 By James H. Cagle |
“For ye are all (all can become) the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3: 26 KJV).
The Christian religion teaches that a man can become a child of God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is the door into the family of God.
There is talk about the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man as though there is one family. But the Bible tells us very plainly that there are two families in the world and will be throughout eternity.
There is the family of God of which God almighty is the Father. All those who put their faith in the finished work of Jesus at Calvary are born-again or born into the family of God. There is the family of Satan of which we are all members by default because we’re all born lost and in sin (Mat. 13: 38; John 8: 44; 1 John 3: 10, 12).
One leaves the family of Satan and is “adopted” into the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ. One is then an heir — “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heir with Christ” (Rom. 8: 14-17).
We are all born physically into a natural family by no efforts of our own but by the efforts of our parents. We are born-again or supernaturally “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1: 14). “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2: 8, 9).
The saved are God’s children, not only in name but in fact, with a character so supernatural that the world cannot understand it because it does not know and hasn’t experienced Christ — “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. Beloved, now are we the sons of God” (Jn. 1: 10; 1 Jn. 3: 1, 2).
Though we are presently children of God in our imperfect state and do not reflect the perfections of Christ we will be transformed into His likeness at the Rapture — “And it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3: 2).
Children have destinies. The children of Satan are destined to spend eternity in Hell with their father Satan (Rev. 20: 11-15). The children of God are destined to spend eternity with their Father in Heaven (Rev. 21, 22ff). And each will reach their ultimate destiny.
