The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Covenantal Succession

Oh contráre!

Let's look at this passage carefully, shall we?

John 1:12-13 (ASV) But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: [color:"red"]who were born[/color], not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

In verse 12, John tells us that those who received Christ or believed on Christ were given the "right or power" to become children of God. In the 13, which grammatically modifies verse 12, we are given the reason/cause for the receiving and/or believing, i.e., it was those who were antecedently "born". Then three negations follow which qualify this birth as being NOT: "of blood" (ancestry, familial inheritance), "of the will" (self-determination; i.e., of the will), or "of the flesh" (physically). Thus this being "born" was not of the natural creative order, inheritance or from choice, BUT it this birth was "of God", i.e., a supernatural, sovereign act of God Himself.

Thus, we can paraphrase this passage such as: "All who were born supernatural of God, received Jesus as the Messiah and/or believed upon His name and thus consequently were given the right and honor of becoming children of God."

Now, as to how this passage applies to "Covenantal Succession", it seems clear to me that one cannot be included as a child of God, a child of the promise, saved, a Christian by any natural means whatsoever. Being a child of God's kingdom is by supernatural birth only; aka: regeneration which infallibly produces a believing upon Christ.

In His Grace,