John 1:12

John 1:12. But as many as received him, to them gave he right to become children of God, even to them that believe in his name. We have beheld the light shining in the darkness (John 1:10-11); the thought of this verse is, that the darkness overcame it not! As we have already seen (see note on John 1:11), the language again becomes altogether general. Whosoever ' received Him,' to whatever period of time or nation they might belong, won the gift here spoken of. There is a perceptible difference between ‘accepted' (John 1:11 and ‘received,' as here used. Whilst the former lays emphasis on the will that consented (or refused) to receive, the latter brings before us the possession gained; so that the full meaning is, As many as by accepting Him received Him. The gift is not directly stated as ‘sonship,' perhaps because the full manifestation of this blessing belongs to the latter days alone (comp. on chaps, John 3:5; John 7:39; Romans 8:15), whereas the Evangelist would here include the time of incomplete revelation which came before the Incarnation. Then, as now, men accepted or refused Him; but for those who accepted was reserved ‘some better thing' (Hebrews 11:40) than had yet been clearly made known to man. We must not fail to note (for in these wonderful verses everything is significant) that there is special fitness in the expression ‘ children ' rather than ‘sons of God;' for, whereas ‘sonship' is often spoken of in connection with mere adoption, stress is here laid on an actual (though spiritual) paternity. The right or authority thus to become children of God is given by the Word ‘to them that believe in His name.' It is very important to discriminate between the different phrases which John uses in relation to belief or faith. On the one hand we have the simple expression ‘to believe Him' (as in chaps, John 8:31; John 5:38, etc.), usually denoting the acceptance of something said as true. On the other hand, we find very frequently in the New Testament, but especially in the writings of John, a remarkable combination of ‘believe' with a preposition literally meaning ‘into,' by which is denoted not merely an acceptance of words or professions, but such an acceptance of the Person trusted, such an approach of the heart towards Him, as leads to union with Him. This peculiarly Christian formula is by some rendered ‘believe in,' by others ‘believe on.' Both renderings are found in the Authorised Version. We have uniformly adopted the former, because it most clearly indicates the union towards which the faith tends. There are a few passages (see the marginal references) in which, as here, this phrase ‘believe in' is followed by ‘the name.' We have already-seen with what fulness of meaning John uses the word ‘name.' As in many passages of the Old Testament, the ‘name' expresses the sum of the qualities which mark the nature or character of a person (comp. Exodus 34:5-6). It is hard to fix the precise distinction between ‘believing in Him' and ‘believing in His name.' Perhaps we may say that, in the former case, the believer trustfully yields himself up to the Person, in the latter, to the revelation of the Person. Those who in chap. John 2:23 are spoken of as believing ‘in the name' of Jesus, had not reached the personal union which believing in Jesus implies; but through their trustful acceptance of His revelation of Himself, the higher gift, the closer knowledge, might soon be gained. Here the ‘name' cannot but recall John 1:1: the ‘name' Word expressed the nature of the Person (comp. John 1:6).