10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. [1]
If you are a Child of God today, have you considered why you are? Is it because of something you have done, or is it because of something God has done? So far (in chapter one of John) John has explained Jesus’ entrance into the world, and now he begins to talk about what it means. Because of Jesus, we can become children of God.
It is no surprise that the world does not recognize Jesus. The “world,” meaning humanity in general, did not recognize him even when he walked the earth physically. To make matters worse, even His own people, the Jews, did not receive Him.
Have you ever wondered what would have happened if the Jews of Jesus day had embraced Him as the Messiah. It is something to wonder about, but the important thing is what happened as a result of that rejection.
As a result of the Jews not receiving Jesus, the door was opened to us Gentiles to receive Christ. The Jews were and are a special people. They were God’s chosen people, and according to Romans they still are. (Romans chapters 9 – 11) However, now, because of Christ, we have the same access that they have.
This would have seemed radical to the Jews reading this book when it was written. They believed that they were God’s children because they were descendents of Abraham, and that if you were not a descendent of Abraham you could not be a child of God.
John is saying that it is not one’s birth physically that makes one a candidate to become a member of the Kingdom of God.
Instead, we all can believe in Him.
To those that receive Christ, and to those that believe in Him, (two ways of saying the same thing), we have the right to become Children of God.
In Greek, the word for receive is LAMBANO, which means to receive by grasping or taking. It is not a passive reception. It is very similar to the word in Verse 5 which says the Darkness has not understood or overcome the light. The word Believe has an interesting definite article, which means more “believe into” than just the word “believe” by itself conveys. It is not just a mental assent, but believing to the point of dependence.
So those that grab hold of Christ, those that put themselves into him, they are the ones that become children of God. In fact, the are given that right.
If you have a ticket for an airplane trip, you have a right to board the plane. This is the same idea. If you have received Christ and believe into him, you have a right to be a child of God. The word for “right” can also be translated authority.
The Jews believed they were the authority over who got in and who did not, but John is saying this is not the case. Instead, it is those that receive and believe.
The reason this is so is explained in the next verse. It is so basically because God says so. It is not based on any human authority, or anything we can do, but it is based on the Will of God.
When we believe then, we are given the right to become born again. This rebirth is totally the work of God. There is nothing we can do, and nothing anyone else can do for us, to get us reborn spiritually. That is something only God can do.
This rebirth makes us a child of God. Some translations say “son.” The Greek word is TEKNA, which simply means small child. It is not the same word that is used to describe Jesus as THE son of God.
But, because of God’s love for us, we have the right to be born again into His kingdom if we will receive and believe Him.
Just as in the days when the Bible was written, there are people even today, that try to make entrance into God’s kingdom difficult by putting up additional requirements. We do not, however, answer to people, but only to God. It is not man that decides the issue. If God says you have a right to enter the Kingdom, then you do.
If someone tries to hinder you today, just show him your ticket and take your seat on the plane.