Mailbag: Born Again Because I Decide? (in John 1)

John 1:13 explains that those who are born again were born "not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God". Calvinists believe that this is a clear-cut verse showing that God regenerates us, and does not do so based on an act of decision by our will. In response to this however, a visitor to OldTruth.com by the name of James, says: "Verse 12 makes it abundantly clear that 'the power to become children of God' (becoming a child of God is via the new birth -- regeneration) is contingent upon 'receiving Christ' and 'believing on His name'."

James continues by saying . . .

"Verse 13, which you cited, then goes on to say that those who 'receive Him' and 'believe on his name' are the ones who are 'born of God'. Clearly, believing and receiving are shown not to be "of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Receiving Christ precedes regeneration in the sense that the latter is conditioned upon the former."

To cut down on confusion, lets see both of these verses in John 1 together,
so that we get a clear view of what we are dealing with:

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

The assumption that I think James is making here is that since verse 12 (receive and believe) comes before verse 13 (were born), then that must mean that receiving/believing is an action prior to being born again. So then, this viewpoint would have us believe that receiving/believing CAUSES us to be born again.

But the words "who were born" at the start of verse 13 establishes the verse as coming before verse 12 in the order of salvation. So because of the phrase who were born, we can see that being born comes first.

This seems to support, rather than contradict, other passages relating to the new birth such as 1 Peter 1:3 "He has caused us to be born again to a living hope".

Vincent Cheung gives this analysis of John 1:12-13

The passage indicates that regeneration does not occur by belonging to a particular bloodline, nor does it occur by
"human decision" (v. 13, NIV). The popular view of regeneration is that through a "decision" for Christ, man can become born again, and thus saved from sin. However, Scripture teaches that regeneration is wholly a work of God that he effects in his chosen ones, and that it does not occur through the will of man: "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).
It is easy to understand why regeneration must precede faith if we keep in mind that man is spiritually dead before regeneration (Ephesians 2:1; Romans 3:10-12, 23). Because of the mind's hostility to the things of God before regeneration, the elect by themselves would never come to faith in Christ when presented with the gospel. It is God who acts first, and having changed their disposition from evil to good, and from darkness to light, they then respond to the gospel by faith in Christ, and thereby becomes justified in God's sight. Acts 16:14 records the conversion of Lydia, and the verse says that it was God who first "opened her heart" so that she could "respond to Paul's message."

John MacArthur further comments on this passage in one of his sermons:

"I think it's fair to say that salvation is not based on what man or woman does, and are you ready for this, it's not even based on what a man or woman decides in the purest sense, John 1:12, "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." Listen to this, "Who were born...that's speaking of their new birth, their salvation...not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man but...what?...of God...of God."

Lastly, here's John Piper on this verse:

I had no faith, no desire to look like a weakling and depend on another. But God, in his great mercy, granted me to believe
(Phil. 1:29) and saved me by faith. But this was not my own doing - it was the gift of God (Eph. 2:8f.).
I believed. It was my choice to believe. But my choice was the gift of God; the effect and not the cause of new birth.
I was born, as John 1:13 says, "not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." [read more]

Additional Reading on This Topic:

• See more verses that indicate how regeneration comes before faith
• RC Sproul discusses how regeneration precedes faith
• Read which comes first in the order of salvation
• Read about John 1:12-13 in "Regeneration" by Asahel Nettleton
• Does Regeneration precede faith in 1 John 5:1 ?
• Read Charles Spurgeon's sermon entitled Regeneration
• See God's Sovereignty and the Human Will, by A. W. Pink