Born of God Through Faith in His Son

How does a person become a child of God? Not by ancestry, religious ceremony, personal effort, or human will. John 1:12–13 says God gives those who receive and believe on His Son the right to become His children — a new birth that is “not of blood… but of God.” Salvation is the supernatural work of God, received by faith in Jesus Christ.

“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 1:12–13

I. The Supernatural Work of God

John 1:12–13 is a powerful declaration of the supernatural work of God by which sinners are brought into a living relationship with God the Father through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. John writes, “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 1:12–13).

The passage begins with a person receiving Christ. John immediately explains that receiving Christ means believing in His name. These are not two separate requirements. To receive Jesus is to believe in Him as He has revealed Himself: the eternal Word, the Son of God, the promised Messiah, and the only Saviour of sinners. Saving faith is more than acknowledging that Jesus existed. It is personally trusting in Him and relying upon what He accomplished through His death and resurrection.

II. God Gives the Right to Become His Children

John says that Christ gives those who believe “power to become the sons of God.” The Greek word translated “power” here is exousia, which refers to a granted right, authority, privilege, or legitimate standing. John is not teaching that sinners possess natural power within themselves to become God’s children. He is teaching that Christ graciously grants this new standing to everyone who receives Him by faith.

No person earns a place in God’s family. We do not become children of God because of moral improvement, religious works, church membership, water baptism, family background, or personal sacrifice. Our relationship with the Father is granted through the Son. Christ alone gives believers the right to stand before God as His accepted and beloved children.

The sinner does not purchase a place in God’s household. Christ gives that place by grace.

III. The New Birth Comes From God

John 1:13 explains why becoming a child of God is supernatural. Believers are those “who were born…of God.” This is spiritual birth, commonly called regeneration. Regeneration is the life-giving work of God by which He brings a sinner out of spiritual death and into spiritual life and fellowship with Himself.

John carefully excludes every human source of this new birth. It is “not of blood,” meaning it does not come through physical ancestry, nationality, family lineage, or religious heritage. No one becomes a child of God merely because his parents were Christians or because he was raised in a Christian environment.

It is not “of the will of the flesh.” The new birth is not produced by natural ability, self-discipline, moral determination, or human effort. A person cannot regenerate himself through personal sincerity or religious devotion.

It is also not “of the will of man.” No pastor, priest, minister, church, denomination, or religious organization possesses the power to give spiritual life to another human being. People may preach the gospel, teach the truth, and call sinners to repentance and faith, but only God can cause a sinner to be born from above.

The believer is born “of God.” Salvation is therefore supernatural from beginning to end.

IV. Faith in the Son Is the Response God Requires

This truth agrees with the words of Jesus in John 6:29: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”

Jesus was speaking to people who were thinking in terms of religious works they could perform to obtain God’s approval. He redirected them away from human achievement and toward Himself. The decisive response God commands is faith in the Son whom the Father sent.

Jesus was not teaching that faith is a meritorious work by which sinners earn salvation. Faith does not pay for salvation, complete salvation, or make the sinner worthy of salvation. Faith receives Christ and rests in what He has already accomplished. The value is not in faith as a human achievement; the value is in the divine Saviour whom faith receives.

The Father sent the Son. The Son accomplished redemption through His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection. The Holy Spirit works through the gospel to convict, regenerate, and bring sinners into living union with Christ. The believer receives Christ by faith, and Christ grants that believer the right to become a child of God.

Faith does not purchase salvation. Faith receives the Saviour.

V. Relationship With the Father Through the Son

John 1:12–13 also reveals the proper biblical order of our relationship with God. We are brought into relationship with God the Father through faith in God the Son. Jesus is not the Father. He is the eternal Son who came from the Father, reveals the Father, reconciles sinners to the Father, and brings believers into fellowship with the Father.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). The Son is the way to the Father because He alone accomplished the redemptive work necessary to reconcile sinners to God. We do not come to the Father apart from Christ, and we do not receive Christ while rejecting the Father who sent Him.

To receive Christ is to receive the One whom the Father sent. Through the Son, believers are forgiven, justified, reconciled, adopted, and granted eternal life. The gospel is therefore not primarily a message about what I must accomplish for God. It is the proclamation of what God has accomplished for me through His Son.

VI. Theological Synthesis and Application

John 1:12–13 holds human responsibility and divine grace together without contradiction. The sinner is commanded to receive Christ and believe in His name. Yet the new birth itself is entirely “of God.” Faith is the God-appointed means by which Christ is received, while regeneration, forgiveness, adoption, reconciliation, and eternal life are gifts of divine grace.

This passage overturns every doctrine that places saving power in human ancestry, personal merit, religious institutions, ceremonies, or human will. Water baptism cannot create the new birth. Church membership cannot create the new birth. A minister cannot create the new birth. Religious sincerity cannot create the new birth. Only God gives spiritual life, and He brings sinners into His family through faith in His Son.

The message is simple and powerful. I cannot make myself a child of God. I must receive the Son whom the Father sent. When I believe in Jesus Christ, God grants me the right to become His child, gives me life from above, and brings me into a living relationship with Himself.

VII. Canonical Scripture Foundation

The central truth of John 1:12–13 is confirmed throughout Scripture. John 3:3–8 teaches that a person must be born from above by the Spirit. John 3:16–18 and John 3:36 promise eternal life to those who believe in the Son. John 5:24 declares that the believer has eternal life and has passed out of death into life. John 6:29, 35, 40, and 47 repeatedly direct sinners to believe in Christ. John 14:6 identifies Jesus as the only way to the Father. Acts 16:30–31 commands the sinner to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 teaches justification by faith. Romans 8:14–17 describes believers as children and heirs of God. Galatians 3:26 states that believers are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 4:4–7 and Ephesians 1:5–7 connect redemption through Christ with adoption into God’s family. Ephesians 2:8–10 teaches that salvation is by grace through faith, not human works. Titus 3:4–7 presents regeneration as the gracious work of the Holy Spirit. James 1:18, 1 Peter 1:3 and 23, and 1 John 5:1 and 11–13 likewise teach that spiritual life originates in God and is received through faith in His Son.

The central meaning of the passage may therefore be stated this way: John 1:12–13 reveals the supernatural work of God by which He grants spiritual life and the right to become His children to all who receive His Son by faith. This new birth does not come through human ancestry, religious ceremony, personal effort, or human will. It comes from God alone, through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son whom the Father sent.

Common Questions

What does “power to become the sons of God” mean?

The Greek word for “power” is exousia — a granted right, authority, or privilege. John is not saying sinners have natural power in themselves to become God’s children; he is saying Christ graciously grants that standing to everyone who receives Him by faith.

Can baptism, church membership, or a minister make someone a child of God?

No. John 1:13 excludes every human source: the new birth is “not of blood” (ancestry), “nor of the will of the flesh” (human effort), “nor of the will of man” (no minister, church, or ceremony). It is “of God” alone.

Is faith a work that earns salvation?

No. Faith does not pay for or complete salvation; it receives Christ and rests in what He has already accomplished. As Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:29). The value is in the Saviour whom faith receives.

Does receiving Christ mean that Jesus is the Father?

No. We are brought to the Father through faith in the Son. Jesus is the eternal Son who came from the Father and said, “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). To receive Christ is to receive the One whom the Father sent.

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