Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - John 3:5 - 3:5

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Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - John 3:5 - 3:5


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5. ἐξ ὕδατος κ. πνεύματος. The ἐξ answers to the εἰς which follows and reminds us of the ἐν in Joh 1:33. The convert is immersed in the material and spiritual elements, rises new-born out of them, and enters into the kingdom. Christ leaves the foolish question of Nicodemus to answer itself: He goes on to explain what is the real point, and what Nicodemus has not asked, the meaning of ἄνωθεν: ‘of water and (the) Spirit.’ The outward sign and inward grace of Christian baptism are here clearly given, and an unbiassed mind can scarcely avoid seeing this plain fact. This becomes still more clear when we compare Joh 1:26; Joh 1:33, where the Baptist declares ‘I baptize with water;’ the Messiah ‘baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.’ The Fathers, both Greek and Latin, thus interpret the passage with singular unanimity. Thus once more S. John assumes without stating the primary elements of Christianity. Baptism is assumed here as well known to his readers, as the Eucharist is assumed in chap. 6. To a well-instructed Christian there was no need to explain what was meant by being born of water and the Spirit. The words therefore had a threefold meaning, past, present, and future. In the past they looked back to the time when the Spirit moved upon the water, causing the new birth from above of Order and Beauty out of Chaos. In the present they pointed to the divinely ordained (Joh 1:33) baptism of John: and through it in the future to that higher rite, to which John himself bore testimony. Thus Nicodemus would see that he and the Pharisees were wrong in rejecting John’s baptism (Luk 7:30). Of the two elements, water signifies the purifying power, spirit the life-giving power: the one removes hindrances, making the baptized ready to receive the other (Act 2:38; Tit 3:5). Note that ἐκ is not repeated before πνεύματος, so that the two factors are treated as inseparable: moreover, neither has the article; it is the kind of factors rather than a definite instance that is indicated.

The Sinaiticus and some other authorities here read τῶν οὐρανῶν for τοῦ Θεοῦ. This reading renders Justin’s reference to the passage still more certain (see on Joh 3:3).