I'm not exactly sure what that is, but I think
I have the idea from the word. And he said that
going through that experience made him realize
that we all worship the same God. And though
he is a priest, actually, in a Christian church,
after that experience with the Native Americans
here in Minnesota, he felt that It was reaffirmed
to him that we all worship the same great spirit.
And in the same meeting, another pastor from
a liberal Protestant church commented to the
effect that we are all the children of God. Statements
like these men made are very fashionable. They
are inclusive statements. They are if you'll
pardon the expression, religiously correct, statements.
There's only one problem with them. They're not
the truth. Now to say that somehow seems abrasive,
doesn't it? It puts one in the position of appearing
divisive or provocative, at least in the minds
of most people. To refute the popular notion
that everyone is a child of God and that everyone
worships the same God is almost like blasphemy
in a pluralistic culture like ours and it seems
to be terribly unsophisticated and even antiquated,
out of date. But what does the scripture say?
What does the Bible say? Open your Bible with
me to 1 John chapter 3. This morning we're going
to limit our search of the scriptures to some
writings of this beloved apostle of our Lord
Jesus Christ, John. We're going to begin in 1
John chapter 3 and verse 10 where John in fact
tells us by the inspiration of God's Spirit that
we're not all just one happy family of God in
the world. But in fact, there are two families
in the world. Verse 10, by this the children
of God and the children of the devil are obvious.
Anyone who does not practice righteousness is
not of God, nor the one who does not love his
brother. John is concerned here about the ethical
outcome. of one's faith in Jesus Christ, the
kind of righteousness that is expressed in the
life of one who is a genuine child of God, or
the lack of it, when one is not a child of God,
but rather a child of the devil. These two families
in the world are distinguished by their family
traits, which John outlines for us here. John...
prefers to reserve the word son to refer to the
Lord Jesus Christ. There is one exception to
that in his gospel, but every other time that
he uses the word son in the language in which
he wrote, he was referring to the Lord Jesus
Christ. He prefers the word child for those of
us who are Christians, who are members of God's
family. Now, when Paul writes, he uses the two
words interchangeably, although each has a special
emphasis. But John distinguishes between the
two. The word child that John likes is a term
that describes origin, and it carries with it
the idea of endearment. A parent of a child understands
what that means, what it connotes to the heart.
the emotion that rises up within when this word
is used, my child. John says that we are the
children of God. It is a term that emphasizes
relationship over position. It says that we who
are in God's family have a special relationship
with Him. Relationship, of course, is one of
the key desires in our world. Even while people
are tending to withdraw into their own private
domain, there is nonetheless a deep -seated cry
for meaningful associations with others. We all
desire meaningful relationships, and this morning
we're going to talk about the most meaningful
relationship that one can have. A relationship
with God as Father. You see, the new you, who
you are if you have placed your faith in Jesus
Christ, is described in the Bible by this phrase,
you are the children of God. You belong to God's
family. Back up with me now to the Gospel of
John in the first chapter, where we understand
that we become children of God. by birth. In
John chapter 1, beginning in verse 11, this very
familiar paragraph, he, the word Jesus Christ,
came to his own things. And those people who
were his own, talking about the Jewish nation,
did not receive him. But as many as received
him, To them He gave the right to become children
of God, even to those who believe in His name,
who were born not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
I want you to notice that we become children
of God by birth. We are not automatically children
of God. John says we become the children of God.
by a birth, by a definite historical act at some
point in our lives, we become the children of
God. He says it is not a natural birth. He describes
it this way. He says it's not of blood. The NIV
says it's not of natural descent. It is not of
the will of the flesh or of human decision or
origin. He says it is not of the will of man,
or the NIV says it's not a husband's will that
was involved in this kind of birth. It is not
a natural birth. It is unrelated to human family
relations. It is unrelated to human choices.
It is unrelated to human effort. This birth,
by which we become children of God, is a spiritual
birth. supernatural birth. He says who were born
of God given birth to by God himself. Now that
idea that John introduces here he elaborates
upon as he tells us about Jesus visit with Nicodemus
in chapter 3. This Pharisee of the Jews, a very
devout religious man came to see Jesus. He had
heard of him, knew of the signs, knew that Jesus
was special and wanted to find out more. In the
interview in John 3 .3, Jesus said to him very
abruptly, truly, truly, I say to you, unless
one is born again, or literally born from above.
What does it mean to be born of God, John? It
means to be born again, to be born from above,
not of this realm. but of the supernatural realm,
to be born again. Unless one is born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said,
how can a man be born when he's old? He can't
enter a second time into his mother's womb and
be born, can he? Nicodemus may have been saying
there, how can somebody as old as I am have such
a radical change is what you're talking about.
