Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
Art thou a master of Israel, etc. - Hast thou taken upon thee to guide the blind into the way of truth; and yet knowest not that truth thyself? Dost thou command proselytes to be baptized with water, as an emblem of a new birth; and art thou unacquainted with the cause, necessity, nature, and effects of that new birth? How many masters are there still in Israel who are in this respect deplorably ignorant; and, strange to tell, publish their ignorance and folly in the sight of the sun, by writing and speaking against the thing itself! It is strange that such people cannot keep their own secret.
"But water baptism is this new birth." No. Jesus tells you, a man must be born of water and the Spirit; and the water, and its effects upon the body, differ as much from this Spirit, which it is intended to represent, and the effects produced in the soul, as real fire does from painted flame.
"But I am taught to believe that this baptism is regeneration." Then you are taught to believe a falsity. The Church of England, in which perhaps you are a teacher or a member, asks the following questions, and returns the subjoined answers.
"Q. How many sacraments hath Christ ordained in his Church?"
"A. Two only, as generally necessary to salvation, that is to say, baptism and the supper of the Lord."
"Q. How many parts are there in a sacrament?"
"A. Two. The outward visible sign, and the inward spiritual grace."
"Q. What is the outward visible sign, or form, in baptism?"
"A. Water, wherein the person is baptized, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
"Q. What is the inward and spiritual grace?"
"A. A death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness; for being by nature born in sin, and the children of wrath, we are hereby made the children of grace."
Now, I ask, Whereby are such persons made the children of grace? Not by the water, but by the death unto sin, and the new birth unto righteousness: i.e. through the agency of the Holy Ghost, sin is destroyed, and the soul filled with holiness.
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
John 3:3
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