Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 3:6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
6. The meaning of ‘birth from above’ is still further explained by an analogy. What a man inherits from his parents is a body with animal life and passions; what he receives from above is a spiritual nature with heavenly aspirations and capabilities. What is born of sinful, human nature is sinful and human; what is born of the Holy Spirit is spiritual and divine.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
That which is born of the flesh – To show the necessity of this change, the Saviour directs the attention of Nicodemus to the natural condition of man. By that which is born of the flesh he evidently intends man as he is by nature, in the circumstances of his natural birth. Perhaps, also, he alludes to the question asked by Nicodemus, whether a man could be born when he was old? Jesus tells him that if this could be, it would not answer any valuable purpose; he would still have the same propensities and passions. Another change was therefore indispensable.
Is flesh – Partakes of the nature of the parent. Compare Gen 5:3. As the parents are corrupt and sinful, so will be their descendants. See Job 14:4. And as the parents are wholly corrupt by nature, so their children will be the same. The word flesh here is used as meaning corrupt, defiled, sinful. The flesh in the Scriptures is often used to denote the sinful propensities and passions of our nature, as those propensities are supposed to have their seat in the animal nature. The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, etc., Gal 5:19-20. See also Eph 2:3; 1Pe 3:21; 1Pe 2:18; 1Jo 2:16; Rom 8:5.
Is born of the Spirit – Of the Spirit of God, or by the agency of the Holy Spirit.
Is spirit – Is spiritual, like the spirit, that is, holy, pure. Here we learn:
1.That all men are by nature sinful.
2.That none are renewed but by the Spirit of God. If man did the work himself, it would he still carnal and impure.
3.That the effect of the new birth is to make men holy.
4.And, that no man can have evidence that he is born again who is not holy, and just in proportion as he becomes pure in his life will be the evidence that he is born of the Spirit.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh] This is the answer to the objection made by Nicodemus in Joh 3:4. Can a man enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Our Lord here intimates that, were even this possible, it would not answer the end; for the plant will ever be of the nature of the seed that produces it-like will beget its like. The kingdom of God is spiritual and holy; and that which is born of the Spirit resembles the Spirit; for as he is who begat, so is he who is begotten of him. Therefore, the spiritual regeneration is essentially necessary, to prepare the soul for a holy and spiritual kingdom.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That which is born of the flesh: that which is born of natural flesh; for flesh sometimes signifies the man. So the prophet saith, All flesh is grass, Isa 40:6. So Gen 6:12, All flesh, that is, all men, had corrupted their way. Or, that which is born of corruption, from vitiated and corrupted nature; so flesh is oft taken in Scripture, Rom 8:4,5,8, &c.
Is flesh; that is, it bringeth forth effects proportionable to the cause; a man purely natural brings forth natural operations. Man, as man, moveth, and eateth, and drinketh, and sleepeth. Corrupted man brings forth vicious and corrupt fruit, which often are called the works of the flesh, Gal 5:19.
Flesh here signifieth the whole man, whether considered abstractly from the adventitious corruption of his nature, or as fallen in Adam, vitiated and debauched through lust.
And that which is born of the Spirit is spirit: but that man or woman who is regenerated by the Spirit of grace is spiritual; he is after the Spirit, Rom 8:5; he is one spirit with God, 1Co 6:17; he is made partaker of the Divine nature, 2Pe 1:4; he doth not commit sin, 1Jo 3:9. Nothing in operation exceedeth the virtue of that cause which influences it; so as no man from a mere natural principle can perform a truly spiritual operation; and from hence it is absolutely necessary that man must be born of the Spirit, that he may be qualified for the kingdom of heaven.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6-8. That which is born, c.Agreat universal proposition “That which is begotten carrieswithin itself the nature of that which begat it” [OLSHAUSEN].
fleshNot the merematerial body, but all that comes into the world by birth, theentire man; yet not humanity simply, but in its corrupted,depraved condition, in complete subjection to the law of the fall(Ro 8:1-9). So thatthough a man “could enter a second time into his mother’s womband be born,” he would be no nearer this “new birth”than before (Job 14:4; Psa 51:5).
