Not a Natural Birth
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God John 1:12,13
These two verses wonderfully summarise the purpose of the gospel: that those who encounter the Word, Jesus, might believe in Him and become children of God and so receive eternal life.
‘Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.’ John equates receiving Jesus with believing ‘in his name.’ To believe in a person’s name means to believe in that person because their name stands for them. It is who they are.
Receiving Jesus means accepting and believing the teaching and revelation of God He brought. John’s gospel repeatedly talks about those who received and those who refused to receive Jesus’ testimony (3:11,32,33; 5:34; 12:48; 17:8).
To those who received Him ‘he gave the right to become children of God.’ The word ‘right’ here means ‘authority,’ an authority given to anyone who ‘believed in his name.’ John often writes in this gospel of ‘faith/belief/believing in’ (36 times and 3 times in 1 John but only 8 times by all other New Testament writers). The preposition generally translated ‘in’ is actually ‘into.’ Faith in Jesus is to John far more than a tacit acceptance or even a trust. Faith in Jesus is fully embracing Him and His claims, and results in a dedication to Him. It is faith ‘into’ Jesus.
Those who believe are ‘children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.’ A person has to be ‘born’ to be a child of God. This birth is ‘not of natural descent’ (literally: of bloods). In the ancient world a child was thought to have a mixture of its mother and father’s blood. John is separating natural birth from spiritual birth.
This spiritual birth is ‘not … of human decision.’ The phrase literally means ‘of the will of flesh.’ John often uses ‘flesh’ to mean humanity (1:14; 3:6; 8:15) so to be born ‘of the will of flesh’ means to be born because of the sexual intimacy of human parents.
And finally, nor is this spiritual birth of ‘a husband’s will.’ This birth is supernatural and so completely outside human decision making. This birth is ‘of God.’
I sought the Lord and afterward I knew
He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me;
It was not I that found, O Savior true.
No, I was found of thee
Anon
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