The Right to Become Children of God Explained

There is a difference between knowing that God exists and knowing that you belong to Him.

John tells us something almost breathtaking in the opening chapter of his Gospel: those who receive Jesus and believe in His name are given the right to become children of God.

Not visitors.

Not outsiders hoping God will let them stay.

His children.

And these words become even more powerful when we read what John says immediately before them. Jesus came into the world He created, and many of His own people rejected Him.

Then comes one little word that changes everything:

“But…”

“But to all who did receive him…”

The invitation remained open.

And for every person who receives Christ and believes in His name, God offers something we could never give ourselves:

a place in His family.

Today’s Saving Grace of God

John 1:12–14 (ESV)

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Setting the Scene

John begins his Gospel very differently from the other Gospel writers.

There is no manger. No shepherds. No wise men.

John takes us all the way back to the beginning.

He tells us that Jesus—the Word—was with God and was God. Everything was created through Him. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.

Then John tells us something heartbreaking.

The Creator entered His own creation, and His own people did not receive Him.

But rejection wasn’t the end of the story.

John immediately tells us that all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, were given the right to become children of God.

This new identity wasn’t inherited through family bloodlines. It wasn’t something human beings could accomplish through effort, status, or determination.

John says they were born “of God.”

Then verse 14 reveals the astonishing reason any of this is possible:

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

The eternal Son of God came near.

Jesus entered our world so that through Him, we could be brought into God’s family.

Reflection

Child of God.

I’ve heard those words so many times that I wonder if sometimes I forget how extraordinary they actually are.

John doesn’t say that those who believe in Jesus are merely forgiven sinners who are now permitted to stand somewhere near God.

He says we become His children.

There is belonging in that word.

There is relationship in that word.

There is love in that word.

And maybe most beautifully for me, there is permanence in it.

I’ve spent enough time looking backward at who I used to be. I’ve remembered mistakes God already forgave and wondered how He could possibly still want someone who has disappointed Him so many times.

But then Scripture tells me who I am.

His child.

Not because I was born into the right family.

Not because I finally became good enough.

Not because I managed to turn myself into someone worthy of belonging to Him.

John says this birth is “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

God did this.

I received Jesus. I believed in His name.

And God gave me a new identity I could never have earned for myself.

That’s especially beautiful when we remember what Jesus did in order to make this relationship possible.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

The One who existed before creation stepped into creation.

The Son came near.

He lived among ordinary, broken human beings. He showed us the Father. He carried our sin to the cross. He defeated death.

And through Him, people like you and me can call Almighty God:

Father.

Sometimes I think we make salvation sound like nothing more than having our sins forgiven so we can someday go to heaven.

And praise God, both of those things are true.

But salvation gives us something precious right now.

We belong.

We have a Father.

We have been welcomed into a family we could never have entered on our own.

And when the old voices start whispering that we aren’t worthy, don’t belong, or surely God must be tired of us by now, we can come back to what His Word actually says.

If we have received Christ and believed in His name, our identity has already been settled.

We are children of God.

Short Prayer

Father, sometimes I don’t think I fully understand what a gift it is to call You that—Father.

Thank You for sending Your Son into this world so that I could be forgiven, made new, and welcomed into Your family. Thank You that belonging to You isn’t something I earned or could ever accomplish on my own. It is another beautiful gift of Your grace.

When I begin listening to the old voices that tell me I’m unworthy or don’t belong, remind me what Your Word says about me.

I am Your child.

Help me live with the security of knowing I belong to You and that nothing and no one can change what You have done.

Jesus, thank You for coming near so that I could be brought near to the Father.

In Your precious name, I pray. Amen.

Reflection Question

When I think about my relationship with God, do I truly see myself as His beloved child—or am I still living as though I have to earn my place in His family?

Closing Encouragement

If you have received Jesus and believed in His name, you don’t have to wonder whether there is room for you in God’s family.

He has already given you a place.

You are not standing outside hoping to be accepted.

You belong.

You have a Father.

And the God who gave you the right to become His child isn’t asking you to earn the name He has already given you.

Child of God.

Carry that name with you today.

The Right to Become Children of God