Focus: Born Of God

Text: Jh.1:12-13

"But as many as received him, to them gave he POWER to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but OF GOD."

Who is a Christian? This is a pertinent question because no one is a Christian because he attends a church. No one is a Christian because he participates in the Holy Communion of Christ. Remember Judas Iscariot? He took the Holy Communion, but he was a thief - a kleptomaniac, pilfering or stealing from the purse of the ministry. He traded Christ for cash. No one is a Christian for being religious, nor for being morally good. No one is a Christian for being born into a particular church, nor for accenting to the tenets or for aligning oneself with the creeds of the Christian Faith. Holding a position in the church makes no one a Christian. Being involved in philanthropy or good works is not tantamount to being a Christian. Being a theologian of repute or a religious guru makes no one a Christian. One can be a religious or Christian preacher and not be a Christian. 

In fact, you can't even be a Christian by mouth, nor by appearance, nor by a certain form of dressing. Paul talks about those "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" (2Tim.3:5). Professing Christ is not the same as possessing Him. We have many people in our world who do not say what they mean and do not mean what they say. A man can worship God with his lips while his heart is far away from God.

Our text makes it clear that a Christian is the person who has received or accepted Christ and believed in His name.

Receiving and believing are like the two sides of a coin. According to our text, a Christian is BORN OF GOD. In John 3:5, he is BORN OF THE SPIRIT. James writes, "Of his own will BEGAT he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures" (Jam.1:18). A Christian is begotten of God through the word of truth. John tells us, "Whosoever BELIEVETH that Jesus is the Christ is BORN OF GOD… (1Jh.5:1). By believing in the Christ of God, a person becomes a born-again child of God. Christians have been made by God "partakers of the DIVINE NATURE, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust," and "his DIVINE POWER hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue" (2Pet.1:3,4).

A Christian, having believed in, received and embraced Christ, is loaded with power. God gives him the privilege and right of becoming a child of God. That is exousia in Greek. He possesses in him the divine nature of God.

The resurrected Christ says, "But ye shall RECEIVE POWER, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…" (Act.1:8). That is dunamis in Greek. That is the supernatural ability of the Holy Spirit. The believer has received authority and ability of God to lead life on God's level. The Christian is in possession of dynamic power - a divine dynamite or a spiritual dynamic. The Christian possesses both the technique and the dynamic of the Spirit. Paul declares, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the POWER THAT WORKETH IN US" (Eph.3:20). Power lodges and surges in the Christian, and the God of limitless ability works according to the ability at work in him.

In all of this, you see a connection between faith and power. Faith in Christ results in a possession of power. The Scripture describes Stephen as being full of faith and power. In his life faith and power were connected. To have faith is to have power. Faith connects you to the source of infinite power and of sovereign authority, which is God Himself. He is the Almighty.

John writes, "For whatsoever is BORN OF GOD overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our FAITH. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that BELIEVETH that Jesus is the Son of God?"(1Jh.5:4,5). Wherever you see faith, look closely, and you will find power. A man of faith is a person of power. A Christian is condemned to victory. Faith always wins. A Christian is an overcomer because of his faith in Christ. Faith in Christ connects the Christian to the limitless and victorious power of God. God avails him of the power to prevail against the world.

Going by all that has been said so far, can you say for sure that you are a Christian, that you are born again and filled with the Spirit? It is not enough to confess Christ; you must possess Him. He must become your total reality. A Christian lives a heavenly life on earth. In Christ he is a new species that has never existed before. He has been spiritually regenerated and supernaturally empowered. He lives a victorious life, not a defeated existence. He bubbles with life and basks in holy radiance and divine beauty. Amen.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter