“He came to His own, and His own received Him not. But to as many as received Him He gave the right to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name” (John 1:11-12).

Right (Def:) (Gr.): Exousia from Exesti: Lawful token of privilege, Freedom, Force of Control, Power, Authority

In the economy of God there is a transaction that has the force of authority to take possession, to receive by lawful privilege, to secure by claim. In that economy there is a giving and receiving, or in the reverse as in our text, a receiving and a giving.

“To as many as received Him, He gave the right to become the sons of God.”

In the economy of God when you receive the Truth, God gives you Freedom.

“You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

In the economy of God there is a taking what is offered. Things are not forced upon one but are freely offered. That which is offered can be refused, as in the case of Israel when the Father offered His Son, the Messiah, to them, He was refused.

“He came to His own, and His own received Him not.”

The Psalmist did not refuse, as he states:

“What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord” (Psalm 116:12-13).

It is a sad state of affair when God, in His sovereign wisdom and knowledge of us offers us what He knows we need, but we turn Him down because His offer is contrary to what we want. We refuse Him while all the time professing how much we love Him. Jesus warned of this:

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the Sadducees'” (Matthew 16:6).

The Pharisees and Sadducees professed their love for the Law of God, for the Temple, for the Sabbath, for Circumcision, for the Feasts, and for the Traditions, but when God offered them what they really needed, a Savior, they refused Him and demanded His death because He was a threat to their system and control. How many times do we refuse God’s offer when it goes against our will, our plan, our style, our way of life. That is the opposite of what God intends in His economy of offer and acceptance or acceptance and giving.

In contract law one of the key elements that makes the contract binding is offer and acceptance. When the offer is accepted you receive by right. When the contract is bound, sealed, executed, you can receive by right all that is in the covenant to which the parties agreed. You can take by right and privilege that which is yours by entering into the legal and binding Agreement.

Even God Himself can receive by right all who come to Him by faith, for, indeed, He purchased them by His own blood. He redeemed us to Himself and can now call us His own, His possession. With His redeeming blood, He can now exercise full authority, power, and lawful force and claim of control over His inheritance. The Apostle knew this and wrote of it in his Epistle to the Ephesians:

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what are the riches of the Glory of His Inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:17-18).

God has all authority to receive by right His saints, whose we are and to whom we bow the knee and worship and adore. May His Name be praised forever. Amen.

__________________________________