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There is no apparent parallel gospel account of John 1:12-13.
John 1:12-13 presents God’s incredible offer for humanity through Jesus: to become His children by faith.
In John 1:10-11, John made two ironic observations.
The first ironic observation was that when the Logos (God) came into the world which He had made, the world did not receive Him (John 1:10).
The second ironic observation was that when the Light (the Messiah) came to His own people, His own people did not receive Him (John 1:11).
John 1:10-11 describes the tragic rejection of Jesus for who He is, but John 1:12-13 offers a glorious outcome to those who receive Him, unveiling the central invitation of John’s gospel.
The Gospel of John’s central invitation is this: Anyone who embraces Jesus in faith is transformed by being born into God’s eternal family,
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (vv 12-13).
BUT AS MANY AS…
The pronouns He, Him, and His all refer to Jesus in John 1:12-13.
The conjunction-But-contrasts the negative responses to Jesus of John 1:10-11 with the positive responses to Jesus of John 1:12-13. Specifically-But-contrasts how the world was ignorant of Him and Israel rejected Him with what happens to anyone who does receive Him, those who believe in His name.
The inclusivity of the gospel’s offer is made clear from its opening clause: But as many as.
This clause establishes to whom the gospel’s invitation is available: everyone. The invitation/offer of the gospel is both universal and unlimited.
The gospel’s invitation is universal because it is open to anyone and everyone. The expression-as many as-means “all” or “everyone.”
The gospel is available to literally everyone. It is available to:
No one is excluded from its offer. Anyone can receive Jesus and join God’s forever family regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, language, nationality, socio-economic status, prior religious background, sin, etc.
The universality of the gospel’s offer is repeatedly affirmed throughout the Gospel of John and the New Testament.
“whoever drinks of the water [gospel] that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
“Opening his mouth, Peter said: ‘I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him”
(Acts 10:34-35).
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
(Galatians 3:28)
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.”
(Titus 2:11)
See also: Romans 1:6, 3:22, 10:12-13, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 2:11, and Colossians 1:28.
The gospel’s invitation is universally offered to everyone as John’s expression-as many as-and these verses emphatically indicate.
The gospel’s invitation is also unlimited.
God’s supply of grace will never run out or empty. It is impossible for too many people to receive Jesus and experience His mercy and grace. His grace is infinite. All and as many people who do receive Him will experience the gospel’s blessings.
Near the end of the prologue of his gospel account, John writes:
“For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.”
(John 1:16)
Among other things, this means the fullness of Jesus never decreases. The expression “grace upon grace” (John 1:16) can also be translated “grace in place of grace.” Like the waves of an ocean, the grace of God is relentless and unending. In His fullness we receive grace after grace after grace after grace after grace… into eternity. The gospel’s supply of grace is infinite and unlimited. Infinite grace is part of what makes the gospel such good news.
The Greek word translated “grace” is χάρις (G5485-pronounced: “charis”) and it means “favor.” We can see this in Luke 2:52 where “charis” is translated “favor” in the sentence: “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and in favor [“charis”] with God and men.”
John 1:12 speaks of God’s favor coming upon humans through faith in Jesus (those who believe in His name). Jesus died for the sins of the world, that all who believe might be justified in God’s sight (Romans 3:20-21).
God’s favor to redeem all who believe upon Jesus into His family is inexhaustible because Jesus’s death on the cross covered the sins of the world (Colossians 2:14). As John will assert in John 3:16, “God so loved the world [everyone], that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” This eternal life is the Gift of God to be born into His forever family and receive a royal inheritance from the King of Kings.
The Old Testament also affirms the infinite abundance of the LORD’s mercies and compassions.
“The LORD’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.”
(Lamentations 3:22-23a)
Paul and Peter each speak to the limitless capacity of the gospel of God’s grace when they reveal how it is God’s desire for everyone to receive the gospel’s blessings and for none to perish:
“God our Savior…desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
(1 Timothy 2:3-4)
“The Lord is…patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:9)
And John in his first epistle, reveals that Jesus’s death has the capability to atone for the sins of not only those who believe in Him, but also for the sins of the entire unsaved world,
“He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
(1 John 2:2)
The power of the gospel is infinite (Romans 1:6), and God’s grace and mercy are inexhaustible (Romans 5:20).
…AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM…
But while the full mercy and grace of Jesus Christ are available to everyone in the world, they are applied only to those who have received Him.
Thus, the gospel is universally inclusive in its offer, but its full blessings are reserved for only those who believe in His name.
To experience the blessings of the gospel, a person must receive them; and to receive the blessings of the gospel a person must receive Him (Jesus).
The way a person receives Jesus is to believe in His name.
To believe in His name means to believe or trust three things:
If we believe these three things about Jesus and personally accept His offer of salvation for our lives by faith-we are saved from sin’s penalty of eternal separation from God and become His children.
