 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Who Is A Child Of God? By Roger A. Scully, Jr. |
- Salvation is an individual concept, which has a collective connotation. In Acts 2:40 Peter told individuals
to “be saved from this perverse generation,” and those individuals who “gladly received his word were
baptized” on that occasion (v.41). Yet, upon being baptized the text says that the individuals were “added”
together. Verse 47 explains that as individuals were being saved, by heeding the commands of God, they
were being “added to the church.” So, then, while it is the case that each person has to respond to God for
himself (cf. Eze 18:20; Gal 6:5; Phil 2:12), it is also the case that all those who have responded to God in
obedience (cf. Heb 5:9) have been joined together as one (Gal 3:28; Jn 17). This group of saved is referred
to in Scripture in a variety of ways. For example, in Acts 2:47 the term “church” is used, which means called
out people. In 2 Timothy 2:2 Christians are identified as “soldier[s],” hence the saved are a sort of military
unit. In 1 Peter 2:5, 9 the saved are called a “priesthood,” because each Christian can participate in the
worship of God. Yet, one of the most beautiful references made to describe the saved is that of a family. Paul
calls the church the “house of God” in 1 Timothy 3:15. And again, in 1 Peter 2:5, the Spirit calls the saved, as
a group, “a spiritual house.” In this house, there is a Father (Rom 8:15; 1 Pet 1:17), there are brothers and
sisters (Ac 6:3), there is an inheritance (Rom 8:17), et al. As such, the saved are children of God. But how
does one become a child of God? Since it is the case that the saved are children of God (1 Jn 3:1-10), if we
can show how one becomes a child of God, then we can show how one becomes saved.
Let us start with John 1 and the passage that is often used by the religious world to show how one
becomes a child of God. After explaining that the Creator came to His creation, yet was rejected, for “the world
did not know Him,” we read, “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 passage mentions two things that are essential to becoming a
child of God: (1) “receiv[ing]” and (2) “believe[ing].” However, the verse does not say that either of these
things make one a child of God by themselves. The verse does say that these things give the “right to
become children of God.” The word “right” is translated from the Greek word exousia, which means, as per
Thayer, “the power of choice, the liberty to do, the authority.” So, then, receiving and believing do not make
people children of God, but rather gives one the ability to become a child of God. In the next verse, verse 13,
the manner in which one can become a child of God is given, “who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” This birth, which causes one to become a child of God is not a
physical birth, nor is it a birth which takes place by one simply believing. In John 3:3-5 Jesus, Himself, tells
what this birth is when He said, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God.” When we look to Romans 6, the Spirit gives further explanation of that which Jesus said, when we read,
“...as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death…we were buried with Him
through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so
we also should walk in newness of life…we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly
we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection…our old man was crucified with Him…for he who has died
has been freed from sin” (Rom 6:3-7). In baptism, then, one dies, spiritually speaking, and is “born again,”
spiritually speaking, into a new family, wherein he has a new Father, thus is a child of God’s.
In connection we turn to Galatians 3:26-27 where we read of those who are “sons of God through faith in
Christ Jesus.” We would do well to note that this passage is speaking in present tense terms, hence
describing what those being addressed were at the moment they were addressed, “children of God through
faith.” Yet, as we continue reading the text, we see that in verse 27 past tense terms are used, thus explaining
how those who are “children of God through faith in Christ Jesus” had become “children of God through faith.”
You see: faith has to be active or obedient (Jms 2:14-26; Heb 11:30). So, then, while faith is the core (Rom 10:
17), it must produce actions. In Galatians 3:27 we read about the actions produced by faith and how it was
that the Galatians addressed in this letter had become “sons of God.” The text reads, “For as many of you as
were” [past tense] “baptized” [past tense] “into Christ have put on Christ.” We have already shown that
baptism is the new birth about which the Bible speaks, thus when the Galatians were baptized they were “born
again;” hence had become children of God, just as we read in John 1:12-13.
Now, when John 1:12-13 and Galatians 3:26-27 are compared, taking into account John 3:3-5 and
Romans 6:3-7, the conclusion becomes clear: One becomes a child of God when one is baptized into Christ.
Because it is the case that only those who are children of God are saved (cf. 1 Jn 3:1-10), it also becomes the
case that only those who are baptized are saved, thus the statement of 1 Peter 3:21, “baptism saves us.”
| Street Address: 1019 Clothilde St., Morgan City, LA 70380 Mailing Address: PO Box 1756, Morgan City, LA 70381 Phone: (985) 384-3489 |