Nicodemus came to Jesus because he had seen the signs Jesus performed. He recognised that Jesus was a teacher sent from God. Yet he could not see beyond the signs to the deeper reality they revealed: Jesus as the coming of the kingdom of God, God’s saving and life-giving reign.

Jesus therefore tells Nicodemus that a deeper kind of seeing is necessary. Unless one is born from above, or born again, one cannot “see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Later in the chapter, John uses “seeing” to describe experiencing eternal life (3:36). To see the kingdom is not merely to acknowledge its existence but to participate in its reality and share in its blessings.

John likely intends both meanings. Without being born from above, a person cannot perceive the kingdom’s true nature or enter into its life. Spiritual rebirth is entirely God’s gift. Divine life is not ours by nature, nor can it be gained through human effort, religious achievement, or natural means.

Jesus emphasises the radical nature of salvation. The life God gives is not simply an improvement of our natural existence but the creation of something entirely new. To be born again is to receive new life through God’s creative and transforming action.

Jesus continues, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit” (3:5). In the Old Testament, water often symbolises the outpouring of God’s Spirit (Isa. 32:15-20; 44:3; Joel 2:28; Ezek. 36:25-27). John employs the same imagery when he describes the Spirit as living water (John 7:37-39). To be born of water and the Spirit, therefore, is to experience the renewing work of the Spirit. Without this Spirit-born life, no one can truly see God’s kingdom, enter its life, or participate in its transforming reality.