Scripture Reading: John 1:9-13
After writing about the wholesale rejection of Christ, both by the world and by the Jewish people (Jn 1:10,11), John reminds us that there was still a remnant of people who did not reject Jesus. Taken together, John 1:12,13 highlight two elements of conversion … the human response, in verse 12, and the divine source, in verse 13.
To become a child of God, someone must 'receive' Jesus and 'believe on His name'. The two words are virtually equivalent in this verse. The verb 'receive' helps us to understand what it means to 'believe' in Jesus. One cannot 'believe' in Jesus without 'receiving' Jesus. Certainly 'to receive' means to welcome … to enter into a relationship with.
According to John 1:12, no one can become a child of God without receiving Jesus. This means that there are multiplied millions of people who imagine themselves to be God's children, but, in reality, are not.
In this passage we see John's first mention of the new birth. Expanding the imagery of a family, John 1:13 says that people who receive Jesus are 'born'. A new birth is required to be a child of God and the source of this birth is wholly divine. It is not from physical descent, nor from physical birth, nor from human decision. "New birth is, finally, nothing other than an act of God" (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, 126).
