Are we all God’s Children?

日本語で読む | Read in Japanese

For the most part people have the belief that we are all God’s children. In my experience I’ve seen this viewpoint from the fervent believer to the atheist, and everyone in between. Even for those who aren’t necessarily inclined to believe in God or a god, they’ve somehow come to the conclusion that even if God exists, we’re all his children. However, is this biblically true? For those who know the bible well it’s not surprising that this answer is “no”. We are not all God’s children. We are all God’s creation (Colossians 1:16), but being God’s creation does not mean we all belong to God nor are all of us a part of God’s “family”.

The Dividing Line

This is a clear distinction made in the bible. Jesus himself states that we’re either for him or against him which is itself THE determining factor for who are and are not God’s children, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” (Matthew 12:30). 

This is an important concept to understand because it’s one of Jesus’ many exclusive statements he makes about himself. The only way to “gather with him” is to believe in him – who he says he is and what he came to do. To be “against him” is to not believe in these things. That means no matter your religion or belief system, if you do not accept Jesus Christ as the only way, the only truth, and the only source of eternal life – as he himself states in John 14:6 – then you are against him.

Many people “sit on the fence” when it comes to Jesus. They don’t accept him as their savior but at the same time they may not have anything against him. Some people may not believe what the bible says at all and think they’re not accountable to a just and holy God. Both positions are in the area of “against Jesus”. If you don’t believe in who he is and what he’s done, you’re not for him. You don’t have to make that distinction because God has already done so for all of humanity. If you are against Jesus, then you’re not God’s child but satan’s. This might seem fairly harsh but it’s biblical truth.

Children of the World

By “default” Satan is our “father” because we were born into this world with sin. This is exemplified in John 8 where Jesus challenges the Jews of the time because they hated him,

“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it…He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” (John 8:37-44, 47)

Sin separates us from God which is why a sacrifice was needed to bridge this gap and reconnect us to God. Satan is also the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and because of that those who don’t know Christ automatically are under Satan’s authority and reside in the kingdom of darkness.

Those of this world are Satan’s and due to this are automatically enemies of God because Satan is God’s enemy, “…Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). The bible makes it clear that until we are born again and become God’s children, we continue to live a life of unrepentant sin which is disobedience towards God.

1. “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” (I John 3:8-9)
2. “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” (I John 3:10)
3. “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” (Ephesians 2:1-3)

The Good News

Until we place our trust in Jesus’ sacrifice and become a new creation in him, we are not God’s children. The bible makes it clear that only those who are saved are God’s, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). 

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). However, the good news is that God offers everyone a way to be adopted into his family and that is by accepting the free gift of salvation. By becoming part of God’s family, you become his child and there are many things to look forward to with that status:

1. We are translated from the authority and influence of Satan and the kingdom of darkness to the love, grace, and mercy of God’s kingdom (Acts 26:17-18, 1 John 4:4, I John 5:19)
2. Those that place their faith in Jesus gain eternal life through Christ’s finished work at the cross. That means we have an eternity to look forward to with God beyond this life. We can rest in this assurance. (1 John 5:13)
3. We also become joint heirs with Christ. Think about that for a second. Whatever God promised Jesus – God in the flesh – we who have placed our faith in him are promised the same thing. (Romans 8:16-17)

If you haven’t made the decision to be a part of God’s family, why don’t you take the opportunity to do so today?

I implore you to not ignore what was presented here but to take time and think through this and weigh the evidence because time’s short and tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. This is the most important decision you can make for not just this life but for the eternity to come. I pray you make the right choice.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Romans 8:14)

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5)