We hear it all the time: “We are all God’s children!” Sounds good, doesn’t it? All humanity united in one family. With one Father. All brother and sisters with Christ Jesus.
But that’s not what God says in His Word.
The Bible teaches that all humans are creatures of God. We all belong to Him because He formed and fashioned us. We were made by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16). Made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). Made for His glory (Isaiah 43:7).
The Bible also teaches that God loves all people (John 3:16). He longs to be in right relationship with each and every individual (2 Peter 3:9). He desires that all people come to eternal salvation through Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:3-6). In fact, He desires this so much that while everyone was still in utter rebellion against Him, God sent His Son to die to save us (Romans 5:8). That’s how much He loves us. That’s how much He loves you.
But not all people are children of God.
Only those born of God are children of God
The Bible makes a clear distinction between those who are children of God and those who are not. Only those born by God’s Spirit through faith in Jesus are children of God (1 John 3:1-10, Galatians 3:26, John 8:34-41).
“To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 1:12-13, NIV
The Bible also tells us what a child of God looks like. How they will behave. Here is a short list of some of what God’s Word says.
5 Characteristics of a “child of God”
If you are a child of God it will show in your life. Here are a few things the Bible says about those who are children of God:
- They love Jesus (John 8:42).
- They believe that Jesus is the Savior (1 John 5:1).
- They love God’s children (1 John 3:10, 5:1).
- They are controlled by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9, 14).
- They obey God (1 John 2:29, 3:7-9).
Are you a child of God? You don’t have to wonder. God longs for you to receive His gift of salvation and be assured of eternity (Find out more here.) And there are so many benefits in being a child of God!
8 Benefits of being God’s Children
God loves to bless His children. The following list is just a sample of the benefits and blessings for children of God.
- God’s children have been “redeemed,” set free from sin and eternal death by Jesus’ sacrificial death (Galatians 4:4-5).
- They are His heirs, inheriting spiritual rights and privileges and eternal life (Romans 8:17).
- God’s children have direct access to their Father (Galatians 4:5-7)..
- God’s children have a special intimacy with their Father (Galatians 4:6).
- They will grow to become like Jesus (1 John 3:2).
- God’s children have peace, unity, and equal status with each other (Galatians 3:26-29).
- They will experience a future resurrection (Romans 8:11).
- God’s children have the presence and confirmation of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16).
Have you every heard the incorrect statement “We are all God’s children?” Maybe you’ve said it. Why is it important that we understand the truth?
Thank you! Very good.
Sad, but it’s time for christians to realize the heterogeneous nature of the bible and how it isn’t the perfect, inspired, inerrant word of God. That’s at the root of the problem…. As long as you continue to be blinded by the presupposition that the Bible is not a man-made/man constructed book, you’ll continue to use it to extrapolate to inappropriate conclusions about humanity. Very sad…because humans love to think they are special and ‘they’ have the answer…. Yet, it’s my humble opinion, after being a deeply dedicated Christian for many years, that many christians will be very shocked when they ultimately come in front of the ‘judgement’ that is truth.
Again, very sad…and very ignorant.
To say that the Bible is a man-made book is so wide of the mark it’s beyond belief. Check out the work of Ivan Panin who was an atheist language and mathematics expert who discovered the numerical code that runs throughout the bible. I believe he discovered the odds of it being written by men to be a 109 quintillion to 1 against! In other words an impossible number, the late Chuck Missler has videos and books available on Panin’s work. The truth is that the bible is a divine piece of scripture which can only be unlocked to you by God and contains multiple layers to it. If you approach it with humility then God may choose to reveal some of it’s secrets to you. Personally I was an atheist until my early 40’s and hadn’t read a single page of the Bible but God decided to change that for me, it was not of my doing but by the grace of God only and I’m truly blessed for this.
If its all made up, and no GOD, just man, then no Christian is going to be shocked by anything, cause its all a lie, and when your dead, you’ll just be dead. NO judgement, no nothing and it be just like it was before you were born. Because we all just got here on our own accord. We did it! WE DID everything, No God, higher being. Humans know everything there is to know about everything, cause after all we know because Science tells us everything. It confirms everything… Not the Bible… There’s no way that is can me true. Its not a historical account of the lives of people who lived and loved their God, its all lies, made up stories, so anyone can be a Child of God, or not if you don’t want to be… do whatever, cause at the end of the day… who cares?
So sick and tired of people who claim to be devote, and love God, but have come to some great revelation that they some how figured it out, and Bible can’t be inspired because of how people use it. The problem isn’t the Bible, The problem isn’t GOD, its people and their ability to be so full of themselves. To take the simplest things for grated. To profess to be wise, when really they’re just some else!
Are we all Children of God? Clearly we are not all God’s children. We are his creation, and his creation can be destroyed at any time for any reason. It a joy and a privilege to a Child of God, and the funny thing is God didn’t intend to leave people out of the family, but instead gave of himself, so we could know him as God. But again, not good enough, as selfish, self inflated people we still want more.
Aren’t we the child of God before and after we r born ????
Thank u
Sylvia, thanks for coming by. Every person was made by God and for God. However, the Bible is clear that only those individuals who come into a saving relationship with God through Jesus have the right to be called children of God (John 1:12-13). When we are “born again,” we are born into God’s family.
You can’t say some are and some are not, yes if you accept Jesus then you are but then isn’t are job to go out to the world to help others find there way, all good using the scripture you used but also says god so loved the world, not part of it every nation every religion we ever right or wrong, they are still gods children and god will use you to speak in to there life to accept Jesus, so many people thinking it’s us vs them, it’s a simple gospel stop complicating things
I’ve come to know that people believe what they want to believe. Everything is about tradition with us, and tradition tells us that we all are God’s children! The truth is, “WE ALL ARE NOT GOD’s CHILDREN” and if we were there would only be righteousness in the world. We are children of the world whose father is either God, who’s about righteousness and love or satan, who’s about evil and hatred. God is in control of all things, he knows what he’s doing. Everyone should want peace in their lives but most live to destroy, steal, and kill because satan is their father and that’s what he teaches.