This reveals a powerful truth about our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It highlights the incredible privilege and blessing that comes from receiving Jesus and believing in His name.
- Receiving Jesus:
To receive Jesus means to accept Him as Lord and Savior, acknowledging His divinity, His work of redemption, and His authority in our lives. It involves welcoming Him into our hearts, surrendering to His lordship, and inviting Him to dwell within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we receive Jesus, we open ourselves to His transformative work and enter into a personal relationship with Him.
- The right to become God's children:
Through faith in Jesus, we are granted the remarkable privilege of becoming children of God. This speaks of our spiritual adoption into God's family, where we receive all the rights and privileges associated with being His children. As God's children, we have access to His love, care, provision, and guidance. We become part of the eternal family of God, intimately connected to Him as our heavenly Father.
- Believing in His name:
Believing in the name of Jesus encompasses more than intellectual assent or acknowledging His historical existence. It involves entrusting our lives, our eternal destiny, and our salvation to Him. It means putting our faith and trust in Jesus as the Son of God, the promised Messiah, and the only way to reconciliation with God. It is a wholehearted reliance on Him and His finished work on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life.
The significance of John 1:12 becomes even more profound when considered in the context of the entire passage. In the preceding verses, John speaks of Jesus as the Word who was with God in the beginning and who became flesh to dwell among us (John 1:1-3, 14). He emphasizes that Jesus is the true light, shining in the darkness, and that through Him, we can receive the grace of God (John 1:4-5, 14).
Additionally, John 1:12 sets the stage for the subsequent verses, where it is revealed that those who are born of God are not born of natural descent, human decision, or the will of others but are born of God Himself (John 1:13). This emphasizes the spiritual nature of our rebirth and the profound impact of God's grace in our lives.
By believing in Jesus and receiving Him, we are not only forgiven and reconciled to God, but we also become partakers of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). We are adopted into His family, experiencing a radical transformation and a new identity as children of God. Our relationship with God is no longer based on legalistic rules or religious rituals, but on a personal, intimate connection as His beloved children.
As we embrace John 1:12 and the truth it proclaims, we are called to live out the reality of our identity as God's children. This involves growing in faith, pursuing a deepening relationship with Jesus, and allowing His life to be manifested in and through us. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live as children of light, reflecting the character of our heavenly Father and proclaiming the good news of salvation to the world.
In conclusion, John 1:12 invites us into a profound and transformative journey of faith. It assures us that through receiving Jesus and believing in His name, we are given the incredible right to become children of God. This truth calls us to respond with gratitude, obedience, and a life that reflects our new identity in Christ. May we embrace this privilege and walk confidently as God's beloved children, shining His light in a world in need of His grace and truth.
John 1:12. As many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name.