is spirit“partakesof and possesses His spiritual nature.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
That which is born of the flesh, is flesh,…. Man by his natural birth, and as he is born according to the flesh of his natural parents, is a mere natural man; that is, he is carnal and corrupt, and cannot discern spiritual things; nor can he, as such, enter into, and inherit the kingdom of God; see 1Co 2:14. And therefore there is a necessity of his being born again, or of the grace of the Spirit, and of his becoming a spiritual man; and if he was to be, or could be born again of the flesh, or ever so many times enter into his mothers womb, and be born, was it possible, he would still be but a natural and a carnal man, and so unfit for the kingdom of God. By “flesh” here, is not meant the fleshy part of man, the body, as generated of another fleshy substance; for this is no other than what may be said of brutes; and besides, if this was the sense, “spirit”, in the next clause, must mean the soul, whereas one soul is not generated from another: but by flesh is designed, the nature of man; not merely as weak and frail, but as unclean and corrupt, through sin; and which being propagated by natural generation from sinful men, cannot be otherwise; for “who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one”, Job 14:4. And though the soul of man is of a spiritual nature, and remains a spirit, notwithstanding the pollution of sin; yet it being defiled with the flesh, and altogether under the power and influence of the lusts of the flesh, it may well be said to be carnal or fleshly: hence “flesh”, as it stands opposed to spirit, signifies the corruption of nature, Ga 5:17; and such who are in a state of unregeneracy, are said to be after the flesh, and in the flesh, and even the mind itself is said to be carnal, Ro 8:5.
And that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit: a man that is regenerated by the Spirit of God, and the efficacy of his grace, is a spiritual man; he can discern and judge all things of a spiritual nature; he is a fit person to be admitted to spiritual ordinances and privileges; and appears to be in the spiritual kingdom of Christ; and has a right to the world of blessed spirits above; and when his body is raised a spiritual body, will be admitted in soul, body, and spirit, into the joy of his Lord. “Spirit” in the first part of this clause, signifies the Holy Spirit of God, the author of regeneration and sanctification; whence that work is called the sanctification of the Spirit, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, 1Pe 1:2. And “spirit”, in the latter part, intends the internal work of grace upon the soul, from whence a man is denominated a spiritual man; and as a child bears the same name with its parent, so this is called by the same, as the author and efficient cause of it: and besides, it is of a spiritual nature itself, and exerts itself in spiritual acts and exercises, and directs to, and engages in spiritual things; and has its seat also in the spirit, or soul of man.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
That which is born ( ). Perfect passive articular participle. The sharp contrast between flesh () and Spirit (), drawn already in 1:13, serves to remind Nicodemus of the crudity of his question in 3:4 about a second physical birth.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
That which is born [ ] . Strictly, that which hath been born, and consequently is now before us as born. The aorist tense (3, 4, 5, 7), marks the fact of birth; the perfect (as here), the state of that which has been born (see on 1Jo 5:18, where both tenses occur); the neuter, that which, states the principle in the abstract. Compare ver. 8, where the statement is personal : everyone that is born. Compare 1Jo 5:4, and 1Jo 5:1, 18.
Of the flesh [ ] . See on ver. 14. John uses the word sarx generally, to express humanity under the conditions of this life (i. 14; 1Jo 4:2, 3, 7; 2 John 7), with sometimes a more definite hint at the sinful and fallible nature of humanity (1Jo 2:16; Joh 8:15). Twice, as opposed to pneuma, Spirit (Joh 3:6; Joh 6:63).
Of the Spirit [ ] . The Holy Spirit of God, or the principle of life which He imparts. The difference is slight, for the two ideas imply each other; but the latter perhaps is better here, because a little more abstract, and so contrasted with the flesh. Spirit and flesh are the distinguishing principles, the one of the heavenly, the other of the earthly economy.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “That which is born of the flesh is flesh;- (to gegennemenon ek tes sarkos sarks estin) “The one that has been born out of the flesh, (flesh nature) flesh or carnal is,” by its nature of existence, and is called a child of wrath, Eph 2:3; Joh 1:13. Like begets like, only the spirit can create a new spirit nature in man, see? Rom 8:2; Rom 8:5; Rom 8:9.
