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
II. This verse has nothing to do with baptism as the context demonstrates. The entire conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus was about being “born again.” To be “born AGAIN,” one must first be born.
A. The first birth is a birth “of water.” The mother’s “water breaks,” telling us that the child is about to be born.
B. The second birth is of the Spirit. His presence is required, or there will not be a NEW birth.
C. To read any doctrine into a text where it is not mentioned is poor, dangerous, and desperate hermeneutics. Those who do so are "reading into the verse" what they believe.
