Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Ver. 13. But of God] Whose sons therefore they are, and so "higher than the kings of the earth," Psalms 89:27, as those that prolong the days of Christ upon earth, being begotten by the travail of his soul, Isaiah 53:10,11. Hence faith is said to adopt us,John 1:12, in like sort as it justifies us, viz. by virtue of its object, Christ. a Hence, Psalms 72:17, there is said to be a succession of Christ's name; it is begotten, as one generation is begotten of another. This is true nobility, where God is the top of the kin, religion the root. Beatus Ludovicus would be called Ludovicus de Pissiaco, rather than take greater titles, because there he became a Christian. He thought no birth equal to a new birth in Christ, no parentage to that of God to his Father.
a Γεγενημενον εκ Διος ερνος. Homer. Filiabitur nomine eius. Trem.