2) “And that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,” (kai to gennennemenon ek tou pneumatos pneuma estin) “And that which has been born out of the spirit is spirit,” in holy nature of existence. Man’s depraved spirit is begotten, quickened, or made anew, from above, by God’s Spirit when he believes, by the conviction of that Spirit, that he is lost, condemned, and that Jesus Christ died for him and will save him, Joh 1:11-12; Joh 3:16; Joh 3:18. He is, at the point of faith in Jesus Christ, born from above, of the Spirit, and becomes a new creature in Jesus Christ, created in Him, by the Spirit, unto, not “by” good works, _2:8-16.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
6. That which is born of the flesh. By reasoning from contraries, he argues that the kingdom of God is shut against us, unless an entrance be opened to us by a new birth, ( παλιγγενεσία) For he takes for granted, that we cannot enter into the kingdom of God unless we are spiritual. But we bring nothing from the womb but a carnal nature. Therefore it follows, that we are naturally banished from the kingdom of God, and, having been deprived of the heavenly life, remain under the yoke of death. Besides, when Christ argues here, that men must be born again, because they are only flesh, he undoubtedly comprehends all mankind under the term flesh. By the flesh, therefore, is meant in this place not the body, but the soul also, and consequently every part of it. When the Popish divines restrict the word to that part which they call sensual, they do so in utter ignorance of its meaning; (59) for Christ must in that case have used an inconclusive argument, that we need a second birth, because part of us is corrupt. But if the flesh is contrasted with the Spirit, as a corrupt thing is contrasted with what is uncorrupted, a crooked thing with what is straight, a polluted thing with what is holy, a contaminated thing with what is pure, we may readily conclude that the whole nature of man is condemned by a single word. Christ therefore declares that our understanding and reason is corrupted, because it is carnal, and that all the affections of the heart are wicked and reprobate, because they too are carnal.
But here it may be objected, that since the soul is not begotten by human generation, we are not born of the flesh, as to the chief part of our nature. This led many persons to imagine that not only our bodies, but our souls also, descend to us from our parents; for they thought it absurd that original sin, which has its peculiar habitation in the soul, should be conveyed from one man to all his posterity, unless all our souls proceeded from his soul as their source. And certainly, at first sight, the words of Christ appear to convey the idea, that we are flesh, because we are born of flesh. I answer, so far as relates to the words of Christ, they mean nothing else than that we are all carnal when we are born; and that as we come into this world mortal men, our nature relishes nothing but what is flesh. He simply distinguishes here between nature and the supernatural gift; for the corruption of all mankind in the person of Adam alone did not proceed from generation, but from the appointment of God, who in one man had adorned us all, and who has in him also deprived us of his gifts. Instead of saying, therefore, that each of us draws vice and corruption from his parents, it would be more correct to say that we are all alike corrupted in Adam alone, because immediately after his revolt God took away from human nature what He had bestowed upon it.
Here another question arises; for it is certain that in this degenerate and corrupted nature some remnant of the gifts of God still lingers; and hence it follows that we are not in every respect corrupted. The reply is easy. The gifts which God hath left to us since the fall, if they are judged by themselves, are indeed worthy of praise; but as the contagion of wickedness is spread through every part, there will be found in us nothing that is pure and free from every defilement. That we naturally possess some knowledge of God, that some distinction between good and evil is engraven on our conscience, that our faculties are sufficient for the maintenance of the present life, that — in short — we are in so many ways superior to the brute beasts, that is excellent in itself, so far as it proceeds from God; but in us all these things are completely polluted, in the same manner as the wine which has been wholly infected and corrupted by the offensive taste of the vessel loses the pleasantness of its good flavor, and acquires a bitter and pernicious taste. For such knowledge of God as now remains in men is nothing else than a frightful source of idolatry and of all superstitions; the judgment exercised in choosing and distinguishing things is partly blind and foolish, partly imperfect and confused; all the industry that we possess flows into vanity and trifles; and the will itself, with furious impetuosity, rushes headlong to what is evil. Thus in the whole of our nature there remains not a drop of uprightness. Hence it is evident that we must be formed by the second birth, that we may be fitted for the kingdom of God; and the meaning of Christ’s words is, that as a man is born only carnal from the womb of his mother; he must be formed anew by the Spirit, that he may begin to be spiritual.
