What does it mean to be a child of God?
To be a child of God is to be brought, by the new birth and by adoption, into the family of God: given the right to be God's child through faith in Christ, sealed with the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry 'Abba, Father,' made heirs with Christ, and called to live as children who resemble their Father. It is the deepest belonging a person can have, and it is permanent.
This question arose from studying What does it mean to be born again? and What is the difference between being born again and being baptized? and Who is God the Father?.
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The study
What the Scripture says
It is a gift of adoption, not a status we earn
Sonship is given, not achieved. John says that to as many as received Christ, He gave the right to become children of God, born not of blood nor human will but of God. Paul says God sent His Son, born of a woman, 'that we might receive the adoption of children.' And John marvels at it: 'See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God.' We do not become God's children by effort; we are given the name.
But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:
who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children.
See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.
It is sealed by the Spirit of adoption
God does not merely call us His children; He marks us with the Spirit who cries out in our hearts. Paul says you received 'the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, Abba, Father,' and that the Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God. Galatians says the same: 'God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.' The Spirit is the evidence and the experience of our sonship.
For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God;
And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”
It makes us heirs with Christ
Being God's child is not only a name; it is an inheritance. Paul writes, 'if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ,' and 'if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.' Whatever belongs to the Father through the Son is shared with all who are in the Son. We are not servants earning a wage but sons and daughters who inherit, and the inheritance is everything that is Christ's.
and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him.
So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
It shapes our family likeness
Children bear the family resemblance. Jesus says the peacemakers shall be called children of God, and Paul urges us to be imitators of God as beloved children. God's own promise runs through the prophets: 'I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters.' To be a child of God is to be called, and to grow, into a life that mirrors the Father's mercy, purity, and love.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children.
I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
It is already true, and still becoming
John holds both together: 'Now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be.' We are already, truly, God's children; and what that will finally look like is still coming, for when Christ appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Sonship is our standing now and our destiny forever, the deepest identity a soul can carry: called, and finally made, children of God.
See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.
As you read, you may wonder…
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Verses to meditate on
But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:
See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.
For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God;
And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”
and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him.
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