Some have asked why we sometimes use the phrase "born from above" as well as the more familiar "born again." The Greek words are gennao anothen [shown at right]. Gennao means "born." Anothen can mean "again" or "from above," but in the Gospel of John the preferred meaning seems to be "from above." Jesus came "from above" (John 3:31). In John 19:11, Jesus mentions power "from above."

Obviously, if one has first been born with the natural human mind and is later born spiritually, he has been born (figuratively) a second time, or born again. This is the basic meaning of another term that is sometimes used, regeneration. It means a new start, a rebirth. It is more informative to say the person has been born from above because this shows the source of the new spiritual insight.

However, we must also recognize that most English translations say "born again" — primarily because that is the meaning implied in the answer of Nicodemus (verse 4). Footnotes may inform readers of the dual meaning of anothen, but the main translations say "born again."

Since most translations use "again," we may use that terminology, too, and give it fuller meaning by explaining that spiritual growth must follow the rebirth.