The word Spirit is used here in two senses, namely, for grace, and the effect of grace. For in the first place, Christ informs us that the Spirit of God is the only Author of a pure and upright nature, and afterwards he states, that we are spiritual, because we have been renewed by his power.
(59) “ Monstrent bien qu’ils n’en entendent rien.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh.The first step is to remind him of the law of likeness in natural generation. Flesh, as distinct from spirit, is human nature in so far as it is common with animal nature, consisting of the bodily frame and its animal life, feelings, and passions. Flesh, as opposed to spirit, is this nature as not under the guidance of the human spirit, which is itself the shrine of the Divine Spirit, and therefore it is sinful. (Comp. Gal. 5:16 et seq.; Gal. 6:8.) It is this nature in its material constitution, and subject to sin, which is transmitted from father to son. The physical life itself is dependent upon birth. That which is born of the flesh is flesh.
There is an analogous law of spiritual generation. Spirit as opposed to flesh is the differentia of man as distinct from all other creatures. It is the image of God in him, the seat of the capacity for the communion with God, which is the true principle of life. In the natural man this is crushed and dormant; in the spiritual man it has been quickened by the influence of the Holy Ghost. This is a new life in him, and the spiritual life, like the physical, is dependent upon birth. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(6) The sense suggested for the last clause, In this manner is every one born who is of the Spirit, removes the necessity of finding something with which the work of the Spirit may be compared, and it is in this necessity that the received versions of the first clause really find their root.
These reasons are, it is thought, not an insufficient basis for the interpretation here adopted. It is adopted not without the knowledge that a consensus of authorities may be pleaded against it. For its details it may be that no authority can be pleaded, but the rendering of here by spirit is not without the support of width of learning and depth of power, critical acumen and spiritual insight, for it rests on the names of Origen and Augustine, of Albrecht Bengel and Frederick Maurice.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Flesh Spirit Flesh is not synonymous with body. The word is used in the Old Testament to designate the entire transient, perishable, fallen, and corrupt nature of man, both in body and soul. Hence the meaning of the first clause of this first verse is: That which is generated of fallen and depraved humanity, is itself fallen and depraved humanity. Like produces like. Through all the productive, procreative kingdoms, whether animal or vegetable, no offspring is of a higher species than its parentage. On the other hand, Spirit here refers to the Holy Spirit as so operating upon the human spirit, and so changing its nature, as to be said to beget it anew. For as generation is a modifying of substance or being, imparting to it a new principle of life, conforming it, as living being, to the likeness of the generator, so regeneration is a modification of the human spirit by the Holy Spirit, conforming the temper of the human to the Holy.
Is spirit As flesh signifies a depraved nature, so spirit in this verse signifies a pure nature.
For it is a pure and holy Spirit which is the generator, and it must be a pure and holy spirit which is generated. The whole text then is: As a depraved nature generates a depraved nature, so the holy nature generates a holy nature. And as we are first born of a depraved nature, and therefore depraved, so we must be born (or rather begotten) from a holy nature, and so be renewed.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Here we can refer back to Joh 1:12-13 where John had distinguished natural birth from being ‘born of God’. Being born a Jew, or in Christendom, or in a Christian family is not sufficient. Just as being baptised is not enough. New life received from the Spirit is what is required, God watering the heart. This comparison of flesh and Spirit arises, of course, from Nicodemus’ earlier question. Having made clear that He is referring to the Spirit under the picture of life-giving water Jesus has now connected it up with what Nicodemus has asked.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 3:6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; That Nicodemus might see the absurdityof his notion, Jesus told him, that whatsoever is begotten, must necessarily partake of the nature of that which begets it; and therefore, that a man’s being begotten and born a second time by his natural parents, were that possible, would not make him holy, or qualify him for the kingdom of God. After such a second generation, his nature would be the same sinful and corrupt thingas before, because he would still be endued with all the properties and sinful inclinations of human nature; and consequently would be as far from a happy immortality as ever:That which is born of the flesh is flesh:But that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit: spiritual, heavenly, divine, like its author.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 3:6 . A more minute antithetic definition of this birth, in order further to elucidate it.
We have not in what follows two originally different classes of persons designated (Hilgenfeld), for the new birth is needed by all (see Joh 3:7 ; comp. also Weiss, Lehrbegriff , p. 128), but two different and successive epochs of life .
