John 1:12—“as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God …”

 

He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 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 (John 1:11-13).

  

ARMINIAN INTERPRETATION:

Man’s “receiving Christ” comes first … and only then, or after that, he “becomes” a son of God ... The act of faith/trust itself “precedes” the “empowering” of regeneration/the new birth; a man first “believes” (receives/accepts Christ) “before” he can “become” a “son of God.”

The text is read thus: “... as many as [first] received him, to them gave he [then] power to become the sons of God.”

How is it explained that salvation is “nor of the will of the flesh”? Answer: “prevenient grace”!—for the Arminians say they agree and acknowledge that man, of himself, cannot do anything good (not even believe), apart from this prevenient grace.

(Note: A lot of weak Calvinists also read it this way too, especially those who deny that regeneration precedes faith.)

They read a sort of “chronological time frame” into the passage, beginning with man’s “receiving” of Christ, and then, *subsequent* to that, he that man is “given the power TO BECOME a son of God.” They first put their trust in Christ, and then God gives them “power to become [a son] of God” and to be “born ... of God.”

 

 

(I)

Prof. David J. Engelsma

The Arminian/semi-Pelagian has, not a miraculous, but an absurd religion and, because God created the natural to be the figure of the spiritual, a strange view of natural existence as well.  In his religion, the baby is active before he is born and his coming into existence (his conception and birth) depend upon an action he must first take.  In the language of John 1:12, 13, before their babies are born, they are active in receiving their parents, and their being born depends upon their accepting and choosing their parents as parents.  Their parents command the as-yet unborn and un-conceived child, “Receive us as your parents, and then we will give birth to you.”    

In the natural, earthly life we Reformed Christians live, being born precedes all activity on the part of the child.  In the language of John 1, our children are born before they receive and believe.  Being born spiritually precedes believing, and believing depends on being born.  Prior to birth (with the preceding conception), no activity is even possible.  Spiritual activity depends upon spiritual existence.  Existence precedes activity—in spiritual reality as in earthly reality.       

That the Arminian should appeal to John 1:12, 13 on behalf of his preposterous, to say nothing of heretical, religion is astounding.

The obvious explanation of the passage is that verse 13 accounts for the activity of verse 12.  Some humans (as many as receive him) believe on the name of Jesus.  The explanation of this activity, by which they receive Jesus, is given in verse 13:  They have been born—regenerated.  And this birth is not, as the Arminian preposterous (to say nothing of heretical, in that it gives the glory of salvation to the sinner and makes God in His saving work dependent upon the as-yet unborn sinner) “gospel” teaches, of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  I call attention (unnecessarily) to the fact known by all that the Arminian doctrine makes the spiritual birth of the sinner the act of his own will.  The essence of Arminian religion is “free will”—the free will of the sinner who has not yet been born spiritually.  John ascribes the birth of the sinner to the will of God.

I note also regarding the understanding of John 1:12, 13 that the word “power” in verse 12 is the Greek word meaning “authority,” or “right.”  The believer who has been born of the will of God and thus receives Christ Jesus by the faith given him by this new birth has now the right (Greek: exousia) to be the son of God.  (DJE, 10/04/2021)

 

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(II) 

Rev. Angus Stewart

The point of the passage is not that the phrase “But as many as received Him [faith], to them He gave the right to become children of God [regeneration]” teaches that our activity of faith precedes regeneration. The point of the text is that all believers are regenerate : “… as many as received him [faith], to them he gave the right to become children of God [regeneration].”

Read the rest of the sentence in verse 13: “Which were born [regenerated], not … of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” If the one arguing against Calvinism were right, then the text wouldn’t be saying that we are not born “of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,” because that is precisely his position! (namely, that it is by “the will of the flesh” or “the will of man,” that we become born again).  (AS, 19/03/2020)

 

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(III) 

More to come! (DV)