What Does it Really Mean to Be a Child of God?

As I write this morning, I am looking out the window in front of my desk at the snow that is blanketing my neighborhood; it is a brisk fifteen degrees on this cold January Sunday morning…no one else in my home is stirring, all snuggled up toasty warm and soundly sleeping. The sky is slowly turning blue as the night gives way to the day; this is the first blue sky we have had in a week. I was born and raised in Southern California where warm sunshine was on the weather menu three hundred and twenty days of the year; but here, less than a mile off the eastern side of Lake Michigan, four to five months a year belongs to Jack Frost, something I cannot help but resent.

Before I began writing this morning, I perused the major news stories making their way across the internet: death, crime, poverty, political hostility and darkness sweep the nation and the world—my local news is just as disturbing. You know as well as I do, today’s news is no different than yesterday’s was or tomorrow’s will be; pain, suffering, trouble, loss…it is the way of the world—but for those who embrace the Savior of the Bible, it is not our destiny. We are destined for another world, a place of shalom, where everything will be in perpetual harmonious balance, peace will be restored, and love will lead the way. The Apostle John describes it like this in the Book of the Revelation:

Then I saw a new heaven and earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now God himself will live and dwell with his people; they will be his people, and he will be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes; there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain—the old things have passed away, I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:1-5*).

We have all heard, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” In this world, this is sage advice. However, what the New Testament promises us, God’s covenantal pledges, are to be held onto for dear life; these promises serve as our primary inspiration to persevere—like a soldier doggedly fighting through a war so he can finally get back home to his family.

Our future is real! We must believe this with our whole heart and mind…it is what nurtures hope, patience, and perseverance in us. On the night he was arrested, at his disciples’ lowest point, when his crucifixion was inevitable, Jesus comforted them with these words, “Do not be afraid, trust God and trust me. There is plenty of room in my Father’s house, if this were not true, I would have told you. I am going to get your place ready; after I have, I will come back and take you to be with me so we will always be together” (John 14:1-3).

It has always been powerful to me that Jesus assures his disciples that he would correct them if their thinking was wrong; this is another way he emphasizes his love for them, “Listen, I wouldn’t lead you astray. I have seen my Father’s house; if your thoughts about it were not true, as your master and teacher, I would have corrected you.” Like us, the disciples may have been thinking, “If it sounds too good to be true….” The promises made to us in the Bible are an immeasurable source of hope as we strive to live obedient, honorable lives for God.

Throughout the New Testament, it is affirmed again and again that we have become children of God because of our faith in the Lord Jesus (see John 1:12; Galatians 3:26; Romans 8:16), a truth the Apostle John enthusiastically celebrates, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1, NIV). John uses the phrase, “Children of God,” five times in his first letter (see 1 John 3:1, 2, 10, 5:2, 19). Jesus consistently referred to God as his father and taught his followers to do the same; addressing God as “Our Father” in a personal way was something they were not accustomed to (see Matthew 6:9).

The Gospel of Mark records Jesus addressing God as “Abba” in the garden of Gethsemane, an Aramaic term of endearment from a beloved child to his father. This clearly removes the term father from simply a theological maxim and places it in the realm of personal relationship. In other words, Jesus did not call God father merely as an expression of religious piety, but as a true and intimate expression of relationship. The Apostle Paul picks up on this and encourages Christians to think of God as our father in the same intimate way, “…but you received the Spirit of sonship, and by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’” (Romans 8:15, NIV; see also Galatians 4:6).

Not only does the New Testament affirm that we are children of God in a personal, intimate relationship with him, but Paul teaches that we have been adopted by God. Adoption in Paul’s time was the result of the same legal transaction that occurs now; an adult chooses to make a nonbiological child his or her own by legally bestowing on that child the family name, the family rights, and the family fortune. I have an adopted granddaughter, and everything my daughter and son-in-law possess is hers, in love and law. In the litany of spiritual blessings Paul describes in Ephesians chapter one, having been chosen for adoption as God’s children is a profound promise (see Ephesians 1:5), a promise he reiterates elsewhere (see Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:5). 