.] neuter , though designating persons, to give prominence to the statement as general and categorical . See Winer, p. 167 [E. T. p. 222].
] The is that human nature , consisting of body and soul, which is alien and hostile to the divine, influenced morally by impulses springing from the power of sin, whose seat it is, living and operating with the principle of sensible life, the . See on Rom 4:1 . “ What is born of human nature thus sinfully constituted (and, therefore, not in the way of spiritual birth from God ) , is a being of the same sinfully conditioned nature , [154] without the higher spiritual moral life which springs only from the working of the divine Spirit. Comp. Joh 1:12-13 . Destitute of this divine working, man is merely , (1Co 2:14 ), (Rom 7:14 ), and, despite his natural moral consciousness and will in the , is wholly under the sway of the sinful power that is in the (Rom 7:14-25 ). The , as the moral antithesis of the , stands in the same relation to the human with the , as the prevailingly sinful and morally powerless life of our lower nature does to the higher moral principle of life (Mat 26:41 ) with the will converted to God; while it stands in the same relation to the divine , as that which is determinately opposed to God stands to that which determines the new life in obedience to God (Rom 8:1-3 ). In both relations, and are antitheses to each other, Mat 26:41 ; Gal 5:17 ff.; accordingly in the unregenerate we have the lucta carnis et MENTIS (Rom 7:14 ff.), in the regenerate we have the lucta carnis et SPIRITUS (Gal 5:17 ).
] that which is born of the Spirit, i.e . that whose moral nature and life have proceeded from the operation of the Holy Spirit, [155] is a being of a spiritual nature , free from the dominion of the , and entirely filled and governed by a spiritual principle, namely by the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:2 ff.), walking (Rom 7:6 ).
The general nature of the statement forbids its limitation to the Jews as descendants of Abraham according to the flesh (Kuinoel and others), but they are of course included in the general declaration; comp. Joh 3:7 , .
In the apodoses the substantives and represent, though with stronger emphasis (comp. Joh 6:63 , Joh 11:25 , Joh 12:50 ; 1Jn 4:8 ; Rom 8:10 ), the adjectives and , and are to be taken qualitatively .
[154] The sinful constitution of the in itself implies the necessity of a being born of the Spirit (vv. 3, 7); comp. 1Jn 2:16 . The above exposition cannot therefore be considered as attributing to John a Pauline view which is strange to him. This is in answer to Weiss, according to whom Jesus here merely says, “as the corporeal birth only produces the corporeal sensual part.” Similarly J. Mller on Sin , vol. I. p. 449, II. 382. See on the other hand, Luthardt, v. freien Willen , p. 393.
[155] The , implying the (after ver. 5), and the meaning of which is clear in itself, is not repeated by Jesus, because His aim now is simply to let the contrast between the and the stand out clearly.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Ver. 6. That which is born of the flesh, &c. ] Whole man is in evil, and whole evil in man. Quintilian saw not this, and therefore said, that it is more marvel that one man sinneth than that all men should live honestly; sin is so much against man’s nature. Many also of the most dangerous opinions of Popery (as justification by works, state of perfection, merit, supererogation, &c.) spring from hence; that they have slight conceits of concupiscence, as a condition of nature. Yet some of them (as Michael Bains, professor at Lovain, &c.) are sound in this point.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
6. ] The neuter denotes not only the universal application of this truth, but (see Luk 1:35 ) the very first beginnings of life in the embryo, before sex can be predicated. So Bengel: “notat ipsa prima stamina vit.”
The Lord here answers Nicodemus’s hypothetical question of Joh 3:4 , by telling him that even could it be so , it would not accomplish the birth of which He speaks.
