“But to all who received him,
To those who believed
In his name,
He gave the power
To become
Children of God.”
ὅσοι δὲ ἔλαβον αὐτόν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ,
John uniquely said that those who received the Word, Jesus (ὅσοι δὲ ἔλαβον αὐτόν) also believed (τοῖς πιστεύουσιν) in his name (εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ). Thus, the Word, Jesus, gave the power to others (ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν) to become (γενέσθαι) the children of God (τέκνα Θεοῦ). The power of God was in his name, just as the name of Yahweh rested in the Temple of Solomon. Biologically, the Word was born Jewish among the children of God. However, the covenant of Abraham and his descendants now gave way to a new covenant, belief in the name of the Word, Jesus. The faith of Abraham in God, Yahweh, was not the new faith in Jesus, the Word. The new children of God were believers in Jesus, the Word, not merely the God of Abraham. There would be more children of God through faith, and not through a birthright. Baptism was to overtake circumcision as the initiation for the new children of God. Do you consider yourself a child of God?