“We are all God’s children.” It sounds good, doesn’t it? And my guess is that you’ve heard it numerous times. Or perhaps it sounds like, “We’re all united as one family in God.” “We’re all brothers and sisters.” “All roads lead to God.” Why? Because “God is love.”

These are common ideas that surface in our culture, and they all carry a similar theme. The basic assumption in the ‘we are all God’s children’ theology is that God created all of us in love, so we must be His children. It sounds good and tolerant, and the Bible does say that “God is love.” But it also leaves out God’s other attributes: holy, just, kind, grace-filled, merciful. In fact, the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What is God?” And the answer it gives is: “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”

But while the Bible teaches that all human beings are made by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16), made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), and made for His glory (Isaiah 43:7), it does not teach that we are all God’s children. To be someone’s child assumes a parent-child relationship. It assumes that the child was either born into the family or they were adopted.

What the Bible makes clear is a distinction between those who are children of God and those who are not. Only those born by God’s Spirit through faith in Jesus are children of God (1 John 3:1-10, Galatians 3:26, John 8:34-41)! In addition, those children will have qualities and behaviors that show they belong to Jesus - they love Jesus, are controlled by the Spirit, and obey God’s Word.

This is what we’ll be unpacking together this week, and I look forward to studying it together with you. Until then, here is where I rest: I’m so grateful that God is love. I’m overwhelmed that I can be called His child. Most of all, I’m thankful I’ve been adopted into His family through faith in Jesus Christ.