In this is included every part of that which is born after the ordinary method of generation: even the spirit of man, which, receptive as it is of the Spirit of God, is yet in the natural birth dead , sunk in trespasses and sins, and in a state of wrath. Such ‘flesh and blood’ cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, 1Co 15:50 . But when the man is born again of the Spirit (the water does not appear any more, being merely the outward form of reception, the less included in the greater), then just as flesh generates flesh, so spirit generates spirit, after its own image, see 2Co 3:18 fin.; and since the Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom, such only who are so born can enter into it.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 3:6 . The necessity of the new birth is further exhibited by a comparison of the first and second birth: , . The neuter is used because the speaker “wishes to make His statement altogether general” (Winer, 27, 5), whatever is born. The law is laid down in Aristotle (Eth. Maj., i., 10), “Every nature generates its own substance,” flesh, flesh; spirit, spirit.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
That which is born = That (Neuter) which has been begotten. Note the difference between this Perfect here and in Joh 3:8 and the Aorists in verses: Joh 3:3, Joh 3:3, Joh 3:4, Joh 3:5, Joh 3:7.
flesh. See note on Joh 1:13.
the Spirit: the Holy Spirit (with Art.) See App-101.
is spirit. This is a fundamental law, both in nature and grace.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
6.] The neuter denotes not only the universal application of this truth, but (see Luk 1:35) the very first beginnings of life in the embryo, before sex can be predicated. So Bengel: notat ipsa prima stamina vit.
The Lord here answers Nicodemuss hypothetical question of Joh 3:4, by telling him that even could it be so, it would not accomplish the birth of which He speaks.
In this is included every part of that which is born after the ordinary method of generation: even the spirit of man, which, receptive as it is of the Spirit of God, is yet in the natural birth dead, sunk in trespasses and sins, and in a state of wrath. Such flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, 1Co 15:50. But when the man is born again of the Spirit (the water does not appear any more, being merely the outward form of reception,-the less included in the greater), then just as flesh generates flesh, so spirit generates spirit, after its own image, see 2Co 3:18 fin.; and since the Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom, such only who are so born can enter into it.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 3:6. ) True flesh: but also mere flesh, void of spirit, opposed to spirit, of an old generation.- , what is born) This being in the neuter, sounds more general, and denotes the very first stamina [groundwork] of new life: comp. Luk 1:35, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore that holy thing, , etc.: or even the whole body of those born again: comp. Joh 6:37; Joh 6:39, All that- -the Father giveth Me, shall come to Me, etc.: This is the Fathers will, etc., that of all which- -He hath given Me, I should lose nothing- -but should raise it–up again at the last day. Afterwards it is expressed in the masculine, , who is born, Joh 3:8; which signifies matured birth.-, spirit) That which is born of the Spirit is spirit: he who is born of the Spirit is spiritual.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 3:6
Joh 3:6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.-It is the fleshly part of man that is born of the flesh, of his father and his mother; but it is the spirit within man that must be born or begotten of the Spirit. He is removing the difficulty in the mind of Nicodemus about the possibility of being born again.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
born of the flesh: Gen 5:3, Gen 6:5, Gen 6:12, Job 14:4, Job 15:14-16, Job 25:4, Psa 51:10, Rom 7:5, Rom 7:18, Rom 7:25, Rom 8:1, Rom 8:4, Rom 8:5-9, Rom 8:13, 1Co 15:47-49, 2Co 5:17, Gal 5:16-21, Gal 5:24, Eph 2:3, Col 2:11
that: Eze 11:19, Eze 11:20, Eze 36:26, Eze 36:27, Rom 8:5, Rom 8:9, 1Co 6:17, Gal 5:17, 1Jo 3:9
Reciprocal: Gen 6:3 – is Gen 8:21 – the imagination Job 12:10 – mankind Psa 51:5 – shapen Psa 78:39 – For he Pro 22:15 – Foolishness Luk 10:13 – repented Luk 11:13 – being Joh 1:13 – of God Joh 3:3 – Except Rom 8:8 – they that 1Co 15:48 – such are they also that are earthy Gal 5:19 – the works Eph 1:19 – exceeding Heb 12:9 – fathers
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6
This verse is a simple statement of the difference between things fleshly and things spiritual. The kind of birth Nicodemus thought Jesus was speaking of is fleshly only, while he was speaking of a spiritual birth. It is true the fleshly body must be acted upon even in the spiritual birth, but that is because the inner man that is being renewed or regenerated, is living within the fleshly body.