We all long to belong. We build our identities on our heritage, our family trees, our accomplishments, and the communities that claim us as their own. There is a deep, human ache to be known and received by our people. But what happens when you come home and no one recognizes you? John’s Gospel pivots on this very question, presenting a cosmic drama of homecoming and rejection. The Creator enters His own creation, yet He is met with the cold shoulder of strangers. This stunning rejection, however, opens the door to a radical new way of belonging—not by natural birth, but by a supernatural one.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. —John 1:9-131
Main Idea: The coming of the true Light into the world reveals a great divide—rejection by a world in darkness, and the gracious gift of divine sonship to those who believe, a sonship secured not by human will but by God's regenerative act.
The Tragedy of Rejection
John describes Jesus as the true light. This descriptor reveals that Christ is not a false light, but rather, it reveals Him as the ultimate, authentic, and final reality to which all other lights are but shadows.2 This Light, John says, “gives light to everyone” (v. 9). It shines on all of humanity, not in a way that saves everyone, but in a way that confronts everyone. Like a single lamp switched on in a pitch-black room, His presence exposes the state of every heart. No one can claim ignorance because this Light reveals every person.
And so, the Light was “coming into the world” (v. 9). The great, eternal Word—who was with God and was God—enters the realm of His own making. And here the tragedy unfolds in two devastating lines. First, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him” (v. 10). The Greek word for “know” here refers not to a lack of intellectual knowledge but to a relational rejection. The world, engrossed in its own darkness, failed to recognize its Maker.
The tragedy only deepens. “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (v. 11). John uses two distinct phrases here. He came to “his own” domain—the world, and more specifically, the nation of Israel. But then, “his own people”—the very children of Abraham, who had awaited their Messiah for centuries, millennia—actively “did not receive him.” This was not a passive oversight, but a conscious, willful refusal to welcome their King. This is the heartbreaking climax of humanity’s rebellion: God comes home, and His own family turns on Him.
The Miracle of Reception
Just when the darkness seems absolute, a single word pierces through: “But…”3 The rejection is not the end of the story. John continues, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (v. 12).
Right to Become Children of God (v. 12)
In the face of widespread rejection, God’s gracious providence is forming a new family. Notice how this happens. It is not something we seize, but something we are given. Christ “gave the right”—even the authority and privilege—to become God’s children. It is a legal declaration, a bestowed status that we could never earn on our own.4
This status is given to those who “believed in his name.” In the ancient world, a name was not a mere label. No, names were the sum of a person’s character, power, and identity.5 To believe in Jesus’ name is to trust completely in who He is—the Creator, the Light, the Son of God—and to commit one’s entire self to Him. It is this act of receiving Him by faith that transfers us from the family of the world into the family of God.
A Birth from Above (v. 13)
But how is this new family identity possible? John immediately clarifies that this is not a regular earthly adoption. It is a supernatural birth. Verse 13 gives us a stunning three-fold negation of human effort. We become children of God:
“not of blood”—not through a prestigious family tree or ethnic heritage.
“not of the will of the flesh”—not born from human passion or natural desire.
“not of the will of man”—not achieved through human effort, striving, or careful planning.
Our entry into God’s family has nothing to do with our lineage, our lusts, or our labors.
So where does it come from? The verse lands on the most miraculous phrase of all: “…but of God.” We are born of God. This is a divine act. It is a regeneration, a new creation. God does not simply sign our adoption papers. Instead, He gives us His very life, making us His children by nature, not just by law. The miracle of this divine reception eclipses the tragedy of rejection.
For the Ploughman
The truth of John 1:9-13 should shake us and then settle us. It forces us to ask the most fundamental question of our existence: To which family do I belong? The application here is not a simple to-do list, but a call to examine the very foundation of our spiritual lives.
Let the Light Do Its Work. The “true light” shines on everyone, revealing what is truly there. We often try to manage our sins, to hide our darkness, or to present a curated version of ourselves to God and others. Stop. The first step to walking in the light is to let it expose the truth. Where are you still trying to keep the shades drawn? What fear, what habit, what secret sin are you shielding from His gaze? Pray this week for the courage to stand in the light and let it reveal what needs to be healed, confessed, and surrendered. True freedom does not come from hiding, but from being fully known and fully loved by the One who is Light.
Let the Old Man Die. On what do you base your standing with God? Verse 13 is a divine wrecking ball to all our self-made identities. Do you take subtle pride in your family’s Christian heritage (“blood”)? Do you rely on the intensity of your spiritual experiences or feelings (“will of the flesh”)? Do you trust in your own discipline, your theological knowledge, or your good works (“will of man”)? All these are sinking sand. Your identity as a child of God is secured by one thing alone: you have been “born of God” because of the shed blood of Christ and your faith therein. Meditate on that phrase this week. Your relationship with God is His gift. Let that truth strip away your pride and cultivate humility and gratitude within you.