This is the gospel’s Gift of Eternal Life. The gospel is the power of God to save everyone who believes (Romans 1:17).
In John 3:14-15, Jesus illustrated what saving faith looks like. He likened believing in His name to the ancient Hebrews who believed God’s promise that they would be delivered from dying from the poisonous venom of vipers if they would look upon the bronze snake lifted on a pole. Similarly, Jesus said He would be “lifted up” on a cross and “whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.” Enough faith to look at Jesus, hoping to be healed from the poisonous venom of sin, is all that is required to have saving faith.
As many as receive Him, receive the gospel’s Gift of Eternal Life (John 3:16, 11:25-26, 20:30-31).
John’s phrase, As many as received Him, emphasizes the act of welcoming and accepting Jesus for who He truly is-the Son of God and the Savior. Those who receive Him, believing in His name, are granted the right to become children of God.
This receiving is not merely an intellectual acknowledgment but a personal entrusting of oneself to Jesus and His ability to save. It is having enough faith to look at Jesus on the cross, trusting in God’s promise to deliver us from sin.
In Matthew 10:40, Jesus teaches His disciples, “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” The phrase “Him who sent Me” refers to the Father, the head person of the Trinity.
In addition to revealing the intimate unity between God the Father and God the Son, Matthew 10:40 parallels John 1:12-13 by linking receiving Jesus to receiving God Himself. Just as receiving Jesus in John’s Gospel leads to becoming a child of God, receiving Jesus’s disciples in Matthew signifies receipt of the gospel message. Receiving the gospel message is receiving Jesus and believing in His name. Both Matthew 10:40 and John 1:12 reveal that the act of receiving is relational and transformative.
…TO THEM HE GAVE THE RIGHT TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD…
One of the most basic blessings of the gospel is the Gift of Divine Birth.
John’s phrase: to them He gave the right to become children of God demonstrates the transformative power of the gospel. This right is not earned but is a gracious gift that He gave to those who receive Jesus as God and Messiah. This right is received by those who receive Christ and believe in His name.
The Greek term translated as right is a form of ἐξουσία (G1849 “exousia,” pronounced: “ex-oo-see-ah”). “Exousia” conveys the concept of authority or privilege.
As a privilege, believers have the right to claim God as their Father. He is their Protector and Provider. Believers enjoy the privileges that belong to members of God’s eternal family. Some of these privileges include:
In addition to having these and other privileges, the right (“exousia”) to become children of God also entails authority and the responsibility to steward that authority.
Matthew uses “exousia” as he quotes Jesus stating the Great Commission-“All authority [“exousia”] has been given to me in heaven and on earth…” (Matthew 28:18). In the Great Commission, Jesus delegates His authority to His disciples to:
“make [more] disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.”
(Matthew 28:19-20a)
God’s children are freely given birth into His family. Then they are exhorted to be disciples of Jesus and use the right/authority He gave them to honor Him and to serve others by sharing the gospel and making disciples by teaching His commands. Just as with physical birth, being given human life is a free gift that is given to each person. But what we become thereafter largely depends upon our choices, particularly who we believe, the perspectives we choose, and the actions we take.
John 1:12 indicates that becoming God’s child is privilege-right (“exousia”). But it is a right which believers are expected to use responsibly (Matthew 28:18-20). This is because God is our Father, and desires that His children live constructively, for their own benefit. His commands lead us to live in a manner where we love our neighbors, and thrive in mutual prosperity. The paganism of the world is to exploit and extract from others, which leads to violence and poverty. Living according to God’s commands restores us to our original design to live in harmony and to flourish. Being restored to our design is to experience eternal life.
The right to become children of God also describes a legal and spiritual birth, being “born” into His eternal family. This divine nativity reflects the core of the gospel. Sinners, once alienated from God, are welcomed into His forever family as His own beloved children. Just as with physical birth, spiritual birth is irrevocable (Romans 11:29).
Paul elaborates upon this divine adoption as children into God’s family in his epistle to the Roman church when he writes:
“you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.”
(Romans 8:15b-16)
Paul’s basic point in Romans 8:15-16 is that those who have “received the spirit of adoption” are part of God’s spiritual family as children, and God is our Abba, or “Daddy.” This is the same point John makes in John 1:12-13; it is the Gift of eternal life.
Romans 8:17 goes on to describe that each child is also an heir of God. As children, God our Creator and Father is always our inheritance (Romans 8:17a). And if we suffer rejection, loss, and even death as faithful witnesses, even as Jesus suffered, then we will also receive the reward of adoption as sons, to possess the inheritance to reign with Him (Romans 8:17b). This speaks of the Prize of eternal life. John wrote his gospel to teach both the Gift and the Prize to Jews and Gentiles alike (John 20:31).
