YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN! Part II

Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
John 3:5
The NAS Strongs Version

In context it would seem, Nicodemus, came to Jesus by night to question his identity and the Messiah’s kingdom. Note, he did not address him as Jesus, but only “Rabbi,” or teacher. Nicodemus was a learned man and recognized that no one could perform the miracles that Jesus did without God being with him. He went even further to accept that Jesus was ‘a great teacher sent from God.’
Jesus short circuits Nicodemus’ questions and goes straight for the crux of the matter because he sees the state of his soul. He does not even address the question of his identity but tells him “unless a person is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Jesus begins to teach the teacher that being born again is a work of the spirit. The water is an outward emblem of the inward working of the Spirit.
The Pharisees were masters of the law and already followed strict adherence to the law. They baptized proselytes with water upon their entrance into the Jewish religion. The Jews trusted in their rituals and rights for admittance into the kingdom of God.
Jesus totally challenges this theology by stating one must be born of ‘water and Spirit.’ They are not two separate identities, but without the work of the Spirit, the water is just water. True baptism requires a work of the Spirit. The water represents the inward working of the spirit washing the soul purifying it from its defilement and strengthening it to walk in the way of truth and holiness.
Regeneration, or being born again, is a work of the Spirit. It results in the ‘renovation and production of a new life consecrated to God accompanied by a radical change of mind for the better.’ Being baptized without the Spirit energizing and transforming the soul amounts to and is nothing more than a dip in water.
Jesus declares emphatically that entrance into his kingdom requires a person to be born of water and the Spirit. Water baptism alone does not save. It must be by [the] cleansing [bath] of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). This inward work of the Spirit will have dramatic outward manifestations. Have you been born of water and Spirit?