10th January 2022 – John 1:13

13 "who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

This verse completes the teaching in 12. To receive Christ, to believe on His Name, and being born of God, all belong together, and the one cannot happen without the other. To receive Christ, to believe in Him, is to be born of God. We should note two things in particular. The first is that to believe on His Name has far-reaching implications, for a name in Scripture is a revelation of personality (cf 'Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins'). To believe on His Name, therefore, is to believe on the whole revelation of Him as a Saviour, in His atoning work on the cross, and to enter all its infinite virtue. This is the miracle that we call spiritual rebirth. The second thing to note is that spiritual rebirth means that a man is born, not of blood - there is nothing physical in this operation - nor of the will of the flesh - it is not a matter of one's senses - nor of the will of man - it is not a matter of human reason - it is entirely from above, from God. It is not a human act, but a divine one, not something that we do, but something that is done to us by God. It is He Who brings us to the birth. Yet the marvel is that within this glorious mystery there is a place for real human responsibility. When we are summoned to believe on His Name and receive Him, this is our act, our responsible decision to receive Him. But behind this, and making this possible, is His decision to receive us, His regenerating power. This is the deepest truth:

He drew me, and I followed on,
 Charmed to confess the voice divine.