John 3:5 and the Church Fathers
And while we're on the subject of how the Church Fathers interpreted various verses, let's look at what they said about John 3:5.
The key word in the text, of course, is the word "water." Catholics rightly understand "water" to refer to baptism, but non-Catholics interpret "water" to refer to any number of things. Some say "water" is a metaphor for "the Spirit," so the text should read, "born again of water, that is to say, the Spirit." Some say "water" refers to the amniotic fluid in the mother's womb, so the text means you must be born first of natural birth-water, and then born again of the Spirit. Anti-Catholic Robert Zins writes:
Zins does not seem to mind that there are "fully five" different understandings of this verse, so long as the Catholic interpretation "is not one of them."
Another Internet e-pologist writes:
But what did the early Christians and teachers of the Church say about this text? The understood the "water" to refer to Baptism, plain and simple.
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As many as are persuaded and believe that what we teach and say is true, and undertake to be able to live accordingly, are instructed to pray and to entreat God with fasting, for the remission of their sins that are past, we praying and fasting with them. Then they are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated. For, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing with water. For Christ also said, "Except ye be born again, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (St. Justin Martyr, First Apology, 61)
It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [it served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions; being spiritually regenerated as new-born babes, even as the Lord has declared: "Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (St. Irenaeus, Fragments, 34)
It was from this circumstance that the apostle said, that when either of the parents was sanctified, the children were holy; and this as much by the prerogative of the (Christian) seed as by the discipline of the institution (by baptism, and Christian education). "Else," says he, "were the children unclean" by birth: as if he meant us to understand that the children of believers were designed for holiness, and thereby for salvation; in order that he might by the pledge of such a hope give his support to matrimony, which he had determined to maintain in its integrity. Besides, he had certainly not forgotten what the Lord had so definitively stated: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God;" in other words, he cannot be holy. (Tertullian, A Treatise on the Soul, 39)
When, however, the prescript is laid down that "without baptism, salvation is attainable by none" (chiefly on the ground of that declaration of the Lord, who says, "Unless one be born of water, he hath not life"), there arise immediately scrupulous, nay rather audacious, doubts on the part of some ... (Tertullian, On Baptism, 12)
... it is a small matter to "lay hands on them that they may receive the Holy Ghost," unless they receive also the baptism of the Church. For then finally can they be fully sanctified, and be the sons of God, if they be born of each sacrament; since it is written, "Except a man be born again of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (St. Cyprian, Epistle 71, 1)
[Chapter heading: That the old baptism should cease, and a new one should begin] ... in the Gospel according to Matthew, John says: "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." Also according to John: "Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. For that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (St. Cyprian, Treatise 12, Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews, 12)
Nay, he that, out of contempt, will not be baptized, shall be condemned as an unbeliever, and shall be reproached as ungrateful and foolish. For the Lord says: "Except a man be baptized of water and of the Spirit, he shall by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, Book VI, 15)
[Commenting on John 3:1-5] ... But what do they that are born again of water and of the Spirit hear from the apostle? "Ye were once darkness, buff now light in the Lord; walk as children of light" ... And as to what the Red Sea signifies, hear the apostle: "Moreover, brethren, I would not have you ignorant, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea." ... he goes on to say, "And all were baptized by Moses in the cloud and in the sea." Now, if the figure of the sea had such efficacy, how great will be the efficacy of the true form of baptism! If what was done in a figure brought the people, after they had crossed over, to the manna, what will Christ impart, in the verity of His baptism, to His own people: brought over through Himself? By His baptism He brings over them that believe; all their sins, the enemies as it were that pursue them, being slain, as all the Egyptians perished in that sea ... That "Red Sea" signified the baptism of Christ. How is the baptism of Christ red, but as consecrated by Christ's blood? (St. Augustine, Tracts on the Gospel of St. John, Tract XI, 4)
[Commenting on John 3:5] ... The first creation then, that of Adam, was from earth; the next, that of the woman, from his rib; the next, that of Abel, from seed; yet we cannot arrive at the comprehension of any one of these, nor prove the circumstances by argument, though they are of a most earthly nature; how then shall we be able to give account of the unseen generation by Baptism, which is far more exalted than these, or to require arguments for that strange and marvelous Birth? Since even Angels stand by while that Generation takes place, but they could not tell the manner of that marvelous working, they stand by only, not performing anything, but beholding what takes place ... That the need of water is absolute and indispensable, you may learn in this way. On one occasion, when the Spirit had flown down before the water was applied, the Apostle did not stay at this point, but, as though the water were necessary and not superfluous, observe what he says; "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?" [Acts 10:47] (St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of St. John, Homily XXV, 2)
The key word in the text, of course, is the word "water." Catholics rightly understand "water" to refer to baptism, but non-Catholics interpret "water" to refer to any number of things. Some say "water" is a metaphor for "the Spirit," so the text should read, "born again of water, that is to say, the Spirit." Some say "water" refers to the amniotic fluid in the mother's womb, so the text means you must be born first of natural birth-water, and then born again of the Spirit. Anti-Catholic Robert Zins writes:
There are fully five satisfactory Christian explanations of the meaning of water in this verse. In the light of the rest of the Bible, Roman Catholic infant baptism, for forgiveness of sins, to start a process of an incremental justification, is not one of them. ("The Heart of the Roman Catholic Religion," online here)
Zins does not seem to mind that there are "fully five" different understandings of this verse, so long as the Catholic interpretation "is not one of them."
