BORN FROM ABOVE: WATER AND SPIRIT
The True Meaning of Being Born Again
Author: Kingdom of the Elect Ministry
"Yahshua/Jesus answered, 'Amen, amen, I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.'"— John 3:5 (ISV)
In modern Christianity, being "born again" has been reduced to a vague spiritual feeling, a one-time prayer, or an emotional moment at an altar. But Yahshua/Jesus did not leave this concept undefined. He declared a specific, covenantal requirement:
You must be born of water and Spirit.
This is not symbolic language. This is not optional. This is the entry point into the Kingdom of God.
The Conversation with Nicodemus
John 3:1-8 (ISV)
v. 1-2: Now there was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He came to Yahshua/Jesus at night and told him, "Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher, because no one can perform these signs that you are doing unless God is with him."
v. 3: Yahshua/Jesus replied to him, "Truly, truly I tell you, unless someone is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God."
v. 4: Nicodemus asked him, "How can a person be born when he is old? He can't go back into his mother's womb a second time and be born, can he?"
v. 5: Yahshua/Jesus answered, "Truly, truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
v. 6: What is born from flesh is flesh, and what is born from the Spirit is spirit.
v. 7: Don't be astonished that I told you, 'All of you must be born from above.'
v. 8: The wind blows where it wants to. You hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going. That's the way it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
Critical Point:
Yahshua/Jesus did not say "born again by accepting me into your heart." He said: born of water and Spirit.
Water Baptism: The Covenant Entry
Throughout the New Testament, water baptism is presented not as a symbolic gesture, but as the actual moment of covenant entry, spiritual rebirth, and salvation.
Baptism = Washing Away Sin
Acts 22:16 (ISV)
"So now, what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his name."
Paul was told to be baptized to wash away his sins. This was not a suggestion — it was the covenant requirement.
Baptism = Salvation
1 Peter 3:21 (ISV)
"Baptism, which is symbolized by that water, now saves you also, not by removing dirt from the body, but by asking God for a clear conscience based on the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah."
Peter explicitly states: baptism now saves you.
Baptism = Death, Burial & Resurrection with Christ
Romans 6:3-4 (ISV)
"Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into union with the Messiah Yahshua/Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, through baptism we were buried with him into his death so that, just as the Messiah was raised from the dead by the Father's glory, we too may live an entirely new life."
Baptism is where you die with Christ, are buried with Him, and are raised to new life.
Baptism = Putting on Christ
Galatians 3:27 (ISV)
"Indeed, all of you who were baptized into the Messiah have clothed yourselves with the Messiah."
You put on Christ through baptism — not through a mental decision.
The Spirit: The Divine Power of Rebirth
Water baptism is the covenant act, but the Ruach HaQodesh (Holy Spirit) is the power behind the transformation.
Titus 3:5 (ISV)
"He saved us, not because of any righteous deeds that we had done, but because of his own mercy. He did this through the washing of rebirth and the renewal brought about by the Holy Spirit."
The Spirit does the work of:
- Regeneration - giving you new spiritual life
- Indwelling - living within you as the seal of salvation
- Transformation - conforming you to the image of Christ
- Empowerment - giving you the ability to obey YAH's commands
The Formula is Clear:
Water (covenant entry through baptism)
+
Spirit (divine power of rebirth)
=
Born from Above
What Being Born Again Is NOT
❌ A one-time prayer
Scripture never presents salvation as a single verbal confession without covenant action.
❌ An emotional experience
Feelings come and go. Covenant rebirth is an objective reality.
❌ A decision you made
You don't birth yourself. YAH births you through water and Spirit.
❌ Optional or symbolic
Yahshua/Jesus said "you MUST be born of water and Spirit." This is not a suggestion.
The Early Church Pattern
Every single conversion in the Book of Acts follows the same pattern: belief, repentance, and immediate baptism.
Pentecost - 3,000 Baptized
Acts 2:38, 41 (ISV)
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus the Messiah, for the forgiveness of your sins... Those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them."
The Ethiopian Eunuch
Acts 8:36-38 (ISV)
"As they were going along the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, 'Look, there's water! What keeps me from being baptized?' ... So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him."
Saul/Paul - Immediately Baptized
Acts 9:18 (ISV)
"All at once something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized."
Cornelius and His Household
Acts 10:47-48 (ISV)
"Surely no one can keep these people who have received the Holy Spirit from being baptized with water, can they?' So Peter ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah."
The Philippian Jailer - Baptized That Night
Acts 16:33 (ISV)
"At that hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds. Then he and his entire family were baptized immediately."
The Pattern:
1. Hear the Gospel
2. Believe in Yahshua/Jesus
3. Repent of sin
4. Be baptized immediately
5. Receive the Holy Spirit
Not one person in Acts was told "baptism is optional" or "just say a prayer."
The Urgency of This Truth
If you have never been baptized in water for the forgiveness of your sins, you have not yet entered the covenant. Being "born again" is not about what you felt or what you decided — it's about what YAH does through water and Spirit.
The question is not:
"Did I pray a prayer?"
"Do I believe in Jesus?"
"Did I have an emotional moment?"
The question is:
Have I been born of water and Spirit?
Closing Exhortation
Yahshua/Jesus did not give multiple options for entering the Kingdom. He gave one path: born of water and Spirit.
If you believe in Yahshua/Jesus,
If you have repented of your sin,
But you have not been baptized —
What are you waiting for?
"Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his name."
— Acts 22:16
Shalom to those born of water and Spirit.