Born of water and John 3 5

Wide differences of opinion—at least five different views—exist as to what Jesus meant by “born of water.” Perhaps the two most widely accepted views are as follows: 1) “born of water” refers to being born physically (water being the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby in the mother’s womb); and 2) “born of water” refers to baptism in water, whether Jewish baptism or Christian baptism. Generally, those who do not believe “born of water” is Christian baptism either do not believe that baptism is essential or assert that the one baptism (Eph. 4:5) is Holy Spirit baptism rather than water baptism. This paper will be limited to discussion of the two views noted above.

In this paper, I argue that John 3:5 is based upon the eschatological texts of Ezekiel 36-37, especially 36:25-27, and Isaiah 44. Further, after examining Greek terms for "born of water and the Spirit," I conclude that "born of water and the Spirit" refer to the cleansing and transformation produced by the Spirit.

Scriptura, 2019

This article is comprised of three separate yet related explorations regarding the image of water in Revelation and the Fourth Gospel. It first explores the attempt to tabulate examples of water terminology in the New Testament and how that tabulation has proven incomplete. A fresh assessment is provided that includes an expanded lexical domain for water and notes its high frequency of usage in Revelation and John when compared to the rest of the New Testament. The next section examines four pericopae in Revelation and in the Fourth Gospel where water imagery is prevalent. Old Testament backgrounds for language are examined along with the intertextual relationship between texts in Revelation and John. A theological understanding of water imagery for Revelation and the gospel is proposed. In the final section, the Asian cultic practice of using water-the hydrophoros in the Artemis cult-is presented. While a Jewish background is commonly posited as the background for understanding water imagery in Revelation and the Fourth Gospel, the Greco-Roman polytheistic cults are posited as the primary religious background for Gentile believers in the Asian congregations.

Conspectus, 2021

The Gospel of John contains various memorable metaphors, drawing on the lived realities of its audience to encapsulate the depths of its Christology and central message. Seamlessly interwoven into the fabric of the gospel is the metaphor of (life-giving) water, offered by Jesus and ultimately provided by him. A related metaphor is that of new birth, signifying the changed allegiance and ethos of those who come to believe. Finally, the new creation imagery with its Edenic setting and Jesus breathing Spirit-life into his disciples illustrates something of the effect of an encounter with the life-giving God. Drawing on Cognitive Metaphor Theory, this paper demonstrates that imagery of birth, water, and new life can work together to create a metanarrative. The analysis follows the ramifications of this imagery in its literary context, its rhetorical function in the narrative, and the way in which the metaphors of birth, water, and life potentially work together to produce a larger picture that ministers to those who carry the realities of giving, nurturing, and sustaining life in their bodies. From the prologue and its birth-giving God, through the birth from above promised to Nicodemus, the living water promised to a Samaritan woman, and the Holy Spirit as living water flowing from the innermost being, the narrative flows seamlessly to the cross where the lifegiving blood and water flow from the side of Jesus and into the resurrection dimension of a new creation

2009

St Augustine of Hippo, On Christian Doctrine, Bk 1 Ch 2 O strange and inconceivable thing! we did not really die, we were not really buried, we were not really crucified and raised again; but our imitation was in a figure, and our salvation in reality. Christ was actually crucified, and actually buried, and truly rose again; and all these things He has freely bestowed upon us, that we, sharing His sufferings by imitation, might gain salvation in reality. St Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetal Lectures 20.5

2013

Most interpretations of the “living water” passages in John 4 & 7 exclusively apply historical-critical, textual or rhetorical criticism to the texts. Those approaches leave out the contexts of the contemporary interpreters. Building on the commonality of the figure of “living water” to both the Gospel of John and the Yoruba in Nigeria, the present work interprets the texts (Jn 4 & 7) in their biblical and contemporary readers’ contexts to fully elucidate the importance of the concept to the community of faith

Ilorin Journal of Religious Studies, 2012

Most interpretations of the "living water" passages in John 4 & 7 exclusively apply historical-critical, textual or rhetorical criticism to the texts. Those approaches leave out the contexts of the contemporary interpreters. Building on the commonality of the figure of "living water" to both the Gospel of John and the Yoruba in Nigeria, the present work interprets the texts in their biblical and contemporary readers' contexts to fully elucidate the importance of the concept to the community of faith.

Born from above, born of water, born of spirit (John 3:3-8) What does Jesus mean by the phrase “born from above”? How does Nicodemus interpret it? What does it mean to be “born of water and spirit”? Are water and spirit a contrast, or a parallel? If they are a contrast, what does, “born of water” refer to? Using the text from John 3:3-8, I will discuss what Jesus meant by the phrase “born from above”, and how Nicodemus interprets it. I will also seek to examine what it means to be “born of water and spirit”, and whether water and spirit are a contrast or a parallel. Working upon this, I will be aiming to conclude what “born of water” refers to, and alternatively if there is any Old Testament precedent that link water together with spirit.