D.A. Carson on 'born of water and spirit' (John 3:5)

Skip to 10:30 for the conclusion.

Jesus says in John 3:5, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." Then later: "The wind blows where it wishes... So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (3:8)

Here is D.A. Carson's survey of different interpretations of the phrase "born of water and spirit." It is from "The Gospel According to John: An Introduction and Commentary", pp. 191-196. He ultimately lands on the water-spirit-wind connection to Ezekiel 36 and 37. These metaphors describe spiritual rebirth, not natural birth or ritual.

[bjn]

God has a way of hiding His truth for those who only want to add Him to their life.

[peterhussey-yeo]

for out of the abundance of his heart shall flow WORDS OF LIFE

[edwinborasca]

The key authorized person to explain John 3:5 is in John 3:11Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony.
In John 3:5, ...the truth in being born of "water and Spirit" it happens at the same time. Just like in physical birth, being born of "water and Flesh, flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. In both births there is water because "water is life".
To preach that the mentioned water in John 3:5 is the "amniotic fluids" from the mother's womb is a "big mistakes from the wrong preachers".