CALLED THE SONS OF GOD

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be CALLED THE SONS of GOD…” – 1 John 3: 1a (KJV)

All Believers are CALLED THE SONS of GOD: ““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” (1 Jh.3:1, KJV). This is our generic IDENTITY in CHRIST: “there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal.3:28). To be a SON is to stand in a unique position or relationship to the parents, and be entitled to certain privileges, along with a kind of legal status which defines the relationship. A son is related to a given parent in a way that no one else is. In a sense, all human beings are children of God, having been created by Him. But the Scriptures differentiate that from those who come into a special relationship of son-ship as a result of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

This was John’s point: it doesn’t matter what the world thinks. They don’t understand us, just as they didn’t understand Jesus. We must not estimate ourselves by what the world thinks, because their thinking has been compromised by Satan. Even if we are not appreciated, respected or treated like royalty, our own awareness of our true identity makes the whole difference! We are sons of God! We are not just religious people who are trying to “be good”; we don’t just have certain beliefs and go through certain rituals and rites dictated by the church. We have become New creations (2Cor.5:17). We have been purchased by God with Christ’s precious blood, transformed, and adopted by the Almighty (Rom.8:15; Gal.4:5).

As sons of the Heavenly Father and ambassadors for Christ, our lives should be dramatically different and our focus should be on a higher horizon than the things of this world: “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. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (vv.2-3). Accurate biblical understanding of our identity as God’s precious children will help us to live righteously. To be sons of God means that we have been given His very Nature: “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” (v.9). God’s seed is in us. That is similar to saying that His holy DNA is placed in us when we place our faith in Him.

Knowing that we have an extraordinary purpose for our time here on earth should motivate us to stop worrying about earthly circumstances and focus instead on how our Father is shaping us up for what He has planned for our destiny. It is when we don’t see ourselves as God’s children that circumstances tend to get us down, as we attend too much to the things that are immediately around us instead of seeing everything from the perspective of our standing and eternal destiny. Identity crisis causes many to stumble on the question of moral conduct and behaviour. Realizing who we are, the problem of conduct would automatically be solved. We would not need to be persuaded to live the Christian life of holiness and righteousness.

Every appeal for righteous living or good behaviour in the New Testament is made in terms of our position in Christ – as Sons of God. We are never asked to do anything without being reminded of who we are. The Bible’s message for non-Christians is not one of moral works, but to repent from their sin and place their faith in Jesus Christ, and that without Christ they are destined for hell. But the moment they become Christians, behaviour and conduct become vital. Essentially, we must realize what Christ has done for us and be empowered by what we are in Him – “CALLED THE SONS of GOD”!