Jesus said, truly, truly, I say to you, unless
one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot
enter the kingdom of God. My, that is a debated
verse. And there are those who say that we have
to be baptized in order to be saved. That's what
water is. Then the Spirit of God does His thing
and by that we're born again. What does water
mean here? Well, there are four or five plausible
suggestions. The one that I lean toward, at least
this morning, is rooted earlier back in the Gospel
of John, where we have water introduced to us,
and it is a water in baptism. It is John's baptism.
Nicodemus undoubtedly was familiar with it. The
Pharisees had sent representatives out to find
out what in the world John was doing out there
in the wilderness. And they brought the message
back. It is a baptism for repentance of sins.
The water here, I think, refers to John's baptism
of repentance. And what Jesus is probably saying
here is that a water baptism for repentance is
not sufficient in itself. Repentance is the beginning.
But it takes more than that, Nicodemus. It takes
the work of the Spirit. Remember, even John said,
I baptize with water, but the one who's coming
will give the Spirit. I think Jesus is tying
all of that together, and he's saying, I'm the
one who's come to give the Spirit, Nicodemus.
He tells us in these verses, and he goes on to
say actually in verse six, that which is born
of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said
to you, you must be born again. The wind blows
where it wishes. And you hear the sound of it,
but do not know where it comes from or where
it's going. So is everyone who is born of the
Spirit. We see here that this new birth gives
entrance to the kingdom of God, to the family
of God. One must be born into it. One does not
inherit it by anything natural. One must be born
from above in order to participate in the kingdom
of God or the family of God. We notice also that
this new birth originates with the Spirit of
God. He is the one who brings it. It is an impartation
of life that theologians call regeneration. It
means to give new life in a new and different
dimension, a new realm, a new reality of existence
starts at the moment of the new birth. It originates
with the Spirit of God. And He tells us here
that the results of this new birth in the life
of an individual, the results of this new birth,
are mysterious to the world. Just as wind is
unexplainable to human reasoning, so the child
of God is mysterious. to the natural realm. It
does not understand, it does not perceive what
is happening, what the source of all of this
is, what the power of all of this is which the
child of God experiences because it comes by
the new birth. John says we become children of
God by birth, the new birth from above. Now let's
go back again to John 1 and verse 12 where we
understand that we become children of God also
through faith. The new birth is God's work. God
alone can give us this life, but it requires
something from us too, faith. In order to become
a child of God, one must believe. As many as
received Him, who believe in His name, to them
He gave the right to become children of God.
Faith is the human response to God's invitation,
indeed God's command to believe on Christ. To
believe means to entrust oneself over to another.
And John here says it's synonymous with receiving
it, or receiving Him, Jesus Christ. He says that
the Jewish nation rejected, that's the opposite.
They did not receive him. They did not embrace
him. They did not welcome him as a group, as
a nation. There were individuals who did, but
as a group the Jewish nation turned from him
and rejected him. But John says those who embrace
him, those who accept him, those who receive
him or believe in his name, they become the children
of God. This trust is in a person, you'll notice,
not in some religion, not in ritual, but in a
person. As many as received Him, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Like many others, there was once a woman
who was having trouble understanding what this
meant, that she would believe, that she would
receive Christ. And so in talking with an evangelist,
she... approached him with this question. He
responded by saying, well, your last name is
Franklin, isn't it? She said, yes. How long has
it been that? Well, since my husband and I were
married 30 years ago. Well, tell me, the evangelist
continued, how did you become Mrs. Franklin?
Well, she said it happened at the wedding. The
minister said, will you have this man to be your
lawful wedded husband? And I said, I will. And
with those words, I became his wife and took
his name. And the evangelist said, well, you
didn't say, I hope so, when the preacher asked
that. You didn't say, I'd like to. You didn't
say, I'll try to take him as my husband. She
said, no, of course not. I said, I will. And
that's all there was to it. And suddenly it dawned
upon her. that in receiving Jesus Christ, it's
an act of the will, in which one doesn't say,
well, I hope I will. I'll try to. I want to.
But the person says, I will. I will receive Jesus
Christ. And she did that day. We become children
of God through faith. One is not born into a
Christian family, and therefore, become automatically
a Christian. One is not made a Christian by joining
a church, but by placing faith in Jesus Christ
and saying to Him, I will receive you as my Savior
and my Lord. As John develops this theme of the
children of God, he also tells us in chapter
11 and verse 52 that we are the children of God
because of Christ's death. for us. John 11 52.
