The fact that we have been created by God and in His image does not mean that we are all children of God. It is not a natural descent, but it’s regeneration that makes one a child of God. Because of the fall of Adam and Eve, we are, by nature, born in sin and are therefore children of wrath, disobedience, and the Devil. Psalms 51:5 “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Ephesians 2:3 “Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” The point is made that we cannot claim to be the children of God by virtue of the fact that we have been created by God in His image and thus have a natural descent.
I John 3:10 explains what it means to be a child of God: “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” Here, righteousness means not righteous acts but being righteous from within. Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” He is describing the life of someone who has truly received Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. The life of a child of God will be radically different from the life of an unbeliever. A child of God has a desire to live in a way that pleases and glorifies the heavenly Father. I Corinthians 10:31 “ Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
To be a child of God means our old, sinful nature is replaced with a nature that conforms to the will of God. Unfortunately, we still sin, as given in I John 1:8 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” As children of God, we are, however, as told in I John 2:1 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” Being a child of God means our sins are paid for and our fellowship with God has been restored based on belief and faith. Being children of God means we have access to the “throne of grace” through prayer, any time and from any place; we have the promise that “we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” Philippians 4:19 states “, But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. A child of God has an eternity in heaven. John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Children of God live in the hope of seeing Jesus face to face, and so they “purify themselves, just as he is pure.” A child of God is eager to do good works because saving faith is a faith that changes us.
Galatians 4:5 7 tells us that those who have the Spirit are the children of God. And those who have been regenerated by the Spirit and have become children of God will show evidence of their adoption by way of a transformed mind and life
Dr Ashwin Drummond
Laddertoheaven.co.in