John 3:6

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 John 3:5 to John 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 (John 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, τὸ γεγεννημένον (that which is born), is substituted in the two clauses for the masculine (he who is born), for the purpose of designating the nature 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.