12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
John 1:12
Explanation of John 1:12
By Brian David
In the Bible, someone’s name represents all of their qualities, their character and attributes as a whole. So people who "believe on the Lord’s name" are not just accepting that He is who He is; they are seeing Him as God, believing in what He taught and adopting it into their lives. And since Jesus represents the divine truth, or the deepest expression of the Lord’s love, it means that we today can become "sons of God" if we open ourselves to the Lord’s love and all it teaches us, and practice that love toward others.
And what is a "son of God"? It does not mean that we will be what Jesus was, but it does mean that we will be what the Lord hopes for us to be. The case is this: When we are born of our parents, we inherit a spectrum of spiritual weaknesses and challenges, places where we are subject to temptation. But if we open ourselves to the Lord and follow His teachings, we can eventually be "born" again, with the evil desires stripped away so that we can live in peacful, loving joy to etenity. This is what is meant here by "sons of God" – if we receive the Lord and follow him we can become angels, dwelling in eternal happiness.
(References: Arcana Coelestia 1608 [2], 2531 [4], 8409 [3], 9241, 9454; Teachings about the Lord 18 [5]; The Apocalypse Explained 151 [5], 745 [4])
Leviticus 7:15-21
15
The flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering. He shall not leave any of it until the morning.
16
"'But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow, or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice; and on the next day what remains of it shall be eaten:
17
but what remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire.
18
If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed to him who offers it. It will be an abomination, and the soul who eats any of it will bear his iniquity.
19
"'The flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned with fire. As for the flesh, everyone who is clean may eat it;
20
but the soul who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that belongs to Yahweh, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from his people.
21
When anyone touches any unclean thing, the uncleanness of man, or an unclean animal, or any unclean abomination, and eats some of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which belong to Yahweh, that soul shall be cut off from his people.'"
