“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
These two verses encapsulate the essential elements of the gospel narrative: If a person receives Jesus and believes in his name, he has the right to become a child of God, born not of man’s will but of God’s.
Q: How do these two verses compare to your favorite summary of the Gospel message?
The verses demonstrate simply that it is our faith in Jesus Christ, not works which we do.
Robster,
Thanks for joining in on the conversation! I am reminded of John 6:29 where it says, “Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'” It is not complicated, is it? 🙂
The easiest way to remember the plan of salvation laid out in the Gospel message is A-B-C: Acknowledge the sin in your life; Believe in Christ’s gift; Confess Christ as Savior. These two verses add something to this summary of the Gospel message. “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” I never thought of it as a right. People get hung up sometimes on what is a right and what is a privilege; I had always viewed my salvation as a privilege. Here I have God’s Word telling me it is a right; not a right based off anything I have done or earned, but though His promise. It demonstrates to me that God has said, you have right to be with Me because I have said it is so. It is His will; it is what He wants. It is heartwarming to know my Creator paid for me to have this right. All other “rights” we feel we have in life are an illusion.
Chris,
You bring up a very interesting point. The on-line dictionary describes a “right” as a “legal entitlement.” Our country was born out of a dispute over what constitutes a right or entitlement and whether we should rely on God’s law or human law. The only argument in favor of independence was a reliance on God’s law rather than human law. It seems odd that these days God has been chased out of the public square and we seem to be reverting on a belief or reliance on human law rather than God’s. But I digress…
To your point, it is interesting to realize that God has granted us a legal entitlement to become his child. I suppose this is another way of saying God has accepted our application for adoption. Going back to your A-B-C’s, we have to acknowledge our need and then acknowledge our Savior. The wonderful truth is that when we do turn to our Lord he responds by giving us the right to be a child of God.