I’m posting this clip from Northside’s Sunday morning Bible class on 12-5-21 in response to a comment posted by Richard Bow on “Common Objection to Baptism.” The comment, in part, reads…
And yet, much, much earlier (in fact John the Baptist was still alive) in John 3:5-6 we see that Nicodemus’ New Birth (Regeneration) must result from being born of “water and the spirit”. You claim water and the spirit references physical water baptism; and yet water baptism for the remissions of sin (according to your teaching) was not established until after the Lord’s resurrection in Act 2:38. We cannot it both ways – we cannot have water baptism established in two places and two different times
If Nicodemus heeded Jesus warning and was baptized the following day, then he met the qualifications to be born again. To be born of water and Spirit is not a baptism of the Holy Spirit, nor receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. The role the Spirit plays in our new birth into Christ is through the truth of the Word, Peter explains this in (1Pt.1:22-23). When the day of Pentecost came, everyone baptized under John’s baptism who remained faithful made up the “people prepared for the Lord” including the apostles, and were translated into the kingdom as promised. They each received the gift of the HS as the 3000 new converts, and as you pointed out in Acts 2:41, the 3000 were added unto them. Keeping in context in Jn.3:5 where water refers to baptism, “that which is born of the flesh” is the baptismal ceremony which is visible. Where “born of the Spirit” is invisible, as the forgiveness of sins, the reception of the Spirit, the answer of a good conscience.