The same term translated as received is used in both John 1:12 and Romans 8:15. As many as receive Jesus also receive the right to become children of God and “the spirit of adoption” (Romans 8:15-16).
In Romans, Paul connects the “spirit of adoption” (Romans 8:15b) with:
Being born into God’s family makes believers heirs. They inherit the blessings and promises of God, including eternal life and participation in His kingdom (Galatians 4:7).
Remarkably, Paul adds that believers have share in the inheritance that belongs to Jesus if they follow in His ways. Believers are “fellow heirs with Christ” if they share in His sufferings (Romans 8:17). This inheritance includes both the future glory and the present suffering with Jesus.
Paul contrasts the “spirit of adoption” (Romans 8:15a) with the “spirit of slavery” (Romans 8:15a). Paul connects “the spirit of slavery” with:
John 1:12-13 and Romans 8:15-17 both describe a radical redefinition of human identity.
The promise of divine birth and to become children of God redefines our core identity. It is a shift from being a creation estranged from God to becoming His child. While all people are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), the privilege of being His child is reserved for those who receive Jesus, His Son. This distinction highlights the unique and intimate relationship believers are invited into-a relationship characterized by love, belonging, and inheritance as Paul also teaches in Galatians 4:4-7.
Similarly, becoming children of God rearranges our relationship to God and other believers.
For believers, God is no longer a distant Creator, but a loving Father. This new relationship brings security (John 10:28-29), discipline (Hebrews 12:5-6), an unconditional inheritance to be heirs of God (Romans 8:17a), and a possibility of sharing in Christ’s inheritance to reign with Him if we suffer with Him (Romans 8:17b, 2 Timothy 2:12, Hebrews 2:9-10).
Believers are co-members of an eternal family. Believers are called to do good to all people (including their enemies-Matthew 5:44), but they are called to be especially good “to those who are of the household of the faith” (Galatians 6:10). If believers follow His command to love one another, the world will know that they are His (John 13:34-35), and if they abide in His love their joy and their fellow believers’ joy will be full and complete (John 15:9-11, 1 John 1:4).
A Jewish Perspective of John 1:12
From a Jewish perspective, the concept of becoming children of God would likely have included a shift in self-image. This would include being a child of God with the inheritance covered above. It would also seem to include:
The idea of being His children would have likely resonated with Jews on other fronts as well.
1. The Jewish concept of children receiving an inheritance
In Jewish tradition, inheritance was a deeply significant aspect of familial relationships, governed by divine law. The firstborn son held a privileged position, receiving a double portion of the inheritance as his birthright (Deuteronomy 21:17). This reflected his role as the leader and provider for the family after the father’s death.
Additionally, inheritance symbolized the covenantal promises given by God, such as the land of Israel, which was viewed as a divine gift to be passed down through generations (Genesis 15:18, Numbers 27:7-11). This ensured that God’s blessings remained within the family. Inheritance was a sacred privilege and responsibility in Jewish culture.
For John’s Jewish readers, the concept of becoming children of God would evoke the idea of divine inheritance. As children of God, believers would be heirs to God’s promises, akin to the inheritance of the land or the blessings given to Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 17:7-8). The phrase implies more than relational intimacy. It conveys participation in the eternal blessings and privileges of God’s kingdom. This new birth through faith in Jesus transforms the believer’s status, granting them a share in the ultimate inheritance of eternal life and communion with God, far surpassing any earthly inheritance (Romans 8:17).
The Jews would have understood the idea that having God as an inheritance is given unconditionally, while the inheritance of reigning must be possessed through obedience. This is exactly the pattern chronicled in the story of Israel. God was and always will be their covenant partner because of His unconditional love (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).
But His grant of the land would be acquired and they would reign over it only if the people were willing to walk in obedience, to cross over and possess the land (Numbers 33:50-56). The letter to the Hebrews uses the illustration of the first generation of Jews freed from Egypt; this first generation’s refusal to enter the Promised Land serves as a warning to believers in Christ that the reward of our inheritance to reign with Christ can be lost if we refuse to walk in obedience (Hebrews 3:7-11). However, Hebrews also recognizes that being a child of God is an irrevocable status (Hebrews 3:1, 10:34-36).
2. Jews would have read John 4:12 as a massive expansion of God’s family.
In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel is described as God’s son. God declared to Moses: “Israel is My son, My firstborn” (Exodus 4:22). Similarly, through the prophet Hosea, the LORD states, “When Israel was a youth, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son” (Hosea 11:1).
While God called the children of Israel His “firstborn” son (Exodus 4:22), it infers there will be more. He did not call them His “only” son. The children of Israel would not be God’s “only” children. The nation of Israel was called to have a priestly function, to show the nations that God’s prescribed “love your neighbor” culture was superior to the pagan culture of the strong exploiting the weak (Exodus 19:6). God’s promise to Abraham included an intent to bless all nations from the very beginning (Genesis 12:3).