Actually we have here some words of Caiaphas,
the high priest of Israel. Caiaphas was giving
a response to a suggestion as to what to do about
Jesus. And he says in verse 49, you know nothing
at all, nor do you take into account that it
is expedient for you that one man should die
for the people and that the whole nation should
not perish. And John says by way of interpolation,
now this he did not say on his own initiative.
Being high priest that year, he prophesied that
Jesus was going to die for the nation and not
for the nation only, that is the Jewish nation.
but that he might also gather together into one
the children of God who are scattered abroad.
And so because of Caiaphas' advice, from that
day on they planned together to kill him. Caiaphas
did not know the significance of his own statement,
of course. He was giving a prophecy that Jesus
would die on behalf of the nation. And John says,
not just that nation, but the children of God
who are scattered abroad. Where did John come
up with such an idea? Well, just back up one
or two pages in your Bible to chapter 10. Look
at the words of Jesus himself in verse 14. He
says, I am the good shepherd, and I know my own,
and my own know me, even as the Father knows
me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my
life for the sheep, and... I have other sheep
which are not of this fold, the Jewish fold.
I must bring them also, and they shall hear my
voice, and they shall become one flock with one
shepherd." Jesus here is telling us what the
Apostle Paul fully developed in the revelation
of God, and that was that Jew and Gentile would
eventually become one body of people in the church
as it has now. since the day of Pentecost. The
point is that the children of God are not merely
those who are Jewish, but they are Gentile as
well, all for whom Christ died. You see, it is
His substitutionary death or sacrifice on our
behalf that makes possible a relationship with
a holy God so that we can actually call this
God our Father. We can approach Him and know
that we are dear to Him as dear as your children
are to you. It is because of what Jesus did on
the cross on our behalf when He died for us,
the children of God. John says we become the
children of God because of Christ's death for
us. But now let's go back to 1 John chapter 3
once more. Where we see a fourth thing about
the children of God, John tells us that we are
the children of God in an alien world. We are
the children of God in an alien world. Look in
verse 29 of chapter 2 where he says, if you know
that He is righteous, You know that everyone
also who practices righteousness is born of Him,
one of God's born ones, His children. And John
immediately goes on to say, See how great a love
the Father has bestowed upon us that we should
be called children, the born ones of God. And
such we are. For this reason the world does not
know us because it did not know him The world
in which you and I live is not made to make us
feel at home to make us feel comfortable It is
a place that is intended to make the children
of the devil Comfortable because it is a world
that at present at least is ruled over by the
devil John later in this book in fact pictures
the world as being sort of a baby being rocked
in the arms of the devil He says the whole world
lies in the wicked one Cradled in his arms and
he rocks it as his baby That's the world system
And he has put it together. He has wired it so
that his children feel good in this place But
the result of that is that we who are the children
of God who have been born from above are aliens
here. We don't belong. We don't plug in to the
world. We don't fit. The world did not recognize
God when He came and therefore the world does
not recognize us either. And Jesus in John 15
and again the beginning of chapter 16 said the
same thing. to us before he was crucified. In
fact, he said there's going to come a day when
the world will put you to death thinking they
are doing God a favor. But the reason they're
doing that is they don't truly know God, and
therefore they don't know or recognize you. The
world has no crowns for the children of God.
It only has crosses. Was blessed this morning
and listening to the radio and the song came
on Jesus I my cross have taken All to leave and
follow thee Destitute despised forsaken we don't
want to live that way do we Our flesh doesn't
we want to be a part of what's happening in the
world Jesus said, if you're my children and you
have the traits of the family of God and you
practice righteousness, the result of that is
the world will not appreciate you. In fact, the
world has only crosses for you. Will you take
up your cross and follow me? Indeed, in the Bible
we are told that the world is to be shunned,
if not feared. John says in this very epistle,
love not the world, neither the things that are
in the world. He says all of that stuff that's
a part of the world, which the devil has manufactured
and put together for his children to enjoy, all
of that is passing away. But he who does the
will of God abides forever. And we're to live
for the will of God in the midst of this world.
You and I are the family of God. We have the
privilege to be called the children of God. But
it means that we live currently, for this time,
in an alien atmosphere. But that brings us to
the final point I want to talk about this morning,
and that is that we are children of God with
a glorious destiny. Because our current situation
is not going to last forever. John goes on to
say in verse 2, Beloved, now we are the children
of God. And it has not appeared as yet what we
shall be. You and I live in this tension of the
now and the not yet. The now and the not yet.
We are now the children of God, but it does not
yet. He goes on to explain that. He says, The
Lord is pure You and I are destined to bear the
exact likeness of our elder brother Jesus Christ
There is going to come a day when he will stand
before the father will say behold I and the children
you have given to me There is a day coming when
we will be presented faultless before the throne
of God with exceeding joy, our joy and Jesus'
joy. As the family of God comes home to the place
that's prepared for us to enjoy, the children
of God have a glorious destiny. It is a hope.
