What did Jesus mean by "born again"?

In John 3:1-8, Jesus tells Nicodemus that no one can "see the kingdom of God" unless "born again" - a spiritual rebirth "of water and of the Spirit," distinct from physical birth, that Jesus compares to the invisible, sovereign movement of the wind.

The phrase comes from Jesus's night conversation with Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council, recorded in John 3:1-21. Jesus tells him plainly, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus takes this literally and asks how a man can re-enter his mother's womb, prompting Jesus to clarify: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God... That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Jesus then compares this spiritual rebirth to the wind - unseen, uncontrolled by human effort, yet with observable effects: "So is every one that is born of the Spirit." The term describes a decisive, Spirit-wrought spiritual transformation distinct from mere moral improvement or religious observance (Nicodemus, after all, was already a devout religious leader). The concept recurs elsewhere in the New Testament under related language - being a "new creature" in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) or "born... of God" (John 1:12-13, 1 Peter 1:23) - and has become one of the most widely used phrases in Christian vocabulary to describe personal conversion.

Key Passages

Except a man be born again

John 3:3-8

³ Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ⁴ Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? ⁵ Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. ⁸ The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.