Sunday Worship & the Word

Being Children of God

One of the most graphic, and gratifying, names for us as Christians in the New Testament is “children of God.” 

John 1:12 – “…to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…”

Romans 8:16 – “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”

But our being children of God is not limited to the literal phrase “children of God.”  Being children of God is found in other verses in other descriptions:

Jesus taught the disciples to pray, “Our Father…”  Having God as our Father assumes we are His children.

Jesus confronted Nicodemus with this truth, “You should not be surprised by my saying that, ‘you must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it pleases.  You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”  Being a Christian means we have been “born again” and children are born.

Paul understood the work of the Spirit in us to the extent that we could cry, “Abba, Father.”  Abba could be translated “daddy.”

In quoting from II Samuel, Paul recorded the words of God in II Corinthians 6:18, “’I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters’, says the Lord Almighty.”

Galatians 3:26 – “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus…”