John 1:13

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. WHICH WERE BORN, [ egenneetheesan (G1080)]. Observe this word "born," or begotten.' It was not a name only, a dignity only, which Christ conferred on them: it was a new birth, it was a change of nature-the soul being made conscious, in virtue of it, of the vital capacities, perceptions, and emotions a 'child of God,' to which before it was a total stranger. But now for the Source and Author of that new birth-both negatively and positively. NOT OF BLOOD - not of 'superior human descent,' as we judge the meaning to be, NOR OF THE WILL OF THE FLESH - not of 'human generation' at all, NOR OF THE WILL OF MAN - not of man in any of the ways in which his will brings anything about. By th...

6-14 John the Baptist came to bear witness concerning Jesus. Nothing more fully shows the darkness of men's minds, than that when the Light had appeared, there needed a witness to call attention to it. Christ was the true Light; that great Light which deserves to be called so. By his Spirit and grace he enlightens all that are enlightened to salvation; and those that are not enlightened by him, perish in darkness. Christ was in the world when he took our nature upon him, and dwelt among us. The Son of the Highest was here in this lower world. He was in the world, but not of it. He came to save a lost world, because it was a world of his own making. Yet the world knew him not. When he comes as a Judge, the world shall know him. Many say that they are Christ's own, yet do not receive him, because they will not part with their sins, nor have him to reign over them. All the children of God...

Verse John 1:13. _WHICH WERE BORN, NOT OF BLOOD_] Who were regenerated, ουκ εξ αιματων, _not of bloods_-the union of father and mother, or of a distinguished or illustrious ancestry; for the Hebrew language makes use of the _plural_ to point out the dignity or excellence of a thing: and probably by this the evangelist intended to show his countrymen, that having Abraham and Sarah for their parents would not entitle them to the blessings of the new covenant; as no man could lay claim to them, but in consequence of being born of God; therefore, neither _the will of the flesh_-any thing that the corrupt heart of man could purpose or determine in its own behalf; nor _the will of man_-any thing that _another_ may be disposed to do in our behalf, can avail here; this new birth must come through the _will of God_-through; his own unlimited power and boundless mercy, pre...

WHICH WERE BORN - This doubtless refers to the “new birth,” or to the great change in the sinner’s mind called regeneration or conversion. It means that they did not become the children of God in virtue of their natural birth, or because they were the children of “Jews,” or because they were descended from pious parents. The term “to be born” is often used to denote this change. Compare John 3:3; 1 John 2:29. It illustrates clearly and beautifully this great change. The natural birth introduces us to life. The new birth is the beginning of spiritual life. Before, the sinner is “dead” in sins Ephesians 2:1; now he begins truly to live. And as the natural birth is the beginning of life, so to be born of Go

EXPOSITION THE title of the book is differently given in the manuscripts and ancient versions, and the differences are so considerable that they cannot be referred to the original text. The simplest form of the title is found in א, B, D, and is nothing more than "_according to_ John," ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ (B gives only one N in John's name, but א two); and this is followed by the vulgate and Syriac as a running title. The immense proportion of the uncials—A, C, E, F, G, L, and eight or nine others—read "Gospel according to John" (Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ιωάννην). This is followed by Tregelles, Lachmann, Alford. The T.R., with a large number of manuscripts, reads, "The Gospel according to John;" and in Stephen's third edition the word "holy" occurs before "Gospel." The cursives 69, 178, 259, read Εὐαγγέλιον ἐκ τοῦ κατὰ Ἰωὰνην. Some cursives read, "Of the (holy) Gospel according to John." The p...

WHICH WERE BORN NOT OF BLOOD,.... Or bloods, in the plural number. The birth, here spoken of, is regeneration, expressed by a being born again, or from above; by a being quickened by the Spirit and grace of God; by Christ being formed in men; and by a partaking of the divine nature; and by being made new creatures, as all that believe in the name of Christ are; and which is the evidence of their being the sons of God: and now this is owing not to blood, or bloods; not to the blood of circumcision; or of the passover, which the Jews had an high opinion of, and ascribe life and salvation to, and to which notion this may be opposed: so their commentators f on Ezekiel 16:6 where the word "live" is twice used, observe on the first "live", by the blood of the passover, on the second "live", by the blood of circumcision; but, alas! these contribute nothing to the life of the new creature: nor i...

John 1:1. _In the beginning was the Word,_ Christ the Word has existed from all eternity. He is the eternal Son of the eternal Father; he is really what Melchisedec was metaphorically, «having neither beginning of days, nor end of life.» «In the beginning was the Word,» John 1:1. _And the Word was with God, and the Word was God._ The Word was as truly God as the Father was God, and as the Spirit was God:» these three are one,» and ever have been one. «Very God of very God» is that Jesus whom we trust, and love, and adore. John 1:2. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the li

JOHN 1:13 oi] ouvk … evgennh,qhsan {A} Several ancient witnesses, chiefly Latin (itb Irenaeuslat Tertullian Origenlat Ambrose Augustine Ps-Athanasius), read the singular number, “[He] who was born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (the Curetonian Syriac and six manuscripts of the Peshitta Syriac read the plural “those who” and the singular verb “was born”). All Greek manuscripts, as well as the other versional and patristic witnesses, attest the plural number. (Several minor variant readings occur within the verse: D* and ita omit oi[, thus leaving the verse without grammatical connection with the preceding sentence; other variants in the verse are mentioned in the followin...

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. The Only-begotten, the Eternal Word; His Glory and His Manifestation -- Chapter 1:1-2:22 CHAPTER 1 __ 1. The Word: the Creator, the Life and the Light. (John 1:1 .) 2. The Light and the Darkness. The Light not Known. (John 1:5 .) 3. The Word Made Flesh and Its Gracious Results. (John 1:12 .) 4. The Witness of John. (John 1:19 .) 5. Following Him and Dwelling With Him. (John 1:35 .) 6. The Next Day. Nathanael's Unbelief and Confession. ...

THE WORK OF THE LIGHT BEFORE THE INCARNATION. But in truth the light, which lighteth every man, was always coming into the world. Possibly John 1:9 means that when John was witnessing, the true light was on the point of coming and was actually in the world, which He had created, though men knew Him not. But this interpretation is less natural. He was always in the world that He had made, though it was ignorant of its Maker. His coming was to His _own_ possession. But His own failed to recognise Him. In speaking of this failure the writer is thinking chiefly but perhaps not exclusively of Jews. But the failure had its exceptions. And those who in all nations received Him, gained the higher life of the spirit, which is entered upon by a birth from God, with which fleshly motives and physical descent have nothing to do. The use made by Gnostics of this verse to support their theories of the...