Are we all automatically considered children of God?

[Michie]

Jesus says that not everyone is a child of God.

John 8:44

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

From an article with a Catholic slant but interesting none the less.

"To modern ears, denying some people the label 'children of God' seems mean-spirited. It’s as though we want to cast the unbaptized into second-tier humanity, and gloat over our special relationship with God. Obviously, we should not make the distinction in that spirit, but if anyone takes offense, he should be reminded that all are invited to become God’s children. It’s free and (initially) painless. Call your local parish for details."​

Link: We are not all children of God...

Any thoughts?
​

 

[Edial]

Being born of God means having spiritual connection with God through Jesus Christ.

When the Pharisees were called the children of the devil, they apparently were spiritually connected to the devil.

What about the rest?

The Bible says, in out natural selves we are dead, separated from God.
So should non-Christians be called children of God?

I would call them separated children of God, so not to insult them.
This could lead to an interesting conversation.

Thanks,
Ed

 

[~Anastasia~]

I guess it depends how you define children. In a certain sense, all of mankind would be children of God, as we are all His creation.

But generally I think most people understand "child of God" to mean one who believes in and loves Him, at the very least. Possibly some would require baptism (born of water and the Spirit). I think it is more generally correct to consider "children of God" to be those with a particular relationship to Him, and I believe this is consistent with the way Scripture usually talks about the subject.

 

[Liberasit]

You are only a child of God through adoption into his family, not birth.

 

[MoreCoffee]

We're all descended from Adam who is (according to Luke 3:38) the son of God so I guess we're all sons (and daughters) of God by natural generation but we're incorporated into the Son of God by regeneration.

 

[Inkfingers]

Jesus says that not everyone is a child of God.

Exactly.

Not everyone is a child of God. Only those whom He adopts through His act of Grace, begetting them again from above, are children of God.

 

[MKJ]

If someone asked me, I would say yes, we are all children of God. People can I think become cut off from God, because of choice and perhaps even personal circumstance, but I don't think we are able to discern that for others or even ourselves. And in most cases, even people who do evil things are not totally cut off from a connection to God, and that exists because it is human nature, and regenerate human nature, to be connected to God in that way.

It's a metaphorical expression of course, so I think there is a certain amount of room to understand it in different ways.

 

[~Anastasia~]

It's a metaphorical expression of course, so I think there is a certain amount of room to understand it in different ways.

This seems like a key point. It is true to discuss the matter in different terms, since it is a metaphor.

 

[PaladinValer]

We're all descended from Adam who is (according to Luke 3:38) the son of God so I guess we're all sons (and daughters) of God by natural generation but we're incorporated into the Son of God by regeneration.

I'll second this. Very well stated, I might add

 

[Liberasit]

Here is a list of bible verses which say that we are not automatically children of God. As Christians, we are adopted into his family.

Adoption
(Not all of them are relevent, such as verses concerning Moses).

 

[Edial]

Here is a list of bible verses which say that we are not automatically children of God. As Christians, we are adopted into his family.

Adoption
(Not all of them are relevent, such as verses concerning Moses).

Yes, I agree.
The only "natural" son is Jesus Christ, even then it happened in a very unusual way.

 

[Michie]

I think a lot of people confuse being made in the image of God & being a child of God. Being a child of God takes a decision & commitment. Jesus died for all but it is up to us to accept that gift.

 

[Liberasit]

I think a lot of people confuse being made in the image of God & being a child of God. Being a child of God takes a decision & commitment. Jesus died for all but it is up to us to accept that gift.

Absolutely. All humans are made in the image of God, which is why there is good in everyone. But to be a child of God takes decisions and acceptance

 

[Mediaeval]

All people are children of God, even those who do not yet know Him as their Father (Acts 17:28).

“For in Him we live and move and have our being.” This is spoken to the ignorant, idolatrous inhabitants of Athens. What, then, do I assert? Is there no difference between the believer and the unbeliever? Yes, the greatest difference. But the difference is not about the fact, but precisely in the belief of the fact. God tells us, “In Him,” that is in Christ, “I have created all things, whether they be in heaven or on earth. Christ is the Head of every man.” Some men believe this; some men disbelieve it. Those men who disbelieve it walk “after the flesh.” They do not believe they are joined to an Almighty Lord of life,—One who is mightier than the world, the flesh, the devil,—One who is nearer to them than their own flesh. They do not believe this, and therefore they do not act upon this belief. They do not think they are joined to Christ; and therefore they do not pray, that is, ask Christ to fill, animate, and inspire and sanctify them. They believe, for this is all they see, that they are surrounded by a flesh which shuts them in, that they are surrounded by innumerable objects of sense. Their hearts are wedded in the strictest sense of the word to sense, and they do not wish to be divorced. But though tens of hundreds of thousands of men live after the flesh, yea, though every man in the world were so living, we are forbidden by Christian truth and the Catholic Church to call this the real state of any man. On the contrary, the phrases which Christ and His Apostles use to describe such a condition are such as these: “They believe a lie. They make a lie. They will not believe the truth.” The truth is that every man is in Christ; the condemnation of every man is, that he will not own the truth; he will not act as if this were true, he will not believe that which is the truth, that, except he were joined to Christ, he could not think, breathe, live a single hour."
F. D. Maurice

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

All people are children of God, even those who do not yet know Him as their Father (Acts 17:28).

