Week 3: John 1:12,13

John 1:12,13: “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

1. To me this implies that some can receive Jesus but not believe in His name.  These people have heard the gospel and have received the good news, but they chose not to believe it.  Because of this they are not adopted into the family of God.
2. Those that do receive and accept become children of God.  This is a gift from salvation, that we become joint-heirs with Jesus.  These children are born of God and nothing else, so we’re not tainted by blood or flesh or anything of this world, but pure and removed from sin when it comes to judgment.  Also, because of this, we are brothers and sisters with Jesus, sharing the privileges with Him for eternity.

I really like these verses, and I find their promises very encouraging.  It's amazing that God allows us to take the sacrifice of the Son and become His children through adoption.  Awesome.