So here is how we should be processing John 1:12-13: 1) Stunned by grace and 2) understanding of rejection.

1) Stunned by grace—If you are in Christ, that means you have received Christ by believing in his name and if you received Christ, it was God’s will for you to be born again. It is arguable that the sovereign grace of the Lord in the salvation of sinners can be seen most clearly and most repeatedly in the gospel of John. This is so important to understand because if we think our salvation was something that originated in ourselves, even if that is with our faith, then we will self-righteously boast over others, which is stealing glory from God. Just ask this question: Was it ultimately your will that kept you from being part of vv.10-11, only to find yourself in vv.12-13…OR was it ultimately God’s will?

2) Understanding of rejection—the gospel of John, like all the gospels, puts forth the rejection of Christ on full display. However, the gospel was written to secure faith in the Light of the World and that still happens all these years later. We are evidence of that and that should give us great hope for unsaved friends and family. However, if and when we experience some rejecting the message, we must keep in mind that has nothing to do with the validity of Christ’s person and message.  To demonstrate, the people of the early 1st century had the Word of God, the Light of the World in their midst and they did not know it. The Creator of the World and Israel’s Messiah came and they largely rejected him. Multitudes were eye-witnesses of his miracles and could not explain away his resurrection, yet they did not believe. Should we expect it to be any different 2,000 years later? No, but rather, any rejection is an indicator that the person is of the world and John just wrote in v.10 that the world does not know him. But that is not necessarily determinative, for we were all of the world before God caused us to be born again.

That’s why the circumstances surrounding the rejection of the Light should cause us to be stunned by grace and understanding of rejection.