Another Internet e-pologist writes:
What then is the meaning of "water?" In John's Gospel, water is symbolic of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual life He gives (John 4:14; 7:38, 39). Jesus speaks "of water and Spirit" not because there are two sources of regeneration but to describe the Holy Spirit working like water. ("Baptism: born of water," online here)
But what did the early Christians and teachers of the Church say about this text? The understood the "water" to refer to Baptism, plain and simple.
************************
As many as are persuaded and believe that what we teach and say is true, and undertake to be able to live accordingly, are instructed to pray and to entreat God with fasting, for the remission of their sins that are past, we praying and fasting with them. Then they are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated. For, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing with water. For Christ also said, "Except ye be born again, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (St. Justin Martyr, First Apology, 61)
It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [it served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions; being spiritually regenerated as new-born babes, even as the Lord has declared: "Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (St. Irenaeus, Fragments, 34)
It was from this circumstance that the apostle said, that when either of the parents was sanctified, the children were holy; and this as much by the prerogative of the (Christian) seed as by the discipline of the institution (by baptism, and Christian education). "Else," says he, "were the children unclean" by birth: as if he meant us to understand that the children of believers were designed for holiness, and thereby for salvation; in order that he might by the pledge of such a hope give his support to matrimony, which he had determined to maintain in its integrity. Besides, he had certainly not forgotten what the Lord had so definitively stated: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God;" in other words, he cannot be holy. (Tertullian, A Treatise on the Soul, 39)
When, however, the prescript is laid down that "without baptism, salvation is attainable by none" (chiefly on the ground of that declaration of the Lord, who says, "Unless one be born of water, he hath not life"), there arise immediately scrupulous, nay rather audacious, doubts on the part of some ... (Tertullian, On Baptism, 12)
... it is a small matter to "lay hands on them that they may receive the Holy Ghost," unless they receive also the baptism of the Church. For then finally can they be fully sanctified, and be the sons of God, if they be born of each sacrament; since it is written, "Except a man be born again of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (St. Cyprian, Epistle 71, 1)
[Chapter heading: That the old baptism should cease, and a new one should begin] ... in the Gospel according to Matthew, John says: "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." Also according to John: "Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. For that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (St. Cyprian, Treatise 12, Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews, 12)
Nay, he that, out of contempt, will not be baptized, shall be condemned as an unbeliever, and shall be reproached as ungrateful and foolish. For the Lord says: "Except a man be baptized of water and of the Spirit, he shall by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, Book VI, 15)
[Commenting on John 3:1-5] ... But what do they that are born again of water and of the Spirit hear from the apostle? "Ye were once darkness, buff now light in the Lord; walk as children of light" ... And as to what the Red Sea signifies, hear the apostle: "Moreover, brethren, I would not have you ignorant, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea." ... he goes on to say, "And all were baptized by Moses in the cloud and in the sea." Now, if the figure of the sea had such efficacy, how great will be the efficacy of the true form of baptism! If what was done in a figure brought the people, after they had crossed over, to the manna, what will Christ impart, in the verity of His baptism, to His own people: brought over through Himself? By His baptism He brings over them that believe; all their sins, the enemies as it were that pursue them, being slain, as all the Egyptians perished in that sea ... That "Red Sea" signified the baptism of Christ. How is the baptism of Christ red, but as consecrated by Christ's blood? (St. Augustine, Tracts on the Gospel of St. John, Tract XI, 4)
[Commenting on John 3:5] ... The first creation then, that of Adam, was from earth; the next, that of the woman, from his rib; the next, that of Abel, from seed; yet we cannot arrive at the comprehension of any one of these, nor prove the circumstances by argument, though they are of a most earthly nature; how then shall we be able to give account of the unseen generation by Baptism, which is far more exalted than these, or to require arguments for that strange and marvelous Birth? Since even Angels stand by while that Generation takes place, but they could not tell the manner of that marvelous working, they stand by only, not performing anything, but beholding what takes place ... That the need of water is absolute and indispensable, you may learn in this way. On one occasion, when the Spirit had flown down before the water was applied, the Apostle did not stay at this point, but, as though the water were necessary and not superfluous, observe what he says; "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?" [Acts 10:47] (St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of St. John, Homily XXV, 2)
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