He came unto his own, and his own RECEIVED him NOT. 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: Which WERE born(already), not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the WILL OF MAN, but of God. - John 1:11-13

    He came unto his own, and his own RECEIVED him NOT. 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: Which WERE born(already), not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the WILL OF MAN, but of God.

    Here we see that receiving Christ was not an active thing but a passive thing on man’s part. They had been given power to receive because they "were born" of God. Some did not receive, but AS MANY AS were given power by the new birth, did.

    This goes in perfect harmony with what John and Jesus said later in John when he said: 

John answered and said, A man can receive NOTHING, except it BE GIVEN him from heaven. - John 3:27

    Then later he said:

And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, EXCEPT IT WERE GIVEN unto him of my Father. - John 6:65

    Once again we see the problem is men are born dead in trespasses and sin and are void of the spirit of God and therefore have an inability to understand, believe, or work out anything spiritual towards God. It is only by God’s sovereign grace that we can come. Praise be to God for salvation is of the LORD!

    Mikal