Summary
For Jews and Gentiles1, entry into the Kingdom of God required each to be born again. However, the Jews of the early first century, including Jesus, defined the Kingdom of God as God’s divine authority; for them, this meant the Torah’s stipulations. But by the end of the first century, Christians had come to define the Kingdom of God as the stipulations of the Torah but as taught by Jesus Christ.
In this context, the soteriology of Jews generally and Jesus specifically can be modeled as follows:
- Born again is a one-time-only event. It is like obtaining a passport. Jesus taught that being “born again” means coming to faith in God (if Jewish) or Jesus (if Christian) and following the relevant teachings.
- Being born again means one must accept and follow the Authority of God/Jesus, not unlike following the laws of the country into which one has entered.
- Living under divine authority requires continuing repentance. As we continually fall short of God’s glory, we must continually repent.
What Is The Kingdom of God?
More than a few of Jesus’ teachings and parables use the phrase “the Kingdom of God” (or “the Kingdom of Heaven”)2. Here is Mark 1:15.
“The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15 )
What, then, is meant by Kingdom? Is God’s Kingdom a territory or nation over which He rules the same way the kings of France, Spain, and England rule their countries? Is it a metaphor symbolizing heaven, in which Jesus claims, in so many words, that “If you repent and believe, you can go to heaven when you die?” No.
On the other hand, some theologians assert that the Kingdom of God refers to the advent of the Church. This latter interpretation heralds the establishment of the Christian Church. Still, others view the Kingdom of God as a world infused with divine justice and interpret Jesus’ proclamation as a call to social activism. More recently, “spiritually” inclined people have reduced the Kingdom of God to the inner awareness of one’s divinity. Like the ancient Gnostics, they understand the good news of the Kingdom to mean “We are divine.”
But how did Jesus and other Jews in the early first century understand the phrase ‘the Kingdom of God’? As it happens, the prophets of the Hebrew Bible understood what “Kingdom” meant. They had been using that word for centuries. A normal reading of the Hebrew Bible’s original Greek or Hebrew text is illuminating in this regard. In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible), the Greek word translated as “Kingdom” is βασιλεία (basileia), and the Hebrew word it translates is מַמְלֶכֶת (mamleḵeṯ). So, while basileia (or mamleḵeṯ) can refer to a territory over which a king ruled, its more common meaning (especially in the New Testament) during this time was authority or power. Now, most Bibles translate basileia as “kingdom,” as in the Parable of the Ten Minas (Luke 19:12).
“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom“ (Luke 19:12 ESV).
This translation is not helpful to contemporary Christians, who may be unaware that the word “kingdom” is also [and almost universally] translated as “authority” or “power.” The NRSV translators capture the meaning of basileia exactly right. In their translation of this verse, the nobleman goes to a distant land to obtain additional power or authority.
“A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself. (NSRV)
In other words, the scholars who translated the NSRV understood that the nobleman’s purpose was to obtain a grant of authority, not additional acres of land. The nobleman sought to obtain new or perhaps greater authority. Thus, when Jesus proclaims that the Kingdom of God has come near, he means that God’s authority is imminent, if not already present. An accurate paraphrase of Mark 1:15, therefore, might convey Jesus’ teaching along these lines:
“The time is fulfilled, and the authority of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Of course, Jesus’ announcement of God’s reign did not come in a vacuum. It consistently fulfilled a common eschatological theme of first-century Judaism that, at the “end-of-days,” if Jews wanted to live under God’s authority upon resurrection, they must first be born again.
What Does Born Again Mean?
To be born again means to follow God (if Jewish) or Jesus Christ (if Christian) by accepting His divine authority—acknowledging Him as Lord and Savior. Biblically, to be “born again” is to undergo a spiritual rebirth, a work of the Spirit, where a person comes to faith in God (or Jesus) and receives eternal life (John 3:3-8; Titus 3:5). This phrase, “born again,” was evidently unfamiliar even to many of the religious leaders of Israel. One such leader, Nicodemus—a respected Pharisee—came to Jesus seeking understanding.
“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who comes from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” (John 3:2, ESV)
Jesus responded:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
Nicodemus, confused, replied:
“How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4)
Jesus answered:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:5-6)
Here, Jesus alludes not to a physical birth, but to a spiritual one. The language He uses strongly echoes the prophecy found in Ezekiel 36:25-27, where God promises:
“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean… And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you… I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.”
This Old Testament passage is viewed by many (if not most) Evangelical Scholars, such as John Piper, D.A. Carson, David Guzik, and others. To be the background to Jesus’ statement. It speaks of ritual cleansing (“water”) and inner transformation (“born of the Spirit”), both of which are necessary to enter God’s Kingdom.
