Section 16
way as in Ephesians 1:18; 3:9 and Hebrews 6:4; 10:32. It refers here to the inward enlightening which brings life to the ones who receive the Word. For the old creation, it was the physical light (Gen. 1:3-5, 14-18). For the new creation, it is the light of life.
BECOMING CHILDREN OF GOD
Life also becomes the authority for the believ ing ones to be the children of God. "But as many as received Him, to them He gave authority to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (1:12-13). The birth described in these verses is not the natural birth which we had through our parents; it is the second birth which occurred when we believed in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Believing in the Lord is equal to receiving Him. When I speak of receiving the Lord Jesus, you may say that you have never done that. How ever, I want to ask you a question: have you not believed in the Lord Jesus? When you heard His name, did you not believe in it? If a person truly believes in that dear name, I am certain that, in some way or other, he will say, "Lord Jesus." As