John reveals how God expands His family by announcing that belonging in His family is no longer limited to ethnic Israel but is available to anyone who will believe in Jesus’s name.
Perhaps like any older brother who learns that he will have younger siblings, one can either respond with joy or jealousy. So too God’s firstborn son of Israel could have responded with joy or jealousy at this expansion.
Israel should have responded with joy that God was enlarging His family through the Messiah, “the Light of the World” (John 8:12, 9:5), who was being sent as “a light to the nations so that [His] salvation may reach the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6). And some Israelites did rejoice (Acts 11:18).
But much of Israel responded with jealousy at the idea of adding Gentiles to God’s family. Israel’s jealous complaints of God’s generous treatment of the Gentiles was also prophesied (Isaiah 49:14). But God would not forget his promises to Israel (Isaiah 49:15). The Apostle Paul later would write in his letter to the Romans that he hoped to use his fellow countrymen’s jealousy of the Gentiles to help them reconcile with God and receive Jesus as their true Messiah, so that they too may enjoy the blessings of salvation (Romans 11:14-15).
A Greek and Roman Perspective of John 4:12
If John’s claim that as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God was challenging to his Jewish readers, it would likely have been shocking for his Gentile readers.
Greek and Roman mythologies were full of tales describing mortal children who had a divine parent. These children were the offspring of immortal gods’ sexual escapades with mortal humans. For instance:
The phrase children of God might initially evoke images of these and other demigods to John’s Greek and Roman readers.
However, John’s Gospel presents a radically different meaning. The children of God which he is describing are not a product of a sexual encounter, as John will clarify in verse 13 when he writes that they were not born of the will of the flesh nor the will of man (male/husband), but of God. (The Bible Says commentary will say more on this topic as it discusses verses 13 further down.)
Becoming children of God is a spiritual birth, granted by God’s will through belief in Jesus’s name. One may become a child of God and be “born again” (John 3:3) through faith.
For Greeks and/or Romans familiar with the philosophy of Plato, Plato and his teacher Socrates often taught of humanity’s divine origin and longing to return to a perfect, divine state. In “The Republic,” Plato writes of the soul’s immortality and kinship with the divine,
“The soul, then, is immortal and imperishable, and our souls will truly dwell in the divine and immortal realm when they are purified and have become truly themselves, free from the constraints of the body.”
(Plato. “The Republic.” 10. 611e-12a)
John’s message would appeal to this yearning by offering a concrete path to divine relationship through faith in Jesus, rather than through abstract philosophical contemplation and/or the effort of applying its principles.
A part of the “good news” this gospel will bring to the Greeks is that they can be children of God while in the body, and through faith be “free from the constraints of the body.” This freedom in Christ would apply to now, as we walk in the Spirit, as well as in the next life when we receive a new, uncorrupted body (Galatians 5:13, 16, 1 Corinthians 15:42).
… EVEN TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HIS NAME…
The clause even to those who believe in His name is a description of the people who received Him. It is connected to both of verse 12’s preceding clauses:
The word-even-functions here as an intensifier that emphasizes the connection between the sentence’s first clause (as many as received Him) with its third clause (to those who believe in His name).
The presence of-even-draws attention to the essential characteristic of those who receive Jesus; they are the ones who believe in His name. The inclusion-even-serves to equate receiving Jesus with believing in His name.
Strictly speaking, there is no Greek term for even in the Greek construction of this verse. The reason-even-is added into most English translations (including the NASB-95) is because the Greek syntax strongly implies the connection it makes. In other words, even is linguistically inferred by the Greek construction of the sentence even though even is not explicitly stated in the Greek text.
The inclusion of even ensures that the reader of the translation understands that the act of receiving Jesus is not merely about physically welcoming Him or simply agreeing with His moral teachings. Receiving Jesus is a personal faith and trust in who He is:
-both of which are meant by His name.
The connection between being given the right to become children of God with believing in His name is also supported by the Greek text.
This connection is perhaps best seen if we simply remove even (which is added by translators) from the English translation: He gave the right to become children of God to those who believe in His name.
To believe in His name means to receive or accept Jesus’s identity as God and the Messiah. Jesus is the Logos (John 1:1) and He is the Light (John 1:4-5). Jesus is the Creator (John 1:3) and He is the Christ (John 1:17, 29, 41, 45, 49). Jesus said that the faith required to gain eternal life was the faith to look at Him, lifted up on a cross (John 3:14-15). This fits with believing in His name, which is to understand that He is God in human flesh, who was sacrificed for our sins.
Taken altogether, the three clauses of John 1:12-as many as received Him-even to those who believe in His name,-to them He gave the right to become children of God-form a kind of logical isosceles triangle, with two sides equal and one distinct.
