Child of God
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Dt 14:1; See Ro 8:14; 8:16, 21; Eph 5:1; 1 Jn 3:1, 2
Dt 14:1; See Ro 8:14; 8:16, 21; Eph 5:1; 1 Jn 3:1, 2
You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead,
Today we are continuing our study of the Gospel of John. We are going to be looking at chapter 1, verses 10-13, but I would like to start by reading from the beginning of the chapter.
Please turn in your bibles to John chapter 1.
While you are turning, how are you enjoying the Gospel of John? I encourage everyone to take time to read this great book of the Bible. There are 21 chapters, so if you read 1 chapter per day, you will finish in 21 days! For those who started when we began this study, we are on today. What a great chapter that is! It seems that each day I think, “Oh, this is a good one!”
Does anyone have a favorite passage they have read in John so far? Anything that really encouraged you, or spoke to you?
Let’s pray and ask God to speak to us from His word this morning.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
What is it to be a ‘child of God’?
What is it to be a ‘child of God’?
That last phrase, born of God is what I was focusing on when I titled the sermon, Child of God. I want to look at this entire passage, but the big question for today comes from this concept of being a child of God.
What is it to be a ‘child of God’?
What is it to be the child of any father?
Being a child of God is a blessing. It is a comfort. And, it is a call; a call to … well, we will get into that in a little bit.
Let’s begin digging into this passage.
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
I have mentioned a few times in the past, including just last week, that when we are reading and studying God’s word, we should pay attention to something… Anyone remember, or have an idea from this verse?
We need to pay attention to things that are repeated. Here is an idea of how many times this occurs.
kosmos
kosmos
What is kosmos? The word has to do with organization, beauty, the universe. It is most often used for the universe, this world and for the people of this world. In the New Testament, in came to be used for the people of the world who stood in opposition to Christ.
The word which represented the beauty and order of the Creator as seen in all the universe, the world, and people tragically represents the people of the world who rejected Christ. That is seen clearly here in , as well as in , and other places in the New Testament.
The Heavens declare the glory of God. God, the creator of it all has been rejected by the world. They seek to find any other explanation for the beauty and order of the universe, and they worship created things rather than acknowledge him as God.
How would you and I react if we did something huge and wonderful for someone, and then they claimed it was from someone else. What if they rejected us outright, and refused to even acknowledge our existence or give us the time of day? Well, it would not be pretty.
John is clear about the reaction of the world to God. But the reaction of God to the world is what John then shows to be so amazing.
Instead of rejecting those who have rejected him, God loves the world. .
He could have come as judge, but instead he came to save the world, .
Instead of leaving them in their ignorance, Christ comes as the light of the world, here in , and he reveals the Father and speaks the things he has heard from God. .
God is working to take away the sin of the world. .
Jesus is here to be the savior of the world .
In fact, Jesus gives his very body as a sacrifice for the life of the world, .
He overcomes the prince of darkness who is holding the world captive as slaves to sin, .
He overcomes all the world, and offers peace to all who will receive him, .
Wow! What a God! What a savior who responds to the world with grace and truth, in spite of the world’s rejection.
The world was made through him, but the world did not know him.
But it gets worse...
Moving on to verse 11.
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Not only did the world at large not know him, but his own did not receive him.
John 1:11
Now the whole world is his. He is the creator. He is the author of life. He is the light of the world.
However, the world rejected him long ago. Since then, he has continued to reach out in love to the world. He did this primarily through the nation of Israel.
God chose Abraham and his descendents to be his special possession so that He might show his grace, love, care, power and truth to the whole world.
He did miracles for them. He gave them his Word, the scriptures. He spoke directly to them. He provided for them. He sent them prophet after prophet. He gave them covenants, promises and blessings.
Yet, even after all of that, they rejected him.
When Christ came, and fulfilled the promises God made, they rejected Him. When he spoke with power and authority as God did when He spoke to them on Mt. Sinai, they saw it and wondered, but they did not receive him as God. When he performed miracles that God alone could do—healing the lame, making the blind to see, cleansing the leper—they still would not receive Him. When he commanded the winds and waves, even as he did when they crossed the Red Sea leaving Egypt, they did not receive him. When He fed the 5000 in the wilderness as He did for them when they left Egypt, they did not receive him.
