John’s gospel focuses on some great one-on-one conversations of Jesus. The end of the previous chapter stated that He knew all people perfectly (2:24-25), and now in chapter three we are introduced to Exhibit A. When a man named Nicodemus interacts with Him, it’s immediately obvious that Jesus knows his greatest need. And what is it? Nicodemus needs to be “born again.” Today people may say they are “born again” if they lose weight, find a job, or begin a new relationship. But Jesus coined the phrase, so what does He mean by it? If ever there was a man who felt confident about his spiritual condition, it may have been Nicodemus. As a devoted Pharisee, he is intensely religious, working hard to apply the law of God to his everyday life. As a “ruler of the Jews,” he is theologically trained and highly respected among the people. And he is drawn to Jesus, impressed by what he has seen and heard (v 1-2). Yet Jesus stops Nicodemus in his tracks by suggesting that he needs a new life! Despite his educational success, work ethic, and religious zeal, he needs to start over, because none of this matters before God. If Nicodemus hopes to see heaven, he needs a second birthday—he needs to come alive spiritually. When Jesus describes it as being “born of water and the Spirit,” He’s not talking about baptism, nor is He here contrasting physical birth with spiritual birth. In the original language, it reads as one birth, not two. Literally, we must be born of “water-Spirit.” Jesus expected Nicodemus to know about this (v 10), not because a Jewish teacher should understand Christian baptism, but because water and Spirit are linked together in Old Testament promises related to the New Covenant. Ezekiel spoke of God “sprinkling clean water” on His people to wash them from sin and give them new hearts. While baptism testifies of this spiritual birth, it does not bring it about. And while a man and woman can reproduce physical life, only the Spirit of God can give spiritual life. The change that needs to occur is caused not by human will power, but by God’s sovereign grace alone. We can’t control the wind, and we can’t control the movement of God’s Spirit as He regenerates human hearts (v 3-8). At the same time, we should never separate the new birth from faith in Christ. We are born again only when the Spirit brings new life to our dead hearts. But this happens only as we believe in Jesus, trusting Him as Savior and Lord. And anyone is welcome to do this. The invitation is extended to all people, universally and without discrimination. God loved the world and gave His Son that “whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (v 9-18, 36; cf 1:12-13). For further meditation: