The Power of Salvation: Finding Hope and Redemption through Jesus

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John 1:11-12, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. “But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

I'm not sure why I'm up so early this morning, but the referenced scripture came to me and I wanted to write and provide some comments about it. The gospel of John, first chapter speaks to the believer about Jesus. Most of us can quote the verse "In the beginning was the Word and the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God" Amen! Well further into the book, it reference “His own … his own”: The first usage of “His own” most likely refers to the world of mankind in general, while the second refers to the Jewish nation. As Creator, the world belongs to the Word (God) as His property but the world did not even recognize Him due to spiritual blindness. The chosen people (Israelites), whom God had made covenant with, were the very ones who would not receive Him. They had the Scriptures which spoke of His coming, and yet when He came, they rejected Him.John used the second occurrence of “His own” in a narrower sense to refer to Jesus’ own physical lineage, the Jews. Although they possessed the Scriptures that testified of His person and coming, they still did not accept Him. This theme of Jewish rejection of their promised Messiah receives special attention in John’s gospel.

The first Chapter of the Gospel of John is full of life (very important content) and I would encourage anyone to read that first chapter. Notice here in John Chapter 1:12, He (Jesus) did not do it for "them" (to them He gave the POWER!). Please understand, that we have our own free will. He made it (eternal life) available to us and has given us the power to receive Him. “As many as received Him … to them that believe on His name”. The second phrase describes the first. To receive Him who is the Word of God means to acknowledge His word and place one’s faith in Him, and thereby yield allegiance to Him (Jesus). The word “Gave” is a term that emphasize the grace of God involved in the gift of salvation. Those who receive Jesus, receive full authority to claim the exalted title of “child of God.” “His name” denotes the character of the person himself. Friends, listen and understand, the secret to becoming sons of God is in believing in His name. In Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” It is so simple and yet so many miss out. The confession is that He is our Lord and Saviour. Jesus means Jehovah Saviour. The belief cannot be surface either. It must truly be in our heart. If you believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world, ask Him to come into your heart right now and save you. Again, the word tells us, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”