The world today believes in the universal Fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. That is not found in the Bible. It was our Lord who said to certain religious Jews that they were “of their father the devil,” and not children of Abraham, not children of God. It is only to “as many as receive him” that He gives the right (the authority) “to become the sons of God.”
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Studies in the Sermon on the Mount,” volume 2, p.53
11 comments:
In some sense, all mankind are children of God, as in this passage from Acts, as every human being on earth, for all humanity, is descended from Adam, who was the first human (Genesis 1 &2), and direct creation of God (Luke 3:38):
Acts 17
24 "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though * He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His children.' 29 "Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man....
BUT, since we are all fallen and lost due to our sin, we must be - as the Lord says - born again (John 3:3), making us true children of God. To whom is this granted? As Lloyd-Jones said, from the Word, as many as receive Him are given the right to be called sons of God (John 1:12). That is why Jesus could say of the Pharisees what He said... they did not receive Him (John 1:11).
-Carolyn
It was reciting this 'fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man' creed that woke me up, (knowing I did not believe this) and made me leave the Methodist church.
Carolyn,
They are in NO sense "children of God." To be a child of someone you have to be born through them or adopted. The only real "born" children of God were Adam and Eve because he created them directly. Everyone else is procreated as children of Adam and Eve. God adopted Israel as his people, and all Christians are adopted sons and daughters. Non-believers are not adopted.
I'll stand by what Paul said in Acts, verses 28-29, as he was talking to unbelievers.
-Carolyn
Paul was citing one of there poets and using that as a teaching point by using their own teachers. He was not saying all are children of God, since that would contradict Jesus who said not all are children of God.
Hi Glenn,
Yes, I know Paul was quoting one of their own teachers in verse 28, but in the next verse (29), still talking to the men of Athens, he pointed out that their own teachers were not wrong in some sense... Paul said "since we are all genos of God"... that word, Strongs G1085, means "offspring". NASB translates it children; NIV, Holman, NKJV, ESV, and KJV translate it offspring.
Paul was making the case that even their own teachers understand that all men originate from God, therefore we should not think that God is someone we formed with our own hands. Obviously he then went on to preach Christ, resulting in some mocking, some wanting to hear him again, and some believing.
When Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, telling them that they were of their father the devil, He meant spiritually. That is how all mankind is born... spiritually under control of Satan (excepting those that Scripture said were filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb, like John the Baptist; otherwise, Satan has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, 2 Cor 4:4). But no human can be a literal, physical child of the devil. The devil is an angel, and *angels do not procreate (Matt 22:30). (*see next post)
At least that's how I've handled this issue. I don't get wrapped around the axle; I know that one MUST be born again to see the kingdom of God. In John 1:12, the greek word is 5043 teknon, which means, a child, son or daughter. So yes, when one repents and believes the Gospel, one is given the right to be called a teknon of God.
-Carolyn
The *PS:
Regarding angels not procreating... without getting too off the rabbit trail into the Nephilim discussion, which I tend to avoid, because it can get bizarre and/or heated. If you want to know what I think of that issue, I pretty much agree with what Got Q.org says. Anyhow, as long as I'm on this topic.. angels are also called "sons of God" in Scripture... Hebrew 01121, ben, which means son. But we know angels are not made in God's image and likeness, only mankind is (obviously Genesis 1 &2).
Nonetheless, I do not believe the Pharisees were Nephilim in any way. I believe they were very religious Jewish leaders who missed the "time of their visitation" due to their religious pride and hardened hearts.
-Carolyn
Carolyn,
Because God created mankind, we are all "offspring" in that regard. Animals are God's offspring, plants would be His offspring in this context. This is NOT the same thing as being "children of God."
Angels are "Sons of God" because they are direct creations, while except for Adam and Eve all humans are pro-created.
The titles "children of God" and "child of God" are also spiritual terms just like those who are children of Satan are so spiritually.
The only people referred to in the Bible as children of God are believers. There is no other sense for that term.
I checked the entire NT by keyword search. G1085 genos is not used of animals or plants, only humans. Animals and plants are not God's offspring.
I'll leave it at that.
Peace.
-Carolyn
Carolyn,
I didn't mean that the Bible called plants and animals "offspring" - I was making an analogy, that in the sense that all people are offspring of God due to God creating man (as the pagan poet noted)\, then everything in creation is offspring of God -- it all sprang from God's creation. When Paul was talking about man being God's offspring he was quoting a pagan and using their terminology and the reason for such terminology. But Paul was NOT suggesting all were "children of God." These are two different terms with two different meanings. Children of God is a spiritual term identifying only those who are born again. Paul was pointing out that we all sprang from one Creator through one man and one woman.
The point is back to your first comment, where you say in some sense we are all children of God. But there is only one sense for that term, and it has nothing to do with Paul's statement about all people being offspring of God.
Like I said, I've no further comment to make suffice coming here to acknowledge I read your final remark.
-Carolyn
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