By Robert Pruitt (Pastor: Coloma Bible Church, Coloma MI)
Hans Kerrl, the minister for Church Affairs under Adolf Hitler, railed against a man named Zoellner who was the Chairman of the Church Committees in Germany, saying,that he . . . spoke always of belief in Christ as the Son of God. This was laughable. For that was a dogma of the past; true Christianity was represented by National Socialism; National Socialism was the fulfillment of God’s will; it was not the Church which had exhibited the faith which moves mountains it was the Füher, and he was therefore the herald of a new revelation (1).
Such blasphemy is difficult to image. Here is one who stood for and with Hitler, perhaps one of the most evil men the world has ever known. Here is a man who agreed with the persecution of true Christians in Germany and with the murder of millions of Jews. Here is a man who claimed that the Füher was better than, and in fact had taken the place of Christ. Surely many have rejected the Lord Jesus through the centuries of church history. And, though such saddens all who love the Lord, we are not surprised, for Scripture declares plainly that there will be many who will reject the Lord who created them. John, early in his gospel that deals with the Lordship of Christ and of belief in Christ stated, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:10-11). Thankfully the apostle went on to assure us that some would also believe in the Lord Jesus stating, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).
The wording of John’s gospel is truly marvelous here! Read again these marvelous words, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Though there is much in verse 13 that needs to be considered, for now consider verse 12. It will speak of the adoption by God of those who receive Christ. Verse 12 emphasizes that salvation comes to all who believe in the Lord Jesus. According to John’s teaching all who will become children of God will do so by receiving or believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. The word rendered “received” is the Greek word lambano. According to one author,
Lambano (received) could be translated “take hold of,” “obtain,” or “grasp.” To receive Christ involves more than mere intellectual acknowledgment of His claims. The last clause of verse 12 refers to those who received as those who believe in His name. . . . His name refers to the totality of Christ’s being, all that He is and does. Thus, it is not possible to separate His deity from His humanity, His being Savior from His being Lord, or His person from His redemptive work. Saving faith accepts Jesus Christ in all that Scripture reveals concerning Him (2).
I think it best to qualify this statement only marginally. Surely no believer understands all there is to understand about Christ, even after many years of study and obedience to His Word. Therefore, we certainly do not know everything about Christ when we are saved. However, a truly saved person who does not fully comprehend certain fundamental truths about Christ at the time of his salvation will not reject these truths when they are taught Him. He will yield to the truth about the Lord Jesus.
Note that all who receive Christ, or believe in Christ, are given the right, we might even say the privilege of becoming children of God. Scripture is clear that the teaching that we are all God’s children is false. We are all a part of God’s creation, and in that sense belong to God. However, the right to become children of God is reserved for those who receive Christ. In a day in which any and all “belief” claims are deemed sure, it is important to be reminded of what John said later in his gospel, John 2:23-25:
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
The same root word is used in the Greek for the “belief” of those who “believed in His name,” and for the fact that Jesus did not “commit Himself to them,” or He did not “believe” in them. It is true that these people had a certain kind of belief in Christ, but it was not a saving belief in Christ. To receive Christ is to believe in Him in His fullness. It is true that He is the Savior of all who come to Him in faith, but we must remember that, as God, He is also the Lord of all who come to Him in a true faith. A. W. Tozer was right when he said,
“To urge men and women to believe in a divided Christ is bad teaching for no one can receive half of Christ, or a third of Christ, or a quarter of the Person of Christ!" (3)Oh sinner, receive the Lord Jesus Christ and receive from Him the right to become a son or daughter of God!
(1) Cited in Mary Bosanquet, The Life and Death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 182.
(2) John MacArthur, Jr., The MacArthur New Testament Commentaries, John 1-11 (Chicago: Moody, 2006), 34-35.
(3) A. W. Tozer, I Call It Heresy (Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, Inc., 1974), 10-11.
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