Live in God’s Gift. Christ gave you—gifted you—the right, the authority, and privilege to be a child of God. How would you live differently if you truly believed this? You have a right to approach the Father in prayer. You have a right to the inheritance He has promised. You have a right to stand against the accusations of the enemy, not in your own strength, but in the status Christ has won for you. When you feel like an orphan—insecure, fearful, striving for approval—recite John 1:12 to yourself:
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—John 1:12
You have been given the right to be called a child of God. Walk in that authority.
Closing Prayer
Lord, I have your testimony in writing that says, “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die … and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23). It was for this that you came down: to save sinners, to raise the dead, to bring the lost to life, and to give light to those in darkness.
In truth you came, and called us to adoption as your children, to a holy city which is ever at peace, to the life that never dies, to glory incorruptible. Only let us put a good finish to our beginning.
Let us abide in poverty, as strangers, suffering affliction. Let us knock with persistence on your door.
Near as the body is to the soul, you are nearer. You come and open the locked doors of the heart and shower us with the riches of heaven. You are good and kind to us, and your promises cannot lie, if only we continue seeking you to the end.
Glory be to the compassions of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit forever. Amen. —Pseudo-Macarius6
Until next time, keep your hand on the plow and break up the fallow ground!
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Excursus: Adoption or Regeneration
NOTE: The excursus section will take a brief academic look at an aspect of the passage. Therefore, future articles will eventually implement a paywall for this section.
The language of John 1:12-13 introduces two related but distinct theological concepts that are crucial for a full-orbed understanding of salvation: adoption and regeneration. While sometimes used interchangeably in popular speech, they describe two different, complementary facets of God’s saving work.
Adoption (v. 12)
The key term in verse 12 is exousia (ἐξουσία), which is best translated as “right” or “authority.” When John says Christ “gave the right to become children of God,” he is speaking in primarily legal terms. Adoption, in the theological sense, is a legal act of God by which He takes those who are by nature strangers and enemies and gives them the full legal status of sons.7
This concept is most fully developed by the Apostle Paul, who writes that believers have received “the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15). It speaks to a change in our standing. We were spiritual orphans, legally under the condemnation of sin, but through faith in Christ, God legally constitutes us as His children, granting us all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto. This includes the right to an inheritance (Galatians 4:7) and an intimate relationship with the Father, our new legal position in the heavenly court.
Regeneration (v. 13)
The key term in verse 13 is egennēthēsan (ἐγεννήθησαν), which means “were born” or “were begotten.” This language shifts from the legal courtroom to the family home. Regeneration is not a legal act but a life-giving one. It is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that imparts a new, divine nature to the believer.
This is a central Johannine theme, most notably articulated in Jesus’s conversation with Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again (anōthen, ἄνωθεν: ‘again’ or ‘from above’), he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Regeneration speaks to a change in our very nature. Not only do we get a new legal file, but we also get a new life.8 As verse 13 makes clear, this birth has a divine origin (“of God”), completely distinct from any human or natural process. It is a re-creation, a spiritual resurrection that makes us partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).
Conclusion
Adoption and regeneration are not in conflict. They are two sides of the same glorious coin of salvation. Adoption changes our relationship to God, while regeneration changes our inner disposition toward God. Adoption gives us the privileges of sonship, while regeneration provides us with the character of sons. John 1:12-13 beautifully holds these two truths in perfect tension. Christ gives us the right to become children (adoption), a right that is realized and evidenced in those who are supernaturally born of God (regeneration).
Unless otherwise noted, all references to or quotations of Scripture come from the English Standard Version (ESV).
Murray J. Harris, John, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (B&H Academic, 2015), 29.
This singular word remains one of my favorite words in all of Scripture—a contrasting conjunction, whereby we are alerted to something different coming.
Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel according to John (I–XII): Introduction, Translation, and Notes, vol. 29, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 10; George R. Beasley-Murray, John, vol. 36, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1999), 12.
Gerald L. Borchert, John 1–11, vol. 25A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 116–117; Murray J. Harris, 31.
Robert Elmer, ed., Fount of Heaven: Prayers of the Early Church (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2022), 172.
It is essential to note here that those adopted are always referred to as sons rather than daughters. While in Greek and Roman cultures, sons and daughters could inherit equally, Scripture established sons as the sole inheritors, and the firstborn got a double portion (Deuteronomy 21:15-17). Therefore, God sees men and women as sons because He sees the blood of His Son upon each of us, thereby allowing us each to inherit equally with Christ.
Borchert, 118; Beasley-Murray, 13.
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