Church Fathers Commentary John 3:4-8

"Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother`s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot 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, Ye must be born anew. The wind bloweth where it will, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." — John 3:4-8 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: Nicodemus, coming to Jesus as to a man, is startled to learn things greater than a man could utter, things too lofty for him. His mind is darkened, and he does not stand firm but reels like one on the verge of falling away from the faith.

Therefore, he objects to the doctrine as impossible in order to draw out a fuller explanation. Two things astonish him: such a birth and such a kingdom, neither of which had yet been heard of among the Jews. He first brings up the former difficulty, as it is the greatest marvel, asking: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?

The Venerable Bede: The question, put this way, sounds as if a boy could enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born. But we must remember, Nicodemus was an old man and took his example from himself, as if he said: I am an old man and seek my salvation; how can I enter again into my mother’s womb and be born?

St. John Chrysostom: You call Him Rabbi and say that He comes from God, yet you do not accept His sayings, but use a word with your master that introduces endless confusion. For "how" is the question of a man who lacks strong belief, and many who have asked this have fallen from the faith—some asking how God became incarnate, others how He was born. Nicodemus asks from anxiety. But observe how ridiculously a man talks when he trusts spiritual things to his own reasoning.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is the Spirit who speaks, whereas Nicodemus understands carnally. He knew of no birth except the one from Adam and Eve; he knew nothing of the one from God and the Church. But do not understand the birth of the Spirit as Nicodemus understood the birth of the flesh, for just as entrance into the womb cannot be repeated, neither can baptism.

St. John Chrysostom: While Nicodemus stumbles, dwelling on our earthly birth, Christ reveals the manner of our spiritual birth more clearly. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say to you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It is as if He said: You understand me to speak of a carnal birth, but a man must be born of water and of the Spirit if he is to enter into the kingdom of God. If a man must be born from his mother's womb to obtain the temporal inheritance of his human father, he must be born from the womb of the Church to obtain the eternal inheritance of his heavenly Father. And since a person consists of two parts, body and soul, the mode of this latter birth is also twofold: water, the visible part, cleanses the body; the Spirit, by His invisible cooperation, changes the invisible soul.

St. John Chrysostom: If anyone asks how a man is born of water, I ask in return, how was Adam born from the ground? For just as in the beginning, though the element of earth was the subject matter, the man was the work of the Fashioner, so now too, though the element of water is the subject matter, the whole work is done by the Spirit of grace. Then, He gave Paradise as a place to dwell; now, He has opened heaven to us.

But what need is there of water for those who receive the Holy Spirit? Water carries out the divine symbols of burial, mortification, resurrection, and life. For by the immersion of our heads in the water, the old man disappears and is buried, as it were, in a tomb, from which he ascends as a new man. Thus you should learn that the power of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit fills all things. For this reason, Christ also lay three days in the grave before His resurrection.

What the womb is to the offspring, water is to the believer; he is fashioned and formed in the water. But that which is fashioned in the womb needs time, whereas in the water, all is done in an instant. For the nature of the body is such that it requires time for its completion, but spiritual creations are perfect from the beginning. From the time our Lord ascended from the Jordan, water no longer produces reptiles (that is, living souls), but rather souls that are rational and endowed with the Spirit.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Because He does not say, Except a man be born again of water and of the Spirit, he shall not have salvation, or eternal life, but rather, he shall not enter into the kingdom of God, some infer that children are to be baptized to be with Christ in the kingdom of God (where they would not be if they were not baptized). They believe, however, that such children will obtain salvation and eternal life even if they die without baptism, since they are not bound by any chain of sin. But why is a person born again, except to be changed from their old state into a new one? And why does the image of God not enter the kingdom of God, if not because of sin?

Haymo of Auxerre: But since Nicodemus was unable to grasp such great and deep mysteries, our Lord helps him with the analogy of our carnal birth, saying, That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. For just as flesh generates flesh, so also does spirit generate spirit.

St. John Chrysostom: Therefore, do not look for any material production or think that the Spirit generates flesh, for even the Lord’s flesh is generated not by the Spirit only, but also by the flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spiritual. The birth spoken of here takes place not according to our substance, but according to honor and grace. But the birth of the Son of God is different; otherwise, how would He have been more than all who are born again? And He would also be proved inferior to the Spirit, inasmuch as His birth would be by the grace of the Spirit. How does this differ from the Jewish doctrine?

But next, mark the role of the Holy Spirit in the divine work. For whereas previously some are said to be born of God, here we find the Spirit generates them. When Nicodemus's wonder was roused again by the statement that he who is born of the Spirit is spirit, Christ meets him again with an example from nature: Marvel not that I said to you, You must be born again.

The expression, Marvel not, shows that Nicodemus was surprised at His doctrine. For this example, He takes something not as coarse as other bodily things, but still distinct from an incorporeal nature: the wind. The wind blows where it lists, and you hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell whence it comes, and whither it goes: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. That is to say, if no one can restrain the wind from going where it wills, much less can the laws of nature—whether the condition of our natural birth or any other—restrain the action of the Spirit.

That He is speaking of the wind here is plain from His saying, You hear the sound thereof—that is, its noise when it strikes objects. He would not describe the action of the Spirit in this way when talking to an unbeliever and an ignorant person. He says, Blows where it lists, not meaning any power of choice in the wind, but only its natural, uncontrolled movements. But you cannot tell whence it comes or whither it goes. That is, if you cannot explain the action of this wind, which you can both feel and hear, why scrutinize the operation of the Divine Spirit? He adds, So is every one that is born of the Spirit.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But who among us does not see, for example, that the south wind blows from south to north, another wind from the east, and another from the west? How then can we say we do not know where the wind comes from and where it goes?

The Venerable Bede: It is the Holy Spirit, therefore, who blows where He wishes. It is in His own power to choose whose heart to visit with His enlightening grace. And you hear the sound thereof: this happens when someone filled with the Holy Spirit is present with you and speaks to you.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The Psalm sounds, the Gospel sounds, the Divine Word sounds; it is the sound of the Spirit. This means that the Holy Spirit is invisibly present in the Word and Sacrament to accomplish our birth.

Alcuin of York: Therefore, You know not whence it comes, or whither it goes; for although the Spirit may possess a person in your presence at a particular time, it cannot be seen how He entered him or how He left, because He is invisible.

Haymo of Auxerre: Or, You cannot tell whence it comes—that is, you do not know how He brings believers to the faith; or whither it goes—that is, how He directs the faithful to their hope. And so is every one that is born of the Spirit. It is as if He said: The Holy Spirit is an invisible Spirit, and in the same way, everyone who is born of the Spirit is born invisibly.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or it means this: If you are born of the Spirit, you will be such that a person who is not yet born of the Spirit will not know where you come from or where you go. For it follows, So is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Theophylact of Ohrid: This completely refutes Macedonius, the opponent of the Spirit, who asserted that the Holy Spirit was a servant. The Holy Spirit, we find, works by His own power, where He wills and what He wills.