“And to as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God, even to those who believe on his name.”
What does it mean to receive Him? Repentance is a change of mind, a turning towards God. When someone has received Jesus Christ, He comes to live inside them, He is one with their spirit, the person is sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit and forever changed. That means the Holy Spirit is always there, either grieved or blessed by the life of this person, and the person who has received Him knows He’s there. When that person sins, the Holy Spirit convicts, grieves, and leads that individual. This person hears the voice of God and listens.
This person may fall into great sin and debauchery, but the Spirit of God never leaves him. This person may be chastised or fear the Lord’s chastisement, but this person knows the Lord and knows if he’s living in sin, he’s living wrong. He will be chastened of the Lord. When he is, it is a painful, effective chastening.
It’s not that salvation isn’t easy, it is. To become such a one requires simple belief and rest on the Son of God and His work on the cross on our behalf. But the person must know that Jesus is God, their only hope, their Judge, and the Lord. The person must receive Him in truth as all these things. A fear of God results. The eyes are opened, and the person realizes they must answer to this higher authority. They love this higher God, they hope in Him. Despite their failures, despite their sin, their hope is in Him. He becomes real to them, a real person with a real existence, once He is received into their life.
Once He is received in truth as God and their Saviour and only hope, He never leaves, and they never lose their relationship with Him or the eternal life He gives them through His work on the cross.
“Remember the word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.”
Are you born again unto this blessed hope?
Sarah Hopkins Art 