REL A 250 2/13/2017 Insight into John 1

I have had a few experiences this week that have made me think more about Christ’s role in my life, and how central and necessary it is. I just want to share a scripture that summarizes some of the thoughts that I have had this past week. In John 1: 12-13 it reads,

“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:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

These two verses are so deep that it could take me hours to dissect them completely; I don’t feel like my following analysis does them full justice, but I do want to share what my initial thoughts are. John mentions some criteria in verse 12, to “as many as receive him” he will give power to become the “sons of God”. I used the Online Greek Bible to understand some of the original meaning of “sons of God” and it mentions that son (or offspring in this case) refers to a Greek word that generally denoted discipleship. A disciple was considered an offspring of a teacher because it was the potential of a disciple to become like their teacher.

The second verse has profound implications as well. The “birth” or “son-hood” of these disciples cannot be of blood (we are not physically sons/daughters of God like Christ), or of will of flesh or man (we cannot will ourselves into becoming like Christ); rather the birth is of God.

What this means to me is the following (this may seem simple, but it is profound and important). We cannot become like God on our own. Christ is the only own who can give us the power to reach our potential as children of God. We have the ability to become like Him, just as a child becomes like a parent, or a willing disciple becomes like their teacher. BUT that transformation is NOT (1) a physical transformation, (2) a transformation we can do on our own (will of flesh), or (3) a transformation that someone other than Christ (will of man) can do for us.

So the question then is how we qualify ourselves for this blessing. Going back to the beginning John says “But as many as receive him” he will give power to. I personally we receive Christ by living his doctrine and teachings. His doctrine being to (1) have faith in him, (2) repent, (3) be baptized, (4) receive a remission of our sins, (5) receive the Holy Ghost and endure to the end.