Agnus_Dei said:Exactly how again did Jesus tell Nicodemus he was supposed to be ‘born of the word?’ Keep in mind here DHK, all the references to Word of God in the NT that you refer too, hadn’t yet been penned.
Agnus,
bmerr here. That's a good point. We also need to realize that the kingdom of which Jesus spoke in John 3 had also not yet come into existence. This was the kingdom which the Jews had been waiting for, though they didn't understand the nature of it.
Peter had been told that he would be given the keys (plural) to the kingdom (Matt 16:19), and when asked what to do by his audience in Acts 2, we all know what he told them. He commanded repentance and baptism, which we see later on to be a baptism in water (Acts 8:38-39; 10:47-48). Born of Spirit by the word, born of water in baptism.
You made a good point. Keep asking those investigative questions.
In Christ,
bmerr