John 1:11-13

11He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. 12Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God - 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

V11-13 – Notice the language used here: John says essentially that Jesus came to the place where He already was. He came into the world Incarnate, though He was already here as the Light. Jesus, the Light of the World, came to the people who should have expected Him, and they rejected Him. And if they rejected Him, who would have thought that the rest of the world would accept Him? Even though His own did not receive Him, some did receive Him. This is what Paul labored to explain in Romans 9-11 – that it was God’s good purpose to bring this to pass in order that His salvation would extent to every tribe, tongue, and nation worldwide. Calvin says, “The Jews’ impiety was no obstruction to Christ; for He erected elsewhere the throne of His kingdom, and called indiscriminately to the hope of salvation all nations which formerly appeared to have been rejected by God.” Thus, John says that even though His own rejected Him, those who did receive Him are privileged to be given the right (the claim, the power, the fitness) to be called sons of God. Fallen humans are not God’s children by nature (Ephesians 2:3); through faith by a sovereign act of God (regeneration) we are given that privilege.

This is a controversial passage in regards to the order of salvation. Which comes first: Regeneration or Faith? Casual readers (Arminians) generally come to this passage and say that it is a clear testimony to not only the offer of salvation to all, but also the enabling to turn to faith in Christ for all. Calvin says, “They infer that it is this grace only that is offered to us, and that the liberty to enjoy or to reject it is placed at our disposal. But this frivolous attempt to catch at a single word is set aside by what immediately follows; for [John] adds, that they become the sons of God, not by the will which belongs to the flesh, but when they are born of God.” So it’s completely true that all who receive Jesus are sons of God. It’s just wrong to see from this passage that all are able to receive Him. Others (Calvinists) take this passage and move into v13 with it. Who gets the right to become sons of God? Whoever believes in, whoever receives Jesus gets it. Who believes in / receives Christ? None are able to do so, unless the Father enables them (John 6:63), unless they are compelled (Luke 14:23); none are able unless the Father draws or “drags” them (John 6:44). Those who believe are not believers by their flesh (ancestry), nor by their will, but as Calvin says, “They are already born of God. It is not therefore, a mere liberty of choice that is offered, since they obtain the privilege itself that is in question.” Those born of God receive Christ. John labors to explain this in detail throughout his gospel, but for now, consider Galatians 4:3-9: “So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God…” For more, see: John 3:6-8; 8:42; 10:27; 15:16; 17:6; 18:37; Acts 13:48; Ephesians 2:1-10; 1 John 5:1-2

Calvin concludes, “…Faith does not proceed from ourselves, but is the fruit of spiritual regeneration; for John affirms that no man can believe, unless he be begotten of God; and therefore faith is a heavenly gift. It follows…that faith is not bare or cold knowledge, since no man can believe who has not been renewed by the Spirit of God… When the Lord breathes faith into us, He regenerates us by some method that is hidden and unknown to us; but after we have received faith, we perceive, by a lively feeling of conscience, not only the grace of adoption, but also newness of life, [fellowship with God Himself,] and the other gifts of the Holy Spirit…So far as respects our sense, it is only after having believed – that we begin to be the sons of God. But if the inheritance of eternal life is the fruit of adoption, we see how John ascribes the whole of our salvation to the grace of Christ alone; and, indeed, how closely soever men examine themselves, they will find nothing that is worthy of the children of God, except what Christ has bestowed on them.” Regeneration precedes faith, yet it is not a chronological priority, but a logical one. None believe apart from being born again, and none born again fail to believe. There is no life apart from receiving Christ.