Jesus continues:
“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound… so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:7–8)
The Greek word for “wind” (pneuma) also means “spirit.” Jesus uses this metaphor to describe the mysterious and sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. While this imagery recalls Ezekiel 37, where God breathes life into dry bones through the wind (Spirit), the primary reference in context is Ezekiel 36, which directly addresses spiritual rebirth and cleansing. Nicodemus, as a teacher of Israel, should have recognized these allusions. Jesus rebukes him for failing to grasp the spiritual truths already revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures.
In summary, being “born again” is not about returning to the womb. It is about coming to faith via the work of the Holy Spirit—cleansed from sin and renewed to walk in God’s ways.
How Does Repentance Fit In?
In the context of the Kingdom of God and being born again, the importance of repentance lies in its grammar.
In these three verses , the “born again” and “Kingdom of God/Heavens” passages, the verb repent (Greek: μετανοεῖτε, metanoete) appears in the present tense form. In Koine Greek, the present tense generally conveys the imperfective aspect, where imperfective means an ongoing or continuous action. Thus, in Jesus’ formulation, the command to repent is not merely a one-time act, but a call to a continual lifestyle of repentance.
In other words, while the word repent in these three verses is critical, as important as repentance is, Jesus teaches that entry into the Kingdom requires that we repent continuously. I will leave it as an exercise for the reader, but if you take the time to study many of the “follow” verses, you will see that the verb is used is imperfective, suggesting that following Jesus is a lifelong commitment.
For Further Reading
D.A. Carson (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; author of The Gospel According to John, Pillars New Testament Commentary). Carson explicitly links “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5) to Ezekiel 36:25–27 as the “decisive clue” for understanding new birth as God’s sovereign act of inner renewal and cleansing. He argues this is not about baptism but about the prophetic promise of spiritual resurrection—as in Ezekiel 36 and 37.
Quote: “Where do ‘water’ and ‘the Spirit’ come together in the Old Testament in a context that promises a new beginning? … The most obvious is Ezekiel 36:25-27.”
David Guzik (Enduring Word Commentary; Calvary Chapel pastor and Bible teacher) In his verse-by-verse on John 3, Guzik says Jesus’ new birth language “recalled a familiar theme from Old Testament promises of the New Covenant,” citing Ezekiel 36:16–28 and 37:11–14 directly as the backdrop for spiritual rebirth from death to life (see enduringword.com). He ties the “water” to Ezekiel’s cleansing prophecy and the Spirit-breath to the valley of dry bones.
Quote: “Jesus recalled … Ezekiel 36:16-28, Ezekiel 37:11-14, [where God promises] a new heart and a new spirit.” (enduringword.com)
John Piper (Desiring God Ministries; former Bethlehem Baptist pastor; Reformed Baptist). In sermons like “What Happens in the New Birth? Part 2,” Piper traces “born of water and the Spirit” straight to Ezekiel 36:24–28, emphasizing the Spirit’s role in giving “a new heart and a new spirit” for eternal life—linking it to the resurrection breath in Ezekiel 37. He frames new birth as God’s initiative at the moment of faith, like the dry bones coming to life.
Quote: “Water and spirit are closely linked in the New Covenant promises, especially in Ezekiel 36 … ‘I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.”
George R. Beasley-Murray (Baptist; Word Biblical Commentary on John). Beasley-Murray connects the new birth to Ezekiel’s water-and-Spirit renewal (36:25–27) and the eschatological resurrection (37), calling it the fulfillment of Israel’s prophetic hopes in individual faith.
Quote: “The text relates birth from above to [Ezekiel’s] baptism and the Holy Spirit … sprinkled with clean water and his Spirit will be placed in us.”
The Broader Evangelical Consensus
The Bible.org Exegetical Commentary (NET Bible team, conservative scholars) highlights Ezekiel 37:9-10 as a direct parallel for the Spirit’s life-giving “breath/wind” in John 3:8, tying it to Israel’s restoration. (bible.org). Even in hermeneutics discussions among evangelicals, the Ezekiel allusion is standard (e.g., seeing Jesus swap Ezekiel’s “resurrection” imagery for “birth” to emphasize personal renewal).
Now, Go and Study
- In this paper, Gentiles fall into three groups: Proselytes, God Fearers, and Pagans. Proselytes were Gentiles who had fully converted to Judaism, while God Fearers were Gentiles who admired, worshipped, and followed God.
- When the audience targeted by the gospel writers were Jewish, they used ‘Heaven’, and when the audience was Gentiles, they used God