“For in Him we live and move and have our being.” This is spoken to the ignorant, idolatrous inhabitants of Athens. What, then, do I assert? Is there no difference between the believer and the unbeliever? Yes, the greatest difference. But the difference is not about the fact, but precisely in the belief of the fact. God tells us, “In Him,” that is in Christ, “I have created all things, whether they be in heaven or on earth. Christ is the Head of every man.” Some men believe this; some men disbelieve it. Those men who disbelieve it walk “after the flesh.” They do not believe they are joined to an Almighty Lord of life,—One who is mightier than the world, the flesh, the devil,—One who is nearer to them than their own flesh. They do not believe this, and therefore they do not act upon this belief. They do not think they are joined to Christ; and therefore they do not pray, that is, ask Christ to fill, animate, and inspire and sanctify them. They believe, for this is all they see, that they are surrounded by a flesh which shuts them in, that they are surrounded by innumerable objects of sense. Their hearts are wedded in the strictest sense of the word to sense, and they do not wish to be divorced. But though tens of hundreds of thousands of men live after the flesh, yea, though every man in the world were so living, we are forbidden by Christian truth and the Catholic Church to call this the real state of any man. On the contrary, the phrases which Christ and His Apostles use to describe such a condition are such as these: “They believe a lie. They make a lie. They will not believe the truth.” The truth is that every man is in Christ; the condemnation of every man is, that he will not own the truth; he will not act as if this were true, he will not believe that which is the truth, that, except he were joined to Christ, he could not think, breathe, live a single hour."
F. D. Maurice

The prodigal Son illustrates this also. God is our father, we are His Children. He desires that we all remain faithful, and that we live forever in His presence; this is a gift. Like any gift, we can chose not to accept it.

 

[Michie]

The prodigal Son illustrates this also. God is our father, we are His Children. He desires that we all remain faithful, and that we live forever in His presence; this is a gift. Like any gift, we can chose not to accept it.

Exactly.

 

[James Is Back]

We're all children of God but to continue to be a child of God one needs to go from dead in faith into a faith unto Christ's atonement on the cross and into submission to the Will of God.

Now I could be wrong and it's something I need to study on but for now that's how I see it. And if I'm wrong I ask God to forgive me for being wrong.

 

[hedrick]

Looking at Jesus' use of the term:

Jesus uses “children of God” exclusively, e.g. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God,” “he field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one,” “Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” Hebrew uses “child of X” as an idiom, a way of talking about someone like X or characterized by X. In that usage, “child of God” clearly refers specifically to someone who is specially like or connected with God. I don’t see a wider use of child of God or children of God, at least in the Synoptics.

Jesus uses “brother” fairly often. Sometimes it’s clearly limited, e.g. “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” However often it’s ambiguous, e.g. “So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sisters from your heart.” Is Jesus telling us we only have to forgive other Christians? Probably not. Mat 5:43ff.

Jesus said that the Gospel was that he was coming to establish the Kingdom of God. I think the Church is the current, intermediate form of that. John speaks of him as the vine and us as the branches. So we’re clearly related to each other in a special way. That’s the most common use of “brothers.” But still, God does love everyone, which is our motivation for loving our enemies.

So it seems to me that the real answer is that while Jesus mostly uses “child of God” narrowly, we are also related to all people as brothers in a wider sense.

This means that it's misleading to say that Jesus' came to teach that all men are brothers. We are certainly all children of Adam, and we should love each other. So it's not wrong to speak of all as being brothers. But Jesus said he came to establish the Kingdom, and gave the clear impression that not everyone is in it. So the brotherhood of mankind is only part of the picture, and not the part that Jesus emphasized the most. Jesus also spoke a lot about obedience and accountability.

 

[Mediaeval]

The kingdom appears to contain both good and bad (Matt. 13:45-48).

If God is not the Father of all, freely, by grace, then I must do something before I may warrantably consider myself a child of God. Assurance then would become elusive, since I would never be sure I had believed, prayed, or otherwise done enough.

“If we are not allowed to call ourselves children of God, how can we be told to arise and go to our Father? If we are not to do this, what does our repentance mean?”​ F. D. Maurice​

 

[hedrick]

The kingdom appears to contain both good and bad (Matt. 13:45-48).

If God is not the Father of all, freely, by grace, then I must do something before I may warrantably consider myself a child of God. Assurance then would become elusive, since I would never be sure I had believed, prayed, or otherwise done enough.

“If we are not allowed to call ourselves children of God, how can we be told to arise and go to our Father? If we are not to do this, what does our repentance mean?”​ F. D. Maurice​

I'm not sure whether I understand what you're saying. I'm reading you as saying that all people are children of God. If that's what you mean, I don't think that's the way Jesus spoke. I have the greatest of respect for Lutheran paradox. But in this case, since "children of God" is Biblical language, I'd prefer to use it as it's used there.

Maurice is speaking of people who are in union with Christ in Baptism, not of mankind in general. (Yes, I looked up the context.)

I admit that assurance can be hard for some people, but most Christians don't respond to that by saying that there's no distinction between people who are followers of Jesus and those who aren't, if that's what you are saying.

I assume you're referring to Mat 13:47 ff. The Kingdom contains bad only temporarily. The point of that parable is precisely that there will be a separation. One of my examples was from a similar parable, Mat 13:38. Like 47, it speaks of the mixture of good and bad. 41 specifically sees evil in the Kingdom, temporarily. It also makes the point that there will be a separation. But it uses "children of the Kingdom" to refer to the good.