But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
– John 1:12–13
Oh, I am just as I read this verse in a fresh way, almost like it’s first time in thinking about it.
John 1:12–13 Reminds Us We Were Ransomed
The reality that in Christ for all who receive Christ to believe in his name, we are children of God. We’re born spiritually, not of blood or the will of the flesh or the will of man, but born of God.
And makes me think about my favorite quote, well, one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite books by J.I. Packer, Knowing God. And in that book, he’s got an incredible chapter on adoption and he says, “What is a Christian? The richest answer I know is that a Christian is one who has God as father. If you want to know how well a person understands Christianity,” Packer writes, “Find out how much he or she makes of the thought of being God’s child and having God as father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls their worship and prayers and their whole outlook on life, it means they do not understand Christianity very well at all.”
Is this what prompts and controls your praying and your worshiping and your whole outlook on life? The fact that you are God’s child, that he is your father? Oh, rest in this reality today, be reminded of this glorious truth that for all who believe in Jesus, you know God as father. You have the right to come to God today as his child, as his son, as his daughter.
John 1:12–13 Sparks Adoration in Us for God the Father
So pray and worship and live out of the overflow of this God. We praise you as our Father, our Father in heaven. All glory be to your name for giving us new life, for causing us by your spirit to be born again, that we might be your children. Even as I think about this last week and our church family and we were just talking about how we are from so many different places in the world, but we have the same father. We have the same bloodline in your son Jesus. We praise you for the privilege of being your children.
God, we pray that today you would help us to live in light of this reality. God help us to walk with you as our Father, to seek you as our Father, to pray, to worship, to love you as our Father, to obey you as our Father, to reflect you. We as your children want to be a reflection of who you are today.
Help us to show others who you are by the way we live, and help us to introduce others to you. We have an opportunity on God to bring people in your family today. God, help us to be faithful, to share the gospel so that people around us today might become part of the family. God may it be so. Bring somebody into the family through us today and bring all the families of the Earth into the family we pray.
Praying for the Siwa Berber People
We pray for the Siwa Berber people of Egypt that live in this remote, arid desert location in the far west of Egypt, close to the Libyan border. God, we pray, bring them into the family. We know Jesus you’ve paid the price for the sins of every nation, tribe, language, and people to be brought into the family. Bring in the Siwa Berber people we pray. And we pray for any brothers and sisters who are there right now that you would strengthen them and give them boldness in sharing the gospel and making disciples and planting churches. God, we pray this to you as our Father in heaven with joy in our hearts before You, with love in our hearts before you. In Jesus name, amen.
FAQs
The sermon focuses on John 1:12-13 which states that those who receive and believe in Jesus are given the right to become children of God. The sermon clarifies that "sons of God" in verse 12 should be translated as "children of God" to match the original Greek.
What is the lesson learned in John 1:12? ›
God only gives the privilege of being his children to those who by personal faith receive Jesus as Lord and believe in who he is. They gain three huge benefits: They become children through a faith-relationship with Jesus. They become a member of God's family the moment they receive Christ into thier life.
What does it mean that Jesus redeemed us? ›
Redemption (apolutrósis) refers supremely to the work of Christ on our behalf, whereby he purchases us, he ransoms us, at the price of his own life, securing our deliverance from the bondage and condemnation of sin. The New Testament speaks of Christ's saving work in this way frequently.
What happens when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior in John 1:12-13? ›
To all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. By God's grace is in Christ, we have the privilege of knowing God as Father. Children of God. Like in the family of God.
What things are attributed to the word in John 1 1 13? ›
John 1:1–18 is a poetic introduction of Jesus Christ. Jesus is referred to using the Greek word logos, meaning "the Word." This passage clearly describes Jesus as God, and co-creator with God the Father. These verses summarize Jesus' ministry and mission on Earth.
What does John 12:13 mean? ›
Palm branches were ancient symbols of victory. The term hosanna was most famously used in Psalm 118:25–26, and means "save now!" It came to be a figure of speech praising God for deliverance, and it was said in support of a king or victor.
What is John chapter 1 telling us? ›
The meaning of John Chapter 1 is quite fascinating, as it encapsulates the importance of Jesus and establishes the fact that Christ has always been one with God. The bulk of the chapter, which is filled with beautiful proclamations about the core of the gospel, also speaks about John the Baptist.
What does John 12 teach us? ›
Jesus is telling us that we should honor Him, we should worship and adore Him whenever the opportunity presents itself. He is speaking about the extemporaneous nature of our worship. Mary did not put Jesus on her day timer, she did not have to schedule some time in her otherwise busy day specifically to honor Jesus.
What moral lessons can we learn from John 13? ›
For one thing, we learn that all need to be washed by Christ. "If I wash you not, then have no part in Me." No man or woman can be saved unless his sins are washed away in Christ's precious blood. Nothing else can make us clean or acceptable before God.
How can God redeem us? ›
For us to receive that forgiveness and redemption, we must go to him and ask for our sins to be forgiven. Jesus has what we need but we must do our part in asking and receiving.
Redeem (verb): to overcome and fix faults of someone or something. This is exactly what God did for you through His Son, Jesus. You were born into sin and it is a problem in your heart. Could you imagine a heart surgeon doing surgery on their own heart?
What is the main purpose of redemption? ›
In Christian theology, redemption is a metaphor for what is achieved through the atonement; therefore, there is a metaphorical sense in which the death of Jesus pays the price of a ransom, releasing Christians from bondage to sin and death.
What is the lesson of John 1:12 13? ›
John 1:12–13 Reminds Us We Were Ransomed
The reality that in Christ for all who receive Christ to believe in his name, we are children of God. We're born spiritually, not of blood or the will of the flesh or the will of man, but born of God.
What does John 1 13 born of God mean? ›
Here in verse 13, John speaks to us about the new birth from a Divine point of view, giving us the source and origin of our new birth: we are "born of God". To underscore his point and to circumvent theological errors, John also lists some things that are not the source and origin of our new birth.
Will you be my child John 1-12-13? ›
John 1:12-13 New King James Version (NKJV)
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, 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.
What is the gospel of John 1 12? ›
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: The New International Version translates the passage as: Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
What is the moral lesson of John 13? ›
After partaking of the Passover meal, Jesus washed His disciples' feet. He taught them about serving and loving one another. This lesson can encourage you to seek happiness through serving and loving others as Jesus did.
What does for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance mean? ›
It means that God won't change His mind about what he has called you to do. If God has called you, that calling is still there, whether or not you have obeyed. And if God gave you a gift, that gift is still there! Whatever God has called you to do, He has also gifted you to do it.