Sadly, he came to those who should have known him—the ones who should have known and received him—and they rejected him.
I think there is something here for us
Let’s not allow this to be said of you and I. Let’s not lose our love for this wonderful savior!
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
Ah… but not all is lost… for...
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
There were some. Some received him. And to ALL who received him, he gave the right to become children of God.
John 1:12
What does it mean that they received him? To receive is to believe in his name.
What does it mean to believe in his name?
To receive is to believe in his name. What does it mean to believe in his name?
To believe in his name, is to believe fully who he is, and what he has said and done. It is to receive him for who he really is, God Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth, who loved the world and came to save the world from their rebellion against him by taking their sins upon himself on the cross, taking their punishment, and rising from the dead to give them new life! Wow! What a savior!
Do you believe this? Have you received him?
This whole picture of rejection, and restoration to be children of God is best seen in the story Jesus told of the Prodigal Son.
Turn to , and let’s talk through this.
What is it to be a ‘child of God’?
What is it to be a ‘child of God’?
children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
What is this all about?
Adam called the son of God. Descent? No. Human Decision? No. Husband’s will? No. Born/created by God.
Israel called God’s firstborn son when He brought them out of Egypt. By natural descent? By human decision? By husband’s will? No. Born, brought out by God.
Not born of natural descent.
Not born of natural descent.
The Jews felt that because they were children of Abraham—descendants of the chosen patriarchs—that they were naturally children of God. Jesus pointed out to them that if they were truly children, they would love him in .
Not born of human decision
Not born of human decision
Many Jews, like the Pharisees felt that if they decided to keep the law, and did it, that they would be children of God. Jesus pointed out to them ,
Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
John 9:
Not born of a husband’s will
Not born of a husband’s will
Parent’s always want what is best for their child, and strive to get it for them. When Israel came out of Egypt, they kept crying out, we and our children are going to die! They wanted to go back to Egypt. They did not want to go up to the promised land.
However, it was not their will, nor their decisions that kept their children and future generations alive. It was God. God providing for them in the wilderness, the manna, the water, the meat.
Jesus told the crowds that it was God who provided for them then, and that he was the bread of life for all who would receive him.
No one comes to salvation by birthright-being born into the right family.
No one comes to salvation by choosing to do what is right themselves.
No one comes to salvation because their parents want them to do so, or because their parents provide for them.
Anyone who is saved, is saved by God, and God alone! God gives everyone who believes, new birth to become his children.
What is it to be a ‘child of God’?
Blessing
Calling
Being a child of God is a great blessing! It means we are loved by God. - . Cared for by God who knows our needs, and provides for us. Blessed by God with a new nature, His divine nature and promises for life and godliness!
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
It is also a calling. It is a calling to live like a child of God, instead of a child of the devil. It is a calling to not return to being a prodigal.
Cared for by our Father - .
Let’s not allow this to be said of you and I. Let’s not lose our love for this wonderful savior!
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
1 Peter 1:13-
In this world that has not received Christ, we are pushed and pulled in all manner of ways to leave our Creator, our God, our Savior. We are given many things to love, other than the one who loves us so.
Let us not forsake our first love! Let’s fall in love with Jesus, and may it never be said of us, that Jesus, having come to his own, his own did not receive him.
Homework:
Continue to read a chapter a day in John. Feel free to post on Facebook to encourage others. Be sure to look for an opportunity to tell someone each day about a verse you read in John.
Read 1 John, and pay attention to the references to us as children. Ask God to speak to you from this book, and write what you learn about the blessing of being a child of God, and the calling of being a child of God. Make two columns on a sheet of paper to list the blessings and the callings.
Look at the example of Israel in the Old Testament. Read the verses and fill-in, or write your description of God’s relationship to Israel.
- God Called Israel out of Egypt as ___________________
- God carried them along as a _____________
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, , , -
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Now, write your summary of what it is to be a child of God as seen in the example of God with Israel. What are the blessings? What is the calling?
What are the applications for you and I as believers? Can you think of scriptures in the New Testament concerning these things?