All of us created by God are the “children of God”, or “sons of God”. That is only partially true. Anyone who sins is certainly no longer a child of God according to the Bible’s definition.
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“Child of God” is not that simple
Who are the “Children of God”? An attribute that has experienced a kind of renaissance today, especially in the context of ecumenism. The quality of being a child of God sounds promising. You are welcomed as a child, contrary to all gender mainstreams, by the Father in heaven. For the association of all “Christian-oriented people” who call themselves Christians, the “Child of God” is therefore an invitation to use this privilege as a universal formula for everything and everyone who even marginally describes themselves as a Christian.
The Roman Catholic view
In May 2013, Pope Francis equated the “child of God” with every human being and justified this by saying that people are created in God’s image. This obviously also caused concern within the church, because they immediately tried to put the pontiff’s statement into context (Source).
In January 2016, the Pope repeated the statement with “we are all children of God.” Assuming that by “we” Francis only meant people baptized as Catholics. Again a context setting was due. This time based on official Catholic teaching. This says that man becomes a “child of God” when he receives “sanctifying grace”. This happens either through baptism, the sacrament of penance or “love repentance”. Anyone who has deviated from the Catholic faith or committed a “mortal sin” can become a “child of God” again through “penance” (towards a priest).
The evangelical view
The British Eunice Burden, an evangelical and active in the mission organization OMF International, is very close to the Pope’s view, at least at first glance. “God created us all and so we are all children of God” (Source). But man turned away from God and therefore broke his relationship with the Father. May God constantly call His children to return and thus to restore the father-child relationship.
But Burden expressly emphasizes that the lost child can be welcomed back as a “child of God” if it is reborn. The verses John 1:12-13 express this well:
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
What is meant in the context is the reception of Jesus Christ. Neither biological descent nor membership of a specific people nor human procreation count for this, but only (spiritual) rebirth (Info).
The EKD makes it particularly easy
The regional churches affiliated to the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) see it a little more laxly. According to their version, baptism is enough to be accepted as a child of God. This also applies to the baptism of small children (Info). However, how the spiritual rebirth is realized at this point remains a mystery. The former EKD council chairwoman Annette Kurschus generally described baptism as an “entrance ticket to heaven.” (Info).
What does the Bible say about “children of God”?
Neither the Pope nor the leadership of an evangelical, ecumenical association can explain the “Child of God” better than the Word of God itself. The Bible says clearly what is and, above all, what is not true.
The first important indication of who could be a “child of God” was already given in John 1:12-13. Accordingly, sinful man must be reborn spiritually. So the return, the repentance and in the future also the abstention from sins. Again, it was John who made this clear 1. John 3:9-10:
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.“
Cessation of sin is only possible through the power of God through the Holy Spirit. This also contradicts the thesis that God’s laws are abolished because sin is defined by them (Info). In sin not a single person will be saved. Apparently aware of this biblical truth, the Protestant church simply redefined sin (Info).
The verse also states that man will think and act either in the spirit of God or in the spirit of the devil. There is no intermediate world, no neutral zone. Either a “child of God” or a “child of the devil”.
The difference is revealed in the act of righteousness (sinlessness) or simply the opposite. John also knew that this would create great potential for conflict, 1. John 3:1:
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.“
A great lack of understanding for the reborn would be the smallest impact here.
Clear exclusion criteria
The very teaching that God’s laws have been abolished, that the biblical Sabbath (Info)was a non-binding “Jewish Sabbath” for Christians, that the unification of all different churches and all religions under one common roof, shows that this is not true to the spirit of God consequences. But this union as “the people of God” and also as “children of God” is supported by the selection of a few individual verses without any context. For example, John 11:52:
“And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.“
“Children of God are:
Children of God are all newborn children, as they are still sinless. Matthew 18:3:
“And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 19:14:
“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
Also children of God are all sinful people who returned to God and sincerely repented. A person remains a child of God if they hand over their life to Jesus Christ, testify to this with baptism, and allow themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit in the future.
The abuse by ecumenism
The association of all Christians, as regulated in the federal territory in particular by the Charter Oecumenica, the supposed people of God, is the synonym of the misunderstood “children of God”. According to this ecumenical set of rules, it is nothing more than a rebellion against God under the guise of Christianity (Info).
That is why the urgent question arose here as to who the persecutor and the persecuted will actually be in the final time (Info).
That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Romans 9:8
Bible verses from King James Version