The two equal sides are the ones about receiving and believing, as these actions are essentially synonymous. To receive Jesus is to accept Him for who He is-God and the Messiah; “the Logos” (John 1:1) and “the Light” John 1:4-5). And to believe in His name is to trust Jesus’s authority and identity as God and Messiah. These two actions are complementary expressions of faith.
The third side is distinct from the equal sides but connected to them. The third side of this isosceles-statement is God’s response to this faith. It is Him granting the right to become His children. This grant of birth is not earned but given in response to receiving and believing Jesus.
The isosceles structure highlights the equal emphasis on the human response of faith (receiving and believing) and the unique, gracious action of God in adopting believers into His family. The triangle is connected by God’s grace; those who believe are granted new birth because God honors His promises.
As verse 13 indicates, this gracious action of divine birth into God’s eternal family is universally offered and freely given by God. It is completely unmerited by any human; being justified is a gift freely given because of the price Jesus paid by the ransom of His own life (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
… WHO WERE BORN, NOT OF BLOOD NOR OF THE WILL OF THE FLESH NOR OF THE WILL OF MAN, BUT OF GOD.
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (v 13).
John 1:13 describes the nature of becoming children of God.
WHO WERE BORN…
John describes the nature of becoming children of God as a birth. Those who believe in Jesus’s name were/are born into God’s eternal family. The birth John is describing is a spiritual birth-it is literally of God.
As many as receive Jesus and believe in His name are spiritually born (again) and become God’s children.
John uses language and terminology similar to what Jesus taught in describing the spiritual transformation people experience whenever they receive Him through faith.
When Jesus met with the esteemed Jewish leader Nicodemus, He also used the physical act of being born to describe this spiritual change:
““Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
(John 3:5b)
Jesus’s description of being “born again” seemed to confuse Nicodemus (John 3:3-4), so He clarified that He was speaking of spiritual birth:
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
(John 3:6)
John may have anticipated a similar confusion (like Nicodemus’s) among his audience as to what being born into God’s family meant, and sought to get ahead of it by first describing what it was not.
John eliminates three potential misconceptions about being born into God’s family. Specifically, being born as a child of God is not:
Rather, being born into His eternal family is of God.
NOT OF BLOOD…
The first potential misconception of what it means to be born into God’s family is that it is of blood.
John specifically says this birth is not of blood.
In this phrase, blood means “bloodline.” John’s point is that one is not born into God’s family nor becomes children of God simply through their bloodline. Someone does not enter God’s family through being a physical or genetic descendant of someone in His family.
This maybe would have challenged the Jewish notion of God’s family.
John’s Jewish readers would have likely understood the term children of God or the notion of God’s family in national or ethnic terms. They would probably have understood God’s family to be comprised of the physical or blood descendants of Abraham.
The national bloodline descending from Abraham was deeply woven into their Jewish identity. To be a Jew was to be a biological descendant of Abraham and an inheritor of God’s promises to him (Genesis 12:2-3, 17:7, 22:17-18, 26:4, Exodus 19:5-6, Deuteronomy 7:6, 10:15, 2 Chronicles 20:7, Psalm 105:6-10, Isaiah 51:2).
Given how these and others ingrained their identity in the bloodline of Abraham, it would have been easy for John’s Jewish readers to misapply the term children of God to themselves. But the family of God is not of blood.
John 8 and Jesus’s discussion about Abraham
During a confrontation with Jesus, the Jewish leaders express this exact misconception when they claim that their status as descendants of Abraham guarantees their inclusion in God’s family. He was teaching about the freedom that He offered those who follow Him. The Jewish leaders argued,
“We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone.”
(John 8:33)
This reveals their belief that being part of Abraham’s lineage automatically makes them part of God’s chosen family. Jesus explains that He was talking about the spiritual slavery of sin and that He was not talking about Abraham’s physical lineage (John 8:34-37a). When Jesus told them they were not acting like Abraham (John 8:37b-38), they again replied: “Abraham is our father” (John 8:39).
However, Jesus challenges their assumptions by pointing out that their actions-seeking to kill Him-are inconsistent with the faith and obedience of Abraham (John 8:39-40). Jesus distinguishes between physical lineage and spiritual kinship. He emphasizes that true children of Abraham do the deeds of Abraham, which involve faith and obedience to God’s truth. Angered at this, they avoid the truth and slander Jesus, before claiming to be children of God.
“They said to Him, ‘We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.’”
(John 8:41b)
By rejecting Jesus, the very one Abraham rejoiced to see (John 8:56), they reveal that their claim to be Abraham’s and God’s children is superficial and incomplete.
Jesus’s dialogue with the religious authorities exemplifies John’s point that being born into God’s family is not a matter of bloodline. One becomes a child of God by receiving Jesus through faith in His name.
