– Born of the Spirit –
In John 3:6, Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (NKJ). Some people assume here that Jesus is talking about the present and future body. We have a fleshly body now, and after Christ returns, we will have a spiritual body. Though that is true, it is not what Jesus was referring to in this verse. He was not speaking of the composition of the body, but of the orientation of the mind — whether we are led by the Spirit or by the flesh.
Jewish understanding of rebirth
Let's start with some perspective. Nicodemus was a teacher of the Jews, a representative of Judaism. The Jews thought that they, as God's people, would be the kingdom of God on earth. They looked for a Messiah who would deliver them from oppressors and exalt them as the preeminent nation of the earth. They believed they entered the kingdom simply by being descended from Abraham.
When gentiles converted to Judaism, they were baptized and circumcised. We learn from later writings that the Jews referred to this as a rebirth. The gentile convert became reborn, and that is how he entered the kingdom of God. Whether a person was part of God's people was to the Jews based on the flesh — either physical descent from Abraham or physical circumcision and adoption of Judaism.
Jesus came to his own people, but they did not receive him (John 1:11-13). This verse helps set the stage for John 3. Nicodemus, a representative of Judaism, recognized that Jesus was a teacher from God, but he did not yet accept Jesus' teaching.
Judaism contrasted with true worship
Jesus contrasted true Christianity with Judaism in several ways. Some people thought Jesus was merely modifying Judaism. But Jesus said you cannot sew a patch of new cloth on an old garment. You cannot put new wine into an old wineskin, because that would destroy both old and new.
Jesus used parables to show he was not merely reforming or adding to Judaism. He did not come to patch up the old. He said that the kingdom of God would be taken from the Jews and given to people who bore fruits — a nation of converted, Spirit-filled people.
Jesus told Nicodemus that fleshly descent does not enable anyone to see the kingdom of God. A fleshly circumcision could not enable anyone to understand spiritual things. Only spiritual regeneration — a birth from above, from God — could enable a person to see the kingdom of God. Only those who are born from above will receive the kingdom of God because only they can bear spiritual fruit.
Contrast of Spirit and flesh in Paul's epistles
Paul sheds more light on what Jesus meant when he contrasts the flesh with the Spirit. Paul uses these terms to indicate who is carnally minded and who is spiritually minded. In Romans 7, Paul discusses the battle between the spiritual mind and the lingering carnal mind. When we were in the flesh, sin, which we practiced as a way of life, brought us death (verse 5). Notice that phrase, "when we were in the flesh." Does Paul mean that we have changed our fleshly bodies for spiritual? Not at all. He uses the term, as Jesus did, to discuss the spiritual orientation of the mind.
Verse 24 — "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" In verse 25 and Romans 8:1, the answer is given. Jesus Christ delivers us! There is no condemnation for anyone who walks not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. In verses 4-5, he again contrasts walking after the flesh (minding the things of the flesh) and walking according to the Spirit (minding the things of the Spirit). You can tell whether you are after the flesh or Spirit by the things you have your mind on and the things you do. Verse 9 — We are not of the flesh if the Spirit of God is in us and leading us; we are of the Spirit. A person who is in the flesh is one who is carnally minded; one who is in the Spirit is one who is converted and spiritually minded. Paul is describing spiritual orientation, not body composition. Elsewhere, Paul said that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature, a new creation.
We see another analogy in Galatians 4:29. Ishmael, born after the flesh, is contrasted with Isaac, born after the Spirit. Different prepositions are used in these verses, but they clearly show flesh and Spirit being used not in a literal sense about composition of the body, but in a spiritual sense. That is the way Jesus used Spirit in John 3:6.
John 3:6
Let's go back to Nicodemus. He understood that gentiles had to be reborn (that is, baptized and circumcised) to be part of the people of God. He believed the Jews were already children of God and that gentiles could become children of the kingdom only by physical rites. It was all a matter of fleshly lineage or adoption rituals.
Jesus was not talking about the composition of the body. Rather, he was saying that entrance into the kingdom of God is not by fleshly birth or rituals, but by a spiritual change — conversion of our minds — a spiritual birth from above. God loves the whole world, all humanity, all peoples, not just the Jews. Jesus was showing Nicodemus that it was by the Spirit, not the flesh, that one is reckoned as a child of God, a child of the kingdom.
It is not by circumcision of the flesh, but by believing in Christ that one gains everlasting life. As Paul shows, especially in Galatians, fleshly circumcision is of no spiritual value.
Notice John 1:12-13, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name: who were born [past tense], not of blood [not by genealogy], nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man [not by becoming a proselyte], but of God." They were — past tense — born of God.
If we have been called by God and have willingly let him lead us to repentance and have received his Holy Spirit, we are already children of God. We have been, figuratively speaking, born from above. We are new creatures, spiritual babes. And now we must grow to maturity and be changed from mortal to immortal when Christ returns.
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