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EVERYONE IS "BORN OF WATER" Someone once told a few of my church members that I was a heretic and that they were "all wrong" for following me. The man's main gripe was that I pointed out the Bible truth on the radio about what it means to be "born of water." I also saw a couple guys online recently discussing whether or not water baptism is required for salvation, and John 3:5 was quoted to "prove" that Jesus was clear in stating that one cannot enter heaven without being water baptized. The meaning of the phrase "born of water" wasn't even discussed. It was just assumed that water baptism was meant. HUGE blunder. John 3:5 says, “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) The verse says nothing at all about water baptism. It says, "born of water" and it says, "born of the Spirit," but nothing is said about water baptism. Reading water baptism into the verse is a private interpretation that amounts to adding to God's word. The responsible student of scripture will ask, "What does it mean to be born of water?" instead of assuming that it means to be water baptized. After all, water baptism is not called a birth anywhere else in the Bible, so why would it be in John 3:5? I saw in another post where some well-intending brother had stated that the phrase “born of water” was a reference to the “washing of water by the word” in Ephesians 5:26. Many of the brethren make this mistake out of fear that folks will side with the baptismal regeneration crowd and think the verse refers to baptism, if we do not come up with an alternative explanation. So, the “washing of water by the word” argument is presented. Unfortunately, it is false. Yes, we are born again by the word of God (I Peter 1:23), but that’s not the point Jesus is making in John 3:5, and He definitely isn't making the point that one must be water baptized to be saved. To be born of water has NOTHING to do with baptism. In John 3:5, Jesus is making a CONTRAST. He is not giving two requirements for salvation (born of water & born of the Spirit). He is contrasting the new Spirit birth to the old fleshy birth, which He calls a water birth. He is doing this because that is precisely what Nicodemus asked about in verse 4: “. . . How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?” Then Jesus answers with, “Except a man be born of WATER and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the FLESH is FLESH; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (John 3:5-7) The “and” of verse 5 is a CONTRASTING “and,” meaning “Nicodemus, you must be born of your mother’s womb (water, flesh) AND you must also be born AGAIN of the Spirit.” A water birth is just another term for a flesh birth (hence: her WATER broke, etc). EVERYONE has a water birth, because everyone was born after their mother's WATER broke. Everyone came from their mother's WATER, technically called "amniotic fluid," and that's what Nicodemus asked about in verse 4. Even Johann Wolfgang von Goethe seemed to understand this when he said, “All is born of water; all is sustained by water.” Nicodemus is being told that even if he could return to his mother’s womb and be re-born physically, it would avail him nothing. He must be born again OF THE SPIRIT. This is why “born of the spirit” is repeated in verse 8 even though “born of water” is not. To be born of water is to be born of the flesh. To be born again is to be born of the Spirit. That's why the word "Spirit" is capitalized, to emphasize Holy Spirit birth in contrast to the old natural water birth that every lost person already has. Note the following verses that connect physical life with water, especially the first one which mentions water in connection with the Bible's first mention of "life": “And God said, Let the WATERS bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath LIFE, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” (Gen. 1:20) “Drink WATERS out of thine own cistern, and running WATERS out of thine own well. Let thy FOUNTAINS be dispersed abroad, and rivers of WATERS in the streets. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. Let thy FOUNTAIN be blessed: and rejoice with the WIFE of thy youth.” (Proverbs 5:15-18; a man’s wife producing children is like a fountain producing water) “A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a SPRING shut up, a FOUNTAIN sealed . . . FOUNTAIN of gardens, a WELL of living WATERS, and STREAMS from Lebanon.” (Song 4:12, 15; same application as above) “Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the WATERS of Judah . . .” (Isaiah 48:1) WATER is a sign of LIFE (just ask NASA), so a water birth is a flesh birth, plain and simple. To be born of water is to be born of the flesh naturally (the human body is over 50% water), but one must also be born AGAIN of the SPIRIT. That is the whole point that Jesus was making in John chapter three, and the baptismal regeneration crowd couldn't have missed it more, if they'd read it in Chinese braille. I was born of water on July 20, 1963. Without that birth I could never see the kingdom of God because I wouldn't even exist! But that old natural birth of the flesh was not enough. So, on May 3, 1979, I was born again, born of the Spirit, when I received Jesus Christ as my Saviour. All truly saved people should understand this. Everyone else has been blinded by the devil. Water baptism should always follow a new believer's conversion as an outward, public testimony of his new identity with Jesus Christ, but this testimony isn't helped at all by "muddying the waters" and making water baptism a part of one's salvation.