John 1:12

John 1:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
• English Standard Version (ESV)But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
• New King James Version (NKJV)But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
• New Living Translation (NLT)But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

Context of John 1:12

10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:12 word by word

ὅσοι δὲ ἔλαβον αὐτόν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γενέσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• as many asὅσοςhosos · just as/how muchG3745
• receivedλαμβάνωlambanō · to takeG2983
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• gave heδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• powerἐξουσίαexousia · authorityG1849
• to becomeγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• the sonsτέκνονteknon · childG5043
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• to themὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• that believeπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100
• onεἰςeis · towardG1519
• nameὄνομαonoma · nameG3686

Cross-references for John 1:12

• Matthew 10:40“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
• Matthew 18:5And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
• Colossians 2:6So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,
• Isaiah 56:5to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.
• Jeremiah 3:19“I myself said, “ ‘How gladly would I treat you like my children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me.
• Hosea 1:10“Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’
• Romans 8:14For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
• 2 Corinthians 6:17Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
• Galatians 3:26So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,
• Galatians 4:6Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
• 2 Peter 1:4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
• 1 John 3:1See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
• John 2:23Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.
• John 3:18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
• John 20:31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
• Matthew 12:21In his name the nations will put their hope.”

Commentaries on John 1:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Gave he power - , Privilege, honor, dignity, or right. He who is made a child of God enjoys the greatest privilege which the Divine Being can confer on this side eternity. Those who accept Jesus Christ, as he is offered to them in the Gospel, have, through his blood, a right to this sonship; for by that sacrifice this blessing was purchased; and the fullest promises of God confirm it to all who believe. And those who are engrafted in the heavenly family…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12To as many as received him - The great mass; the people; the scribes and Pharisees rejected him. A few in his lifetime received him, and many more after his death. “To receive him,” here, means to “believe” on him. This is expressed at the end of the verse. Gave he power - This is more appropriately rendered in the margin by the word “right” or “privilege.” Compare Acts 1:7; Acts 5:4; Romans 9:21; 1 Corinthians 7:37; 1 Corinthians 8:9; 1 Corinthians…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-14Verses 6-14 John the Baptist came to bear witness concerning Jesus. Nothing more fully shows the darkness of men's minds, than that when the Light had appeared, there needed a witness to call attention to it. Christ was the true Light; that great Light which deserves to be called so. By his Spirit and grace he enlightens all that are enlightened to salvation; and those that are not enlightened by him, perish in darkness. Christ was in the world when he…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12People can follow the light and join God's family only when God spiritually renews them (3:1–17). People must believe in Christ to become children of God (12:35–36).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-1310-13. He was in the world, &c.--The language here is nearly as wonderful as the thought. Observe its compact simplicity, its sonorousness--"the world" resounding in each of its three members--and the enigmatic form in which it is couched, startling the reader and setting his ingenuity a-working to solve the stupendous enigma of Christ ignored in His own world. "The world," in the first two clauses, plainly means the created world, into which He came…Read the comment

Topics related to John 1:12

• Adoption
• Faith
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Sons of God
• Behold
• Believe
• Blood
• Covenant
• Dwell
• Father
• Flesh

Commentaries on John 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings