Feb. 28, 2010 And the List goes on and on….. John 1:12

 

It starts with a simple testimony by John, of Jesus Christ.

Because a real relationship with anyone starts with who they are or at least an acknowledgement of who they are. This becomes the key to accepting and understanding who we really are in relation to him.  Which leads me to make this point, while Jesus was at the epicenter of the scriptures and should be at the center of our lives, we were in fact at the center of his. We were foreme=ost in his mind and his thoughts. What tends to happen is that in our conversation of christ we forget to understand that all that he was and all that he does and did was for us. This is what makes relationship with him important to us.

It is through his testimony, that John was pushing away any possibility of anyone thinking that he himself was more than he ought – he says and he is somewhat insistent about it  “I am not the light” –in other words don’t look at me , look at him! I just came to testify , to tell you about the light.

And he is sure to make them understand that it is so, that ALL might believe don’t make the mistake in believing that it is about me preaching to you because it’s not. But more  importantly, he notes, it is the proclamation of Jesus – isn’t it amazing how we can get so caught up in church that we forget what it’s all about its about,  JESUS !  But to Jesus it is all about us.

He begins now to deal with the tragedy of the mixed response vs10 – he was in the world and the world received him not. This was the universal rejection that he came and was generally  not received.  Like an author who appears in his own story and isn’t recognized. Then john closes the circle and suggests that then he came unto his own kind and they even rejected him, the world rejecting him, maybe I could understand, yes. But coming to his own, to those who would expect him , to those who were looking for him, to those who were heralding his return as messiah and then they rejected him.

Which essentially leads us to the understanding of freedom of choice or what we like to call freewill.

Looking carefully at this text if we were left with only the idea presented in vers 12 we would say that  salvation  was all based upon only personal human response and nothing else .  Because it says they received him and then after they received him they are given the right – the word “right” – exousia- power or authority. This of course becomes good news for me because it puts me in a position better than I was in before, it gives me an opportunity to at least be saved.

 This imagery that John uses of me coming alive as a child of God is amazing. It suggests that  there is nothing that can keep me from being what I am supposed to be, a CHILD OF GOD, now there is no bondage that can tie me up and imprison me because I have this power that allows me freedom. Freedom from alcohol, freedom from weed, freedom from homosexuality. I now have a right to be free from sin, I have a right to be free from homosexuality, from drug addiction from anything the enemy can use-I HAVE A RIGHT TO BE FREE. Why ? because I received him.

 LETS GET THAT STRAIGHT RIGHT NOW , I HAVE A RIGHT TO BE  FREE

That’s why you cannot allow the enemy to imprison you because of your past, because of the things you have done, I’m telling you –I am just learning it. We have to change our mindset to acknowledge our pasts but to acknowledge our futures as greater than our pasts. “Yes I did it, yes I blew it but  now I have a right to be a child of God”.

Understand , then that while the focus is on the power that produces divine life it is a power that must be exercised by the PERSON. The freewill of a person must be used to establish this wonderful change. It is not forced upon us nor are we bound by it but we choose to move toward this change by receiving the one who came, Jesus.

He does not say that God made them Children of God, but that he gave them the power to become children of God.

Notice then that he uses this clearly in opposition or in contrast to verse 11 where there is a concept of rejection-Jesus was rejected by the world, then rejected by his own. Then in vs12 he talks about receiving on one hand you have rejection on the other hand you have reception.

The one who rejects gets nothing, but the one who receives gets the right to be a child of God,  you might have  a life of horror following you, but you have the right to be a child of God.  You may be holding  a resume of sin; I ain’t talking to folks who ain’t never done nothing, I’m talking to folks who went to bed drunk and got up drunk and then went and drank some more, I’m talking to folks who chased the pipe and then chased the pipe some more, I’m talking to folks who slept in so many beds it’s a wonder you aint  laid out in the aids ward, no matter what you got dragging in behind you,you have a right to be a CHILD OF GOD.

 So who is to blame if you are not what you are supposed to be – YOU !

If we only had vs13 then we could say that it was only divine initiative  in other words all of this was God and there was no accountability for anything on the part of those of us who would receive him. But this is simply not the truth, every one of us holds in our hands some measure of accountability to either accept or deny what the LORD has done for us.

Another point that should be mentioned is that there is nothing that can hinder your change because your change is not birthed out of anything natural,  it does not come from any natural sphere of life or some natural sphere of influence.

Your change doesn’t come because you switch to another job, your salvation isn’t based on who your friends are , your deliverance isn’t based on whether someone likes you or doesn’t like you. Cause your change ain’t natural, your deliverance ain’t natural, your freedom ain’t natural-ITS SPIRITUAL.  That’s why folks can’t stop you from being a child of god because the source is God.

But this life , this transformation this change isn’t forced on you –you have a role to play you have a part to play-it must be received.

And some of us have been receptive, you have named the name of Christ , you have claimed salvation and received him and yet you are still struggling , struggling with men, struggling with women, struggling with your sexuality, struggling with this struggling with that.

But the lord is saying because you have been receptive here-here is your power to be a child of GOD.

You are not a child of god because you come to church, you are not a child of god because you sing the songs, you are not a child of god because you put money in the offering plate all of these are aesthetics. One writer put it like this          “ becoming children of God means we begin to share his divine life , without ceasing to be creatures, believing in Jesus, enables us to have life in his name and share in his divine nature”.

This simply means that all of the things that the LORD has done for us is included in our benefits

Which means I’m

Justified.

United with the Lord. (1 cor 6:17)

Bought with a price.

Belong to god.

Member of Christ body.

Redeemed. (Col 1:14)

Complete. (Col 2:10)

Free from condemnation. (Rom 8:1)

Assured. (Rom 8:28)

Free from any charge.(Rom 8:31-34)

And the list goes on and on an on and on and on and on and……..

~ by awordgiver on April 10, 2010.