heaven, or from God. It is so translated in this cbapfer, (verse* 31,) and in four other places in the New Testament. (John xix. 11 ; James i. 17; iii. 15, 17.) In one other place, (Galat. iv. 9,) it is " again." Many commentators in every age, as Origen, Cyril, Theophylact, Bullinger, Lightfoot, Erasmus, Bengel, have maintained strongly, that " born from above,'' and not " born again," is the true and better translation of the phrase. Cran mer s version renders it " born from above," and our own trans- lators have allowed it in. a marginal reading. My own impres- sion agrees with that of most commentators, that " born again " is the right translation. — For one thing, it seems most probable that Nico clemus understood our Lord to mean " born again," or else he would hardly have asked the question, " Can a man enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born." — For ano- ther thing, the G-reek words used in four other places where regeneration is spoken of in the New Testament, admit of no other meaning than being " born again," and could not possibly be rendered " born from above." See 1 Pet. 1. 3, 23 ; Matt. xix. 28 ; Titus iii. 5.
The point is happily not one of importance, and men may agree to dififer about it, if they cannot convince one another. Every true Christian is undoubtedly " born from above '' by the quickening power of God in heaven, — as well as " born again " by a second spiritual birth.
The meaning of our Lord when He said, " except a man be born again," is unhappily a subject on which there is a wide difference of opinion in the Church of Christ. — The expression at any rate cannot be said to stand alone. It is used six times in the Gospel of St. John, once in the first Epistle of St. Peter, and six times in the first Epistle of St. John. (John i. 13 ; iii. 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 ; 1 Peter i. 23 ; 1 John ii. 29 ; iii. 9 ; iv. 7 ; v. 1, 4, 18.) Common sense and fair interpretation of language, point out that "born again, born of the Spirit, and born of God," are expressions so intimately connected with one another, that they mean one and the same thing. The only question is, " What do they mean ?"
Some think that to be '* born again," means nothing more than " an outward reformation, or such outward conformity as a proselyte might yield to a new set of rules of life." — This is an almost obsolete and utterly unsatisfactory interpretation. It makes our Lord tell Nicodemus nothing more than he might have learned from heathen philosophers, — such as Socrates, Plato, or Aristotle ; or than he might have heard from any Rabbi about the duties of a proselyte from heathenism to Judaism.
Some think that to be "born again," means to be admitted into the Church of Christ by baptism, and to receive a spiritual