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 3:6. That which hath been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which hath been born of the Spirit is spirit. In the last verse was implied the law that like is produced from like, since the pure and spiritual members of Gods kingdom must be born of water and spirit. Here this law is expressly stated. Flesh produces flesh. Spirit produces spirit. Thus the necessity of a new birth is enforced, and the cannot of Joh 3:3 explained. It is not easy to say whether flesh, as here used, definitely indicates the sinful principles of human nature, or only that which is outward, material, not spiritual but merely natural. The latter seems more likely, both from the context (where the contrast is between the natural and the spiritual birth) and from Johns usage elsewhere. Though the word occurs as many as thirteen times in this Gospel (chap. Joh 1:13-14, Joh 6:51-52, etc., Joh 8:15, Joh 17:2), in no passage does it express the thought of sinfulness, as it does in Pauls Epistles and in 1Jn 2:16. Another difficulty meets us in the second clause. Are we to read born of the Spirit or of the spirit? Is the reference to the Holy Spirit Himself, who imparts the principle of the new life, or to the principle which He imparts,-the principle just spoken of in Joh 3:5, of water and spirit It is hard to say, and the difference in meaning is extremely small; but when we consider the analogy of the two clauses, the latter seems more likely.There is no reference here to water; but, as we have seen, the water has reference to the past alone,-the state which gives place to the new life. To speak of this would be beside the point of the verse now before us, which teaches that the spiritual life of the kingdom of God can only come from the new spiritual principle.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
As if Christ had said, “As men generate men, and nature begets nature, so the Holy Spirit produceth holy inclinations, qualifications, and dispositions.”
Learn hence, That as original corruption is conveyed by natural generation, so saving regeneration is the effect and product of the Holy Spirit’s operation.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Joh 3:6-8. That which is born of the flesh is flesh Only flesh, void of the Spirit: or is carnal and corrupt, and therefore at enmity with the Spirit. And that which is born of the Spirit is spirit Is spiritual, heavenly, divine, like its author. As if our Lord had said to Nicodemus, Were it possible for a man to be born again in a literal sense, by entering a second time into his mothers womb, such a second birth would do no more to qualify him for the kingdom of God than the first; for what proceeds, and is produced from parents that are sinful and corrupt, is sinful and corrupt as they are; but that which is born of the Spirit is formed to a resemblance of that blessed Spirit, whose office it is to communicate a divine nature to the soul, and to stamp it with the divine image. Marvel not, therefore, that I said unto thee And have declared it as a truth that ye are all concerned in; that ye must be born again Ye Jews, though descendants of Abraham; ye scribes, though learned in the law; ye Pharisees, though exact in the observance of its ceremonies, and the traditions of the elders; ye doctors of Israel and rulers of the people, notwithstanding your authority in matters civil and religious, must all be born again in this spiritual sense, since the degeneracy of the human nature is of so universal an extent as to be common to you all. The wind bloweth, &c. As if he had said, Nor have you any cause to be surprised if there be some things in this doctrine of regeneration which are of an obscure and unsearchable nature, for even in the natural world many things are so: the wind, for instance, bloweth where it listeth According to its own nature, not thy will, sometimes one way, and sometimes another, not being subject to the direction or command of man; and thou hearest the sound thereof And feelest its sensible and powerful effects on thy body; but canst not tell whence it cometh Canst not explain the particular manner of its acting, or where it begins, and where it ceases blowing; for whatever general principles may be laid down concerning it, when men come to account for its particular variations, the greatest philosophers often find themselves at a loss. So is every one that is born of the Spirit The fact is plain, the manner of its operations is inexplicable. It is worthy of remark, says Dr. Campbell, that as, in the Greek and in the Vulgate, the same word, in this passage, signifies both wind and spirit, the illustration is expressed with more energy than it is possible to give it in those languages which do not admit the same ambiguity. But I shall give what appears to me the purport of Joh 3:7-8. Nor is there, as if he had said, any thing in this either absurd or unintelligible. The wind, which in Hebrew is expressed by the same word as spirit, shall serve for an example. It is invisible; we hear the noise it makes, but cannot discover what occasions its rise or its fall. It is known to us solely by its effects. Just so it is with this second birth. The Spirit himself, the great agent, is invisible; his manner of operating is beyond our discovery; but the reality of his operation is perceived by the effects produced on the disposition and life of the regenerate.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ver. 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The logical transition from Joh 3:5 to Joh 3:6 is this understood idea: The Kingdom of God can only be of a spiritual nature, as God is Himself. In order to enter it, therefore, there must be, not flesh, as every man is by his first birth, but spirit, as he becomes by the new birth. The word flesh (see pp. 268-269), taken in itself, does not necessarily imply the notion of sin. But it certainly cannot be maintained, with Weiss, that the question here is simply of the insufficiency of the natural birth, even in the state of innocence, to render man fit for the divine kingdom. Nevertheless, we must not forget that the question here is of humanity in its present constitution, according to which sin is connected with the fact of birth more closely than with any other of the natural life (Psa 51:7).
