READING TIME: 2-4 MINUTES
February 27, 2013
Is John 1:13 teaching that man is spiritually unable to exercise faith?
John 1:13: who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (NASB).
In short, John is simply saying here that the corrupt will of man cannot cause the new birth.
We should ask the question, “free will avails nothing in what sense?” John says that no one is born again because of his or another’s choice. Verse 1:13 clarifies, saying, not that man cannot believe, but that the Lord alone initiates and provides the new birth in consequence of one’s faith in Jesus Christ. Put otherwise, no man decides to be born again and so it happens. Instead, the non-Christian simply believes and then God grants him the authority to become a child of God. Without any human expression of planning or deciding, God then brings about the new birth in the believer.
Some conclude that they rejected the Lord because of Total Inability; they could not help themselves. Such a conclusion fails to give due weight to 1:12, which indicates that man can “receive”—the antithesis of “not receive” or reject (1:11). The implication is that man may cease to reject and thus receive or believe in His name. The ability exists.
FYI, for a critique of the Calvinist’s view of “Total Inability” (the “T” in “TULIP”), see the following page numbers in my Ask Pastor David e-blasts document: 25-26, 119, 131-134, 193, 198, and 258-261.
It seems obvious that John is telling his readers that receiving Christ, which he equates with believing in Christ, is the prerequisite to becoming a child of God or being born . . . of God.
However, the Calvinist latches on to the words “human decision” and claims that this proves that man has no say (i.e., cannot receive or believe) in the matter. But it seems very clear that John is using the words “natural descent,” “human decision,” and “human will” in contrast to the words “born . . . of God” to emphasize who the receiver/believer is directly getting this new life from. That is, when you are born again you are born of God.
• The first birth is physical and natural.
• The second birth is spiritual and supernatural.
• The first birth is caused by and is the result of human activity.
• The second birth is caused by and is the result of Divine Activity.
To say that God is the cause of that birth (i.e., the one who directly gives that life) is not to say that there is no God-ordained prerequisite to regeneration (i.e., faith alone).
If we are repeatedly told we must believe and are constantly warned of the consequences of not believing, it must be assumed that we can and should believe. To receive and believe are not the words that should be used if we are supposed to be passive in the salvation process. God is the giver; we are the receivers. God is the Savior; we are the believers. Receiving and believing is our responsibility while giving us new life and regenerating the spiritually dead (a reference to everyone before receiving Christ by faith) is God’s work.
Dr./Pastor Tom Stegall explained in his dissertation that Reformed teachers teach that man’s total depravity means his total inability to believe, and therefore they believe the Gospel of John teaches that regeneration must precede faith. On the surface, it appears that John 1:13 supports this Calvinist doctrine. But we take a closer look at this verse, “this verse says man is incapable of regenerating himself through his own will, not incapable of believing through his own will” (116).
Laurence Vance made the excellent point that Calvinists try to use John 1:13 to prove that man does not have a free will when it comes to the matter of salvation and the way they try to do this is by taking a word or phrase out of a verse and making it say whatever they want. Of course, a word or phrase can be used to prove anything if it is ripped out of its context (216).
Sources Consulted
Anderson, David R. Free Grace Soteriology: 3rd Edition. Grace Theology Press, 175.
________. “Regeneration: A Crux Interpretum.” Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society Volume 13 13.25 (2000): 58.
Bryson, George. The Dark Side of Calvinism: The Calvinist Caste System, 234.
________. The Five Points of Calvinism: Weighed and Found Wanting, 28-29.
ESV Study Bible. Crossway Bibles.
Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Zondervan, 738.
Lightner, Robert P. Sin, the Savior, and Salvation.
MacArthur, John. NKJV, The MacArthur Study Bible, eBook: Revised and Updated Edition. Thomas Nelson.
Meisinger, George E. “The Issue of One’s Ability to Believe: Total Depravity/ Inability.” Chafer Theological Seminary Journal Volume 11.1 (2005): 65-96.
The Moody Bible Commentary. Moody Publishers.
Olson, C. Gordon. Beyond Calvinism & Arminianism: An Inductive Mediate Theology of Salvation. 3rd Edition Expanded, Revised, & Updated. Global Gospel Publishers.
________. Getting the Gospel Right: A Balanced View of Salvation Truth, 279.
Pagenkemper, Karl E. “Rejection Imagery in the Synoptic Parables.” Bibliotheca Sacra 153 (1996): 317.
The Ryrie Study Bible. Moody.
Snoeberger, Mark A. “The Logical Priority of Regeneration to Saving Faith in a Theological Ordo Salutis.” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal Volume 7 7 (2002): 77-81.
Stegall, Thomas L. “That You May Believe: The Evangelistic Purpose and Message of John’s Gospel in Relation to Free Grace Theology.” Th.D. dissertation, Grace Biblical Seminary, 2017, 116.
Vance, Laurence M. The Other Side of Calvinism. Pensacola, FL: Vance Publications, 216, 503.