It needs to be said again as a reminder for us all – despite what popular culture likes to imply – we are NOT....all ‘children of God’. I know it makes for great song and poetic language, but the Bible simply does not teach that.

But that is not to say we can’t ‘become...children of God’ as scripture would indicate. And how do I come to this conclusion, you ask?

Well, for starters, John 1:12 states: “for as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right or the capacity to ‘become children of God’. We learn in the preceding verse there many did not...receive Him. We are also told: “for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God’. (Rom. 8:14). Soooo....IF...you are not being led by His Spirit, how can you say you are His child? And just in case there is any confusion as to what that looks like, Gal. 5:16 helps us see that those who do indeed ‘walk in the Spirit’...will not be fulfilling the lust of the flesh nature. That is how we ‘once walked’ when we were dead in sin. (Eph. 2:1-3) But IF...you truly belong to Christ and abide in Him, you simply no longer live that way. (1 John 2:6; 3:6; Gal. 5:24)

I suppose the question might be asked that if we are not God’s child, then whose child are we? And that’s a great question. There were a bunch of religious folks who were convinced they were God’s children given they were descendants of Abraham and Jesus quickly shot that notion down in John 8:44. You might go peek at that real quick as it may surprise you to see who He told them their ‘father’ was. – “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do....”

I’m sure that was not well received.

Have you ever wondered who John was writing about in his first epistle when he explains that you can clearly see the difference between who the ‘children of God and the children of the devil’ are? (1 John 3:10) He goes on to say that God’s children practice righteousness. You see, God’s children are ‘obedient’ and do what the Father asks of them; and if they don’t, He will chasten them because of His great love for them. (1 Pet. 1:14; John 14:11; Heb. 12:5-11)

And here’s the good news... we can become children of God... but... a ‘new birth’ will be required, as in we ‘must be born again’. (John 3:1-7). Now, I think it is important to state here that not only is there a danger in ‘complicating’ the things of God...there is also a danger in ‘over-simplifying’ them as well. We tend to do that with this ‘new birth’ experience when we teach someone to repeat a prayer and immediately afterwards we declare them to ‘now be a child of God’. Yes please....go read that again.

A simple example to illustrate this would be like comparing this new birth to the ‘natural’ process in which a child is produced. If a young and ill-informed man is told how a child is made, and then he immediately joins with his wife to copulate, how presumptuous would it be for him to walk out of the bedroom after making love to his new bride and declare “Now I’m a dad!” You’d be like...”Hold on there, Tonto...you are getting ahead of the game here!”

There really is a little more to this ‘new birth’ experience besides just saying some words. (Matt. 7:21)

Here is something to ponder as we finish up today: When Jesus was baptized, He immediately came up out of the water and we are told the ‘heavens opened up to Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending upon him and a voice was heard declaring- “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:16-17). So it’s pretty clear that Jesus was God’s Son. But now look at Romans 8:29 where we are told that Jesus was the ’firstborn among many brethren’. Guess who is being talked about there? “Those who ‘love God and are being conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus who is the firstborn of many brethren’. (Rom. 8:28-29). That is a remarkable truth to ponder. How is that process working out for you these days?