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This was a big booboo on your part The word genesthai does not correspond with "who were born" but with "he gave the right TO BECOME children of God." "Who were born" is "egennathasan" and is passive aorist. aorist has an undefined aspect. "Who had been born" would be pluperfect, not aorist. It is interesting though, that they are given the right to be "genesthai" children of God when they believe, and that then they are egennathasan (born) of God. Both words are from gennao, to produce, beget, give birth to. so i guess it could read, "to those who received him he gave the right to be born children of God...who were born, not of man, etc"
An admitted rushed oversight on my part! [Linked Image] However, egennathasan is aorist indicative (passive voice), which still makes the case for the view held by all the Reformed/Calvinistic churches, because the GRAMMATICAL CONSTRUCTION demands that the relative clause modify that which is antecedent to it and thus, those who received/believed and were given the right to become children of God were antecedently "born of God". Sorry, but there is no getting around this as much as you might want it to be otherwise. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

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Colossians 2:13 (ASV) "And you, being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, [I say], did he make alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses;"
I fail to see where this text offers your view any support either? Paul emphasizes the "double death" in that they were dead and guilty before God due to their actual sinful life (trespasses and sins)and due to their very nature (uncircumcision of the flesh). It was in this helpless and hopeless state that God "made them alive" (Gk: suzoopoieo) "together with Christ". There is not even a hint that this "reanimation" was the result of any act on the part of the individuals themselves.

Again, the natural man has no inclination, desire nor ability to believe on Christ until he is regenerated. Men are born spiritually dead.... not sick, not mortally wounded, not terminally ill, but DEAD! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/Ponder.gif" alt="" />

In His Grace,

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simul iustus et peccator

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