What It Really Means to Be A Child of God

Not all people are children of God. That may be a surprise for you to hear, but I want to talk about what the Bible says, not about what the culture says. It’s a feel-good quote when people bring up racial tensions that is just not what the Bible says. The Bible, by the way, doesn’t address racism as such. For in the Bible, the color of your skin is never an issue.

The Kinks, one of the “British Invasion” bands of the 60s, who brought us "You Really Got Me", All Day and All of the Night, and “Lola”.blessed us with“We are all God’s Children” in 1971

If that song is unfamiliar to you, don’t worry. Not that many people heard it. And it’s really not very good.

Here’s the core of their song:

Stripped of our clothes and all the things we own / The day that we are born / We are all God's children / And they got no right to change us / Oh, we gotta go back the way the good lord made / Oh, the good lord made us all, And we are all his children / And they got no right to change us / Oh, we gotta go back to the way the good lord made us.

source: https://lyricsondemand.com/k/kinkslyrics/godschildrenlyrics.html

Trying to be flippant about the themes of being God’s children, the English comedian Jimmy Carr in 2009 at a fundraiser, said, rather blasphemously, “If We're All God's Children, then what’s so special about Jesus?”

The official theme song of the Papal visits around the world in 2015 was Jamie Rivera’s song, “We’re All God’s Children.” which said “God is our Father and we’re all one big family”

A couple years ago, the Gaither Vocal Band put out a recording of “We Are God’s Children” which correctly says, “We are God’s children, a new life with Jesus, We’re all forgiven, learning to love like Him.”

Some of you may connect more to a Justin Bieber quote of last month, where he wrote “to shine a light on racism, because it’s a real thing and it’s more prevalent now than I have ever seen in my lifetime,” closed it with “We are all Gods children and we are ALL EQUAL”, adding to a cultural myth in the Western World that because we are all God’s creation (Which is completely true), then we are all God’s children (Which is Biblically false). In Romans chapter 8, we read about this. Get your Bible out with me, or at least follow along on the screen as we see what the Apostle to the Gentiles, Saul of Tarsus, whom we know as Paul, says about being the Children or Sons of God.

Because singing “We’re all God’s Children” doesn’t make it so.

The Spirit of God and the Sons of God

In our constant personal struggles against sin, we have to remember that our allegiance is not to our selfishness. That just leads to death.

Romans 8:12–14 ESV

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Flesh is not bad. We have to live in the skin we are in. But that can never be what drives us. That is Satan’s arena, getting us to do what we like instead of do what we should. The wages of sin in death; a pretty high price to pay for fleeting pleasures.

Instead, listen to the Spirit. You have to be In Christ to have the Spirit of God in you; but then you have your guide for living.

The Good News is that when we are in Christ,

We Are Adopted Sons of God

Not the bastards of sinfulness, but the brothers of Godliness.

Romans 8:15 ESV

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Slavery is never where we want to be, but we often sell ourselves into slavery instead of follow God’s spirit into glory.

In the Spirit, we are freed from slavery and realize we are being adopted into the family of our Heavenly Father. Jesus called us brothers; the Spirit of God adopts us into the place where we are His brothers certainly. So we cry out from our hearts, Daddy! My Father.

We Are Children and Heirs of God

Romans 8:16–17 ESV

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Wait—What’s that Part About Suffering?

Romans 8:18–19 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

Creation Itself Needs God’s True Children

Romans 8:20–21 ESV

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

We Struggle with Creation’s Corruption

Romans 8:22–23 ESV

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Hope Will Get Us Through

Romans 8:24–25 ESV

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Recap On the Children of God

-We are all God’s creation

-The Children of God does not contain all of humanity

-Those who have the Spirit of God His Children

-The Spirit of God comes to those who are In Christ (Rom 8:1-11)

-The Spirit bears witness we are God’s children

-God’s Children are heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ

-Creation itself is Looking Forward to the Final Revelation of the Children of God

-Creation itself wants the freedom from the corruption of sin

-Because the glory of God is revealed on earth in His children

-Our final adoption is into the heavenly presence as the children of God.

-Our hope is in God’s future for us, not our sin’s corruption of us.

-Be sure your hope is place where it needs to be: Not that you are children of God, but that your are In Christ, our hope of glory.