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Hi there—I’ve lots to share, so I’ll get right to it!

Last Week’s Work

WRITING TYPES

Overall, I believe John 3:1-21 is narrative, but I don’t think everything written there is intended to be understood literally. In fact, I believe Jesus’s instructional statements in vv3 and 5 are meant to be interpreted symbolically. He clearly does not mean physical rebirth as Nicodemus suggests in v4.

Elsewhere in this passage, I think Jesus’s statement about the Son of Man being lifted up (v14), is prophetic as well as also being symbolic (see John 12:32). Finally, His references to the light (vv19-21) also seem to me to be symbolic (see John 8:12).

LITERAL CONTEXT

In John 1, I recognized an echo of action taken of or with water and the Spirit similar to John 3:5. John the Baptist says, “… I came baptizing with water that [Jesus] might be revealed to Israel…” and “… he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit’” (John 1:31,33, emphasis mine).

Reading this made me think of my water baptism experience (September 2018): holding my breath, closing my eyes, and going underwater, then being pulled back up and welcomed into God’s kingdom by my church family. I wondered, does baptism equate to born of water in John 3:5 (i.e., must one be water baptized to enter God’s kingdom)?

I don’t know. I was baptized to fulfill the requirement my church placed upon Bible study leaders. To me, it simply represented public acknowledgement of my adoption into God’s family, which I believe actually happened more than a decade earlier. In that sense, I don’t think baptism is the same as being born again (as in, you’re saved because you’ve been dunked), but it does seem to symbolize something has changed in your life. Maybe “the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17)?

I also found a series of echoes later in John 3:25-36. It’s another statement from John the Baptist, spoken after his disciples were discussing purification with an unnamed Jew. He says in part, “He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way [see John 3:6a]. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony [see John 3:11]. … Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life [see John 3:16]; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:31-32, 36 ESV).

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

According to the ESV Global Study Bible, this book was written between AD 70 and 100 by John, the son of Zebedee [not to be confused with John the Baptist, whose father was Zechariah (see Luke 1:5-17, 57-66)]. The author was a Palestinian Jew and one of Jesus’s twelve apostles. His original audience included “Jews and Gentiles in Ephesus and other parts of the Greco-Roman world at the end of the first century.” John himself indicates why this gospel was written: “… so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). Another echo of John 3:16!

Based on my review of literal and historical context, I believe John meant most of his gospel to be interpreted as plain facts. However, I think the conversation with Nicodemus contains metaphorical statements Jesus expected him (and John expected us, too) to carefully consider because they may have added meaning to believers. I think that includes the statements in verses 3-5.

INTERLINEAR RESEARCH

Next, I reviewed the interlinear information for born again (vv3,5) and born as an infant (v4).  Though the words used in each instance are related (both from Strongs 1080, gennaó), they appear in different transliterations as follows:

• According to The Topical Lexicon available on biblehub.com, Jesus used the term gennēthē (vv3,5), to describe the transformative process of spiritual regeneration, emphasizing the necessity of this change for one to enter God’s kingdom. Thayer’s describes this use as … God conferring upon men the nature and disposition of his sons…, i. e. by his own holy power prompting and persuading souls to put faith in Christ and live a new life consecrated to himself.
• In v4, Nicodemus used gennēthēnai, which Thayer’s indicates means to be born as offspring.

I also checked the information provided for water (G5204, hydatos), but didn’t find any context-specific information. Under the Spirit (G4151, Pneumatos), Thayer’s says this use refers to God’s power and agency manifest in the course of affairs that produces spiritual gifts and blessings by its influence upon souls. Also, the transliteration for wind in v8, pneuma (not capitalized), is the root for Pneumatos, above. Feels like this is more symbolism!

Finally, I checked out kingdom of God (vv3,5), which is rendered from basileian (G932) Theou (2316). Per Thayer’s, this phrase was used by Jesus to indicate the perfect order of things which he was about to establish, in which all those of every nation who should believe in him were to be gathered together into one society, dedicated and intimately united to God, and made partakers of eternal salvation. This kingdom is spoken of as now begun and actually present inasmuch as its foundations have already been laid by Christ and its benefits realized among men that believe in him (emphasis mine).

The Spirit emphasized two characteristics of this definition for me: the requirement of belief in Christ and its current, ongoing nature.

Dig-In Challenges

This week, let’s wrap up the second half of the Refine step by examining cross-references and other translations.

1. Don’t forget to begin with your prayer from Step 1.
2. REFINE: Then consult a concordance or online cross-reference study tool (I’ll be starting at this blb.org page) to find and read through the available cross-references for the verses you’re most interested in and log what the Spirit shows you.
   NOTE: if you’re interested in other verses, follow the above link, then scroll to the verse you want to study, click the TOOLS button on the left side, and choose Cross-Refs from the menu.
3. REFINE: Finally, compare at least a few other translations of your study verses and write about what you find in your study journal. I’ll be comparing ESV, AMP, NIV, and GNT using this biblehub.com page. You can compare your own verses from that link by entering them in the Enter Reference or Keyword box at the top of the page and clicking the spyglass icon there.

I’m looking forward to sharing what I discover with you next week. I hope you’ll join me then!