The expression: the flesh, seems to me, therefore, to denote here humanity in its present state, in which the flesh rules the spirit. This state is transmitted from generation to generation in such a way that, without renewal, no man can come out of that fatal circle. And hence the necessity of regeneration. How does this transmission of the carnal state accord with individual culpability? The last words of this conversation will throw some light on this difficult question. According to this saying, it is impossible to suppose that Jesus regarded Himself as born in the same way as other men (Joh 3:7, you). The substantive flesh, as a predicate (is flesh), has a much more forcible meaning than that of the adjective (carnal) would be. The state has, in some sort, become nature. Hence, it follows that it is not enough to cleanse or adorn outwardly the natural man; a new nature must be substituted for the old, by means of a regenerating power. We might also see in the second clause a proof of the necessity of the new birth; it would be necessary, in that case, to give it the exclusive sense: Nothing except what is born of the Spirit is spiritual (and can enjoy, in consequence, the Kingdom of the Spirit). But the clause has rather a positive and affirmative sense: That which is born of the Spirit is really spirit, and consequently cannot fail to enjoy the Kingdom of the Spirit. The idea, therefore, is that of the reality of the new birth, and consequently, of its complete possibility.
This is the answer to the question: How can a man? Let the Spirit breathe, and the spiritual man exists! The word Spirit, as subject, denotes the Divine Spirit, and, as predicate, the new man. Here, again, the substantive (spirit), is used instead of the adjective (spiritual), to characterize the new essence. This word spirit, in the context here, includes not only the new principle of spiritual life, but also the soul and body, in subjection to the Spirit. The neuter, (that which is born), is substituted in the two clauses for the masculine (he who is born), for the purpose of designating thenature of the product, abstractedly from the individual; thus, the generality of the law is more clearly brought out.Hilgenfeld finds here the Gnostic distinction between two kinds of men, originally opposite.
Meyer well replies: There is a distinction, not between two classes of men, but between two different phases in the life of the same individual.
Jesus observes, that the astonishment of Nicodemus, instead of diminishing, goes on increasing. He penetrates the cause of this fact: Nicodemus has not yet given a place in his conception of divine things to the action of the Holy Spirit; this is the reason why he is always seeking to represent to himself the new birth as a fact apprehensible by the senses. Recognizing him, however, as a serious and sincere man, He wishes to remove from his path this stumbling-stone. Here is not a fact, He says to him, which one can picture to himself; it can be comprehended only as far as it is experienced.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Verse 6
The meaning seems to be, that the qualities which are inherited by natural birth are earthly and sensual, and that a great change, to be wrought only by the Holy Spirit, will make man heavenly-minded and pure.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
3:6 That which is born of the flesh is {g} flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
(g) That is, fleshly, namely, wholly unclean and under the wrath of God: and therefore this word “flesh” signifies the corrupt nature of man: contrary to which is the Spirit, that is, the man ingrafted into Christ through the grace of the Holy Spirit, whose nature is everlasting and immortal, though the strife of the flesh remains.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Here, not in Joh 3:5, Jesus clarified that there are two types of birth, one physical and one spiritual. "Flesh" again refers to human nature (cf. Joh 1:14). The Holy Spirit gives people spiritual life. We are spiritually dead in sin until the Spirit gives us spiritual life. Jesus had been speaking of a spiritual birth, not a physical one. Nicodemus should not have marveled at the idea that there is a spiritual birth as well as a physical birth since the Old Testament spoke of it (cf. Psa 87:5-6; Eze 36:25-28). It revealed that entrance into the kingdom is a spiritual matter, not a matter of physical descent or merit. This was a revelation that most of the Jews in Jesus’ day, including Nicodemus, missed.