Thanks, Jacob. I really appreciate that.
There was mention of 'were born' in John 1:13. HOWEVER, in John 1:12, we read the sequence of events in the tenses:
"But as many as received him..." -- past tense
"...to them He gave..." -- past tense
"...the right to become children of God,... -- future tense by present infinitive
"...[even] to those who believe in His name..." -- present tense
so please do not separate verse 13 from verse 12, as the two are not even different sentences, but the same sentence. Thus, the meaning of verse 13 is that those who have been given the right to become children of God, when they were born again, were born by God's will, not because of heritage by blood line or anything a man could do.
You must go back to the beginning of the sentence. This is given to those who received Christ and believe. The first action is listed in the past, the second in the present, and "to become" children of God is, then, a result of both of those.
This does not make man sovereign. It does make God's plan not quite Calvinistic, though.
[ November 20, 2002, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: Helen ]