John 1:13

‘Who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.'

John now stresses that men can only become genuinely ‘children of God' in a spiritual sense when they have had a ‘new birth'. When they have received new life from God. So he is again stressing the distinction between the whole of humanity, who view themselves as children of God in a general sense (Acts 17:28), and believers in Jesus who are children of God in a unique sense through being ‘born of the Spirit' (John 3:6). This is revealed as the purpose for which the Word has come, to bring men to God and give them the life of the Spirit. ‘In Him was life, and the life was the light of men' (John 1:4).

John is careful to make his meaning clear. ‘It is not of bloods'. This spiritual birth has no connection with natural birth. It does not refer to normal birth, when there is plenty of blood, taking the plural as intensive. Alternately this may be saying that being born a Jew, or a Roman, or a Greek (each considered themselves special) did not bring this privilege, for it was ‘not of bloods', the plural here expressing the multiplicity of sources.

‘Nor of the will of the flesh.' This could signify that it was not a birth that resulted from men exercising their will to follow God's commandments (e.g. the Torah), or to become members of a special community (even the Christian community), for it was not of the will of the flesh. (We should note that in John ‘the flesh' is not essentially speaking of what is weak or evil. It is rather speaking of humanness. ‘The Word was made flesh'). Alternatively it may have in mind the natural desires of the flesh which resulted in procreation, or the desire for an heir, something which was not to be seen as producing ‘children of God' in any spiritual sense.

‘Nor of the will of man.' This new birth was not something that could be bestowed by any man, whoever he was, whether John the Baptiser, or a priest, or the Pharisees, or any other. It was not ‘of the will of man', or under the control of men. This may include the idea that it is not the result of the decision of a human father to have children, but the primary reference is to exclude all human activity. Thus it excludes anything that man does which can be thought of in terms of ‘birth' in any way, whether religious or otherwise. It even excludes baptism carried out simply as a rite. The important lesson is that man has nothing to do with this birth whatsoever. It is something which is between God and the individual alone.

‘But of God.' That is the essence of it. They are ‘born of God'. It is the result of a direct person-to-God relationship. And by it they leave ‘the world' and become His, and become members of His own risen body. They become His chosen ones.