The Children of
God
I
first heard the phrase “the Children of God”
when a college friend asked me to accompany him to visit his sister who
was a member of commune church called “The Children of God” in 1972. We had some apprehension as this church had
a reputation by some for kidnapping and brain-washing some of its members. While we did not see anything like this
during our visit, the constant smiling and saying “I love you” every few
minutes from the members we met was certainly out of the ordinary. Overall the visit went well and we left. I have since heard that this group sold all
their property in the continental U.S.
and moved to Hawaii
20-30 yrs ago to escape the destruction of the country by a comet.
Surprisingly,
I later found the phrase in the Bible. This
Bible study will look into just who are the “children of God?” And who are the “sons of God?” And also who are the “saints?” What is the relevance of those terms to us as
Christians today?
“Children of God”
Scriptures
John 1: 12
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” This scripture is quite interesting as the
standard idea of most Christians is that those who are “saved” become
angels. This scripture indicates they
become something else – God’s very children.
Is this idea confirmed by other scriptures?
Romans 8:16
“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…”
Romans 8:21
“…because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
Philip. 2:15 “that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of
a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the
world…”
A companion scripture to this would be found in Christ’s
Sermon on the Mount, where He likens us to “the light of the world..let your
light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your
Father in heaven.”
(Mt. 5:14-16)
I John 3:1
“Behold what manner of love the Father has
bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God.”
I John 3:2
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet
been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall
be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
The implication of this scripture is that right now, even
though we are still physical beings with faults and weaknesses, we are
considered to be children of God, and that even more is in store for us, for
when Christ is revealed (at His return) we shall be spirit beings like Him.
I John 3 :12 “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 5:2 “By this we know that we love the children of
God, when we love God and keep His commandments.”
So we see the
phrase “children of God” used several times in scripture. It was
used much as we might use the term “brethren”.
Note that it is used to refer to the called out members of God’s church,
physical people. The Bible describes
these people as those who practice righteousness and keep the commandments of
God.
“Sons of God” Scriptures
Job 1:6 “Now there was a day when the sons of God
came to present themselves before the LORD, and
Satan[fn] also came among them.”
The spirit beings
referred to here are the angels.
Luke 20:36 “…nor can they die anymore, for they are
equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”
Clearly refers to spirit
beings.
Rom. 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
A description of the
sons of God.
Rom. 8:19 “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”
This is referring to
spiritual beings. Compare to I Jn. 3:2
above.
Gal. 3:26 “For you are all sons
of God through faith in
Christ Jesus.”
Another definition or
description of those who are called “sons of God”.
Here we see the phrase “sons of God” used to describe
both physical and spiritual beings.
Faith in Christ Jesus and being led by the spirit are attributes of
those who are physical sons of God.
“Saints” in Scriptures
The Catholic
Church has used this term to signify Christians who were very righteous and deserved
a special title. Often miracle(s) are
associated with them. The following
scriptures however show a somewhat different picture. Here you will see the Bible referring to
“Saints” as both physical and spiritual beings.
The term is also used in the Bible to describe church members, much as
we might use the term “brethren”.
I Sam. 2:9 “He will guard the feet of His saints,
But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.”
The indication here is
that they are physical, needing to be guarded.
Ps. 16:3 “As for the saints
who are on the earth,
‘They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.’”
Note here that the
saints are on the earth, not floating on clouds in heaven.
Psa.
116:15 “Precious in the sight of the LORD
Is the death of His saints.”
This scripture indicates
that saints are physical human beings, as they can die.
Dan. 7:18 “But the saints
of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever,
even forever and ever.”
Here the indication is
that the saints are also spiritual beings, as they possess the kingdom forever
and ever. They are the resurrected Christians.
Dan. 7:25 “He shall speak pompous words
against the Most High,
Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into
his hand
For a time and times and half a time…”
This scripture talks
about saints that are physical and will be persecuted.
Acts 9:13 “Then Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard
from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.’”
Ananias is referring to
physical people.
Rom.
16:15 “Greet Philologus and Julia,
Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints
who are with them.”
The term “saints” here
is used much as we would use the term “brethren” today.
I Cor.
6:2 “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be
judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?”
(spiritual beings
referred to here).
I Cor. 14:33
“For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all
the churches of the saints.”
(brethren could easily
be used here).
Jude 1:14
“Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also,
saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints…”’
(resurrected children of
God – spiritual beings).
Rev. 14:12 “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those[fn] who keep the
commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”
This is a definition or
description of those who are called “saints”.
Rev. 17:6 “I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the
saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.”
Once again the usage
here refers to physical beings who can die.
Thus we see the term saints used to describe both resurrected
Christians as well as to describe those still alive physically. It is used in the Bible for both. The term is used in the Bible much more
liberally than it is used by the Catholic Church. Perhaps the terms “brethren” ,“Christian”, or
“resurrected Christian” could easily be substituted for it with no change in
meaning, depending on the scriptural usage.
Miscellaneous Scriptures
Rom. 8:29 “For whom He
foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,
that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
Note that Jesus is the Son of God. If we are to be His younger brothers, we will
also be sons of God or children of God.
Titus 3:7
“… that having been
justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal
life.”
Servants are not “heirs”.
Children are heirs.
John
15:15 “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what
his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard
from My Father I have made known to you.”
Isa. 46:10 Declaring the
end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,'…”
God sometimes describes
things that are not yet as though they already are. He as the Creator of the universe has the
power to bring His prophecies and His word to fulfillment.
One of the points Jesus came to show us was to look upon
God as our Father. God considers us His
children, not just His servants. As our
Father He eagerly anticipates each of us and longs for us to turn to Him and
follow His ways.
Conclusion :
Thus we see the terms :
saints, children of God, and sons of God used in the Bible to describe both Christians
today and the resurrected Christians yet to come, depending on the passage. They are often used as we might use the term
“brethren” today. Clearly the term “saints” is used much more liberally
than the Catholic Church uses it today. Keep in mind that God looks upon things that
are not yet as though they already are. God’s love for us is shown in that He calls us
His children. As God’s children we have a powerful role to
play spiritually that we often don’t realize.
It is a more important role than that of a servant. Jesus Christ came as our elder brother to show
us the way and pay the price for us to have everlasting life, and is the
first-born of many brethren. While we
may not exactly know what we will be like, we do know that we shall be like
Jesus when He is revealed at His return.
