The first place to start I guess would be to examine what Jesus said being born again was when confronted with a sincere seeker of God. With this we will turn to the Gospel of John chapter 3 verses 1 thru 9.

1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 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. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? (KJV)

As we can see from John 3:1-9 even honest seekers of the kingdom of God can be somewhat confused when it comes to spiritual things. Now lets from the above verses see if we can discover what Jesus was trying to get across to Nicodemus.

1. Now as we look at verse 3 we will first notice that none can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.

2. Notice in verses 5 thru 8, Jesus tells Nicodemus what he means by being born again.

a. Verse 5: must be "born of water and of the Spirit".

b. Verse 8: there is a sound heard when one is "born of the Spirit".

Now as we can see from the above everyone who wants to enter the kingdom of God must be born of the water and of the Spirit, and that when someone is born of the Spirit there is a sound that is heard. Because in verse 8 the word says "so is every one that is born of the Spirit" refering to"and thou hearest the sound thereof".

Now we need to discover what Jesus meant by being "born of water and of the Spirit", and what the sound is when one is born of the Spirit. First lets look at what "born of water" is. For this we will have to again go to the word of God. We will look at several scriptures to establish this fact.

Acts 2:38: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (KJV)

Acts 2:41: Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. (KJV)

1 Peter 3:21: The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: (KJV)

Colossians 2:12: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (KJV)

Mark 16:16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (KJV)

Galatians 3:27: For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (KJV)

Acts 19:5: When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (KJV)

Acts10:47-48: Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certian days. (KJV)

Acts 22:16: And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (KJV)

We can clearly see from the preceding scriptures what Jesus means by being "born of water". It is most certaninly water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I know some people will say , "What about Matthew 28:19 when Jesus commanded his followers to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost?" Well, if we examine Matthew 28:19 carefully we will discover that "in the name" does not mean repeat these words, because the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are titles of the name to be used in baptism. And at the day of Pentecost, Acts 2:38; Peter was given the keys to salvation, Matthew 16:18-19; 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (KJV) Peter was shown the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, (JESUS). For if Peter went against Jesus' teaching in Matthew 28:19, then Peter would be a false apostle; when he told them all to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and not in the name of the titles. Besides all scriptural evidence shows that when one is baptized they used the name Jesus Christ, Lord Jesus, or Lord. Never is it mentioned that the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost was ever used.

So far we have learned what being born of the water is, now we must find out what born of the Spirit is. Remember Jesus said in John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (KJV) Now lets see if we can discover what being "born of the Spirit" is. Again we will turn to the bible for our answers.

Acts 2:4: And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (KJV)

Acts 10:44-48: 44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. (KJV)

Acts 19:1-7: 1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coast came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. 4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. 7 And all the men were about twelve. (KJV)

Isaiah 28:11-12: 11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. 12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. (KJV)

John 7:37-39: 37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified.) (KJV)

Now from these scriptures we can see that when one is born of the Spirit one thing is common; They speak in tongues as the Spirit gives them the utterance. So if one is truly born of the Spirit they will speak in other tongues as a sign to others and too themselves. This is the universal sign of receiving the Spirit. Tongues is the sound not the wind in John 3:8, wind is present as the breath of Christ Spirit as in John 20:22: And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: (KJV)

Now that we know what being born of "water and Spirit" means, what is required of us if we want to be "born of water and Spirit" and have an opportunity to enter the kingdom of God? Again only in the word can we find our answers.

Matthew 3:2: And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (KJV)

Matthew 4:17: From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (KJV)

Mark 6:12: And they went out, and preached that men should repent. (KJV)

Acts 3:19: Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; (KJV)

Acts 17:30: And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (KJV)

Matthew 9:13: But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (KJV)

Luke 5:32: I came not to call the rigtheous, but sinners to repentance. (KJV)

2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (KJV)

As we can see repentance is required before we can be "born of water and Spirit" . Without repentance baptism cannot remit our sins. Without repentance we cannot receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Only through sincere godly repentance can anyone receive the gift of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance.

Through our study we have seen what being "born of water and Spirit" is. Only in this way can we truly be born again.

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