[Such people] were born of God, not of blood ties [i.e., from physical descendants], nor of the will of the flesh [i.e., merely from a sexual desire], nor of the will of man [i.e., from a husband’s desire for offspring].
John 3:6 - An Understandable Version (2005 edition) Whoever is born from human parents is a human being; and whoever is born from the Holy Spirit is a spiritual being. More versionsKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh [of the physical is physical]; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. American Standard Version (1901) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Common English Bible Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Catholic Public Domain Version What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit. |
[Such people] were born of God, not of blood ties [i.e., from physical descendants], nor of the will of the flesh [i.e., merely from a sexual desire], nor of the will of man [i.e., from a husband’s desire for offspring].
So, do not be surprised that I have said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ [See note on verse 3].
For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh, for the desire to do good is present in my heart, but the ability to carry it out [consistently] is not.
Thank God [that I can be rescued] through [the power of] Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, I personally [try to] serve God’s law with my mind, but [all too often] I serve the law of sin with my flesh [i.e., submitting in weakness to my human desires].
For when we were in the flesh [i.e., before conversion], our sinful desires, aroused by [the restrictions of] the Law of Moses, worked in our bodies to produce activity that led to [spiritual] death.
for if you people live under [the control of] the flesh, you must die [spiritually]; but if you put to death [i.e., stop practicing] the [sinful] habits of the body by [the power of] the Holy Spirit, you will live [spiritually].
But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit [with Him]. [Note: Just as the person who has sex with someone enters a close physical union with that person, so the person who becomes a Christian enters a close spiritual union with Christ].
Therefore, if any person is in [fellowship with] Christ, he is a new person. His old ways have passed away; now his ways have become new.
And those persons who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified [i.e., put out of their lives, Col. 3:4ff] the sinful cravings of the body, along with their passionate desires.
All of us [Jews] also once lived among such people, fulfilling the improper cravings of our physical being and doing what our bodies and minds desired. In this natural [unconverted] state we were deserving of [God’s] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind].
In [fellowship with] Him you people were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human beings, but performed by Christ, consisting of the removal of the body of [sinful] flesh.
No one who has been [spiritually] conceived [and eventually born] by God continues to live a sinful life, because God’s seed [i.e., His word, See Luke 8:11] continues to live in his heart, so he cannot [continue a life of] sin, because he has been conceived by God.