Jesus teaches Nicodemus that a man cannot see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again of water and the Spirit.
John 3:3-6 – Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
‘Entering into a womb’ means to become repentant. To do this, we must acknowledge that our ways, thoughts and beliefs about the scriptures are wrong. We cannot receive righteousness or salvation using our own interpretation. Once we have acknowledged this, we enter into a ‘fetus’ like stage where we are in a ‘womb’; surrounded by repentance (signified by the water in the womb that surrounds a baby). While we are in this state of repentance, we must believe and have faith in Jesus’ understanding of the scriptures without compromise. We will continue to develop in this state through the teachings of Jesus until one day, we are ‘born again’ by receiving the Holy Spirit.
1 Peter 3:21 says “And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also, not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ”
Water baptism is simply a symbol of a clear conscience towards God or a repentant spirit. Now you have to use this repentant spirit to understand Jesus’ teachings without compromise. Jesus’ teachings will change your repentant spirit into the Holy Spirit. This is the meaning behind his first miracle in Canaa, where he changed the water (repentance) into wine (Holy Spirit).
