KJV
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
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:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
NIV
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.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
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:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
NIV
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.
Verse 13 clearly says that we become children of God:
- NOT by blood (natural descent) - “I’m saved because I’m a Jew!”
- NOT by the will of the flesh (human decision) - “I’m saved because the Holy Spirit came to me and pricked my heart and I DIDN’T reject Him, I accepted Him as my Savior.”
- NOT by the will of man (a husband’s will) - “I’m a Christian because I was raised a Christian, I’ve always been a Christian.” or “My parents were Christian.”
The one I’d like to concentrate on is the second one - we become children of God NOT by human decision. If God left becoming a Christian to lost men, NO ONE would ever get saved. The Bible tells us over and over that a lost man does only evil, continually (Genesis 6:5), a lost man can not “accept Jesus” because that would be doing good (Jeremiah 13:23), a lost man hates the Light and will NOT come into the Light (John 3:20), a lost man is an enemy of God (Romans 8:7), a lost man can NOT please God (Romans 8:8), and a lost man can’t understand ANYTHING from the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14). Again, if left to his own volition, no lost man would ever choose to get saved.
Some would say, “But look at verse 12! To them that receive Him!” Yes, I’m sure there are times in the Bible where “receive” means “active appropriation” as I've heard preached by some but if it meant that in this context, it would be contradicting so many other Scriptures, the closest being verse 13. I can’t emphasize enough that we become children of God NOT BY HUMAN DECISION! I have yet to have an Arminian give me a satisfactory, credible explanation as to exactly what “not by human decision” means to them. They always go back to their understanding of verse 12 which clearly contradicts verse 13. Verse 13 negates any Arminian misunderstanding and misinterpretation of verse 12 but verse 12 does not have the same effect on verse 13.
Please let me give an example where “receiving” is not always an action, the result of anything done by the receiver!
Every day, every breath and every heartbeat of the lost is a gift from God. It’s called Common Grace. Every lost person is NOT being thrown into Hell at this very moment at the grace of God. They are a stench to Him in that every second of their lives they are sinning against God (Romans 8:8; 14:23). They are recipients of God’s grace (Common Grace) and they are doing NOTHING to receive it, and as a matter of fact, they seem to be doing everything in their power to offend God even more every day. But God has a purpose for even them just as He had for Pharaoh (Romans 9:17), and that’s why He doesn’t instantly snuff out their miserable lives. But the point is, they are doing NOTHING to receive God’s Common Grace.
If you’re saved, you received salvation NOT because of anything you have done like believe or repent (Titus 3:5), but because God chose you, loved you, and put you in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). You were given by God to Jesus and according to Jesus, all those the Father has given Him WILL come to Him (John 6:37). God has it rigged and it was simply a matter of when He wanted to quicken your dead spirit and MAKE YOU BELIEVE (John 6:29).
The verse I will quote many times in the future - John 1:13, you WILL see again. We become children of God NOT by the will of the flesh (human decision).
A final point I would like to bring up is the fact that verse 12 states “…become children of God.” If men can “become” children of God it should be obvious that men are NOT children of God to begin with. This refutes the idea many possess that every human being is a child of God. Do not forget that Jesus also told the Pharisees in John 8:44 that they were NOT children of God but children of their father, the devil. The only children of God are those chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).
A final point I would like to bring up is the fact that verse 12 states “…become children of God.” If men can “become” children of God it should be obvious that men are NOT children of God to begin with. This refutes the idea many possess that every human being is a child of God. Do not forget that Jesus also told the Pharisees in John 8:44 that they were NOT children of God but children of their father, the devil. The only children of God are those chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.