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Jun 20, 20215 min read

Post 30 - Born of God: Election in the Gospel of John-Part 3

Recap: In last week's post, I noted that the Gospel of John contains some of the most oft-cited passages in the debate on divine election. Yet, as we delve into some of the more challenging passages in John's account, we can't lose sight of the reason he penned his gospel. It was written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31 ESV).



Today, we'll begin to examine passages whose meaning has been debated by theologians, philosophers and biblical scholars for centuries. I wanted to emphasize that, despite the significant differences in their interpretations of these challenging texts, I truly believe that the expositors on all sides of the issue of divine election sincerely desire to convey an accurate understanding of God and of God's plan of salvation.


John 1:10-13

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. (John 1:10 ESV)

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. (John 1:11 ESV)

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, (John 1:12 ESV)

who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:13 ESV)



Context: In this passage, the apostle John is relating to his readers how the incarnate Jesus was rejected by the "world" in general (v. 10), and by "his own" - the Jews in particular (v.11). Yet verse 12 implies that, while the vast majority rejected Jesus, there were some (a relative few, perhaps) who "received him", and who "believed in his name" (v. 12).


Verse 13 describes an unnatural/supernatural origin of those who believed; "(they) were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:13 ESV).

Verses 12 and 13 will be the focus of this discussion.


Calvinism: To the Calvinist, John 1:12-13 clearly promotes their doctrine of unconditional election. They maintain that this passage supports the notion that those who come to believe in Jesus were chosen by God for salvation, and that the choosing was unconditional and monergistic (unilateral).


While the Calvinist would have difficulty defending any "unconditionality" in this passage, they would aver that this passage supports two Reformed propositions:


1. the new birth (regeneration) precedes faith - that is, people believe in Jesus as the result of their regeneration by God, and

2. regeneration is not a choice we make - believers are born "not of human volition" (CSB), but are the result of a sovereign choice made by God.



Non-Calvinism: There are a number of ways the non-Calvinists view this passage. Many will point out that verse 12 simply makes clear that the new birth (regeneration) is obtained by "all who receive him (Christ)", and that "while God is the source of the new birth, free will is the means by which it is received" (Chosen But Free - Norman Geisler, p 60). In other words, contrary to the Calvinists' interpretation, the non-Calvinist would propose that faith in Jesus precedes (causes) regeneration.


Note that this interpretation presents a synergistic process of election and refutes the Calvinist's interpretation that these individuals are sovereignly chosen by God without any involvement from those who come to believe.



For Your Consideration

In an effort to support their soteriological positions, both camps have re-rendered John's past-tense verbs in verse 12, in the present tense and by so doing, they have inadvertently (and mistakenly, I believe) created a general rule of salvation where none was intended. They changed John's sentence to read:


{But to all who receive him, who believe in his name, he gives the right to become children of God.}


While most Christians would likely agree that the statement above is true, changing God's word is tricky business. Since John used past-tense (Greek aorist) verbs, all we can truly exegete from vv. 12 & 13 is that the apostle personally witnessed some special people who became Christians - received Jesus, believing on his name - in a supernatural way. In other words, there were some people in the first century who were "born of God".


When we remember that prior to the cross, the familiar path to become a Christian (hear the gospel, believe the gospel, receive the Holy Spirit - Eph 1:13) had not yet been forged, we can begin to understand and marvel at the unique and supernatural origins of the believers to whom John was referring. If John wanted to describe a normative rule about how all people enter the kingdom of God, he could have done so... but he didn't.


[Sidebar: General rules are never issued in the past tense. General rules (as a general rule) are given in the present tense. For example:

  • > "Each time you pass go, you collect $200." (Rules of Monopoly);

  • > Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. (John 5:24 ESV).

  • > Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:12 ESV)

Note that all the verbs in the examples above are in the present tense. They are general rules - applicable to all people, for all times.]


This verb-tense thing might seem like a minor consideration. It is not. The urge by many expositors to make general, normative rules, applicable to all Christians, from God's unique dispensation of first-century grace, is one of the primary sources of perceived contradictions in the doctrine of election. The desire by many theologians to apply God's initial Church-development strategies to all Christians reveals a failure to acknowledge and appreciate the resourceful craftsmanship of the Master Builder and renders many God-glorifying verses confusing or incoherent.



Born of God

So, to whom was John referring in verses 12 and 13?

I believe there are two groups of people who could be in view in John's account:


1. the apostles - Prior to the cross, John witnessed the supernatural election of the apostles who were divinely enabled by the Father to recognize and receive the incarnate Jesus as the Messiah (Mat 16:17). In this regard, the apostles were definitely "born of God." More on this next week.


2. the early church - John was also witness to the supernatural enablement of some people at the onset of the early church to immediately respond to the apostles' message and to believe the gospel as truth (Acts 2:41, 47, 4:4, 5:14, 6:7, 9:31, 16:5, 17:12, 17:34) - people who seemed to be uniquely receptive to the gospel message. In this regard, those chosen to comprise and propagate the early church were "born of God".



Final Thought

With regard to these two groups, chosen by God to lay the foundation and establish the framework for the Church, I believe the Calvinists get the basics right. There's evidence that God's choice for both groups was sovereign, monergistic and "unconditional" in the sense that it was not based on anything these people did, or will do.


Although I firmly believe that God is still working through his people to complete his Church, and although I affirm that it's still true that everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, (1 John 5:1 ESV), by attempting to apply God's first-century, Church-initiating grace to twenty-first century Christians, we deny the clever logic and masterful implementation of God's unfolding world-saving strategy.


The unique gifting of the apostles and the early church to jumpstart a new religion is really testimony to God's love for the world, faithfulness to his eternal plan of salvation and evidence that God would not let the Christian Church fail to launch.



To learn more, please consider picking up my book - God's Elect: The Chosen Generation

(also available on Kindle)


(Also available at Barnes & Noble & Christianbook.com)




Next Post: We'll explore a unique and divine working by the Father as he prepares to lay the foundation for the Church by looking at what it means to be "taught by God" - John 6:45. Here is a link: https://www.bibleinsights.net/post/post-31-taught-by-the-father-election-in-the-gospel-of-john-part-4



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