The Book of Romans: The promise to Abraham is inherited through faith
In his epistle to the Romans, Paul also makes similar claims about Abraham’s descendants and the children of God. Paul asserts and maintains throughout Romans that the gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jews first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16b).
This is similar to John’s introduction of the gospel: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name (v 12).
Paul uses Abraham, the founding patriarch of Israel as his prime example to demonstrate that the essential requirement from a human perspective is faith.
Regarding the Jews’ rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God (John 1:11), Paul explained:
“For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants… That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.”
(Romans 9:6b-8)
Like John 1:12-13, Romans 6:8 explains that it is not by bloodline nor the lineage of the flesh that people become children of God. The family of God, as John wrote, is not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh.
Paul cites Genesis 15:6 to prove that Abraham was made righteous through faith and not works when he wrote: “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness’” (Romans 4:3).
From this, Paul goes on to claim: “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith” (Romans 4:13).
This clarifies that it is not ethnic lineage, but faith in Christ as the true basis for being a (spiritual) descendant of Abraham and child of God.
Just as John reveals that being born into God’s family is a matter of believing in His name and not of blood, so too does Paul reveal that the promise to Abraham is inherited through “the righteousness of faith” and “not through the Law” (Romans 4:13).
Jesus’s dialogues recorded in John 3:1-19 and John 8:31-58 and Paul’s discourses about Abraham in Romans indicate that faith in Jesus, not lineage, is the way people are born as God’s children. God’s family is a spiritual family, consisting of people born of the Spirit (John 3:6b), not of blood.
… NOR THE WILL OF THE FLESH…
The second potential misconception of what it means to be born into God’s family is that it is of the will of the flesh.
John specifically says this birth is not of the will of the flesh.
The expression the will of the flesh likely means one of two things:
Both meanings are possible at the same time.
Note: this part of the commentary covering the will of the flesh will focus on the first of these two interpretations-human effort. Because the third misconception about how one becomes a child of God-nor the will of man (male)-concerns sexual intercourse, the second interpretation for will of the flesh as being sexual intercourse will be explained in the …NOR THE WILL OF MAN portion of this commentary.
When John says that becoming a child of God is not accomplished through the will of the flesh, he probably includes the omission of human or fleshly achievement (such as religious observances) playing a role in spiritual birth. There is no action of humans that contributes anything to the shed blood of Jesus which atones for our sins, including religious observance.
This point would have pertained to both Jews and religious or virtue-oriented Gentiles. One does not earn their way into God’s spiritual family.
The Jews relied on their religious observances (keeping the Mosaic Law) to maintain favor with God. Next to their descendancy through Abraham, the Law and their traditions were the most defining aspect of their Jewish identity. Therefore, it would be equally tempting or easy to misapply children of God to themselves or anyone else they viewed as keeping God’s Laws.
As he did with the Jew’s misconception about lineage, John also preemptively addresses this misconception about the flesh by highlighting the fact that it plays no role in the new spiritual birth.
Jesus also addressed this misconception when He explained to the Jews the point of Moses and the Law. Jesus’s teachings on this topic are found in John 5:39-47.
In this passage in John 5, Jesus is speaking to the Jewish leaders who are opposing Him for healing on the Sabbath and claiming equality with God. These leaders pride themselves on their adherence to the Law of Moses, believing it ensures their place as God’s children. Jesus confronts this assumption by exposing their misunderstanding of the Law’s purpose and their rejection of Him, the One to whom the Law points.
Jesus warned them:
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”
(John 5:39-40)
The Jewish leaders’ reliance on keeping their interpretations of the Law and their study of the Scriptures became an end-in-itself. Thus, it became a stumbling block that caused them to be blind to seeing God’s visitation to them.
Their proliferation of rules and regulations were increasingly disconnected from the faith the Law was meant to inspire. They believed that their meticulous observance of the Law and their understanding of its content established their righteousness before God, but they failed to recognize that the Law was meant to lead them to Christ.
Jesus ended this teaching by rebuking the Jews’ misunderstanding of Moses and the Law:
“Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
(John 5:45-47)
While the Jews claimed Moses as their spiritual authority and heritage, they misunderstood the true purpose of his writings: to point to the Messiah, Jesus Himself (Galatians 3:24). Rather than receive the kingdom message which provided a means to love and serve others, as Moses taught, the Jews instead used Moses to justify their self-seeking exploitation of others (Matthew 22:37-39, 23:12-14). Their failure to receive Jesus and believe in His name demonstrates that they were not truly children of God, despite their outward adherence to the Law.
This exchange from John 5 highlights the insufficiency of human effort through the will of the flesh to secure a place in God’s family. The Jewish leaders believed that strict obedience to the Law of Moses could justify them, but Jesus exposes their inability to meet the Law’s demands apart from faith.
