WHAT DO YOU MEAN - "CHILD OF GOD?"

By Richard Burkard



In a 48-hour period, I received more phone calls from my older brother than I usually get in six months. It started as I returned from an all-night job early on a Thursday morning. The message on my answering machine alerted me that my Dad 900 miles away had a heart attack, and was in the hospital. The following hours revealed it was a major attack, requiring three "stints" and apparently including internal bleeding. Then came three calls within three hours on Friday. Doctors wanted to talk to my brother, because conditions were worsening. The final call was indeed filled with finality:

"Your Dad passed away at 11:45 this morning."

He was 79, and his health had gone up and down in recent years. :I was unable to get to Dad in time for the "talk" he wanted to have when we last chatted by phone about two weeks before. And I couldn't get there to have a heart-to-heart discussion about matters of faith, which were practically verboten while he was alive.

Dad would have called himself a "member" of the neighborhood United Methodist Church. He received a pocket New Testament from there in 1943, before heading off to war. The family grew up attending that church, but he hardly went there save for big events such as weddings. Dad was the textbook "C&E" Christian - as in Christmas and Easter. (The last couple of Christmas Eve services, he actually went so far as to take communion.)

Given this record, and a life in which I heard Dad mention God almost exclusively with "the D-word" attached, the Methodist Pastor who led the funeral service faced a bit of a challenge. She openly admitted Dad's good and bad points, noted he reminded some people of the movie "Grumpy Old Men" - yet she declared my Father was "a child of God." In closing remarks, she "transferred his membership" from the U.M.C. to the "family of the children of God."

A "child of God" - him?!?! Many thoughts ran through my mind at the use of this phrase. In one sense, I supposed, Dad was made in God's image and likeness. Yet was this the only requirement to rate as one of God's children? From my years attending various Churches of God, the usage rang very shallow and hollow. Shouldn't Dad have done something, other than go to church once a year and taking bread and wine?

This article is my attempt to reconcile those conflicting thoughts and feelings, through the use of the Bible. What I found is a definition that seems to change over the course of the Scriptures - and while some consider the Old Testament the more "legalistic" of the two, you may be surprised to see where the strictest rules for determining a "child of God" are found.

The Old Testament Perspective

In retracing the lineage of Jesus, Luke connects Him to "Adam, the son of God." (Lk. 3:38; NIV unless noted) Taking that at face value, we might conclude all you have to do is be made in God's image (Gen. 1:26-27). Descendants of Adam are first called "sons of God" in the Bible in Genesis 6, marrying beautiful women and having children by them. (6:2, 4)(1)

But God narrows the definition a bit in Exodus, as Moses is instructed to tell Pharaoh: "This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son...." (Ex. 4:22) We must note at no point in the Old Testament is any other earthly nation or tribe given that title, or anything similar to it! Only Israel is told: "You are the children of the Lord your God." (Deut. 14:1; see also 32:5, 19; Isa. 43:6, 45:11)

The title is apparently passed down through the kings of Israel. The prophet Nathan speaks for God, saying of Solomon: "I will be his father, and he will be my son." (II Sam 7:14; I Chr. 17:13, 28:6) The people of Israel also keep the title "children of God" - even though some of the children were sacrificed to idols (Ezek. 16:20-21), and some became rebellious backsliders (Isa. 1:2; Jer. 3:14, 22).

Yet Psalm 2:7 offers a hint of a change to come. "He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.'" The KJV phrases the last clause quite differently: "This day have I begotten thee." The Contemporary English Version calls this not a "decree," but a promise. Paul clarifies that promise later, in Romans 9:8: ".... It is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring." In other words, God will add to His family by going outside the "royal line" or the bounds of nationalism.

The New Testament Perspective

The "New Testament" definition of a child of God becomes clear in John 1:12, as Jesus enters our sinful world: "....To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." Jesus also refers to this group as "children of the resurrection," since they'll be resurrected from the dead. (Lk. 20:35-36)

It should be noted that Jesus referred to His disciples as "His children" even before the crucifixion (John 13:33).(2) That's only fitting, since Paul writes the adoption as sons occurred because "he chose us in him before the creation of the world...." (Eph. 1:4-5) Through God's great love and mercy, "we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!.... Now are we children of God...." (I Jhn. 3:1-2) We are already, CEV emphasizes.

If you believe in Jesus, you don't have to wait for His return to become a "child of God." Jesus redeemed you to grant full rights as a son now (Gal. 4:4-7) - if you meet the Biblical standards.

Defining a "Child of God"

"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus," Paul writes in Galatians 3:26. But here's where a dividing line is drawn between denominations -- centering around the question of how faith is expressed. Some say faith is merely a verbal expression of belief in Jesus, or a "feeling in the heart." Others argue faith is displayed by actions, based on the writings of James (2:14, 18, 24, 26).

By continuing the search for the Biblical definition of a "child of God," we can determine which approach has more Scriptural support. Jesus's own words in the "Sermon on the Mount" jump out at us immediately. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." (Mt. 5:9) Related to this, "....love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." (5:43-44) We should even "lend to them without expecting to get anything back." (Lk. 6:35) These are rules Israel never received.

The apostle John sets two more standards, only from a negative viewpoint. "Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother." (I Jhn. 3:10) The NASB uses the phrase, "practice righteousness." In short, something must be done.

Paul explains further how this is to be done: "Come out from them [unbelievers] and be separate.... Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters...." (II Cor. 6:17-18) He adds this challenge in Philippians: "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault...." (Phil. 2:14-15)

Children of God in Eternity

In his vision of a new heaven and new earth, John is told to write: "He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son." (Rev. 21:7) Jesus overcame the world, and so must we -- yet this is not impossible. Some "prophecy buffs" might find duality in a statement from the book of Hosea: "Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore.... In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called, 'sons of the living God.'" (Hos. 1:10; see also Rom. 9:25-26)

If the points of overcoming we've mentioned seem tough, keep in mind believers are offered a powerful bit of help: "....Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.... The Spirit.... testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ." (Rom. 8:14-17) The Holy Spirit helps us to "be imitators of God.... as dearly loved children...." (Eph. 5:1)

So was my late father truly a child of God? The more I studied the topic, I noticed the question shifting - to whether I'm truly one. The rules truly are "magnified" in the New Testament - to making peace, loving enemies (including prayer and giving), loving our brothers, practicing righteousness, avoiding uncleanness and ending all arguing.

If this article has left you feeling convicted or depressed, remember one other verse: "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?.... but God disciplines us for our good." (Heb. 12:7, 10) The Father's correction helps us to become better sons and daughters -- and ultimately, we'll be ready to be like Jesus when He comes.

++++++++++++++++++++++

1. Some have argued Genesis 6 really refers to angels, based on Job 1:6 and 2:1 in the King James. It is true that the Hebrew words for "sons of God" are no different here than they are elsewhere in the Old Testament. But the Worldwide Church of God still correctly notes angels cannot reproduce sexually; see for example Matthew 22:30 and Mark 12:25. (Bible Answer #23, ptm.org)

2. The "children" reference occurs after the resurrection as well, in John 21:5.

To reply to this article, e-mail: wwwcg

< back to www.cg main page

C. 2001-02 Richard Burkard/LaughLine.com, All Rights Reserved.