, then the "water" in the verse cannot refer to baptism.

(to be continued)

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