In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
John 1:1-13
There was a man having been sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to bear witness about the Light.
There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to what was His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Introduction
The common thread through all false religions is either utter hopelessness in the face of sin, or more commonly, a man-made approach to right our relationship with the creator and find absolution. This can be seen very clearly in the effort-based path to enlightenment in Buddhism or the convoluted system of Karma and rebirth in Hinduism. It is also present in secular atheistic religion: “if only we right this wrong, humanity will be made morally right.”
But the way God chooses to act always seems to flip those natural tendencies on their heads. Instead of us finding our way back to God, He came to us. Instead of earning the right to be called a child of God, it is something granted entirely by grace. It is unfathomable to the natural mind, which is why Paul said, while describing the gospel, that, “a natural man does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually examined.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)
If God’s truth was easy to find under our own power, there would be no one who is not a Christian. But instead, we often find ourselves in the minority up and against spiritual powers that seek to destroy the Church. Why is that?
Only God can do what is necessary
In today’s passage, we see the famous opening to John’s gospel where he eloquently and beautifully ties together the Hebrew world (referencing Genesis 1) with the Greek world (in identifying the Word as a divine player). So much has been written on that subject, that I would encourage anyone interested to check out some examples of that.
Similarly, reams of paper have been used to explain how Christ is clearly one in divinity with the Father from this passage, and anything I might say about it would be “adding to the noise” so to speak. In fact, that debate goes back as far as the beginning of the faith, as people who sought to infiltrate the Church introduced subtle ideas from Greek philosophy contradicting the scriptures.
Instead of focusing on Christ’s credentials, I would like to point out something that is easily glossed over when reading this passage and thinking about the high and lofty nature of the incarnate Lord. That is that “His own did not receive Him, but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.”
Those who were His own is a reference to the people of Israel. He was rejected in the capital city of Jerusalem where He was betrayed, tortured, and killed, all under the cheers and insistence of the people who were supposed to be called His own. But this was not an accident. Romans 11:25 teaches us that “a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” That is, God intentionally gave His people over to rejecting Him in order to demonstrate His compassion and power to save those who were outside the Old Covenant.
And the ones who did and do receive Him are ones, “who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” The primary agent in the renewal of anyone to life in Him is God Himself. In stark contrast against the religions of the world, God came to us, God willed that some would be saved, and God renewed the hearts of those He chose.
Our duty in this world
“But,” I can hear you say, “if God chose the ones He was going to save, what is the point of evangelism? What is the point of doing anything? Isn’t it all just up to fate?”
No, because even built into that question itself is the subtle influence of Greek religion that snuck its way into the early Church, prompting all those centuries of discussions regarding the divinity of Christ. “Fate” is a concept not found anywhere in the pages of scripture. It is found in the annals of Greek poetry, though, most notably in the story of Oedipus the King.
When Oedipus was born, a most horrible prophecy was spoken over him: that he would kill his own father. In an effort to thwart the words of the oracle, Oedipus’ father Laius orders his wife to kill the child. Unable to bring herself to this, Oedipus’ mother Jocasta commands servants to expose him on a mountain top and let him die of natural causes. But, as fate would have it, Oedipus did not die and was rescued by a shepherd. As an adult, Oedipus sought to consult the oracle himself, who expanded the prophecy to tell him that not only would he kill his own father, but that he would marry his own mother. Thinking the ones who adopted him were his real parents, Oedipus flees into the wilderness and finds himself ultimately returned to his place of birth. On his route to nowhere in particular, Oedipus encounters Laius and kills him. Then Oedipus frees his home city from the curse of a Sphinx, giving him the right to marry the husbandless queen, Jocasta. And so, with no true agency of his own, Oedipus fulfills the oracle and is bound helplessly to the fate which was spoken over him at his birth.
This story is so central to western thinking on the subject of fate that it has even seeped into secular religion. Mathematical probability and prediction models are ubiquitous. Those who see mankind as mere fleshly machines, executing complex code in our squishy brains have concluded that no one has any true philosophical agency, but are merely following a series of “if…then” statements that lead to a known destination.
But that is not the biblical concept of election. While it is true that God is the One who wills, His ordination does not come at the opposition to our own wills. In the story of Oedipus, no one wanted the oracle to be true. Laius ordered his own son killed. Jocasta fixed him on a mountain top. Oedipus fled his family. Everyone involved desperately wanted the oracle to be false, but nothing they did could stop the hand of fate. In stark contrast to that, everything God ordains for men aligns with what they desire in their hearts. Those He abandons to sin (Romans 1:24) want to sin. Those He renews to life want to live (2 Corinthians 4:16; Hebrews 8:10).
And the commission God gives to those who love Him is to become “fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) These fisherman who followed Jesus would cast nets into the sea and wait for them to be filled with fish by the mercy and grace of God. Likewise, it is our duty to cast the net of the gospel and pray for the mercy and grace of God to fill that net and bless His holy Name forever.
May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.
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