What does John 3 verse 3 say in the Bible?

Answer 1

This is a highly misunderstood verse of Scripture. Yes, physical humans must be 'born again' into spirit as Paul also tells us, the problem is when men interpret this verse to mean something The Bible never intended it to. Confusion is not a character trait of God, but it is a tool of the god of this world:

John 3:3 New King James Version (NKJV)

3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

The 'firstfruits' will be changed into spiritual children of God, to become the bride of Christ, at the sounding of the 7th Trumpet. Others will be 'marked' for change during the Millennial Rule awaiting their judgement, then most will be given their opportunity to repent and follow Christ and be 'born again' at their Judgement call. The incorrigible and those refusing to repent will meet their chosen fate - the 2nd death.

Answer:

The Truly most astounding thing John 3:3 is saying, that most people, not only don't see... but "refuse to believe": Jesus is talking about being BORN INTO GOD'S FAMILY!

The Kingdom of God... the "household" [or HOME] that God is preparing for His Children... can't be "entered" [verse 5] or "seen" [verse 3] unless they are reborn of God's Spirit [and Water; baptism].

John 3:3 has a "familial" theme that escapes most people. Jesus is talking about a "change" [babies undergo a change as they develop and grow in the womb, and at birth, when the mother's "water" breaks] that God's Children must undergo, struggle through and overcome in their transition from "mortal" to becoming the "Immortal Children of God," which is covered in other places in the Bible [i.e. I Cor.15:51-53].

The word "gennao" Jesus uses that's translated "born" in John 3:3 includes the "entire birth process" from conception, through to parturition -- from the Father's Holy Spirit conceiving a Child within a person's spirit, through that person's subsequent "Righteous Character Development,' through to either their death or the return of Jesus -- whichever comes first. At which time the "birth of the first generation of God's Children will occur; when Jesus will "deliver" them.

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, the WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD..." (Rom.8:16).

All of this and more is covered elsewhere in scripture. One scripture taken out of context in the Bible doesn't reveal the whole wonderful and incredible picture that God's Word paints ["...here a little, and there a little..." - Isa.28:13].

But, the upshot of John 3:3's awesome and mind-boggling "familial theme" seems to be a "Divine brush stroke" that escapes most people, while they, like carnal minded Nicodemus, debate over the nature of man's pending and seemingly impossible rebirth: and never bothering to ask, "Born into what?"

Answer 2

Because it is almost impossible to translate from Greek into English, this is one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible. John portrays Jesus as telling Nicodemus that he must be born from above. The Greek word anothen can have two very different meanings, but those who understand this can recognise the intended meaning from the overall context.

In John 3:1-8, Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born anothen, he can not see the kingdom of heaven." Nicodemus understood this Greek word to mean 'again'. This is one meaning it can have, but it can also mean 'from above', a fact that John's Greek-speaking readers would have understood. Because Nicodemus did not understand, he asked, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?' This reveals, with the use of 'a second time', that Nicodemus only understood the surface meaning of anothen - 'again'.

Jesus invalidated this understanding: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee,'You must be born anothen'."

Most translators now recognise that the appropriate English equivalent for this second occurrence of anothen is 'from above.' In the statement immediately preceding this Jesus says, 'What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit'. It is birth 'by the Spirit', not a second physical birth, that Jesus had in mind.

In John's Gospel, it is typical that Jesus' opponents did not understand the deeper meaning of Jesus' words. Unfortunately, John's wordplay only works in the original Greek. The King James Version, like most English Bibles, has Jesus say, 'born again' but, for example, the New American Bible has Jesus say, 'born from above'.