John 3:5

Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the
Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

A friend once told me emphatically, salvation is not complete unless one undergoes
the Christian ordinance of Water baptism. The basis of his assertion is John 3:5
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he
cannot enter the kingdom of God.” A casual reading of this verse might Lead to
a conclusion similar to that of my friend, but when one is minded to read this verse
in the context of the ongoing conversation between Jesus and Nichodemus, perhaps
one might come to a different conclusion. I will therefore want us to start from the
very beginning of the chapter.

Nichodemus was a ruler in the Jewish community, he has learnt the laws of Moses
as a child and now teaches a lot of Jews in the synagogue to live by the content of
the Torah. He however felt inadequate in the face of the overwhelming works of
Christ, so great was his sense of hunger he decided to sneak out at night and meet
the master.

From his question to the master in verse 2. It was obvious Nicodemus had little
doubt about the origin of Christ. He called Jesus “Rabbi” a title used only for
revered teachers of the law. He went on the declare “we know that You are a
teacher come from God”. Nicodemus admitted that the rulership of the jewish
nation is very much aware that Jesus is from the father whom they worship.

Jesus saw an opportunity to teach a teacher of the law, someone who teaches
salvation as a product of mans effort at pleasing God and inheriting the kingdom a
thing or two about the true means to salvation. Jesus was quick to aver nicodemus
to the fact that, contrary to popular teachings and belief, salvation has little to do
with our obedience to the law, and that salvation actually is a family affair. In
matthew 24 and luke 17, Christ had the opportunity to speak about his second
coming. The Pharasees were specific when they asked Christ in Luke 17: 20 “When
the Kingdom of God will be established on Earth?” In answering this question,
Christ made reference to two shadows in the Old testament that gave some context
concerning his second coming.

First of all, he likened his second coming to the days of Noah, and secondly to the
days of Sodom and Gomorrah. My interest here is not in how unprepared the
people of those days were when judgement fell on them, My interest is rather in the
group of people that experienced the salvation of God in those days. A further
study of that salvation points to two facts;

1. In both instances, an entire household was saved, Noah had his entire
household(family) saved. And same with Lot, who also had his entire family
saved.
2. The families that were saved were not saved on the basis of works, they did
not qualify for salvation because they were morally upright. In the case of
 Lot, he himself declared in Gen 19:19 that the basis of his salvation was
because the lord has favoured him with great mercy.

These two examples are “shadows” of a future reality as Paul taught in Col.
Shadows of an object do not give in-depth details of the real object but gives us a
framework to understand the nature and characteristics of the object. For example
an observer can identify the shadow of a car, the observer can even decipher if the
car is salon, truck or SUV based on the shadow. What the shadow cannot
communicate about the car however is whether it’s a Toyota, a Honda or a
Katanka.

The Noah and Lot stories were shadows of a future reality. They speak of the
salvation of Gods children and the Judgement of a depraved world. These stories
tells us that no one is going to be saved by works rather, our man salvation hinges
of Gods love and Christ sacrifice (John 3:16).

Again we can learn from these shadows that the salvation of the world was going to
be made possible through a common lineage, All who will be saved must be of one
family (Just like Noah and Lots family), one bloodline must unite the favoured of
the Lord, one DNA must flow through the Veins of those who will inherit the
salvation of the Lord.

The story of the Passover lamb (another vivid shadow of our salvation) teaches us
that, any man that will experience the saving grace of God must identify himself
with the blood of the slain lamb. That blood becomes the identifier of those who are
redeemed of the Lord. The firstborns of the Israelites were not spared by the angel
of death because of their good works, Israel escaped Gods Judgement simply by
their association with the blood of the slain lamb. In order to enjoy Gods love and
unmerited favor, you need to belong to the family of the slain Lamb and have his
blood flowing through your veins. He must be the Vine, and you being one of the
branches (John 15:5). The source of your life must proceed from him, he must be
the head, and you, a member of his body (Col 1:18).

In summary, all of the shadows of our salvation in the old testament tells us the
framework two realities;

1. There is one family that will enjoy the salvation of the Lord
2. There is the other family that will face the wrath and judgement of the Lord.

Two families mean two progenitors; the bible calls them the “first Adam” and the
“second Adam” (1Cor 15:45)

It is not my intention to delve into the superiority of the second Adam (Christ) over
the first Adam (Adam) but only to point out that, the families of these two
progenitors have two contracting destinies. The Heritage of the family of the first
Adam is death, death through sin (1 Cor.15:22). On the other hand the Heritage of
the family of the Second Adam is Life; Abundant Life.(John 10:10)
Man, by default is experiences a natural birthed (earthly birth) into the family of the
first Adam. He inherits the Sin nature of his earthly family and remains doom to
spiritual death like his first parents; Adam and Eve. His good acts are like a filthy
rag before the maker of heaven and earth

Man, birthed after the first Adam is doomed to death (Rom.5:12), judgement
(Rom.5:16) and condemnation (Rom.5:16,18).

The primary means by which one becomes part of a family is by birth; being born
into a family automatically makes you a member of that family. One becomes a
member of the family of the first Adam through natural means. His parents; father
and mother must conceive him through the natural process of conception, Everyone
(except Christ) must first belong to this family because all are birth though the
natural means of conception. This is the first birth of all men.

The Heritage of the family of the first Adam is death, Death through sin! The life
character of the first birth is soulish. They act based on their feelings and emotions
and are not spiritually intelligent. Their birthright has been sold to the devil by their
first parents (Adam and Eve) therefore their inheritance is with the devil in hell.