Their legalism blinded them to the need for a Savior and left them spiritually estranged from God. Jesus shows that eternal life and being born into His family are gifts of grace through faith in Him, not the result of human effort or legal compliance (John 3:14-15).
In John 5, Jesus not only corrects the misconception that the flesh’s observance of the Law can make someone a child of God, but He also points to Himself as the fulfillment of the Law. Being born into God’s family is not of human effort ("the will of the flesh") but is the gracious work of God.
The Jewish leaders’ rejection of Christ reveals that true spiritual membership in God’s family is rooted in faith, not lineage or Law, further echoing Paul’s later teachings in Romans.
“For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.”
(Romans 4:13)
Paul clarifies that it is not ethnic lineage, nor legal/religious observance, but faith in Christ as the true basis for being a (spiritual) descendant of Abraham and child of God.
To become children of God and enter into His family is not a matter of human effort, it is a matter of grace that is received by those who believe in the name of Jesus. Jesus taught His disciples, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63). And He explained this to Nicodemus when He said: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). Only God’s Spirit can give life to human spirits and birth us into His spiritual family.
In their teachings, both Jesus and Paul elaborate upon John’s brief gospel clarification that becoming a child of God is not of the will of the flesh.
From a Greek, Roman, pagan, or humanistic perspective, Johns’ clarification nor the will of the flesh reveals that there is no heroic or Herculean achievements that can qualify people to be born or become children of God.
… NOR THE WILL OF MAN
The third potential misconception of what it means to be born into God’s family is that it is of the will of man.
John specifically says this birth is not of the will of man.
This clarification of what becoming children of God is not could mean two things.
Note: This commentary will focus on the second of these meanings, because if the first possibility is meant then it was discussed above-see: …NOR THE WILL OF THE FLESH.
While it is possible that both meanings could be intended at the same time, the Greek language of the verse suggests that the will of man most likely refers to erotic desire.
The Greek term that is translated man in verse 13 is gender specific, and it specifically refers to males. The term used for man meaning “male,” in verse 13 is ἀνδρὸς (pronounced “an-dros”) and is a form of ἀνήρ (G435-“anēr”). “Anēr”/“Andros” is often translated “husband.”
It is not same term used earlier by John when he wrote, “There came a man went from God, whose name was John [the Baptizer]” (John 1:6). In John 1:6, the Greek term translated as “man” is ἄνθρωπος (G444-pronounced: “an-thrō-pos”). “Anthropos” often refers to males, but its most basic sense is “human.”
“Anthropos” is more gender inclusive. “Anēr”/“Andros” is gender specific to males.
The expression will of man is more descriptively translated as “masculine desire” or “husband’s desire.” It appears to be a polite euphemism for erotic or sexual desire.
The phrase nor the will of man emphasizes that being born into God’s family is not the result of human sexual desire or procreative acts. The phrase explicitly excludes physical relationships or sexual union as the means of spiritual birth. It therefore excludes any kind of genealogy as a means of gaining entrance into God’s forever family.
This is significant because it addresses misconceptions that pagan Greeks and Romans may have had about what it meant to be born into God’s family. For cultures steeped in mythology, divine offspring were often viewed as the result of sexual encounters between gods and mortals.
In Greek mythology, the gods frequently engaged in relationships with humans, resulting in offspring who were considered demigods. For example, and as previously mentioned:
Other prominent examples from Greek mythology that describe divine and mortal intermingling include:
The Roman tradition perpetuated the same idea.
These and other similar myths established a worldview where divine and mortal realms could intermingle physically, and divine favor or lineage was often the result of sexual unions. The pagan Greeks and Romans believed that children of God were the result of sexual encounters with an immortal.
Without clarification otherwise, it would have been natural for John’s Greek and Roman readers to mis-assume that being born as children of God involved a physical act of procreation between the divine and a human.
But the gospel is not like the Greek and Roman myths-so, John clarified.
In fact, John’s clarification may be a way of distinguishing his gospel account from the genre of Greek and Roman mythologies. John was not interested in starting a new myth. John was interested in telling the world the good news that their God and Savior had come to give them eternal life (John 20:30-31).
John’s statement directly confronts and refutes these misconceptions that divine inheritance or participation in the gods’ family was linked to physical, sexual origins. He declares that being born into God’s family as children of God is neither through the will of the flesh, nor the will of man. It is entirely of God.
This is a spiritual birth, as Jesus explained to Nicodemus (John 3:5-6). Jesus clarifies that spiritual birth is distinct from physical birth and is entirely the work of God through His Spirit.
In contrast to Greek and Roman mythology, John presents a wholly different paradigm. God’s family is a spiritual family, born not through sexual unions but through faith in Jesus Christ and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:6, 6:63).
As verse 12 states, but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. This spiritual birth makes believers God’s children, united by faith, not by flesh or human effort. In this way, John sets the gospel apart from the myths of pagan culture and reveals the radically different nature of God’s eternal family.
