Child of God

By Moses R Cung

" Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12) " The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." (Rom 8:16-17)

Every child longs to have rich and powerful parents. However, not many want to be children of God because they don't understand it. It is good to be a child of rich, powerful, and wise parents. But human parents can die. Their life situation can change even before they die. In addition, parents cannot support and help their child forever. When the child became an adult, he needs to be separated from his parents. 

But being a child of God is exceedingly good. Since he does not change, and is eternal, God can help those who rely on him. There is nothing God cannot do for you. Being a child of God is something that should be highly valued because the benefits last forever. However, because of a lack of knowledge, humans do not want to be God's children;  and they do not even want to hear about thing of that nature. It is very surprising and sad. 

You don't have to try to be a child of God. It is possible to be a child of God simply by embracing and believing in His Son. Every Christian today considers themselves that they believes in Christ the Son. But they do not believe him from the heart, but accept him only by their lips. He who accepts Christ from the heart has a change in his lifestyle. The real son of God has a change in his thinking, his view, and his action. Paul said, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"  (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

How will you know if you are the son of God? Paul said, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children." (Romans 8:16) For a person to be the son of God, he must receive Christ or the Holy Spirit, then the spirit of the person and the Spirit of Christ will together make known about it.  When that joint declaration is felt in his heart -- a person's spirit lives alongside his heart-- he will have assurance in his heart that he indeed becomes the son of God. Some people experience that assurance as soon as they accept Christ. Some may have accepted Christ but may spend considerable amount of time before sensing the assurance. Some may see a dramatical life change experience in them as soon as they accept Christ. Some people may see the change gradually. 

Some people are God's children but cannot be distinguished from worldly people because they behave like them. "Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?" (1 Corinthians 3-13) Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthian Church as such because they acted like worldly people even though they should have been acting like God children. Their actions showed they were still children, spiritually speaking.

Paul wrote to the Roman church that it is very good to be a son of God not only in this life but also in the life to come. "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. " (Rom 8:16-17) If you were to inherit a rich man's wealth, you would become rich overnight. However, worldly prosperity does not last forever. If you are a child of God, you will be his heir and enjoy his glory and wealth for eternity, so it is very good. 

How should God's children live and behave? They should behave like the child of God. The people of this world are not God's children, so they covet the riches of this world that belong to satan. They try their best to gain the prosperity of the world, and boast about their wealth. Some people want to exercise power over other people. Some try to devote their whole lives to world politics. They may be able to achieve certain level of power, but when they get old, they cannot do anything. Even after seeing these kind of people, those who come after them do not learn the lessons. They keep wanting to be like the previous power hungry people. The people of the world do not want to become God's children, but want to spend their life time pursuing worldly pleasures, abundant wealth, and hobbies that will not last forever.

Christ himself came down to this world and showed how God's children should live. Therefore, the writer of Hebrews said," ... Let us fix 'our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.' " (Hebrews 12:2). If so, how did the Lord Jesus live? The writer of Hebrews explained, "For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."  (Hebrews 12:2).

Lord Jesus listened to every word of God the Father. He said this about himself; "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. " (John 5:19). Since even the Lord Jesus did nothing of his own free will but did only of the father's, we should even more do things according to the will of God. So then, how can we know God's will? God's will can be found in the Bible. By reading and studying the Bible, we can know God's will. Like Jesus, God's children should follow God's will instead of following their own will. If you are a child of God, do you now live according to God's will? 

Jesus said, "By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. " (John 5:30) Jesus established  that he could not do anything of his own accord. Every child of God should self-establish not to follow his own will. If you are the child of God, will you follow your own will or God's? Following God's will seem difficult at first. However, if you deny your own will and follow God's, it will soon become natural. It takes time to get used to doing new things. However, if you do not give up and continue to persevere, following God's will will become a second nature to you. 

God's children must respect their father. God Himself said through the prophet Malachi, "A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty. “It is you priests who show contempt for my name. “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’" (Malachi 1:6)  The above words spoken by God is now more on target because believers (God's children) today no longer respect their father. If you accept God as your Lord, you must fear Him. But God-fearing people are very few. " The fear of the Lord avoids evil." (Proverbs 16:6) "To fear the Lord is to hate evil." (Proverbs 8:13)

The reason why Joseph was able to avoid the temptation of the wife of his master was because he feared God. "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? " (Genesis 39:9) Joseph stood alone as a believer in God in Egypt. There were no other believers near him. But he feared God. If we also fear God, we will be able to reject the temptation of sin. So then, do you fear God?