It's what is not yet, but which shall be. And
we shall be like Him. John says when we have
that kind of a hope, it causes us to get our
lives in order, to purify ourselves, to clean
up our act, if you please. Jesus said, it's the
pure in heart who will see God. Commenting on
this text, Warren Wiersby writes, an unbeliever
who sins is a creature sinning against his creator,
a Christian who sins. is a child sinning against
his father. The unbeliever sins against the law.
The believer sins against love. This reminds
us of the beginning of the phrase so often repeated
in the Bible, the fear of the Lord. This phrase
does not suggest that God's children live in
an atmosphere of terror, for God has not given
us the spirit of fear. Rather, it indicates that
God's children hold their father in reverence.
and will not deliberately disobey him or try
his patience. He tells a group of teenagers who
were enjoying a party and someone suggested they
go to a certain restaurant for a good time. I'd
rather you took me home, Jan said to her date.
My parents don't approve of that place. The girls
asked sarcastically, afraid your father will
hurt you? No, Jan replied, I'm afraid. I'm not
afraid my father will hurt me, but I'm afraid
I might hurt him. He says she understood the
principle that a true child of God who has experienced
the love of God has no desire to sin against
that love. Dear child of God, we have a wonderful
destiny. It is that one day we are going to be
conformed to the very likeness of Jesus Christ
and no longer will you and I struggle with the
sin that is so very real and a part of us now.
The story is told about William Dyke who since
his early childhood had been blind. After that
he acquired a great deal of wealth and subsequently
then fell in love with one of England's most
beautiful young ladies. They were engaged to
be married, and a date was set for their wedding.
Sometime before that event, William Dyke submitted
to a new surgical procedure, which specialists
said would restore his eyesight. The problem
was that the bandages from the date of surgery
would have to stay on until the day of the wedding.
And so he and his fiance decided that they would
incorporate that as a part of the wedding ceremony.
So the day arrived. The surgery had been done
now for some time and the bandages had been on
William's eyes. He took his place in the church
where he was led. Soon the bride approached and
took his arm before the altar. And then came
that dramatic moment when the bandages were at
last going to be taken off. In fact, they were
removed and as his eyes grew accustomed to the
light, the very first sight that he saw was his
beautiful beloved bride. And the first words
out of his mouth as their eyes met was, at last.
There is coming a day for you and me when our
eyes will cross with the eyes of Jesus in His
presence and at last we will see Him whom now
having not seen, we still love and whose wonderful,
glorious character will then be fully revealed.
in our nature at last. What manner of love God
has bestowed upon us that we should be called
the children of God. Let's pray together. My
friend, as you have worshipped with us today,
Can you say with all of the assurance of your
soul that you know that you're a child of God?
That you have the destiny that we were just speaking
about of seeing Jesus and being like him It is
much easier in our current world to believe that
we all worship the same God and that everybody
is a child of God But the Bible says that simply
is not true There are two families the children
of God and the children of the devil By our natural
birth we are born into the family of the devil
By being born again we are born into the family
of God Have you been born again? Have you said
to Jesus I will? Receive you as my Lord and Savior
If not, would you do that right now there in
the quietness of your heart? He'll understand
whatever words you choose to use is let the attitude
of your heart be one of repentance and trust.
And you who bear the name child of God, are you
purifying yourself? Is your lifestyle now being
gradually, progressively cleansed so that outwardly
and inwardly in your heart and your mind, you're
becoming more like Him? If there's been some
backsliding in your life away from that, would
you come back to the Lord your Father today and
cry out? sincere repentance and say, Father,
I have sinned. I'm coming back to you today.
Take control of my life. If the Spirit of God,
my friend, has spoken to you on one account or
the other, either receive Jesus Christ or today
to say, I'm a child of God who's coming back
to walk faithfully with my father. I wonder if
by the uplifted hand you would indicate that.
Yes, today I am. God bless you. The Father knows
that my love for Him hasn't been as what it ought
to be. Anyone else? Father? Thank you for speaking
to our hearts today as we think about this wonderful
theme in your word. May our hearts be freshly
overwhelmed with what overwhelms John, that we
are called the children of God. And as we go
out from here today, may we go out determined
in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit
to reflect the family likeness. In Jesus' name,
amen. I'd like for us to sing this one verse
before we go of 274. Philip Bliss here reflects
upon this title, Children of God, and he says,
oh, glorious calling, and indeed it is. Let's
stand as we sing the third verse of 274. Sing
it, children of God. Children of God, O glorious
calling, surely His grace...