Bible Strands
John 1:13
children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The unnamed author of John addresses a community of believers in the prologue, immediately after defining who receives the right to become children of God (1:12). This verse is the qualification clause that specifies the origin of that sonship.
The words — αἱμάτων (haimatōn, "blood") is the sole bodily term in the verse, anchoring the negation in concrete human reproduction. θελήματος (thelēmatos, "will") names the human agency that is excluded.
The thread — 1 Peter 1:23 repeats the contrast: "not of perishable seed, but of imperishable." James 1:18 and 1 John 3:9 develop the "born of God" language into a present, ongoing reality.
Why it lands — It removes every human claim to the status of God's child: no ancestry, no effort, no self-will produces it. The reader is left with a single source and no alternative.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Cross-references
- James 1:18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
- 1 John 3:9 Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
- 1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
- 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
- John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
- 1 John 5:4 because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.
- 1 John 2:28 And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.
- Titus 3:5 He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
- 1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
- Philippians 2:13 For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.