What it Means to Be a Child of God

John 1:12 (NKJV) 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Is Everyone a Child of God?

Have you ever heard the expression, “we are all God’s children”? It’s a very common phrase that we hear a lot these days. So, there is little doubt that we have probably all heard it at one time or another.

Somewhere along the way, the enemy planted seeds that grew into this terrible lie in order to deceive millions upon millions into thinking that being born into this world makes them one of God’s children.

But did you know that phrase is a lie?

Let’s take a look at the two verses above and see why this is so.

Verse 12 states very clearly, “to them He gave the right to become children of God”.

Who is “them”?

The word, “them”, is referring to “as many as received Him” and “those who believe in His name”.

This is referring to anyone who has put their faith and trust in Him, offering loyalty, faithfulness and devotion to Him in their heart.

Look a Little Deeper

And to further dispel the lie, take a look at verse 13.

This applies to those “who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”.

As you can see, simply being born (of the flesh, of blood, or by the will of man) does not make us God’s children.

We are creations of God. But nowhere does this say that we are His children, simply by being born.

A Child of God?

So, what does make us a child of God?

Being born “of God”.

Jesus referred to this as being “born again”.

John 3:3 (NKJV) 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

The phrase “born again” literally means “born from above”, which equates to being born “of God”.

And there you have it, very plain and simple.

Let us all pray that more people will get this understanding and become true children of God.

To explain it much further, and in more detail, we have included one of our videos, below. We hope it speaks to you and gives you a deeper understanding on this topic.

Sincerely in Christ,

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries