Commenting
on the term “water” in John 3 in his 1882 book on the Holy Spirit, while
rejecting baptismal regeneration (due to his Reformed theology), George Smeaton
(1814-1889) admitted that the unanimous consent of patristic authors understood
the “water” to be a reference to water baptism::
The term WATER has been variously
interpreted. (1) Some refer it to baptism,--an opinion current in Patristic theology
from the earliest times, and asserted in the Greek and Latin Church and in some
of the Protestant formularies. (George Smeaton, The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit [London: The Banner of Truth
Trust, 1958], 169)
For an
exegesis of John 3:1-7 in favour of baptismal regeneration, and a survey of
some of the overwhelming patristic evidence for this doctrine, see:
For other articles, see: