John 1:12- THE RIGHT TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD
Imagine you wake up one day and you have a royal invitation from the Queen of England to come to England and become a part of the royal family permanently.
Or whoever you consider to be the one that reflects the greatest life you would ever love to live invites you to come and live that life! How would you feel if that were a reality today?
It goes without saying that there are many privileges, opportunities, and responsibilities that come with being either a royal or among the elite of the society. Wealth and fame, and special and privileged treatments are just a few of such perks.
The world over people dream about being among the greatest and wealthiest in society obviously so they can enjoy all these privileges. Some worked hard to gain their status but a lot of others were born into families and wealth that gives them access to the good life.
Obviously, not all royals are born equal and wealth is in degrees. There are the wealthy that even other wealthy people consider as examples and models to be like. Then there are royals whom other royals bow to or desire to be like.
This means royalty comes with varying degrees of glory and wealth too has its levels.
Now, what kind of life and privilege do you think the greatest Monarch will have?
What kind of honour and benefit would the children and family of such a Monarch have?
Who would you consider the greatest royal? The one who has it all?
All royals no matter how great are subject to many limitations. If for anything no matter how wealthy they are, one day, they are certain to die, even if not from sickness, age is a factor they just cannot escape. Wealth and privileges have their limitations and royals and the wealthy are not exempt from them.
The greatest and wealthiest too are plagued with the limitations that affect all humans. The notable advantages their wealth would afford would be access to quality care and possibly the speed of delivery. Nevertheless, when certain things happen like sickness or some other issues that money cannot handle, even the wealthiest are limited in their abilities to deal with such matters.
What about if there is One who has no limitations whatsoever? What if there is One who is the Greatest and has all the wealth and privilege that life can ever afford without any limitations of life? Does such a Person exist?
Would such a Person allow any other to know His secret?
Would such a One allow others to be a part of His royal household?
The answer to all these questions and more is a resounding yes!
Such a Person exists and is willing to make you like Him. If anything He has given out the royal invite to all who would care to listen. He has given the royal invite to you.
This Person is none other than God! The Royal of all royals, the King of Kings, the greatest and wealthiest of all. The One without any limitations whatsoever. The One before whom all limitations bow.
His invitation to you is clearly and loudly proclaimed in John 1:11–12 (NKJV):
“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”
Think about this for a moment, the God who created all things and who has no limitations be it physical or otherwise is extending an invitation to you. An invitation to be His son. To be His daughter. He is inviting you to Royalty and royal privileges that will make even the greatest kings envious!
If you received His invitation you now have the right and authority to become His child! Wow!
Child of the greatest Royal!
Now that is something!
One interesting thing about this royal invite is that you take on His nature such that He lifts you above the limitations that affect other mortal royals. Now that’s some privilege.
Now, what happens to you when you honour this invite and come to the King of Kings? What are you expected to do in as an indication that you have acknowledged and accepted this Royal invite?
The first requirement is that you receive Him. As many as receive Him… “as many” means the invite is open to all. This King of Kings does not discriminate. It makes no difference whatever your state or status, your race or colour. Whoever and wherever you come from you are invited to become royalty. Now, how cool is that.
Even if you consider yourself to be the scum of society whether you are the rejects or the misfits, the invitation is open to you. The invitation is open to all, which means becoming royalty is subject to your acceptance. He wants you to become royalty, but do you want to?
As many as receive Him, these are the ones who will become royalty. These are the ones who will become His children.
To receive Him means to accept His invitation to become a part of His royal household. Now, who would reject such an invite from the greatest, most powerful, yet most tender and loving Person?
Unlike many groups, leaders, and belief systems, as powerful as He is, He never forces anyone.
He has the power and resources to make you do anything He wants without answering to anyone, yet He never forces or cajoles anyone. His invitation is open to all and wonder of wonders you have the option to reject it!
So to reject or accept the invite to become royalty is in your hands.
If you are wise to receive Him…Him! Oh Him!
Who is He?
He is Love…1 John 4:8
“…for God is love.”
He is so lovable. He who is love personified. Love is inviting you into a relationship. Love is inviting you to come to Him and be with Him.
He is the Friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Who is He?
The Bible calls Him the Guide and Companion of my Youth.
As many as received Him! Receive who?
Jesus, the one through Whom Grace and truth came. The one who is Grace manifested. The Personification of glory, beauty, and power.
He is the Most Powerful and yet He’s the Most Gentle. He is beyond words. He is in fact the Word!
The One who when prostitutes meet Him they become saints. When thieves meet Him they are transformed because He loves without judgement. He shows compassion, empathy, and mercy. Grace that changes the hardest of hearts. Love that melts the most hardened, healing the deepest hurts. He is Jesus.
The adulteress meets Him and receives no condemnation from Him. Rather she receives love, compassion, and empowering words to go and be a new person.
Jesus instructs you and gives you the power to carry out the instructions.
Whatever and wherever you are He not only provides answers and solutions, He is and becomes your answer. He becomes your Solution.
This is the One you are coming to meet! As many as receive Him…those who receive His invite. He gives a special gift. That is characteristic of who He is. He loves to gift wonderful gifts. He always gives the best and His gifts never leave you as you are. His gifts change you radically.
Those who honour His invite and Him He gives the right, the authority, and capacity to BECOME. They are transformed from ordinary people to royalty.
Their class of royalty has no other comparison.
To become is a transformative word. When you receive Jesus you are given the right to be transformed. You become, as the Bible says, a new creature in the order of God.
As many as received Him, He gave the right to become children of God. When you receive Him you become a child of the greatest royal. You are a part of the household of the King of Kings with royal privileges.
The power to become has begun a work in you.
Wow! Words are not adequate to describe what you have become. A child of the King!
God is now your Father. You are now His personal and loving responsibility. You are now the child of His love!
Ephesians 1:6 (NKJV): “to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”
Living Bible
“Now all praise to God for his wonderful kindness to us and his favor that he has poured out upon us because we belong to his dearly loved Son”
The Message
“Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.”
He gives you the gift of Himself!
Roms 8:14–17 reveals to us some gifts and blessings that He gives us as His children.
Romans 8:14–17 (NKJV): “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
If there’s one thing so many people don’t have is direction. A direction that gives them purpose and fulfillment.
When you become God’s child, the Omniscient God who knows all things begins to lead you. You have the assurance that you can navigate through life with very little chance of making mistakes. So long to listen to His voice He will lead you. His leadership was one of the secrets to King David’s success as the greatest King that Israel ever had. David happily proclaimed ‘He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake.”
So the children of God are led by God. This leading is their guarantee of safety from the schemes of the evil one.
Vs 15
“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
One of the beauties of becoming a child of God is that if you keep close to the Father and listen to His voice and leading, you will never at any time feel like you were never born into this Royal family. The Holy Spirit will reveal to you that God is indeed your Father and the cry of Abba Father will become your cry.
You will come to know and appreciate that God is your Father and you will daily bask in His Fatherly love.
Abba Father…God becomes your Daddy. You will feel and know with all certainty that you belong to a family never to be orphaned. God is your Father, your Daddy…now that’s something to think about. God is your daddy!
Vs 16 indeed will become your reality
“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”
You are God’s child with all the privileges and blessings of royalty. You are God’s child having the DNA of God. You have His life in you. The Holy Spirit confirms it within you that you belong to Him.
There’s no guessing or worries that your status will be changed or someone will come and kick you out of your Father’s house. Children don’t have such fears. They know they are secure in the house of their Father and the Father does all to ensure they are safe, secure, and taken care of. You are now a child of God. The Holy Spirit is your tutor. He witnesses to your Spirit and confirms the word of God to you.
Vs 17
“and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,”
You are not just a child by name or status, all the benefits and blessings that come with that position become yours. One of such blessings is you will be an heir to all the inheritance that the kingdom has.
Remember He said ‘fear not little flock, it is your father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
All the resources in this kingdom in this life and in the life to come are at your disposal. What makes this unique is that there are no seniors or juniors. Some inheritances are not meant for some special people or children with special birth or rank. Everyone has equal access to all the blessings of the kingdom. Hallelujah!
You are joint-heir, a co-inheritor with Jesus! God is saying to you that you are as special to Him just as Jesus is!
Matter of fact Jesus prayed for us to know that the Father loves us as much as He loves Jesus! Awesome!
John 17:22–23 (NKJV): “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”
All God’s kingdom is yours as His child. All. You have everything that is needed for life and godliness. All are at your disposal.