Being born into God’s family is:
Having outlined these misconceptions about what being born as children of God is not, John is ready to say what it is.
…BUT OF GOD.
Being born of God is a transformative spiritual act that changes one’s nature. It has nothing to do with physical lineage, human achievement, or sexual procreation, but is instead the result of God’s divine initiative.
People are born into God’s eternal family and can become children of God-solely because of God. People can become His children because God (the Father) gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16a). As many people as receive Jesus and believe in His name as God’s Son and the Messiah, God gives this right and grants eternal life (John 3:16).
Jesus says it is God “the Spirit who gives life” (John 6:63a) and “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6b). Being born into God’s family and becoming a child of God is not of human choice or efforts, but God’s.
The gospel’s Gift of Eternal Life is explicitly unmerited. John 1:13 clarifies that this new birth is not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Human effort, heritage, or religious works cannot secure this status. It is solely the result of God’s initiative. This truth magnifies God's grace and removes any grounds for boasting (Ephesians 2:8-9).
To be born of God means to experience a spiritual transformation initiated by God Himself. God is the Person who brings individuals into His eternal family. John’s Gospel repeatedly emphasizes this divine birth as essential for becoming a child of God.
God gives the right to become His children to as many people who receive Jesus. Those who believe in His name are born of God.
John 1:12-13 establishes that being born of God is distinct from any human process-whether lineage, human effort, or desire. It is a supernatural act of grace given to those who receive Christ and believe in Him.
People contribute nothing to initiate their own physical existence. People do not cause themselves to be born. Physical life is a gift people receive from their parents; they do not contribute to their own conception or gestation in any manner. So too do people contribute nothing to initiate their own spiritual existence into God’s family. People are not the source of their own spiritual birth. God is the source. And Spiritual birth, like physical birth is a gift that people receive.
The way the Gift of Eternal Life is received is through faith. This was true in the Old Testament, as Genesis proclaimed Abraham was declared righteous in God’s sight because he believed God (Genesis 15:6). Paul noted this in his defense that righteousness before God comes by faith alone (Romans 4:3).
Now, in the era after the cross, we know that the righteousness of faith comes through the agency of Jesus; it was He who bore the sins of the world (Colossians 2:14). Abraham’s era looked forward to the cross. Jesus’s death was foreshadowed in events such as the sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-12). In the current era, spiritual birth is tied to belief in Jesus and acceptance of His identity as the Messiah and the Son of God. In John 3:16, Jesus declares:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
Belief in Christ is the means by which one is born of God. This belief goes beyond mere intellectual assent. It involves trusting in Jesus as Savior and placing our hope of redemption in His life.
Being born of God results in a new relationship with Him as His children.
Just as physical birth is irrevocable, the Gift of Eternal Life and being a member of God’s family is irrevocable (Romans 11:29). Just as there is nothing that people can do to cause themselves to be born into God’s family, there is nothing His children can do to lose their right and place as His children. They have eternal belonging, and their status as God’s children is safe and secure.
Jesus described lasting security of this relationship when He said:
“I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
(John 10:28-29)
Jesus described the freedom of this new relationship when He said:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
(John 8:34-36)
Those born of God are no longer slaves to sin. They are set free and are now empowered to live as His children. This new birth empowers them to live in harmony and communication with His Spirit and in obedience to God. They are not compelled to do so, but are enabled.
In his first epistle, John also emphasizes the spiritual freedom of God’s family:
“No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
(1 John 3:9)
The expression “born of God” in 1 John 3:9 describes the overarching theme of John 1:12b-13: those who believe in His name…were born…of God.
Those of His children who obey Him increasingly reflect His character, and will receive great honor from Jesus (Matthew 10:32, 40-42, 19:28, Romans 2:6-7, 10, 1 Corinthians 3:11-14, 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, 2 Timothy 2:12, James 1:12).
Those of His children who do not obey Him will endure His wrath and suffer great loss (Matthew 10:33, Romans 2:6, 8-9, 1 Corinthians 3:11-13, 15, 2 Timothy 2:12b). But though such loss is great, it does not mean the loss of being God’s child (John 10:28-29, 2 Timothy 2:13). Nothing can separate one of God’s children from God or His love (Romans 8:29-39).
Once a person receives Jesus and is born a child of God, he is forever a child of God. Just like a human child, a spiritual child has a life that cannot be revoked. However, just like a human child, a spiritual child has agency to make choices, and those choices have consequences. The child needs to learn and grow in order to mature. John wrote this gospel so that each person could be born again in order to receive the Gift of Eternal Life (“believe that Jesus is the Christ”) and then learn to live in faith, and experience the Prize of Eternal Life (“and that believing you may have life in His name,” John 20:31).
Used with permission from TheBibleSays.com.
You can access the original article here.
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