The impact of this adoption can be felt in a powerful passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans where he declares that all of creation is in agony, waiting for redeemed humanity to be manifested in our full role as the adopted children of God, an event that will signal the restoration of all things (see Romans 8:19-23). It is the longing of virtually all human beings to live in a world where peace reigns and love is the norm, but in this passage, Paul declares that the whole of creation itself longs for the same thing, and that somehow, the creation is aware of the fact that it is waiting for the day when redeemed humanity will be fully vested with our unequivocal rights as the actual children of God. What a powerful thought!

As Paul considers the fact that we are the legally adopted children of God, he proclaims that we are also heirs of God and co-heirs with his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus (see Romans 8:15-17; Galatians 3:29-4:7). How could we possibly grasp even a fraction of what it means to be an heir of the omnipotent, all-knowing God of all things? Impossible. Like Little Orphan Annie, we were chosen from the depths of hopelessness and despair to be adopted by the wealthiest and kindest man in all the world, never to fear again, never to go without again, never to be abandoned again—this is who we are in Christ.

Children of God and heirs to his kingdom…it sounds like a fairytale, too good to be true. This is exactly why so many people refuse to accept it; but for us who follow Christ, though it is indeed profoundly mysterious, it is as real as the sunrise–and because we do belong to his kingdom, it is his kingdom we are to manifest in this world. The Apostle Paul writes, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” (Philippians 2:14-15, NIV); and the Apostle Peter adds, “For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men” (1 Peter 2:15, NIV).  

We no longer belong to this world…we can no longer behave like this world, we can no longer accept the standards of this world carte blanche, and we can no longer be forced into the mold of this world, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2). We do not belong to this world anymore, it is time to be transformed; we are transformed by changing the way we think…as our minds become filled with the thoughts of God (that is, the teaching found in the Scripture), then we will understand his perfect will.

This transformation is a process; for now we fill our minds with the Scripture, as well as information gleaned from helpful books and teachers…we press on, sometimes growing by leaps and bounds, sometimes by mere inches, but always remembering that our path, no matter how difficult, leads to the kingdom to which we belong. We must share the passion of the Apostle Paul, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me…forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).

Paul is ever mindful of his purpose, knowing that the current difficulties, disappointments, and sufferings of this world are only temporary, and that these sufferings will give way to glories beyond our imagination, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18, NIV) and “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Peter shares this same conviction, “…you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

Even so, these sufferings validate our resolve, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17). Peter affirms this thought as well, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering…but rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12-13, NIV). Paul admonishes the Philippians to stand firm, no matter what they are going through, because “we eagerly await a Savior from [heaven], the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21).

To share in the glory of Christ—these promises are so overwhelming! When we finally see the Lord Jesus, we will be changed, completely fit for the kingdom to which we belong. The Apostle John writes, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2, NIV). The transformation will be complete! Paul writes about this as well, “And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49). He goes on to tell us we will all be changed; these perishable bodies will become imperishable; these mortal bodies will become immortal (see 1 Corinthians 15:51-54). Incredible!

These promises are the core of the gospel message, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV); eternal life in perfected bodies, designed for eternity. Though this body we now inhabit is aging and wearing out, it will finally be replaced by an eternal dwelling. Paul uses the imagery of a tent to explain this, “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1). One day this flimsy, temporary earthly tent we live in will be exchanged for a permanent, eternal heavenly house built by God himself.    

Exactly what this body will be like and what we will be able to do with it has been the source of much speculation and imagination. However, whatever it will be will be magnificent! Paul uses the planting of a seed to illustrate this idea (see 1 Corinthians 15:35-49). A small, featureless, dead seed is planted, then God infuses it with life, and the plant that comes from that seed is monumental compared to the seed itself! Imagine a giant redwood tree from a tiny pine nut, a mighty oak from a little acorn, or a whole field of wheat from a bagful of seed. What a fantastic illustration! This body of ours is a mere seed, what we will be cannot even be imagined from what we are now.

We are destined for an eternal kingdom, so press on! “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28). The fact that we are destined for heaven and promised a body designed for that kingdom is a great source for rejoicing and must serve as great motivation to live honorably for God, Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us a brand new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! He has given us an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for us! Through faith we are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time! (1 Peter 3-5).

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(C) 2024 D. Edwin Cohea/Coheasive Concepts.

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