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:
• New International Version (NIV)Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
• 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:

Context of John 1:12

10He was in the world, and the world was made through Him; but the world did not know Him. 11He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him. But whoever did receive Him, those trusting in His name, to these He gave the right to become children of God. 13They were born not of a bloodline, nor of human desire, nor of man’s will, but of God. 14And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We looked upon His glory, the glory of the one and only 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“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.
• Matthew 18:5And whoever welcomes one such child in My name, welcomes Me.
• Colossians 2:6Therefore as you received Messiah Yeshua as Lord, so continue to walk in Him—
• Isaiah 56:5I will give to them in My House and within My walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
• Jeremiah 3:19“Then I Myself said: ‘How gladly would I make you sons and give you a pleasant land— the most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’ I thought you would call Me—Avi!— and would not turn from following Me.
• Romans 8:14For all who are led by the Ruach Elohim, these are sons of God.
• 2 Corinthians 6:17Therefore, come out from among them, and be separate, says Adonai. Touch no unclean thing. Then I will take you in.
• Galatians 3:26For you are all sons of God through trusting in Messiah Yeshua.
• Galatians 4:6Now because you are sons, God sent the Ruach of His Son into our hearts, who cries out, “Abba! Father!”
• 2 Peter 1:4Through these things He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, since you have escaped the corruption that evil desires have brought into the world.
• 1 John 3:1See how glorious a love the Father has given us, that we should be called God’s children—and so we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.
• John 2:23Now when He was in Jerusalem for the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, seeing the signs He was doing.
• John 3:18The one who believes in Him is not condemned; but whoever does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not put his trust in the name of the one and only Ben-Elohim.
• John 20:31But these things have been written so that you may believe that Yeshua is Mashiach Ben-Elohim, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
• Matthew 12:21And in His name the nations shall 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