The Bible speaks of God as Creator and Judge of all people, but it does not say that every person possesses the saving family relationship of a child of God. John says that those who receive Christ—those who believe on His name—are given the right to become God’s children. This is a gift of grace, not a natural human possession.
READ THE KEY PASSAGES
Begin with what
Scripture says.
John 1:12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.
Romans 8:16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.
1 John 3:1Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.
01
God’s children receive the Son
John 3:3Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John joins becoming a child of God with receiving Christ and believing on His name. Salvation is not an inherited family privilege, a church identity, or a moral achievement. It is found in the Son whom the Father has given.
This guards against a vague idea of universal spiritual family. God’s fatherly care of His redeemed people is tied to union with Christ. The believer belongs to God because he has received the Son, not because he has persuaded God to accept him by religious effort.
God’s fatherhood toward His redeemed children is a covenant gift through the Son; it should not be confused with the fact that God is Creator and Judge of all.
02
Children of God are born of God
Galatians 3:26For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
John immediately adds that God’s children are born not of blood, human desire, or human will, but of God. Jesus calls this being born again. The new birth explains why salvation is deeper than a new label: God gives spiritual life to people who were dead in sin.
The child of God therefore does not credit himself as the author of his own rescue. He receives Christ, but the saving work is God’s. This produces humility and confidence at the same time: humility because salvation is grace, confidence because the Father’s work is not fragile.
The new birth gives the family relationship its depth. God does more than grant a new title; He gives spiritual life to those who believe.
03
The Father gives witness, care, and discipline
Hebrews 12:6For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.
Romans says the Spirit bears witness with believers that they are children of God. The Christian does not manufacture assurance through a mood or by pretending never to struggle. The Spirit points him to Christ, produces the cry of filial dependence, and works through the truth God has given.
A Father also disciplines His children. Hebrews calls discipline evidence of love, not rejection. It may be painful, but it is not pointless. God corrects His people because He is forming them in holiness rather than leaving them under the rule of sin.
Fatherly discipline may be painful, yet it differs from condemning wrath. Christ has borne the believer’s judgment, while the Father forms His child in holiness.
04
Family likeness grows from family grace
1 John 3:3Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
First John does not make holiness the purchase price of sonship. It does show that the Father’s children do not make peace with darkness. Their hope in Christ leads them toward purity, love for the brethren, and obedience to God’s Word.
This growth is real but incomplete in the present life. A child of God still needs confession, correction, and the intercession of Christ. His assurance rests first in God’s grace in the Son, while that grace gradually bears the family likeness of obedience.
Family likeness grows slowly and truly. The child of God still needs correction and confession, but he does not belong to darkness as his settled home.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Questions for further reading.
- 01
According to John 1, who is given the right to become a child of God?
- 02
How does the new birth keep salvation from becoming a human achievement?
- 03
How should the Father’s discipline be understood by a believer who is suffering correction?
Read patiently. Let God’s Word speak.
To be a child of God is to receive the Son by faith and to be born of God by His grace. The Father gives His children life, care, discipline, and future hope, forming them to live as those who truly belong to Him.