Another evident perk of being royal is that you don’t get to live in regular houses. Your home must be in keeping with your royal status. Your surroundings must reflect the person that you are.
Your location changes! Royalty must live in royal accommodations.
For starters, you have left the kingdoms of darkness. Now you are in the kingdom of light.
Colossians 1:12–13 (NKJV): “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,”
Your new address is the kingdom of the Son of His love. You are now a resident of the kingdom where the primary mode of expression is love and the Person at the centre of this love parade is Jesus the Son of His love.
Everywhere you tune to and turn to in this Kingdom is love.
Now you are not just in this Kingdom you in fact are in Him! In Christ. You now exist inside Christ! Now that’s some dwelling. You live inside Him who is the light and the glory of the Kingdom of God. You dwell inside glory. You live inside splendour that cannot be described! The implications of this alone are far-reaching!
Taking it further, you are in Christ, and Christ is sitting in heavenly places. So your new location is by the side of God, in heavenly places far above and beyond where any demon or the devil can reach. You are practically untouchable.
There are so many blessings, opportunities, and privileges that are yours to enjoy now that you are a child of God. These privileges are given to us for His glory, to honour Him who is the King of Kings.
Another royal privilege and blessing is royal protection. The word says in Psalm 91:11–12 (NKJV): For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
Just like any royal and especially high-ranking government or political officials have personal security guards as well as secret service personnel watching over them, so God also has angels stationed around all His children.
Angelic protection can certainly not be compared to any physical security detail.
Psalm 34:7 (NKJV): “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.”
The angels surround you and are poised to deliver you in the event of any issue.
Another blessing that comes to you as a child of God which is the most important is that you now have access to God. Uninterrupted, unhindered access anytime and every time!
This is one privilege that indeed words can’t describe adequately.
Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV): “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”
Whatever your need, grace, and mercy will take care of it, and that you can find always at the throne of Grace. And you have an invitation to come boldly to the throne of grace. You have access anytime, any day because you are a child of the King. His presence is your inheritance. You have His full attention anytime.
Nothing, not even sin can stop you from this access. That is the reason He says you should come boldly because grace and mercy await you at the throne.
Oh Precious Father in heaven, I thank You for the royal invitation to be a part of your household. Thank You for providing all I need for life in Your Son Jesus Christ and giving me the invite to be Your child. I say Yes, Lord. I gladly and humbly accept to be Your child.
I receive the right, authority, and Power to become Your child!
I welcome You Father into my heart, dwell and make Your home in my heart. I receive grace to walk with You all my days and to know You better each day.
Thank You, Father, for the transformation that is taking place in my heart.
I thank You, Monarch of the Universe, the greatest King and Lord over all, thank You that You are My Father and I am privileged to be called your own. I am honoured to be a part of Your household.
Thank You dear Father for the so many privileges and blessings that are now mine in Christ Jesus. Indeed I am now blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places! My home and hope are You. What a joy! What a privilege!
Thank You that I belong to the greatest and the best without having to work for it! Thank You for your unspeakable grace that gives me full and unrestricted access to you! Hallelujah! What joy! What peace! What Grace!
I am blessed to belong to the greatest! I do not seek anyone else, because in You I have all I need and more.
Thank You that all the limitations of life are lifted off me. Sin and death no longer have dominion over me. Thank You that I have a life beyond death! Death is not a threat. I live eternally in You!
I belong to You who has no limits. I belong to the limitless God, therefore I have no limits! I am untouchable!
Thank You that I have blessings that even the greatest Kings on earth can’t afford! All given freely! I am truly blessed beyond words.
Thank You that You not only bless me, but you have also made me like You. You have given me Your nature and each day I have the privilege to become more and more like you!
Me that was a nobody, plagued and damaged by sin and society, You have transformed, and welcome to be a part of your home!
You do not force yourself on me. In all Your greatness and Power, you lovingly welcome me and help me to love You willingly! Oh, Your work in the heart of man! How you change the hardest of sinners and make them so tender and loving just like You! You have the power to make me do what you want even if I don’t want, yet You don’t force love.
You extend love and change me that I love You to love you!
I gladly accept! I am happy to be Yours. To be called by Your Name! What an honour!
How can reject You who is Love! You are the definition of love! You are love Personified. I hear Your call of love to come to You, to be with You.